Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Steven adjusts the microphone to his height, business face on as the crowd of reporters in front of him buzz with excitement.

Today marks the official commencement of the Annual Hoenn League Challenge, and as usual, the council has organised a lunchtime press conference for launch day. One of Steven’s many duties as Champion is to present a short speech welcoming the Trainers of Hoenn to the Challenge on this day every year - from greenhorns fresh out of Trainer School and embarking on their first journey, to seasoned veteran Ace Trainers who are currently vying for a place in the Hall of Fame, and take the seat he’s occupied for the past 4 years.

He’s sandwiched in the center of his capable Elite Four, who represent the secondary stage of the Hoenn League Challenge - Glacia and Sidney to his left, and Phoebe and Drake to his right. Standing behind him are the 8 gym leaders representing the primary stage - Roxanne, Brawly, Wattson, Norman, Tate& Liza, Winona, Wallace, and finally his girlfriend Flannery.

He doesn’t even need to turn around to look at her to know she must be shaking like a leaf in a storm at the moment - she’s still very new to gym leadership, and he is wary of the reporters’ impending questions already. After all, they had only officially announced their blossoming relationship in the papers just this morning.

Before today, he and Flannery had agreed privately to not address their relationship in interviews, at least for the moment. They have really only started dating last Friday after the Hoenn League Ball after all, and the Council had officially approved of their relationship with their requirements only yesterday.

The announcement of their new relationship had only been published in The Hoenn Gazette papers this morning, accompanying the usual official Council statement on the commencement of the annual Hoenn League Championship. Glacia had been the key writer of the notice - she’d simply stated that both he & Flannery had just started exploring a new relationship, and that care had been taken to maintain professional boundaries as colleagues. However, ever since that statement was published this morning, both his Devon office and the Council have been absolutely inundated with calls from pesky newspaper reporters. He can’t imagine how poor Flannery must feel if she’s been similarly hounded, or her crotchety grandfather at that.

To his regret, he hasn’t managed to see her in person until today, but they’ve texted during his free moments - he’s been too hard at work at Devon and EverGrande. Both workplaces have major projects ongoing at the moment, and he’s not even had time to eat a proper meal. He knows she’s busy too, given that he’s been replaced by Glacia as Flannery’s mentor - it was a part of the League’s mandate to separate work from personal matters. Glacia always takes her work seriously, having been raised in high society back in Galar, so he has no doubt at all that she’s probably already run the poor redhead ragged with work.

Steven realises with a start that the reporters are looking up at him expectantly, waiting with focused cameras and pens poised to scribble any spectacular keynotes from his speech. He should probably say something before things get uncomfortable.

Steven takes a deep breath to steady himself, and begins to speak.

“As reigning Champion of the Hoenn region, I, along with my team of Gym Leaders and Elite Four, would like to officially welcome all Trainers to the start of a new Annual Gym Challenge.

Over the expanse of our long history as humans, Pokemon have evolved alongside us, transforming from creatures with power so vast that it sparked terror in our hearts, to occupying said hearts as our very best friends and partners, only due to the love and companionship they are capable of providing. Through the act of battling, the spirits of both Trainer and Pokemon unite as one to defeat their opponent, and the bonds forged through this incredible teamwork are a sure sign of how strong this relationship can be.

Every year, the Hoenn region hosts the Annual Hoenn League Challenge, where trainers from all backgrounds challenge each of our 8 gym leaders to a battle, which allows our team to personally assess the bond between trainer and Pokemon, and reward them with a Gym Badge upon successful completion of said assessment. With 8 badges, trainers are eligible to try for the secondary stage held in the autumn, where they will challenge the Elite Four to 4 consecutive battles. If all 4 members of the Elite Four are defeated, the trainer can finally challenge me for the chance to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The Annual Hoenn League Challenge not only allows us members of the league to discover and assess the strength of trainers in our region, but also allows us members to hone our own skills as Elite Trainers to one day defend our region from major threats.

As the Hoenn League, we welcome everyone who has a Pokemon to attempt the Challenge, from those who are just starting out with their very first Pokemon, to the seasoned veterans who are gearing up to battle me for the seat of Champion. I will, of course, defend my title to my utmost ability, and I look forward to the day that you face me in EverGrande. And finally, as always, thank you all for your continued support of the League.”

Steven takes a breath after that long speech, and steels his spirit.

“We will now welcome any questions from the floor,” he smiles politely.

The reporters jump to their feet in excitement.

“Mr Stone, we hear that there are two new gym leaders this year, can you tell us more about them?” Asks someone right in the front.

That’s a relatively easy question to answer, Steven surmises to himself.

“Thank you for that question. We are welcoming Norman Maple, a former Ace Trainer who was previously based in Johto, and has now moved to Hoenn with his family to take over the leadership of the Petalburg Gym. Norman’s specialty is in the Normal-type. We also welcome Flannery Moore, granddaughter of Michael Moore, the previous gym leader of Lavaridge gym, who has since retired. Flannery’s specialty is Fire-type. We are eager to see the continued development of the Hoenn League Championship with our new colleagues at the helm of their respective gyms.”

Unfortunately, this gives the sharks the opportunity to dive right in.

“Mr Stone, what is the status of this new relationship between you and Ms Moore?!” Yells out someone on the right side of the crowd.

“Mr Stone, did you and Ms Moore start dating before or after she joined as a gym leader?” Comes another.

“Mr Stone, what about your reputation as the most eligible bachelor of Hoenn? Will you be able to say some words of comfort to your most ardent female fans?” Screams yet another.

“Are you sure that Ms Moore is the right person for you, Mr Stone?” More voices start to speak, criticism laced in their tone.

“She’s only a greenhorn!”

“Could it be because Mr Stone is rich and powerful?”

“Perhaps she’s seduced him with the hopes of a promotion!”

Steven squeezes his eyes shut, willing himself not to explode into either a fit of rage at the audacity of these questions, or burst into tears at the sudden cacophony of squawking reporters. He can feel a migraine already coming on. Suddenly, a presence steps up beside him, and a firm hand of solidarity places itself on his shoulder.

“As the official representative of the Gym Leaders, I speak on their behalf that we would like for everyone to refrain from asking questions about the personal lives of our cherished colleagues,” Wallace speaks smoothly into the microphone. “As a professional organisation, we are all bound by a code of ethics to each other and to the members of the public, and both Steven and Flannery have made the relevant steps to ensure that all ethical and professional expectations have been met to the highest of standards.”

Steven exhales a sigh of relief - Wallace has always been so much better at wording statements on the fly than he is. His oldest and closest friend is so reliable, as always.

“With that being said, you must know that they’re not the only couple in town!” Wallace suddenly crows proudly. “I am very happy to announce that after a period of agonizing separation for six months, both Winona Beauchamp, the official Swan Beauty of Fortree Gym, and I, Wallace Murphy, the Caped Prince of Sootopolis Gym, are very happily reunited as a couple again!”

Steven’s head whips towards Wallace in shock and surprise at his best friend’s rapid devolvement into a gooey romantic mess. Steven turns around to lock eyes with Winona. She rolls her eyes goodnaturedly at Wallace’s antics, assuaging Steven’s concerns slightly. Thankfully she seems perfectly okay with Wallace’s overly-dramatic retelling of their separation, how the distance has only made his heart grow fonder, how her beauty has only multiplied with each second that had passed, and other mushy lovesick confessions that Steven would rather not be privy to. Gratefully as well, Wallace has managed to redirect the reporters’ attention off of him and Flannery.

Steven finds his eyes shifting towards the girl in question, who’s holding hands tightly with the twins on either side of her. She looks remarkably stressed. As if she notices his soft gaze on her, she looks up, petrified expression melting into a nervous grin as their eyes meet.

Suddenly, the extent of missing her physical presence hits him like a sack of bricks. Work has been agonizingly busy and every free moment he’s had has been spent texting her, but messaging doesn’t compare in the slightest to seeing her radiant face in person again. For a moment, Wallace’s mushy nonsense is starting to make him a little emotional as well. It sends Steven reeling just the tiniest bit - it’s a bit mental how soppy he’s become over just a few days apart from her.

Finally, thankfully, Winona wrestles the microphone away from Wallace and interrupts him midway through his tale - the man’s so theatrical that he’s already started to cry hysterically, though Steven suspects that his tears might have been aided by some very handy eyedrops.

“Thank you, my dearest Wallace, for expounding so richly to members of the public on our deeply personal relationship with each other!” Winona scolds, but fortunately there’s no malice in her tone. “If there are no further questions, we would like to conclude this press conference. Any other queries can be directed to the Council via the relevant channels. Thank you all!”

With that, Winona firmly ushers everyone backstage, ignoring the calls of the press for them to continue their Q&A. Steven is herded along with the rest as the curtains finally fall, shielding them from the public so they can revert back to their normal personas.

“That went by really quickly!” Phoebe beams with glee. “It’s usually much longer than that!”

“That’s because you fell asleep on your feet, dumbass,” Sidney retorts. “I could see you swaying from next to Steven!”

The best friends start bickering again, but Steven tunes out their noise as he goes to find his beloved. She’s flanked by the twins who are hugging her tightly. She’s still trembling, her face contorted with a troubled expression as he reaches her side. That look on her face only spells bad things, and Steven feels himself start to worry.

“Are you doing alright?” He asks quietly, his hand going to find hers automatically.

She clutches at him tightly, her head stiffly shaking no. Steven frowns at this - they probably need to get somewhere quiet so she can calm down. It looks like she’s going to shut down any second now, and if he doesn’t rectify this quickly, she might end up dissolving into a panic attack in front of everyone.

“If anyone asks where we are…” Steven turns to Tate decisively, and the young boy strikes a salute.

“Liza’s done a mental map and she says there’s probably a conference room two lefts and then a right from here!” Tate chirps. “We will cover for you!”

Both twins stand to attention, identical cheeky grins on their faces. Steven relays a telepathic message of gratitude - knowing the two of them, they’re probably reading his mind right now without asking him for permission (as per usual), and ushers Flannery out of the current conference room. He doesn’t even stop to wonder why Liza of all people would need a telepathic map of the building.

She stumbles after him, breath stuttering and hand clenching his like it’s a lifeline. They make the two lefts and a right, and sure enough, there’s a small unlocked meeting room awaiting them - it looks to seat at most 6 people, and Steven reckons that it must be one of the tiny ones used for the other routine Council governmental duties for midlevel employees.

“Here, have a seat,” Steven pulls out a chair, and Flannery collapses on it heavily, her heaving breaths starting to come out more like choking sobs. Steven seats himself down just next to her, reaching out to envelop both her hands with his.

A feeling of helplessness overcomes him as he rubs circles with his thumbs over the back of her hands distractedly. He never knows quite what to do with himself during her attacks. Thankfully, after a few dreadful minutes, her sobs ebb into sniffles, and the attack has passed, leaving her normally exuberant self quite deflated and more emotionally fragile than usual.

“I-I’m sorry…” she begins to stutter an apology, her redrimmed eyes refusing to meet his worried ones, but Steven presses a kiss to her balled up fists, effectively silencing her.

She blushes furiously at his action, as Steven sighs, moving to press his cheek against her hands in a sign of affection. Gradually she relaxes her clenched fists, her cheeks staining a deep red.

“The reporters can get out of hand,” Steven speaks simply but directly. “People will talk about us - about you and definitely about me as well. It may take a bit of time, but it will blow over, and I am standing by your side throughout this.”

“They’re… really mean,” Flannery’s mouth twists in hurt. “And we’ve been getting visitors at home… Grandpa’s been quite stressed by it… he hasn’t slept in days, since he’s constantly on alert…”

Steven winces - Flannery had always been excited to get interviewed before they’d announced their relationship. Unfortunately, it looks like her naïveté has now been stolen from her.

“I’m sorry,” Steven sighs despondently. “That’s the downside of our jobs unfortunately. I know you’re not used to it…”

“It’s okay,” Flannery smiles tearfully. “I knew what I was getting into when I realized I loved you… it’s just a bit much today, along with the press con.”

She looks away sheepishly, before squeaking in embarrassment , “I thought you were very dashing and inspiring when you made your speech though!”

Steven can’t help the genuine smile on his face.

“I can only speak like that because of everyone by my side,” Steven replies. “Including you, of course.”

Flannery’s red cheeks deepen even more, and she pouts in retort - he admittedly quite enjoys witnessing this adorable reaction from her. It helps that it’s always easy to praise her too.

“Thank you for being with me,” Steven speaks honestly. “I know it’s hard, but we’ll get through this. You mean so much to me.”

“You mean a lot to me too,” Flannery replies him softly, warmth glowing in her ruby red eyes.

Steven straightens up, looking at his Poketch on his wrist, and his expression sours. They barely have ten minutes left together before he needs to get going for his next meeting at Devon.

Thankfully, he will finally have good news for his project’s investors - Captain Stern, the oceanographer working with Devon on this submarine project, has finally completed the final rounds of testing, and they are almost ready to launch their deep sea investigations into the mysterious extinct Pokemon known as Relicanth, as well as finally being able to map the seafloor caverns in Hoenn’s deep blue oceans. They are primarily looking to harvest new energy sources of course - a conglomerate like Devon has its fingers in many pies, but energy is one of their biggest.

Alas, he needs to part with his beloved soon or he will be late. She can see his despondency on his face, and her smile falters.

“You have to go?” She asks quietly.

Steven nods his head with deep regret. This project is one of the first ones he’s spearheaded on his own without his father’s involvement, and his convoluted relationship with the elder Stone is a whole other can of Dugtrio, so it’s entirely up to him to make sure that everything goes according to plan and the project is a success. Unfortunately it also includes appeasing investors who’ve been quite sour at the prolonged state of return on their capital investment.

“I’ll miss you,” Flannery says simply. “But we are going out on Friday night?”

“I’ve already made the reservations,” Steven confirms, brightening. “But I can spare some time now to drop you off at Lavaridge if you’d like? We can take Skarmory.”

The sunny smile on his beloved’s face is enough of an answer.

“Let me just get my task list from Glacia and we can go!” She affirms with delight.

Steven nods his head, getting up with her and following her back to the conference room, where most of his colleagues are still lingering, catching up or talking shop.

Flannery goes to speak to Glacia, so for a moment, Steven allows himself a cursory glance over his team of leaders and Elite Four that are scattered around the room.

Roxanne is standing with Brawly, explaining to him the different theories of Pokemon evolution with an authoritative tone. The toned surfer nods his head, smiling goofily at her - it’s quite clear that Brawly is completely engrossed in her passionate brown eyes, and not in her actual teaching, despite how exciting the topic of different gradings of evolutionary stones is. Wattson is teaching the twins some of his dastardly pranks, showing them that awful little zappy ring which he never fails to get Steven with. Winona is in deep but quiet conversation with Wallace, their fingers intertwined and their heads bowed together - it’s only around her that Wallace feels able to shed his performative persona. Drake is telling an attentive Norman of his stories at sea, and Sidney is chasing Phoebe around, yelling at her to call off her ghost friends from playing with his Mohawk. Glacia speaks quietly to Flannery, who is nodding her head vigorously - so vigorously that her spiky ponytail flops back and forth with the effort. Steven coughs to hide his amused smile - she’s always too cute.

He thinks to himself that he’s backed by an incredibly reliable team indeed, despite their quirks. In fact, he would say that their quirks add to the dynamics of their workplace. Roxanne keeps them all in line of course, and Wallace has the great public persona. Wattson keeps the mood light with his pranks and Tate and Liza are always adorable and wonderful to work with. Brawly and Winona are the most easygoing and affable folks, and always on hand to smooth over any sparks of animosity between. And his Elite Four as well - Glacia, always so dependable, with impeccable manners to boot. Drake, always so full of passion and wisdom about battling (and his sailing life). Phoebe, always full of hopes and dreams, inspiring everyone else at EverGrande to hope once again. And Sidney… always the brilliant but lazy guy that hatches up schemes to get off work.

Steven smiles to himself - indeed, he is supported by such reliable colleagues. Flannery bounds up to grab his hand, beaming brightly and illuminating his vision like the sun finally coming out from under a cloud.

“Ready to go?” She chirps, beaming at him.

Steven feels his smile grow in fondness as he gazes at her softly. He knows that despite their newness, she and Norman will have so much to contribute to the team dynamic. He’s truly quite excited to see what will happen and what events lie ahead.

“With you? Always,” Steven replies gently.

Flannery wrinkles her nose at his response, but the dusting of rosy red on her cheeks tells him the words have made their intended effect on her. Her reaction only causes his smile to grow wider.

They head out of the Council building, hand in hand, and soon, are off in the air, enroute to Lavaridge atop Skarmory’s broad back.

Steven can definitely feel the throb of anticipation in his heart - he knows for sure that it’s going to be a great year with Flannery and the rest by his side. He does not realise that he will come to regret this foolish hope of his, very, very soon.

Chapter Text

“Steven, you’ve tried on seven different cravats already, please for the love of Arceus can you just choose one and get out the door?!” Phoebe, groans sourly.

“I can’t believe you managed to piss even the eternal sunshine of the Elite Four off, Boss!” Sidney snickers, earning himself a pillow tossed straight to his face.

“If you keep dilly-dallying, the ship will leave the harbour without you, my Captain!” Drake bellows loudly from Steven’s living room, where he’s nursing a glass of scotch that he’d gladly helped himself to.

“I just want to look good for our first night out…” Steven twists his lip in a frown that unbeknownst to him looks more like a petulant pout.

“Steven, you have always been impeccably well-dressed,” Glacia covers her bored yawn with a polite hand. “And Drake makes a clear point - being late for your first date as a couple does not make a good impression.”

Steven sighs wearily, running a stressed hand through his tousled head of hair. As always, the Lady of the Elite Four makes good sense.

“Yea, her grandpa might actually kill you - for a fire-type specialist, Mr Moore’s glare could freeze even Hell over!” Sidney adds, shivering for good measure.

“What matters more is your heart, Steven! Your heart!” Phoebe cries out passionately, before adding mischievously, “and your kiss goodbye, of course!”

Steven flinches at the thought - he’s not that averse to small pecks here and there, but he knows Phoebe’s really talking about the kind of sappy slobbering smooch in the pouring rain that’s always in the climax of those cheesy romcoms she’s obsessed with (and forced Sidney to watch with her). For a person who’s wholeheartedly unpartnered (by her own choice too!), she really is a concerningly arduous fan of the romance in other people’s lives.

Phoebe had basically invited herself & the rest of the Elite Four to his home when he’d told them that he was taking a half day today, as he needed time to get ready for his night out with Flannery. He couldn’t bear to reject his colleague’s passionate pleas - Phoebe’s been rooting for the two of them from the start, and it’s hard not to have a soft spot for the youngest Elite Four member.

He’s scheduled pretty much every romantic thing he can think of into tonight. They’ll be having dinner at the omakase restaurant in Lilycove Premier Palace, the glitziest hotel in Lilycove City. He’s flown in the head chef from Kalos, made sure to highlight Flannery’s sobriety, and also booked out the whole restaurant so they could have the place to themselves. After dinner, they’re going to take a ride through the scenic part of the city in a Rapidash-drawn carriage. And their first evening out together wouldn’t be complete without the most gorgeous bouquet of fresh ruby red roses for her of course, which he’d specially imported from Floarama Town’s finest rose gardens.

Tonight must be special. It’s not just Flannery’s first date with him - it’s her first date with a boyfriend ever. She’d told him that she’d been on a couple of first dates here and there, but had always got too anxious to ever get into a serious relationship. The stakes are surely high, and he feels the immense pressure to not only meet, but to exceed the expectations that come with being her first official partner. A girl like her only deserves the best and the finest, and he’s more than willing to bend over backwards for her every desire.

“Earth to Steven? Are you still here?” Phoebe whines, waving her hand in front of his face to catch his attention. “Did you finally pick your fancy neck ribbon?”

Steven sighs beleagueredly.

“I suppose this one will have to do…” he scowls at his paltry reflection. “There’s no time to try another on. And it’s called a cravat, Phoebe. I’m not a pet Skitty.”

“Thank Arceus, we can go home!” Sidney declares dramatically. “Question - can I bill this as overtime?”

“I suggest you don’t try your luck, Sidney,” Glacia covers an amused smirk with her fan, but her mouth twists uncomfortably when she glances in Steven’s direction.

“Steven… I’m quite a bit older than you, so I feel that I must say this… but don’t forget to enjoy yourself too,” she speaks gently.

Steven stares at her quizzically. His idea of enjoyment is making sure his girlfriend has fun, and that she is wowed by his gentlemanly demeanor and awed by the perfect first date.

“Yes Boss, she fell in love with you for who you are, not what you can give her,” Sidney adds uncharacteristically seriously.

Arceus, now Sidney of all people is trying to give him advice. Steven frowns at him - is he trying to tease him again?

“Oh young love, like the crashing tide! It overwhelms me so!” Drake croaks wistfully, his voice starting to choke up with emotion.

“That is likely our cue to go,” Glacia speaks up drily, and she starts to shepherd the rest of the team out like a flock of Mareep.

“Focus on your heart, Steven!” Is Phoebe’s last holler to him before the front door slams shut, and the house is empty and silent once again.

Steven frowns as he belatedly realizes that he had not had the wherewithal to offer them anything to drink, given how preoccupied his mind has been.

Flannery would probably have remembered to, if she was here. He can’t help the flush of excitement as he thinks about her - he’s kept her waiting too long, hasn’t he?

Steven slips his best dress shoes on, shoving Glacia’s and Sidney’s warnings unceremoniously to the back of his mind, like the overstuffed closet it is, and heads out to where his chauffeur is waiting.

—-
An hour’s drive later, Raymond parks the car just around the corner from the Moore house.

“Won’t be long, Raymond,” Steven notifies his driver, before striding out the car with the magnificent bunch of roses in hand.

They’re stunning indeed, if he could say so himself - he’s had them specially flown in from Sinnoh just this morning after all. The petals are a luscious scarlet, velvet to the touch, and the stems are trimmed completely of thorns, so she won’t get pricked when she holds them.

He imagines the flowers will pale next to her though, given how radiant she always is.

The excitement mixed with nervousness courses through his veins at the thought of seeing Flannery again - they’ve barely had a proper face to face conversation since the Hoenn League Gala when he’d confessed his feelings to her, bar that short catch-up after the press conference. Arceus, he can’t wait.

Steven rings the doorbell, bouncing on the balls of his feet with nervous energy. Regrettably though, it is Flannery’s crotchety old grandfather who answers the door.

“Mr Moore,” Steven greets politely, trying not to crane his neck to look around the old man and catch a glimpse of his red-haired girlfriend. “It’s good to see you again. How are you?”

“Mr Stone,” Mr Moore greets dourly. “My health has been manageable. I have a lot more free time now and most of it is spent at the hot springs, which has admittedly put more stride in my step.”

He pauses for a moment, and quirks an eyebrow.

“I suppose these roses are a gift for Flannery, but you did not get anything for me?”

Steven’s stomach falls to his feet in horror - should he have gotten a gift for her grandfather as well? Would that have been the polite thing to do? He wonders in panic if he should ask Raymond to nip out to get something, but thankfully Mr Moore’s gruff expression cracks, and the elder lets out an uncharacteristic huff of laughter.

“My apologies, I’ve never gotten the chance to tease any of Flannery’s dates before,” the old man confesses with a wily smirk. “Come in, Flannery’s still getting ready.”

Steven exhales with obvious relief, and follows the hunched old man into the house. He hadn’t expected Flannery’s grandfather to act like that, and the change in Mr Moore’s disposition has him reeling slightly. The fact that the elder is keen on joking with him though, seems to bode well.

He takes his shoes off and tucks them away neatly before Mr Moore leads him into their living room.

“I suppose you must have some questions for me regarding my relationship with Flannery?” Steven asks, as he settles himself into the kotatsu.

He’s quite sure the older man has lots of grilling in store for him, given that they’d gotten together so quickly after their trip around Hoenn. Mr Moore can be protective of his granddaughter, and if possible, Steven wants to assuage his every concern. He is her only known relative left after all, and Flannery dearly adores her grandfather.

“Hmm… truthfully speaking, Mr Stone,” Mr Moore answers seriously, after a short pause. “I’m quite glad that she has you now.”

Steven blinks - how unexpected. Mr Moore is just full of surprises today, isn’t he?

“She’s been alone for so long, ever since her parents passed away,” Mr Moore admits. “She’s always been attached to me since then, and as we’ve discovered… it’s not the healthiest relationship. Now that she has you and the rest of the League, it feels like she has more people in her corner. And… I must confess, you are a well brought-up young man, and you treat her with respect and sincerity. I can see that you genuinely care for her, and for that, I give you my blessing.”

Steven feels his cheeks warm at the generous words from the Moore patriarch. He knows that the old man is not particularly open-handed with praise, and to be complimented so highly by him does warm Steven’s soul.

“But if you ever make her cry, I will have Charizard barbecue you like a roasted pig,” Mr Moore’s voice drops low and menacing, and Steven gulps with trepidation, the warmth in his soul rapidly draining away like an unplugged sink.

“I can assure you that it will be the least of my intentions to do so,” he replies, trying not to let his voice tremble in fear.

Mr Moore nods approvingly, before he shuffles off wordlessly, presumably to alert Flannery of Steven’s arrival.

When he knocks on her bedroom door, Steven hears a flurry of muffled high pitched shrieks emitting from her room down the hall. Steven stifles a chuckle when he recognizes the voices. It seems that Winona and Roxanne are here as well, though for what reason he’s not entirely sure. Maybe they’d invited themselves over as moral support like his Elite Four had… He grimaces at the thought - hopefully Flannery hasn’t been similarly accosted.

And then he hears a door slam, and Mr Moore brings into the living room, the most ethereal fairy Steven’s seen in his life.

He feels his jaw fall open as time seems to slow to a stop. Her ballerina dress sparkles in the glow of artificial light like it’s spun of threads of diamond. Her hair is out of its regular ponytail, instead curled in soft waves that flow down her back like a red carpet made of woven silk. Her eyes, hauntingly bright like garnet, shine as they meet his own, and her cheeks redden as she returns his ogling with her own.

Steven is momentarily stunned by how she looks, and he’s sure he’s gaping like a Goldeen, because the pint sized Roxanne is suddenly in his field of vision, crowing with delight and blocking his view.

“We cleaned her up good, didn’t we, Steven? We deserve a little praise, at least!” The pigtailed menace grins cheekily.

Steven allows himself a heavy sigh at Roxanne’s usual antics, as Winona tugs Flannery closer, a similar grin etched onto her own face.

He can’t quite find words to speak as Winona places Flannery’s hands in his, and he takes a minute to just marvel at her again. Somehow, she’s even more stunning up close. Her skin is spotless, and her eyes are framed with long, spidery lashes. Her cheeks are peachy pink and her lips have been painted with a light layer of gloss.

“W-why aren’t you saying anything?” Flannery croaks awkwardly, her voice coming out slightly sheepish. “D-do I look weird?”

From the corner of his vision, Steven can see Winona slapping a hand onto Roxanne’s mouth and restraining her from yelling as he looks deeply into her eyes, and raises a hand to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.

“Breathtaking,” he whispers. “You look breathtaking.”

Flannery positively glows red and he can see the steam about to come out of her ears, so he quickly offers her the roses before she explodes out of embarrassment.

“These are for you,” Steven smiles, and Flannery accepts the flowers shyly, holding them to her face to hide her flushed cheeks.

He was right, Steven notes offhandedly. The roses do pale in comparison to her.

“Where will we be going?” She asks, glancing up at him from behind her rose bouquet.

“My driver, Raymond will be taking us to Lilycove,” Steven replies, smiling broadly. “I’ve got a wonderful night planned for us.”

“Have her home by midnight,” Mr Moore orders, folding his arms crossly as Flannery buries her face into the flowers in mortification.

“Not a second later,” Steven agrees seriously, offering his hand to shake.

The elder stares at the offered hand for a second, and then accepts the handshake firmly.

A gentlemen’s oath has been formed.

“Shall we go?” Steven turns to his beloved, who beams brightly and links her elbow with his.

Things are definitely off to a swimming start.
—-
Except they almost immediately begin going off course the moment the car starts driving away from Lavaridge.

“How has your first week of leading the gym gotten on?” Steven asks conversationally as he rubs the back of her knuckles of with his thumb . “I hope Glacia hasn’t worked you too hard.”

Flannery immediately chuckles nervously as the car glides on silently into the night.

“N-n-no! Glacia’s a f-f-fantastic mentor! She’s very… umm… professional! She really knows her stuff!” She immediately babbles frantically. “She’s always at the gym every afternoon to train me and… she’s so… umm… meticulous at her job!”

Translation: she’s a cold blooded slave driver.

Steven sighs sympathetically, wondering how to approach this subject delicately. Glacia has always been the utmost professional at all aspects of her job, given her high society background back home in Galar. It’s only expected of folks of her caliber to be more than stellar at their work after all, and Steven had been raised with similar expectations upon himself.

Unfortunately, Glacia’s perfectionist work ethic means quite the steep learning curve for mentees under her, especially when they’re newbies like Flannery. Additionally, Glacia isn’t known as the Ice Queen of Hoenn for nothing - her demeanor can be quite detached/cold, and contrasts completely with Flannery’s warm and sunny personality.

“Do you want me to ask her to tone it down a little? She can get rather intense about work matters…” Steven smiles apologetically. “They’re built different up north.”

“I just have to keep up,” Flannery sighs tiredly, the corners of her lips turning downwards in a frustrated pout. “I feel like I’m not working hard enough…”

“No more nonsense like that from you,” Steven admonishes. “You work just as hard as the rest of us. You’re still new, so don’t be so hard on yourself.”

From her downtrodden demeanour, he can tell that Flannery isn’t used to the Lady of the Elite Four’s icy disposition. He had initially been a tad worried about how the two of them would work off each other, being almost polar opposites, but he knows that underneath Glacia’s cool exterior, she has a heart of gold. It is quite similar to Flannery’s own, though just not as obvious on first glance. After all, his girlfriend is very much an open book, and ridiculously easy to read, whilst Glacia holds all of her cards to herself.

“Would you say…” Flannery breaks the thoughtful silence quietly, staring at their joined hands with lowered eyelashes, her voice getting nervous again. “Would you say I deserve a reward? For working so hard?”

“I dare say that you do,” Steven smiles pleasantly.

And then before he knows it, she’s suddenly pressing her lips against his - in his panic, Steven flails backwards, almost throwing himself against the car door in his haste to get away. His heart pounds heavily as they share a loaded, heavy stare with each other - her eyes are wide with shock at his reaction.

There’s a pin-drop silence, tension as thick as cement, as Steven struggles to gather his bearings after that unexpected kiss. Oh Arceus. Oh Arceus. He shouldn’t have reacted that way, no matter how averse he is to physical intimacy sprung on him like that. Not to his bloody girlfriend at least!

“Is… is everything okay?” Flannery mumbles, chewing her lip anxiously - it’s quite clear his rejection has wounded her, given the angry flush of her cheeks and the obvious hurt in her eyes.

He can’t even meet her searching gaze - the guilt and shame keeps his head hanging low and his horrified eyes trained on his lap.

After all, he’s always suspected that a major reason why his ex Cynthia had unceremoniously tossed him out of her life like garbage six years ago, aside from her post-graduate internship offer back home in Sinnoh, had been his revulsion towards acts of physical intimacy. Throughout their entire three years of dating, he can count on one hand the number of times they had kissed for more than a couple of minutes, and every time she’d gotten too handsy with him, he’d had to slam the brakes immediately. Cynthia had been frustrated with his prudishness, and he’d done everything he’d felt able to to keep her from leaving… but she still did.

He winces at the sudden intrusive thoughts of his ex - they bring with them the familiar rush of self-loathing and shame about his aversion to intimacy. He’s never really spoken with anyone besides Wallace and to a lesser extent, Winona, about his sexuality. Just the very idea of Flannery potentially cutting him out like Cynthia had in the past puts an acrid taste in his mouth.

Flannery’s lips are pursed as she casts her eyes downwards. “I’m s-sorry if I upset you…”

“I-it’s not that…” Steven hastily clarifies, wracking his brains to think of something to rectify the situation. “I just… I just need some time to adjust.”

“… okay…” Flannery’s voice is doleful, and her eyes are still pointed at her lone fist that scrunches up her dress in her lap. They’re still connected through their entwined hands, but it feels like she’s a thousand feet away rather than sitting just beside him.

He needs to fix things, and soon, or Flannery will cry and he’s going to end up charred to a crisp as Charizard’s supper. Or even worse, she dumps him like Cynthia had - but Steven can hardly bear to entertain the thought.

He chooses to hold their interlaced fingers up to his lips, pressing a soft kiss onto her knuckles. She looks at him again, eyes softening as she takes in his apologetic gaze.

“I just need some time,” he murmurs softly.

This he can do. Soft, easy kisses on her fingers, cheeks, forehead. Anywhere more intimate feels dangerous, and lip to lip contact is almost like launching himself out of a cannon straight into enemy grounds. Even thinking about it makes him nauseous.

Flannery looks slightly more appeased after that show of affection, but the swirling feeling in Steven’s gut tells him that the troubles aren’t over.

Things only get worse when they finally get to the hotel.

Flannery’s big red eyes are even bigger as she takes in the luxurious sights. Steven’s personally not that big a fan of this place - it’s much too glitzy and glamorous for his taste, but if ever there was a time for such a level of opulence, it’s tonight, when he desperately needs to impress his new girlfriend. Especially now, with what just happened earlier - he needs to get back into her best books indeed.

Raymond pulls the car into the driveway. Flannery immediately makes a move to open the car door, but Steven stops her.

“Don’t worry, the valet will get it,” he smiles welcomingly.

Flannery’s gaze flits from Steven to the car door, and back to Steven again, an obvious look of confusion on her face.

“B-but… I can open the door myself though?” She asks awkwardly. “I’m only carrying a handbag…”

Just as she says this, there’s a rap on Steven’s side door. The valet stands at alert outside, smiling cheerfully at the couple.

“The staff here only want to serve you at the highest standards and make your night one to remember,” Steven reminds, causing Flannery’s cheeks to warm - she looks almost embarrassed, and he can’t help the worried frown at her unprecedented reaction.

They have yet to enter the building, but Steven already feels sick with fear that things have already gone off-track. He must fix this. He breathes evenly to steady his throbbing heartbeat, then offers a hand to Flannery. She hesitates a moment, then gently grasps onto his outstretched palm. Steven nods to the valet, signaling for him to go.

The door opens and Steven strides out, Flannery clinging to him anxiously. He puts on a polite smile on his face as the uniformed boy greets him eagerly.

“Good evening Mr Stone, Ms Moore! It’s so lovely to have you both at the Lilycove Premier Palace today. The General Manager Ms Felicia Nobito is waiting for you in the lobby,” the valet smiles warmly. “I will take you to her, whilst one of our other valets will help your chauffeur with your vehicle.”

Steven nods courteously to the young man, and Flannery hurriedly squeaks a “hello!” alongside, and they make their way into the Premier Palace Inn.

As they make their way through the hotel lobby, heads turn to watch them, and Steven automatically straightens his stance in response - there are quite a number of Devon associates he recognises here. Several people come forward to chat, and Steven quickly loses count of the number of people he’s speaking to. Flannery is quiet, clinging tightly to his arm - he supposes she must be nervous around so many strangers. He tries to introduce her to these new faces anyway, as a formality, but he can hardly get a word in edgewise.

“It’s great that you finally found someone, Steven my lad!” Mr Chow, a big time shipping magnate bellows with laughter. “I’ve tried to introduce you to my daughter so many times but you always refused! I must tell you, I almost dropped my morning coffee when I read the news of your new relationship! Your father and I were wondering if he’d ever have any grandkids!”

Steven laughs faux-genially along with the portly older man - selfishly, he’s quite glad that Flannery is here, since she provides a good shield from the usual offering of every single family member (some twice his age or god-forbid, half…) to him.

“I’m sure your daughter will also find someone who makes her happy, just like I have,” Steven dips his head deferently. “I’m very thankful that my father thinks very highly of Flannery as well.”

“Oh Stephanie will find somebody… she’s just upset that she missed out on a dreamboat like you!” Mr Chow grins merrily as a woman in a office suit pops into view, noticeably trying to get Steven’s attention. Steven glances at her, and she approaches.

“My apologies, Mr Stone, Mr Chow, Ms Moore,” she greets with a welcoming smile on her face.“My name is Felicia, and I’m the General Manager of this hotel. It’s lovely to have you grace us with your presence today.”

Steven nods at Felicia in greeting, but Flannery just clutches tightly at his arm, her eyes stubbornly directed to her feet. It really isn’t like her to be this silent, but Steven chalks it up to nerves - it’s probably, definitely, hopefully, just nerves.

“I understand you have a reservation at our world-renowned top floor restaurant tonight - let me lead you to the lifts, and I’ll get you both settled in for your evening with us.”

Steven nods, and follows Felicia as she walks swiftly to the lifts. Flannery’s grip on his elbow is getting tighter and tighter, and Steven can’t help the grimace. It’s cute that she’s being so shy all of a sudden, but he would prefer to have a regular amount of blood circulation in his bicep.

They reach the lift lobby, where a teenager in a smart uniform stands at alert, megawatt grin on his face.

“Good evening Mr Stone, Ms Moore!” The young man greets cheerfully. “Our world-renowned restaurant is on the 40th floor. Let me get the lift for you.”

Steven nods to him in acknowledgment.

“How do they know our names…?” Flannery leans in to whisper as they wait for the lift.

She sounds rather terrified, and Steven makes haste to reassure her. The incident with the reporters in her garden must have stressed her out quite a bit.

“I’ve reserved the whole restaurant for the night, so we are the only people they’ll be serving this evening,” Steven smiles comfortingly. “They like to make a personal connection with their guests, especially the important ones.”

Upon hearing this, Flannery only replies with a tremulous quirk of her lips, but when Steven looks at her with question, she quickly flits her gaze away.

The lift doors ding open, and a peppy blonde girl waits for them in the lift.

“Good evening Mr Stone, Ms Moore! Hope you have a lovely time today at the Lilycove Premier Palace!” The young woman chirps as the couple and Felicia enter.

“It must have been quite a journey for you both to get here,” Felicia notes, as the lift doors close behind them. “I hope that the travel was not too difficult?”

“Lilycove is a special place for both of us,” Steven smiles conversationally. “I wanted to make sure Flannery gets to experience one of the finest hotels that the city has to offer as well.”

“Thank you for the generous compliment, Mr Stone,” Felicia bows her head in gratitude. “We are always glad to serve guests as esteemed as yourself.”

Steven’s expression freezes - something about that statement rubs him the wrong way for some reason. He realizes with a start that no one has really addressed Flannery in conversation since they stepped out of the car, and they’ve all preferred to talk to him instead. Could there be some reason why…?

He can’t really afford the thinking energy though, given that the subject in question is wringing his arm dry with how tight she’s squeezing it.

“Is everything ok?” Steven leans in to murmur. “Your grip is a little tight.”

Flannery jumps in mortification and hastily flings Steven’s arm away. He’s overwhelmed with both relief at the pins and needles in his bicep and concern for her wellbeing as she twists her lip uncomfortably.

“E-e-everything’s fine,” she stammers, mustering up a nervous smile. “J-just a little nervous. This place is massive…”

She has a point, Steven notes, staring around at their environment. The restaurant is on the top floor of the hotel, and it has 40 floors - they’re taking the fast lift up of course, but it must be a bit daunting for her especially when she hails from a small town like Lavaridge .

“Don’t be nervous,” Steven whispers back. “Tonight’s all about you and me, wining and dining and having the perfect first date.”

Flannery doesn’t answer him but she does nod her head slightly as the lift slows to a stop. They’ve finally arrived, and Steven can’t help the throbbing of his heart and the growing queasiness. Her nerves are starting to rub off on him now too.

Felicia strides out and hands them over to a waitstaff who’s standing by the lift.

“I’ll leave you both in the hands of my capable colleague,” Felicia smiles. “They will let me know when you have finished your meal, and I will come back to get you for the next part of your night.”

Flannery immediately reaches for Steven’s elbow again, and he gladly offers it. He must admit, he quite enjoys her clinging to him so tightly, though the way she’s trembling has him slightly concerned. Hopefully with the meal coming up, she’d feel a little better.

The waitstaff leads them to their table - he’d made sure that they could sit by the large ceiling to floor windows so they could have a view. Steven holds the chair open for Flannery, and she hurriedly seats herself, her face disconcertingly expressionless. Steven can’t help the grimace as he goes to seat himself as well. She’s been looking awfully uncomfortable the whole night.. is there any way he can get things back in working order?

A polished crystal wineglass is placed on his side of the table.

“Mr Stone, our chef personally brought this 20-year-aged Bordeaux from Kalos for you, as you indicated in your arrangement with us that you prefer red wine,” the waiter shows him the bottle.

Steven nods with approval as he purveys the brand of the wine, and the waiter goes to fill his glass. The wine seems to have been made in Vaniville Town in Kalos - from what Steven knows, the town itself is quite small, but their vineyards and winemaking processes are world-renowned.

After he finishes pouring Steven’s glass of wine, he walks around to Flannery’s side of the table. It seems she hadn’t even noticed the staff next to her until he speaks to her, and she bolts upright, red eyes wide like a Deerling in headlights.

“Ms Moore, we understand that you do not partake in alcohol, so our chef has personally prepared for you a fresh cold-pressed fruit juice with some seltzer,” the waiter smiles affably.

Flannery’s eye twitches, and she mumbles out a quiet “thank you”. After he pours Flannery’s glass of juice, the waiter bows in deference and leaves the two of them alone.

Finally, he has her all to himself. Flannery’s expression however, is less than pleased. She’s paler than normal, and she’s even shivering the slightest bit. Steven frowns - could she be feeling cold? She’s not wearing much other than that heavenly dress she has on, and even then it’s quite a short one.

He makes eye contact with the waiter, who’s standing to the side. The young man comes over quickly, and Steven quietly relays his instructions to him. The waiter nods, and hastily makes his leave. Within a minute, the restaurant becomes much warmer.

Hopefully that does the trick.

Flannery looks up in surprise, a bit of colour returning to her face. Steven can’t help the grin of relief - she’s finally looking at him.

“You seemed a little uncomfortable, so I thought to ask them to adjust the thermostat for us,” Steven smiles. “I know how much you like the heat, after all.”

Flannery stifles a small giggle at that, and Steven breathes a sigh of relief. It seems the tide is slowly returning to his favour.

“I’m glad to hear that training at the gym is going well,” Steven picks up his wine glass, sipping from it with ease. “Have you been able to do anything else during the time we’ve been apart?”

Flannery frowns in concentration, and her words come out in a slightly stilted manner.

“I-I-I g-guess I’ve been… helping Grandpa…” she stammers. “H-how about you? How is work?”

Steven grimaces as he’s reminded of the one reason why he hasn’t seen her in person until today.

“It’s been busy with the submarine project,” he sighs. “I’ve just had so much to do, and so many meetings to oversee, and I feel terrible for not being able to contact you much this week. The project is in its final stages, and we are just about ready to launch, but we keep running into technical issues. The submarine needs to be able to hold a living crew so we’re being extra stringent with the safety tests. It’s imperative that our scientists are kept safe as they explore the deep sea near Sootopolis.”

“W-what’s it like under there?” She asks breathlessly, her ruby red eyes wide with curiosity.

Steven’s eyebrows quirk upwards - nobody’s really asked him this question before. Nobody at the League has ever really cared that much about the work that Devon does, and most of his associates only really care about their profit margins and how worthy an investment the projects are.

To be completely honest, he doesn’t hate this project. The entire concept of deep sea exploration is gloriously riveting to him. The deep trenches of Hoenn’s seas are endlessly mysterious, especially with the recent discovery of living specimens of the mysterious fish-like Pokemon named Relicanth, which scientists had previously thought had been extinct for millions of years. And not to mention - sea caves…

He suddenly realises that he’s left Flannery hanging, and coughs to compose himself.

“Hmm… I can’t say I’ve been there personally myself, though I would love to experience it one day,” Steven muses. “This is Hoenn’s first foray into deep sea exploration - there’s been rumours of a long extinct Pokémon sighted. You’ve met Cradily - she was resurrected from a fossil, alongside her brother Armaldo. Unlike them, this Pokémon species is said to have continued to persist for millions of years, though scientists in the past were quite sure that it had gone extinct a few million years ago. Recently a few fishermen have alerted us to a mysterious unidentifiable catch that looks nothing like anything they’ve seen before, and from pictures and specimens obtained from them, there’s an interesting similarity between these fish Pokemon and the fossils we currently have.”

Talking about the aims of this project reminds him of the boring Pokeyen signs he’s actually meant to be responsible for, as opposed to the much more interesting bits of deep sea adventuring.

“Unfortunately, rather than dealing with the nuts and bolts of the project itself, I’m in charge of approving the finances for it…” Steven grimaces. “The project has gone overbudget unfortunately due to all of the testing we’ve had to send the submarine through, and my team needs to be able to find a way to appease the investors, hence the long meetings.”

Flannery clearly notices how gloomy Steven feels about his role in the project, as she reaches over and places her smaller hand on top of his. The gentle press of her fingertips into his skin sends sparks of electricity up his nerves. She rubs his knuckles with her thumb comfortingly, and Steven can’t help the warm blush descending on his cheeks.

“I’m sure your dad knows how capable you are, and that you’ve worked really hard on this project,” Flannery smiles softly.

The blush deepens, and Steven can’t help but avert his eyes from her. It’s almost humiliating that just a few simple words from her can evoke such a reaction from him, but he also can’t help but feel addicted to the rush of warmth that floods into his chest.

“Have you managed to get some rest in between though?” Flannery asks, her full lips pursing in question.

Steven cocks his head in thought.

“I suppose I’ve been sleeping most nights, but I haven’t really had a real meal for a while,” he wonders aloud. “We’ve just been ordering takeout for the office. If my team is still working, I need to be there with them as well. It wouldn’t be very fair otherwise.”

Flannery gasps aloud at that, an indignant frown coming onto her face. Steven hides a chuckle - he will never tire of that emotional transparency. He can already hear the gears turning in her head about how to get him to eat healthier, and he’s tempted to suggest for her to join him for lunch at work next time. It would be awfully mean of him to monopolize her free time like that though, given that her new mentor already runs her ragged.

He notices the waiter approaching them from the corner of his eye.

“Speaking of food, it seems our dinner has arrived,” Steven smiles in acknowledgement of the waiter.

A look of genuine excitement crosses Flannery’s face for the first time since they’d left Lavaridge.

And then it drops almost immediately, as the waiter places the plates in front of them. Steven can’t help but flinch at the whiplash of emotions, and a foreboding feeling starts to swirl in his gut.

“W-what are we having…?” Her voice hitches anxiously.

He looks down at his own plate. They’re having an 8 course meal, starting with an appetizer of Arborio rice stewed in a beurre blanc sauce. It’s fine dining at its very finest - surely Flannery would appreciate such an experience?

“This restaurant specializes in a fusion of Kalosian and Hoennese cuisine. The dishes are based on Kalosian flavours with a Hoennese style of presentation and cooking, namely the omakase style, which means every dish is up to the chef’s discretion. The hotel’s head chef has specially flown in from Kalos for tonight,” Steven relays.

Everything that happens next seems to do so in slow motion. Flannery abruptly leaps to her feet, sending her chair clattering backwards. In her haste, she knocks over her crystal glass, spilling the deep red juice onto the finely woven white fabric of her dress.

Her face crumples and her chest heaves for air as she chokes out, “I-I-i n-need air-“

Steven jumps to his feet in dismay, but she’s already taken off running with tears streaming down her face.

Good Lord Arceus - she’s so distraught. His heart weighs heavy in his chest, and the familiar fingers of terror clutch around the organ.

He’s definitely, royally mucked up.

Chapter Text

The Poryphone trills an obnoxious amount of times before Wallace finally picks up.

“Hello?” His best friend’s voice is harried, possibly upset at the intrusion, but Steven isn’t in the right frame of mind to feel sorry about disturbing him.

“Arceus, Wallace,” Steven utters, his voice thick with emotion. “I’ve ruined it. It’s over.”

“Steven? What’s going on? I thought you were on a date with Flannery?” Wallace’s voice immediately takes on a tone of concern. “Where is she?”

Steven squeezes his eyes shut, willing himself not to cry as that awful broken look on her face continues to reverberate in his skull like it’s been seared into his brain.

“I can’t find her - she’s run off crying,” Steven bites his lip to prevent from choking up. “Arceus, Wallace, I’ve ruined everything, and I’ve hurt her. You should’ve seen the look on her face! I’m a terrible boyfriend and -“

“Steven, please just tell me what happened, remember what I told you about overthinking?” Wallace replies patiently - there’s shuffling in the background and a quiet murmuring. “Noni’s with me as well. We’re here for you.”

“She’s been cagey all night, ever since…” Steven trails off, his heart dropping even further. “Ever since she tried to kiss me in the car.”

There’s a moment of silence, before Wallace clicks his tongue sympathetically.

“I suppose you reacted as per usual?” Comes Wallace’s voice, soft and steady with concern.

Steven can’t bear to answer, the vice grip clenched around his heart is much too tight.

She’s going to leave him because of this. Just like…

“Flannery isn’t Cynthia, Steven,” Wallace reminds him, but the words fall on deaf ears.

There’s a rustling and some arguing going on in the background and suddenly it’s Winona on the phone.

“Arceus, Steven, what happened?! She was so excited to see you earlier!” Winona exclaims. “Walk it through with us - you’re on speakerphone.”

Steven takes a slow, shuddering breath.

“I took her to Lilycove Premier Palace for dinner and drinks at the omakase restaurant,” he reels off robotically. “She looked like she wasn’t feeling well all night, but the first meal must have been the straw on the Camerupt’s back or something because she just burst into tears and ran off. I don’t know where she is… I don’t know what to do, guys. I don’t.”

That was the worst breakdown he’d ever witnessed from her - and he’d been the cause of it. Because he was too prudish to kiss her back, he’d hurt her and she probably just wanted to go home and abandon the date. And he’d still forced her through it even when he-

“… it was the dress, wasn’t it?” Winona’s voice is pained. “Flannery asked me to lend her something because she didn’t know if she’d have anything suitable to wear - I should’ve brought her something else when we saw it was a bit too tight but Flannery told me not to bother… The poor dear, she must have been so uncomfortable all night! Oh Arceus, Steven I’m so so sorry - I’ve ruined the night for you! She must hate me so much right now!”

She probably hates us both, Winona… Steven thinks to himself miserably.

“Both of you, stop kicking yourselves - we obviously have an emergency on our hands. Steven, can you go find her? Noni and I will come immediately and meet you at the hotel - we’ll take my Sky Car,” Wallace immediately takes charge.

“And I’ll bring you guys a change of clothes!” Winona adds firmly.

Steven runs his hand through his hair once again in agitation, that petrified look on her face seared vividly onto his mind like it’s been stamped with a hot iron.

“Steven, don’t overthink this - Noni and I are coming. We will sort this out once we’re there,” Wallace tells him sternly. “Flannery isn’t Cynthia - not in the slightest. If you talk to her about how you feel, I’m sure she would understand. That girl would empathize with one of your rocks if it could communicate with her.”

Steven can’t help the watery chuckle at Wallace’s quip - he definitely can’t deny that Flannery’s kindness is one of her star qualities.

He mumbles an affirmative and ends the call. He needs to drag his mind away from Cynthia leaving him right now and focus on finding the girl who occupies his heart now and do or say anything to win her back.

With a firm resolve, he runs - no, sprints, to find her.
—-
It’s not hard to find her at all. She hasn’t run far, as it’s clear the breakdown has winded her. She’d just ended up crouched into a corner beyond the hallway, wheezing and stifling sobs at the same time. Her hands are cupped tightly around her mouth and her eyes squeezed shut, overflowing with tears, and not for the first time, Steven feels utterly powerless in the face of her disorder.

He approaches her slowly and carefully, like a wild Pokemon in the safari zone. She notices him nearing, and buries her face in her hands, emitting louder sobs as she starts to shake with effort.

To hell with the carefulness - he hurriedly shrugs off his jacket, and wraps it around her before pulling her unceremoniously into a tight embrace.

Thankfully, she does not shove him away. Instead, she sags into his caged arms, burying her face into his chest as she sobs. He’s filled with relief that she hasn’t rejected him, but at the same time, filled with the guilt for having caused this breakdown in the first place. He distracts himself from his contradictory feelings by mumbling soft words of comfort into her hair, and stroking her arms gently to aid her in calming down.

It takes a while to work, but Flannery finally stops leaking like a faucet, though her face is still stubbornly buried into his chest. Steven crushes her in his embrace, feelings of agony twisting his heart to pieces.

“I don’t know how to make it up to you,” he finally utters, his tone full of grief. “I keep making you cry. I’m so sorry that I’ve messed up.”

“W-why are you… apologising?” Her tearful voice is muffled by his chest. “I-I’m the one who… who upset you…”

“I should be the one saying that,” Steven leans downwards to rest his chin on top of her head as he cages her protectively in his arms. “You’ve been looking uncomfortable all night.“

Steven swallows thickly as he prepares himself for what to say next.

“I… I’m sorry about what happened in the car,” Steven says carefully. “I hadn’t meant to upset you so much with my reaction.”

Flannery shakes her head stubbornly, still refusing to look up.

“I-it wasn’t that, I should’ve asked you first before trying to kiss you…” she mumbles into his chest, her voice coming out more frustrated than anything. “I just…”

Relief floods into him - she hadn’t been upset by the rejection of her spontaneous kiss after all. But why had she reacted like this then?

“Flannery, can you look at me please?” Steven asks softly, his hand finding her cheek.

Flannery’s face remains stubbornly glued to his chest, as she shakes her head no emphatically.

“… I-I look like a m-mess right now,” Flannery mumblesbsheepishly. “You won’t think I’m pretty… when I’m covered in s-snot…”

Steven lets out a throaty laugh at her admission, and she huffs under her breath in return. Still, his hand remains on her cheek, and with some coaxing, she finally meets his gaze.

Her makeup is smeared - gone are the spidery lashes, now just grey blotches circling her luminous red eyes. Her bangs are mussed up into cowlicks, and her nose is rubbed red and raw.

“You are so much more beautiful than I’ve ever imagined,” Steven utters, smiling in adoration.

Flannery blushes scarlet and scoffs in embarrassment, as Steven lowers his forehead to rest against hers. She falls silent immediately - their noses are almost touching with how close they are, and Steven can almost count the flecks of gold in her irises.

“I think we need to be more honest with each other,” Steven speaks gently. “I’m sorry I’ve hurt you. Can you tell me why you’re upset?”

Flannery answers vacantly, like she’s hypnotized by his stare.

“I… I just felt… so overwhelmed…” her voice comes out, tone awkward and embarrassed. “This place… those people we met… it was like I didn’t belong in your world.”

Then she blinks, her face horrified as she backtracks.

“B-b-b-but it wasn’t as if I didn’t appreciate the amount of money and effort you put into-“

Steven silences her by pressing his lips onto her forehead. She utters a squeak in embarrassment, but rather than pull away, he brings his other hand up to the back of her head and presses her into his kiss, almost like he’s imprinting his mark onto her. He releases her after a second, and she’s still silent, her cheeks flushed red.

“You’re very cute when you babble,” he grins, and she scoffs again in embarrassment, but his voice turns serious at his next words. “It doesn’t matter how much I’ve spent today if it makes you feel uncomfortable. I adore you - I really do, and I want you in my life, in every part of it. I’m in this for the long run, Flannery. But we need to be honest with each other when things aren’t right if we are going to make this work.”

Her eyes are glowing as they stare into his. Steven sighs - he also needs to come clean with her.

“I… I struggle… with physical intimacy,” Steven admits with some hesitance. “It… it makes me feel uncomfortable. I get nauseous, and my heart feels like it’s going to fall out of my chest, and then I feel…”

Flannery cocks her head in question.

“Does this include… sex as well?” She probes.

Steven gulps. He can’t find it in himself to answer vocally, so just offers her a stiff nod instead. This was also the defining moment when the tide had shifted between him and Cynthia, causing her to stop trying with him. His ex never cheated on him, thankfully, but he’d spent the last half a year of their relationship putting in twice as much effort in order to make up for her emotionally checking out. And then she’d packed up and left Pasio without even telling him, leaving her fellow Sinnoher, his friend and classmate Roark, to awkwardly break the news that she was done with him. If Flannery were to dump him the same way for the same reason, he’s not quite sure how he’d handle it.

“… okay,” she replies after a moment. “I understand. We can wait until you’re comfortable. I haven’t slept with anyone either, so I don’t really know what I’m missing out on anyway.”

Steven feels his stomach drop.

“Are you sure you know what you’re signing up for?” Steven asks her frantically, gripping onto her shoulders with force. “I might never be ready, or comfortable. You won’t get the level of intimacy other relationships have - Wallace and Winona go at it like dogs!”

Flannery lets out a disbelieving snort of laughter.

“Well, thankfully I’m not a dog, Steven,” she giggles, before her voice turns serious. “I’m sure. I fell in love with you because you’re you. I’m happy just spending time with you. I love it when you hug me and hold my hand. If that’s the most you can do, then we can just do that. You are enough for me, Steven. I love you, and I’ll gladly sacrifice that level of intimacy if I get to have you by my side.”

The overwhelming emotion that crashes into his chest causes him to slump, his forehead coming to rest heavily onto her shoulder. He wills himself not to cry, as Flannery strokes his back, humming happily.

“You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Steven mumbles, as she giggles in her effervescent way.

They spend a few minutes in silence, just enjoying each other’s presence. Steven feels nothing but the crushing weight of his love for Flannery, as he rests his forehead on her bare shoulder. Flannery entertains herself by playing with his blue-grey locks of hair, humming to herself happily.

“Can I make it up to you? After all the awful mistakes I’ve made - I still want to give you the best first date you’ve ever had,” Steven finally speaks, breaking the silence. “We still have time tonight.”

Flannery pauses for thought.

“… When my parents were still dating…” her voice is bashful. “They used to love watching the moon on Mount Chimney. Mom always brought some Lava Cookies, and they’d share them under the moonlight. I always thought that was so romantic.”

Steven could cry for real this time - he could’ve just gotten her some cookies and brought her up her favourite volcano, and all the kerfuffle and tears could have been avoided. He makes a mental note for next time, and presses his face into the crook of her neck.

“Let’s do that,” Steven promises. “I’ll find some Lava Cookies that taste like your mum’s, and we can go up Mount Chimney to watch the moon together.”

Flannery makes a noise of happiness, and Steven smiles with relief - the night is finally turning to his favour.

“But first, I think we should get a change of clothes,” he wrinkles his nose at the state of his suit and Flannery’s ruined dress.

It’s clear that she hadn’t realised what a mess they’re both in either - she gasps in horror as it finally dawns on her.

“Oh Arceus, I’ve made such a mess of your suit!” She clasps onto the front of his shirt anxiously. “And this dress I borrowed from Winona! I’ve ruined it!”

“Don’t worry, Wallace and Winona coming with a change of clothes for us,” Steven interrupts her, but she deflates at the mention of his best friends.

“I must have made them really worried…” she mumbles, downtrodden, but Steven coughs sheepishly.

“Actually… they’re here for me,” he admits.

Her hand finds its way into his, but Steven finds it hard to meet her thoughtful gaze as he continues.

“My last relationship… didn’t end well, as you would know. I didn’t think I would fall in love a second time, before I met you. And when you broke down at the restaurant, I was certain you wouldn’t want to be with me anymore.”

Flannery’s eyes soften, and she squeezes his hand in hers with effort.

“I adore you, Steven Stone,” she declares, frowning passionately. “It’ll take much more than that to chase me away!”

Steven lets out a laugh at that. He’s so glad that the crisis is averted. Just in time as well, as he hears hurried footsteps coming their way.

“Wallace Murphy is here to save the day!” Wallace announces in a singsong voice, as the flamboyant man bursts into the scene.

He spares the both of them a glance, and smiles in obvious relief.

“Don’t you both look cosy?” he preens.

“Oh Flannery, I’m so sorry about the dress!” Winona wails, as she follows just a second later, clutching a large paper bag to her chest. “We need to destroy it! Set it on fire for ruining your date!”

Flannery giggles awkwardly, as Steven rolls his eyes at his best friends.

“We’ve brought you both something much more comfortable to wear,” Wallace smirks. “Steven usually leaves some clothes at my place anyways, so it wasn’t a hassle getting them to you.”

Oh. Oh no. Steven pales as the gears click in his head about what clothes Wallace might mean, while Flannery wriggles out of his embrace to get up and peek into the bag that Winona’s brought with her.

Her eyes widen at its contents as Steven scrambles to his feet as well.

“Please don’t tell me you’ve brought the spare hiking clothes I left at yours just in case,” Steven stares at Wallace with unspeakable horror in his eyes. “Please tell me you’ve brought something else. Please tell me it’s a nice, tailored suit, suitable for a lovely date with a woman as beautiful as my stunning girlfriend. Please.”

Wallace shrugs carelessly as Flannery blushes at Steven’s generous compliment, and Steven utters a long, low groan, immediately turning to her with desperation in his eyes.

“Before you say anything, I need to wear brighter colours when I’m in the caves, so that I’m easily spotted in times of emergency,” Steven hastily tries to explain. “I swear, that’s the only reason why I wear this colour.”

Flannery can’t hold back her giggle-snorts of amusement as she pulls out Steven’s trusty neon orange pullover and mud-green cargo pants.

He finds himself finally relaxing into a smirk as she doubles over with laughter, clutching the orange pullover to herself. Heavens - even she couldn’t pull this colour off. He’d be more miffed if she didn’t look so cute, laughing like that.

“You… would make a very handsome traffic light,” she wheezes, finally managing to contain herself.

“I’ve brought you a set too, Flannery!” Winona announces.

“Why don’t you get changed first, my love?” Steven offers Flannery a lopsided grin.

At the pet name, Flannery immediately blushes all the way down to her toes - he even sees the heat travel down to her gorgeous thighs, and he makes a mental note of her reaction as she silently scurries away, clothes in hand.

Steven smiles after her, before he turns to his best friends, who both have identical wide grins on their faces.

“Absolutely smitten,” Wallace declares, smiling broadly.

“Maybe we should start planning the wedding,” Winona adds mischievously, causing Steven’s ears to burn.

“Hush now,” he groans. “We need a game plan on how to fix this date.”
—-
It takes quite a bit of groveling in front of Flannery’s grandfather before Steven finally gets his forgiveness.

The old man’s aura is imposing as Steven dips his head, eyes trained on the floor as he repeats his apologies again. He and Wallace are standing in front of the Moore household, whilst Winona and Flannery have headed inside to clean off Flannery’s makeup. Steven can only cower in the face of the animosity that rolls off of Flannery’s grandfather in waves.

“I gave you one job,” Mr Moore fumes. “And you failed. Miserably, might I add.”

“Well, Mr Moore, technically Steven’s second job was to get Flannery home by midnight, and it’s only 9pm now!” Wallace adds airily, as the elder scowls at his direction.

“Enough of your chat, Mr Murphy! Explain yourself, Stone, or I’m forbidding her from seeing you again,” Mr Moore orders.

“I can’t feel more apologetic than I am now,” Steven repeats sincerely. “Please don’t doubt my intentions - I only wanted to impress Flannery, and give her a memorable first date. I only put too much effort into what I thought she would like and not what she actually liked. And I want to make it up to her. Please, Mr Moore. Believe me, I love her.”

There’s something in Steven’s plaintive tone that seems to finally soften the old man.

“What are you looking for?” He grunts after a second, but the animosity is gone. “You can’t have stopped by here for no reason.”

Steven breathes a sigh of relief. He’s quite glad he didn’t need to get on his knees and beg - that would have been rather humiliating, but he would’ve done it if necessary.

“Flannery wants Lava Cookies,” Steven replies. “Ones that taste like her mother’s. Do you happen to know where to find any?”

“Lava Cookies?” Her grandfather lets out a humored snort - one that sounds suspiciously similar to his granddaughter’s. “It’s not hard to find Lava Cookies in Lavaridge, but I think Flannery prefers the ones sold by the old lady at the base of Mount Chimney.”

“Great! We’ll go find her at Mount Chimney then - isn’t that where you’re headed to anyways, Steven?” Wallace claps his hands cheerily.

“… I can’t believe I used to work with you,” Mr Moore frowns sourly at Wallace, who pouts. “It’s already 9pm - she’s gone home, obviously.”

He turns to Steven instead.

“This is Minami’s home address. We were schoolmates in the past, before she married Shina Haruki and opened their Lava Cookie business together. Haruki was a Lava Cookie genius, and only Mell ever managed to figure out his secret recipe,” Mr Moore scribbles an address onto a piece of paper before he passes it to Steven.

His gaze softens slightly.

“For what it’s worth…” he grunts, “I can see that you cherish Flannery with all your heart. So please do not disappoint me again - I do not want to deprive her.”

Steven nods firmly, clutching the paper like a lifeline. With address in hand, both he and Wallace hurriedly head towards the Lava Cookie Master’s house.

Unsurprisingly, her house is silent, but the lights in the living room are on, despite the curtains being drawn. Clearly someone is home, though whether they’re accepting guests at this hour is another thing.

Wallace raps on the door with his knuckles, as Steven tries to stem off the nervous energy that radiates off of him.

“Relax, Steven,” Wallace rolls his eyes. “It’s just some cookies. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Steven gulps in reply. There’s still no answer so Wallace knocks again, but before he can finish his usual five knock sequence, the door wrenches open and a hunched elderly lady scowls at them.

There is silence for a moment as all parties stare at each other - Steven is nervous whilst Wallace is impatient, and the elderly lady is clearly very unhappy at being disturbed this late at night.

“Are you the lady who sells Lava Cookies at the base of Mount Chimney? We would like to purchase a box please,” Wallace asks directly, ribbons aflutter.

Unsurprisingly, the elderly lady does not take his audacity well.

“I’ve sold out today. Come to Mount Chimney tomorrow and not my house!” She scolds, and moves to slam the door shut.

Steven acts before she actually does so by sticking his toe into the gap. He winces as the sole of his shoe is narrowly squished between the door and its frame, but thankfully the leather is well-made and it protects his fragile toes somewhat. At his intrusion, the elderly lady’s scowl darkens.

“My apologies for my companion,” Steven coughs politely. “You are Minami-san right? I have heard of the taste of your Lava Cookies from my girlfriend, Flannery. She always tells me how much she loves getting cookies from you when she’s out on her daily run.”

Minami-san nods suspiciously, but her expression relaxes at the mention of Flannery’s name.

“Flannery is the gym leader of Lavaridge, and well… I’ve messed up on our first date,” Steven admits sheepishly. “I wanted to go all out and impress her with luxury, but all she really wanted was to share some lava cookies and watch the moon together. I know your lava cookies mean a lot to her, and I wanted to get her some to make up for being a lousy boyfriend.”

“Surely you believe in love, Minami-san! Did you not marry Haruki-san out of love?” Wallace declares passionately.

“My belief in love died at the same time as Haruki,” Minami-san mutters, scowling again. “That was thirty years ago, son.”

Drat. Steven shoots Wallace a glare as his best friend smiles awkwardly.

“This Flannery girl… she’s the one with the red hair? Why is she so interested in my cookies?” Minami-san directs to Steven, frowning.

“I believe they taste like her mother’s,” Steven replies steadily. “Both of her parents passed away when Flannery was 11, and she didn’t pass down her recipe, and she’s told me she doesn’t know how to make them herself.”

Steven’s eyes soften as he thinks of her again. He really, really wants to get back to her. They’re spending precious minutes arguing with a grumpy old lady when he could be with her instead!

What Minami-san says next though, shocks the both of them.

“I… I suppose I understand…” she frowns, the words leave her mouth unwillingly. “I carry on this business with Haruki’s secret recipe. In some way, it helps me to keep some form of him alive, even when he has long passed on.”

Her olive green eyes and wrinkled face become gentle, and it is as if she has shed the decades off her soul.

“You may come in,” Minami orders. “The ribboned one will sit and behave. The polite one can come with me, and I will show you how to make the cookies.”

Steven’s mouth falls open, and he exchanges an astonished look with Wallace, who offers him a thumbs up. They hurriedly follow the old lady into her house before she changes her mind.
—-
Steven hurries back to the Moore household, box of homemade Lava Cookies in his hand - it’s almost half past ten now, and he barely has an hour and a bit left before he has to see Flannery home. For some reason, Minami-san had felt the need to impress upon Steven the entire Shina Haruki-patented recipe, and had even scribbled it onto a sheet of note paper for him to pass to Flannery.

“… she’s a sweet girl,” Minami-san had grumbled. “It’s my gift to her. As a thank you, for all of the conversations we’ve shared.”

The recipe is tucked protectively into Steven’s breast pocket - for some reason, his girlfriend has a talent for gaining the affection of very grumpy old people, and he doesn’t want to be the one who gets in the way of that ability of hers.

Also, he holds in his hand his pitiful attempts at Shina Haruki’s patented Lava Cookies - Minami-san, or Grandma Minami, as she had ordered him to call her, had expected Steven to do the hard work of making the Lava Cookies, as she was fresh out. Steven normally would not have objected, but he’s realised by now that he is a liability in the kitchen, and it had taken them a number of attempts to make even passable Lava cookies. He wonders why Grandma Minami had been so insistent on him making them himself, but he has no more time to consider this as the door swings open right as he and Wallace reach the front garden.

Flannery stands at the door, smiling brightly with a fresh face, all traces of smudged makeup gone. She’s back in her usual explosive hairstyle as well, her fiery red tendrils pointing in all directions.

Steven can’t help the fond smile growing on his face as he takes her in. She’s such a breath of fresh air indeed.

Wallace crows with laughter as Flannery blushes torridly.

“H-hi,” she mumbles, abashed. “I almost thought you’d gone home.”

“I apologise for being late,” Steven replies, gently taking one of her hands in his. “I was preparing something for you. Shall we get going? Mount Chimney awaits us, and I must get you home by midnight.”

“And not a second later!” Comes a loud bark from inside the house - it’s clear that Mr Moore is listening in on their conversation.

Flannery blushes again, mortified.

“Don’t worry Mr Moore, I will get her back home right on time,” Steven promises, projecting his voice loud enough for her grandfather to hear, before he lowers his voice to speak to Flannery. “Shall we get going?”

She nods eagerly, tendrils shaking back and forth, and tightens her hold on Steven’s hand.
—-
Flannery moves up the volcano with the nimbleness of a mountain Gogoat. She knows the exact places to step for firm footing, and where to grip onto the craggy surface in order to avoid tripping. The bright moonlight shines down upon them, turning her fiery hair a glowing auburn. All Steven can do is let her lead the way - he’s hopelessly lost in this volcano, and hopelessly entranced by her ethereal visage in the moonlight. Despite the garish attire, courtesy of Wallace and Winona, she looks more like a fairy than a human.

They finally reach the peak, near the crater that’s bubbling with hot lava. Thankfully, the crater has been cordoned off, but he can definitely feel the hot air caressing his exposed skin. There are viewing benches dotted around the area, and Flannery flops onto one, dragging Steven down with her.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” She gushes as they stare at the indigo sky. “The moon always seems so much bigger when I’m up here.”

“Yes, it is beautiful indeed,” Steven murmurs, his eyes still trained on Flannery, before he abruptly remembers the burnt offerings he’d shoved unceremoniously into his pocket.

He pulls the box out regretfully, placing it in her lap gingerly.

“Grandma Minami certainly is quite the character,” Steven coughs awkwardly. “Admittedly, these do not look quite like they’re supposed to, but she taught me how to make these.”

“You made these?” Flannery looks over at the box owlishly, pulling the simple paper apart to reveal some charred rocks wrapped in slivers of dark green seaweed.

Good Arceus, they look even worse up here. Steven almost wants to take them back and throw them into the mouth of the volcano and get a takeout, but charges on valiantly anyways.

“Y-you make baking… look much easier than it actually is,” Steven stammers sheepishly. “It… it’s not a talent that I share with you, unfortunately.”

Flannery has been silent for a while, her eyes boring holes into the opened box of attempted Lava Cookies, though Steven thinks the more appropriate term would be Lava Rocks instead.

And then a stray tear falls from her eye. She sniffles noisily and rubs at her eyes as Steven panics. How is he going to fix this now?!

She leans her head on his shoulder, silencing him effectively.

“I love you,” she says simply. “Thank you for making the effort.”

Ah. So that’s why Grandma Minami had insisted on him making these himself. He feels quite chuffed in his chest as she picks up one of the Lava Rocks with her fingers.

“Say ahh,” she instructs, holding the Lava Rock out for Steven.

He hesitates a moment, but obediently opens his mouth. She pops the food into his mouth, and he takes his chance to grab hold of her hand and press his lips gently to her fingertips.

Flannery immediately flushes red, squeaking in embarrassment. Steven smirks at her reaction, before she does the unthinkable.

She slowly withdraws her hand, and presses the kissed fingertips to her own lips. The very act causes Steven to blush as well, and he tries to hide his embarrassment by covering his face with his other hand, all whilst chewing on the Lava Rock thoughtfully.

Flannery giggles with her tinkly bell chime-like laugh, and pops a Lava Rock into her own mouth instead.

As they stare up into the moonlit sky, Steven makes a wish in his heart, that they would always be this close with each other, no matter what happens. Above them, the stars twinkle in tandem with the glowing white moon, as if in silent reply.

Chapter Text

Unfortunately, Steven is called away to Kalos for work over the weekend, and it’s going to be well over a week before he sees Flannery again.

He’s spent the last couple of days schmoozing it up with other bigwigs and listening to talks by the scientists hosting the latest conference on Mega Evolution, in the very region where it was first discovered. Devon is a major sponsor of the conference, so a delegate party is sent every year to represent the company, and Steven is always one of those selected to go. After all, he is the face of the Devon Corporation, being the President’s young, capable and handsome son - the golden boy with the silver hair, as he’s always been termed. He’s thankfully been given full access to the conference talks, but unfortunately has had to spend quite a bit of time networking with the other big companies invited to the conference in return.

He’s only been able to get away from socializing tonight with the excuse of catching up with Flannery, and as the news of his new relationship has apparently made it across to Kalos as well, he’s been let off work without too much fuss (and maybe a few too many waggling eyebrows and smug looks).

“How is Lumiose City?” she smiles brightly at him through the digital screen of his Pokenav. “I hope your hotel room has been comfortable! Has the food been delicious?”

“The capital city is eclectic as always, and the cuisine is impeccable,” Steven replies, before his tone turns a tad sour. “I still can’t believe this conference is a week long. My father really can be quite cruel, sending me on assignment so early into our relationship. I wish I was back home with you - we still have so much left to get to know about each other.”

He can’t complain too much though - the conference is about Mega Stones after all, and the special type of evolution associated with it. There are many renowned speakers hailing from all over the world such as Professor Augustine Sycamore, the Kalosian scientist with the most expertise on Mega Evolution in the current century, and also a fellow alumnus of Steven’s university. The annual Mega Stone conference is thus one of the few work matters he’s always been keen on attending to.

While Steven is one of the rare folks who wields Mega Evolution with ease, the phenomenon isn’t quite so well understood by the general public. This talent had been passed down to him by his mother, who had been obsessed with Mega Evolution when she was still alive. Mega Evolution had been the basis of his father’s company’s exponential growth, as majority of Devon’s production relied on their currently patented technology on harnessing the energy released from Mega Stones. Even with it being a good fifty years since the discovery of Mega Stones and their associated evolutionary technique, there’s still always something new to learn about them, and Steven’s inner feral rock goblin usually goes a bit mental during this conference.

He must add as well, Mega Stones are absolutely stunning. While his Mega Metagrossite had needed quite a bit of processing before he could use it to Mega Evolve Metagross reliably, it had still been an absolute find in its raw state. Now that it’s been polished and refined to the highest degree, it’s truly a sight to behold. Right this moment, it shines like a rainbow, even in the dim light of his hotel suite.

And not to mention, the very base geochemistry of the Mega Stones themselves is almost mystical - even when running all sorts of analytics on it, they still haven’t quite figured out what elements are common amongst all Mega Stones. It seems that what differs Mega Stones from ordinary stones and even other evolutionary stones is not necessarily what elements they’re made of, given that many Mega Stones had the same chemical structure as other stones. The only thing that people in the field were certain of was that Mega Evolution needed both the existence of a Mega Stone associated with that specific Pokemon species, and a true bond between the Pokemon and their trainer.

Flannery snickers all of a sudden, interrupting Steven’s inadvertent daydreaming.

“I think you’re enjoying yourself over there a bit too much to want to be home with me,” she teases as she sees the characteristic faraway look in his eye. “Mister Stone is really enjoying his stones in Kalos, huh?”

Steven blushes in mortification, and decides to change the subject before she teases him any further.

“How is your training going?” He asks.

Of course, he’s also professionally interested in her development as a gym leader. While he’s no longer her direct mentor, having relinquished that role to Glacia, he’s still in charge of the League overall. Glacia’s reports are detailed and professional as always, but it’s always important for him to hear things from Flannery’s perspective as well.

“Some days can be really hard,” Flannery admits, her spiky ponytail drooping with despondency. “I haven’t been losing many battles with Glacia’s training regime, but I did actually… um… make a trainer cry the other day…”

“You? How?” Steven asks, baffled - while his girlfriend gets easily flustered and explosive in her emotions, she’s not the type to make someone else cry.

“Ah… well, I defeated his team of six Wurmples with just one move from my Slugma…” she admits sheepishly. “I hardly could say a word to him before he ran out of the gym bawling his eyes out. He was so young too - he wasn’t even ten I think!”

Steven pauses expectantly as she wrestles with the uncomfortable emotions written on her face. He can see the awkwardness in her expression, and he knows he must tread carefully here to help her develop from this experience, rather than get set back by it. While it would be easy to deride the young challenger for taking a team of low-leveled Bug-types to a Fire-type challenge, Flannery already knows her type matchups by heart. She’d passed the gym leader accreditation test when her grandfather had submitted his recommendation, so that look on her face isn’t screaming to him that she was unsure why she’d won.

“The battle wasn’t difficult, since my new Slugma is pretty capable,” Flannery chews her lip uncomfortably. “It’s just… most of the challengers who’ve lost our gym battle look so glum afterwards. It makes my heart ache to see them so upset… especially since it’s only the first gym battle for most of them after all. I thought out of the two, losing to challengers would be harder, but honestly, winning is pretty hard too. It’s not like I can ease up either - even though my new team of Slugma and Numel are purposely under-leveled for the first challenge, I’m still a gym leader, yaknow? I have to make sure whoever gets through is capable and worthy of the badge!”

“I think you’re doing a great job of that,” Steven assures Flannery. “It is hard to see others lose in a competition, especially against yourself. And I can surely understand that complicated feeling - the few challengers who’ve made it to me in my years as Champion have had to walk away with a loss, and while I am relieved to defend my title, the anguish on their faces is never comfortable to observe.”

Flannery eyes him thoughtfully.

“As a gym leader, it is imperative to teach them that losing is not the end of the road for them, and encourage them to try again. Those challengers will need to come by you again in order to pass the gym circuit. What do you think will help them improve the next round?” Steven asks.

She processes his words for a moment, her eyebrows scrunched up in concentration. Steven can’t help the amused quirk of his lips - her transparent expressions never fail to make him smile.

Then she looks up, nodding at him firmly with a decided smile on her face.

“You’re so right, Steven! I can’t focus on feeling bad for them when they lose,” she declares. “If I’m going to be a great gym leader like my grandpa, I need to help those who haven’t defeated me to get better! I’m going to have a sleep on it and think about how my battles end so that the challengers don’t run off crying! You’re honestly the best!”

She looks away sheepishly, cheeks flushing red as she adds on softly, “At least, you are to me…”

Steven can’t help the goofy grin on his face as she stares obstinately at her lap, refusing to meet his gaze out of bashfulness. She’s just too cute sometimes.

“Did Glacia know how badly you were feeling?” Steven suddenly thinks of her mentor, whom she should be approaching about these issues rather than himself. “I think as your current mentor, she should be kept in the loop.”

Flannery’s bashfulness turns more to embarrassment as she shakes her head vigorously, ponytail tendrils flicking back and forth.

“Sometimes… it’s hard to confide in her about things…” she mumbles awkwardly, pursing her lip. “She’s not the easiest to talk to - I feel like she doesn’t really like me that much.”

“That is absolute nonsense,” Steven immediately admonishes. “Even if she didn’t like you, Glacia is not the type to let personal feelings get in the way of her job. That being said, I’ve read her reports on your progress, and they’re always full of praise of your determination and hard work.”

Flannery’s eyes widen in surprise, and her cheeks colour again.

“I’ve mentioned that Glacia can be a little frosty, admittedly,” Steven reassures her. “When I first became Champion, it was hard for me to converse with her as well. But as I got to know her, I realised that Glacia just doesn’t express her feelings very well. Her resting facial expressions can be quite cold, but she truly has a very kind heart, even if it’s shrouded under several layers of frost. I think she would have really good advice for you if you talked to her about these feelings more often.”

Flannery nods again, her cheeks puffing in determination.

“Anyways, did you learn anything new from the conference?” Flannery changes the subject back to Kalos curiously. “I’ve never used Mega Evolution myself - it’s such a mystery!”

Steven brightens.

“There have been so many new Mega Stones discovered recently,” Steven replies excitedly. “It seems that more and more are discovered by the day. When my mother was still doing her research, there were only a handful to look into, but now there is almost a Mega Stone for one in every five Pokemon species we currently know of. I’ve discovered some myself - the Mega Metagrossite I’m using today was one of them.”

“I wonder if there’s a Mega Stone I could use too…” Flannery thinks to herself aloud. “Maybe Torkoal? Or Camerupt?”

Steven recalls the recent seminar he’d just attended today by the Kalosian geology team who’d made a groundbreaking discovery by mapping locations of where all the current known Mega Stones had been found.

“It seems that raw Mega Stones often appear in locations frequented by their specific associated Pokemon. Since Camerupt’s evolutionary line and Torkoal as well are usually found in Mount Chimney, maybe we could go look for one together there?” Steven suggests.

“That’ll be amazing if we could!” Flannery clasps her hands together in delight. “Let’s go the next time then!”

“It’s a date,” Steven smiles lopsidedly, causing Flannery’s cheeks to blush warmly.

“You’re sneaky…” she mumbles, her ears awash with red. “It’s annoying that I’m the only one who gets flustered!”

Steven chuckles.

“Trust me, you’re not the only one,” he says simply. “Unfortunately though, I might need to end our call in a moment - there’s meant to be a cocktail party later and I must get ready soon.”

“Make sure you eat properly when you’re there!” Flannery scolds, her tone suddenly fierce. “If not I’ll have to come over to Kalos myself and force-feed you some chicken soup or something. You’re already so lanky, Steven!”

“Alright, alright,” Steven laughs - he’s admittedly quite pleased that she’s fussing over him like this though. “Thankfully they feed us very well during these events. It’s only when I’m in office that I don’t have time for lunch, especially when there’s a huge project like the current submarine one.”

Flannery looks at him with a hopeful twist in her lip - it’s clear she wants to say something, so Steven waits expectantly - he can still spare a couple of minutes for her.

“I-I-is it okay if… if I bring you lunch next time?” She stammers, her voice faltering slightly. “It’s just that… it’ll be nice to spend more time together… but only if you’re okay with it!”

Steven’s eyes widen in surprise - she’s certainly caught him off guard. He mentally calculates the timings - technically, if he pushes tasks around, he might be able to clear half an hour in the day…

“I’d love to have my lunch with you, but I can’t spare more than 30 minutes a day…” Steven sighs regretfully. “Is that okay?”

Flannery brightens immediately, and nods her head eagerly.

“I’ll see you then,” she beams brightly, like a sun blasting its golden rays at him.

Steven grins back, and gives her a slight wave before ending the call.
—-
“I have never been fond of these dreadful social events,” Dr Marcus Terracotta, one of Devon’s top geophysicists sniffs derisively as he nurses his glass of champagne.

Steven smiles wanly at the bespectacled scientist. He’s never been overly fond of Dr Terracotta, given how unpleasant the man can be. The scientist has been at Devon for longer than Steven can remember, and while they’ve had to interact over projects, it’s been kept a strictly professional relationship, and never in such close proximity as this.

Steven is not alone in this sentiment - his father doesn’t like him much either, and has often made several snide comments about Dr Terracotta during his private lunch meetings with Steven. Unfortunately for them, while the man is quite possibly the most frigid person he’s ever met, he’s ruthlessly good at his job. He’s one of the star geophysicists at Devon, and one of their associates at the Hoenn Weather Institute as well. They simply can’t afford to lose him, or for another company to poach him, so Steven must play nice and cater to his peculiar whims.

Dr Terracotta’s personal assistant, Courtney Miller, stares blankly into space next to them. She seems to be just about the only person whom Dr Terracotta can get along with, and they’re always busy working on their own projects alone. The lavender-haired woman is more robot than human, so perhaps that’s what makes them click - her emotionlessness is almost frightening, and Steven can’t quite decide who he dislikes interacting with more. While Dr Terracotta is openly dislikeable, and takes pride in it, Courtney Miller expresses so little emotion that she’s practically unreadable. He is going to have to deal with these two for the rest of the week, and it’s already quite the uncomfortable atmosphere. They’ve literally only just entered the ballroom where the cocktail party is being held, and while Steven usually has people buzzing around him and trying to interact with him, because of these two, he’s been left completely alone.

For once in his life, Steven longs to socialize with other human beings, if only to escape the suffocating personalities that are Dr Terracotta and Courtney Miller. He wonders what the minimum amount of minutes would be polite to wait before excusing himself to go speak to Professor Sycamore, when Dr Terracotta actually starts a personal conversation with him for the first time.

“I hear that you are romantically linked now,” Dr Terracotta directs to Steven, his mouth twisted in a surly manner. “How did you meet your paramour?”

Yet, despite his unpleasant expression, his eyes are sharp and eerily curious, almost like Steven’s the next specimen about to be dissected under the scientist’s microscope. He isn’t quite sure how to respond, or why the scientist is interested in talking to him today of all days, but figures that it would be too rude to leave the conversation hanging.

“… Yes, I’ve just started dating a colleague in the Hoenn League,” Steven replies politely.

“… Interesting,” Dr Terracotta mutters. “A gym leader?”

Steven stills for a moment. Why is Dr Terracotta suddenly so interested in his personal life? They’ve never exchanged more than a fleeting conversation, even when it came to work matters.

“… yes,” he decides to say - it is best to tread cautiously.

“I’m not very familiar with the gym leaders,” Dr Terracotta turns back to the attendees in front of them exchanging juicy Mega Stone tidbits - Arceus, Steven wants to partake in said juicy Mega Stone tidbits as well. “What is their name again? Which town are they from?”

“…”Steven wonders how to respond. This is possibly the most interested that the scientist has been in his life, and he’s not sure how much detail he’s willing to share.

“Flannery… Moore…” Courtney mumbles, answering on behalf of Steven, much to his chagrin. “Gym leader… of Lavaridge Town… granddaughter… of the previous-“

“- yes! Her name is Flannery,” Steven cuts in desperately, in an attempt to retake control of the conversation. Goodness knows what awful detail someone as unreadable as Courtney Miller could have dug up about his precious girlfriend!

“Hmm,” Dr Terracotta grunts. “I suppose she is familiar with the volcano, Mount Chimney then. Is that how you both connected? A mutual interest?”

Steven blinks once, then twice.

Is Dr Terracotta… asking him for dating advice? Well… this is unprecedented, but Steven can’t deny that love isn’t entirely off the cards for anyone, even someone as frighteningly offputting as Dr Terracotta. After all, just a month ago, he’d never imagined to be in this position himself. Perhaps the scientist was lonely and wanted to meet a nice person his age to spend his life with - the man is barely pushing his forties, with plenty of time left.

“Well… not exactly,” Steven speaks after a moment to think. “She is a lovely person, with an honest and exuberant personality. I admire her tenacity and her kindness, and she felt similar admiration for me. I suppose things fell into place naturally.”

Dr Terracotta stares dourly at Steven, and he suddenly wonders to himself if the scientist is even capable of romantic feelings - he honestly seems much too robotic for that.

“Does she like the volcano?” Dr Terracotta asks.

“Mount Chimney?” Steven asks to clarify, to which Dr Terracotta nods once.

“She loves it,” Steven laughs, thinking of his girlfriend fondly. “That volcano is her entire life. She’s probably there every day.”

There’s a pause again.

“I wonder,” Dr Terracotta speaks, his tone clipped. “How much she would be willing to sacrifice for that love.”

With that statement, he stalks away, champagne glass still left untouched in his hand. Courtney follows after him immediately, leaving Steven staring at their retreating backs in confusion, and a vague sense of concern.

What was that all about?

Chapter Text

Scorching steel 5

Steven can’t help the chuckle that bursts out of his mouth, the amber liquid sloshing dangerously as he swills the crystal glass in his hand. He’s a lot more drunk than he realised, but then again, it’s almost closing time for the pub, and they’ve been here since dinner.

“I’m serious! I may have looked calm on the outside, but behind the scenes I’ve been running around like a headless Blaziken!” Professor Sycamore gesticulates wildly. “I’m never doing something like this again.”

“Just like you said during university, when you told me you’d never do research again?” Steven teases, smirking.

Professor Sycamore scowls in return.

“Trust my most diligent student to remember every silly thing I spouted back in those halcyon days,” he rolls his eyes goodnaturedly. “Wait, no - that title definitely belongs to Miss Roxanne Brown of course.”

Steven laughs and concedes, raising his glass to clink against Professor Sycamore’s.

“Speaking of that twin-tailed spitfire, how is she doing? Its such a shame i could never cajole her into an apprenticeship under me! I’ve got Alain now, of course, but Roxanne Brown’s encyclopedia memory can’t be matched!”

“You’d be surprised to know that she’s found love,” Steven waggles his eyebrows, and Professor Sycamore gasps salaciously.

“Roxanne Brown?! My straight A student who never went to parties, read textbooks for the fun of it, who even tried to synthesize love’s chemicals in a flask?! Who on earth managed to drag her eyes away from her studies?” He asks eagerly, leaning forward so much that his butt is almost off the stool.

“He’s tall, muscular, tanned, very sporty… the complete opposite of her really,” Steven replies, grinning. “Lovely guy, really. Super friendly, super warm - you won’t get it til you see them together, but they’re perfect for each other.”

“My daughter has finally grown up,” Professor Sycamore dabs at his eyes with a napkin. “I could almost cry.”

Steven holds back his laughter as he harks back to those long laboratory days in the Public University of Pasio, where Professor Sycamore, then only a postdoctoral candidate, had been mentoring the three of them - Steven, Roxanne, and Roark Iwamoto, the beloved third member of their friend group. The three of them had grown especially close to him in their final year, since he was their project supervisor. Professor Sycamore had been a big source of emotional support as well, and always had a moment to spare to check in with each of them, even if it wasn’t school-related. Today is the first time they’ve managed to catch up in such a long time - while Steven and Roxanne had headed back home to their respective jobs after uni, Steven being with Devon, and Roxanne fulfilling her scholarship obligations of serving as the schoolmaster of Rustboro Training Academy, Roark had headed back to Sinnoh, and Professor Sycamore had continued his research obligations with PU Pasio. He’d finally been awarded his Professorship just a couple of years ago, and his home region of Kalos had snapped him up to become their Regional Professor - an extremely highly-acclaimed title that belonged to only a smattering of elite individuals, and he’d been one of the youngest to earn it too.

“Speaking of my children… how are you?” Professor Sycamore broaches the subject cautiously. “I remember back in uni how much you’d struggled with this sort of thing.”

He’s avoiding saying Cynthia’s name, Steven thinks to himself humourlessly.

He understands why though. Cynthia had also been quite close to Professor Sycamore, and had been the one to acquaint Steven with him. Even though Professor Sycamore’s specialty is Mega Evolution, Cynthia often asked for his help in her own research. When Steven and Cynthia had broken up, it was likely devastating for Professor Sycamore as well, given he’d been so close to both of them individually.

“I’m well,” Steven chooses to say. “I’ve found someone new.”

“So I’ve heard,” Professor Sycamore whistles, leaning back and sipping from his glass. “She must be someone special if she’s the first girl you’ve looked at for six years.”

“Who told you?” Steven interjects, aghast. It’s only been a couple of weeks since they’ve been official!

“Word travels fast in the Champions’ circles, Steven my boy,” Professor Sycamore replies loftily. “Leon’s a huge gossip and he shared it with Sonia, my fellow Regional Professor from Galar, who shared it with me. I’m happy for you though - how did you meet her?”

“She’s a new gym leader in the Hoenn League,” Steven mumbles, suddenly a little embarrassed. Is his love life that big a deal?

“Sonia called her Hoenn’s Blazing Beauty,” Professor Sycamore eyes his now-empty glass. “I hope that’s not all that’s to her.”

“Of course not!” Steven’s hackles rise, and he almost slams his glass onto the bar top with emphasis. “She’s lovely both inside and out - genuinely the sweetest person I’ve ever met.”

“Alright alright, calm down you,” Professor Sycamore rolls his eyes. “I’m just glad you’re not too hung up over Cynthia anymore.”

Steven notes the slight hesitation in his old teacher’s voice as her name comes out of his mouth.

“It wasn’t easy, but Flannery’s the only one in my heart now,” Steven affirms. “I know Cynthia’s doing well for herself, and that’s all I need to know, really.”

“Would it be crude of me to say that we’ve been seeing each other quite often now then…?” Professor Sycamore reveals suddenly, his voice barely above a whisper.

A waterfall of icy emotion cascades down Steven’s neck for a second before it stops abruptly. He’d probably have been really disturbed by this before, but now, he’s surprisingly okay with this.

“I’m happy if you are happy,” Steven replies tonelessly. “I would really not like to meet her again though, even if you’re in the picture.”

Professor Sycamore sighs.

“I hope it doesn’t feel like a betrayal of trust,” he motions with his hands. “I know things between you both ended pretty badly.”

Steven shrugs carelessly at that.

“I was very hurt by her departure,” he replies candidly. “But we’re both different people now, and you’ve known her a lot longer than me. Plus, you’re only a decade older than me - it’s not an indecent age gap considering Cynthia’s also older, albeit to a lesser extent.”

“Thanks bud,” Professor Sycamore sags his shoulders in relief. “I was a little stressed about meeting you today because of this, but I’m glad it’s all water under the bridge now. Plus, we’re kinda keeping it lowkey.”

“I’m happy with the person I’m currently with now,” Steven reaffirms. “I think I could see Flannery and I going on for a good while, actually.”

“You’re going to marry her, you think?” Professor Sycamore teases.

“Some day,” Steven shrugs. “Maybe when we’re a little older and she’s more established. We’re only young after all.”

“Oh, young love,” Professor Sycamore croons, his body swaying in tune with his offkey singing.

“Gentlemen, I’m afraid it’s closing time soon,” the bartender thankfully interrupts right before Professor Sycamore launches into an awful improvised rendition of his favourite Whitney Houston song.

Steven yawns - it’s definitely closing time for sure, given that the sun’s about to rise in ten minutes. Thankfully, tomorrow is a rest day for him before he heads back to Hoenn, so he’ll get to sleep in. He pays the tab, bids farewell to his companion, and walks back to his hotel, his heart soaring at the thought of being back on home ground again.
—-
The next day, Steven exits the shop purposefully, his arms already laden heavy with gifts for his friends back home. He just has one more thing left to purchase, and it’s the most important thing on his list - a set of jewellery for his beloved girlfriend of course.

Wallace and Winona always send him away with a list of things to purchase in Kalos, so their gifts have been covered pretty easily, and Roxanne and the twins are always pretty easy to shop for as well. The rest of his colleagues who aren’t as close to him usually received a box of Lumiose Galettes each, and he’s already got that order sent to his hotel room, leaving him with just Flannery to shop for. Obviously he’s thrilled to spoil her with all sorts of trinkets, but judging from her reaction towards their original first date, she’d definitely balk at anything overtly too expensive.

He’d finally decided to purchase her some luxury toiletries from a shop recommended by Professor Sycamore, who shares most of Steven’s tastes in this area. The Professor, despite his lackadaisical nature, is a very traditionally Kalosian man, and takes his beauty routine seriously, so Steven always appreciates recommendations from him.

The shop had allowed him to mix his own scents and he’d picked a blend of oils that reminds him of her - vanilla, cinnamon and a dash of smoke. He’s also asked them to bottle the toiletries in elegant but simple packaging so that she doesn’t actually realise how hefty the price tag is. It’s a little sneaky of him to hide it this way, but who can fault a man who wants to spoil his beloved?

“Ah, Mr Stone! We’ve been expecting you,” Theresa greets him as Steven enters the little store.

It may be nondescript from the front, but Steven’s been a patron of this jeweller for most of his life. They don’t just sell vintage handpicked jewellery, but Theresa is a gifted artisan, and has always managed to turn whatever gems he finds on his trips into a piece of fine art. He rarely commissions her, given that he’s had nobody to gift jewellery to for a long time, but he’s going to need her craftsmanship pretty often if he comes by Kalos more in the future. Today though, he’s unfortunately unprepared for a handmade gift, so picking something suitable that she has on hand for Flannery is his main goal.

“Good afternoon Theresa,” Steven greets back cheerfully, setting his gift bags on the table to rest his aching arms. “I hope you’re faring well. I’d like to get a set of matching earrings and a necklace, if you’ve got any.”

“A shipment’s just come in yesterday, so let me pick out some suitable pieces,” Theresa replies in her elegant Kalosian accent. “It’s always lovely to serve a patron as long term as you, Mr Stone!”

Theresa bustles off to the back of the shop, as Steven admires the rest of the jewellery displayed. She’s well into her older years now, but Theresa’s taste has always been quite classic and timeless. He wonders to himself if Flannery would ever like to come visit the shop herself, and try on some of their pieces in person.

“So we have quite a number of aquamarine pieces this time,” Theresa comes back, carrying a box over to him. “A few red pieces as well. I remember you’ve always been quite drawn to our amethyst collection, but I thought I’d bring out the others as well.”

Steven ignores the blue gemstones, his eye immediately catching onto a lovely red piece. The chain is made of delicate spun rose-gold, and the centre garnet gemstone is nestled in an intricate woven rose-gold encasing. It’s both fine, yet daring, and his interest is greatly piqued by this unique piece.

“Great eye as always, Mr Stone,” Theresa smiles knowingly. “This piece was sold to me by one of the longstanding noble families of Kalos, after their matron passed. It’s a classic handmade piece.”

“This would be lovely, thank you,” Steven replies smoothly. “Any earrings that could match these?”

“Yes, I’ve got the perfect pair from the same family as well. These ones are teardrop-cut garnets, and they’ve been secured with similar rose-gold fastenings.”

She shows him the earrings, and just as she said, they’re gorgeous, and not too flashy either - perfect for every day wear.

He decides to do something daring before he can stop himself.

“Any rings that match them, by any chance?” Steven asks.

Theresa takes a moment to think, before returning to the back of her shop. Moments later, she returns, a box in hand.

“I’ve collected vintage red gemstone rings over the decades for my own personal use, and there is one that goes with this set perfectly,” she opens her box of rings, showing off her beautiful collection.

She fishes the correct ring out and Steven smiles approvingly. The centerpiece gemstone is garnet as well, set in a nice signet-style, but the band is white gold, not rose. Steven doesn’t quite mind though - pink jewellery isn’t really his colour, and he leans towards the classic silvery shades instead.

“If you could resize that ring for my usage, that would be much appreciated,” Steven nods, and Theresa smiles.

“I’ll get the products packed up for you and ready to go then, Mr Stone,” Theresa replies, and quickly sets the jewellery to the side. “It’ll just be an hour for me to resize the ring.”

Steven dutifully allows the master artisan to measure the circumference of his index finger, and loses himself in his daydreams as she returns to the back of the store to work on the ring.

A text buzzes on his phone - it’s from Roxanne, of all people.

”How’s Sycamore?” it reads.

Steven rolls his eyes, hiding an amused grin as he quickly types a reply.

”He’s grand - complained a lot about the conference, got way too drunk last night in celebration of finishing it, and I’m sure he’s already hard at work planning the next one.”

”That is soooo him.” comes her next message, before another one pops up.

”Just wondering when you’re headed back to Hoenn?”

Steven raises his eyebrows.

”Is something wrong back home?” he types back quickly, his mind already speedrunning through all of the horrible disasters that could befall his region.

”LOL no, just wondering what time your flight gets in. I’ve been assigned a top secret mission you see…”

Steven snorts unceremoniously.

”Should be landing at the private terminal at Lilycove around 4pm tomorrow - flight’s only a couple of hours and we took the Devon jet.”

Roxanne doesn’t reply after this, so Steven tucks his Poryphone away. He wonders offhandedly if he should text Flannery as well, when Theresa comes back into view bearing a little paper bag embossed with her company’s logo.

“Here you go, Mr Stone,” she hands him the bag. “Thank you for your patience. I’ve packaged the earrings and necklace together for you, and the ring separately. I hope whoever receives the jewellery will appreciate it.”

Steven bids the artisan goodbye, and heads back to his hotel room - the last order of things is to pack all his things to get home.
—-
Thankfully, the flight home is nice and peaceful. Dr Terracotta and his lackey are waylaid by airsickness, and have spent the entire flight home sagging into their seats, clutching paper bags, and Steven has been left well enough alone to think about what awaits him back home.

He’ll need to get together a report of the conference tonight, since he usually has to report back to his father after being sent on assignment. He hasn’t spoken to him since the last time when they’d cried over whisky and shared memories of his mother, but these post-assignment meetings can generally get quite stressful especially if he’s uunprepared.

He also needs to investigate that mural in Granite Cave soon - details of it haven’t been released to the public yet, but he can’t keep the lid on this secret for much longer. Soon, everyone’s going to be clamoring to see it, especially since the wall obscuring that cavern had given way when he’d discovered it with Flannery and Brawly. It’ll be good to schedule a visit to Dewford and inspect it, and possibly figure out how it had been hidden for so long. A mural that big and that ancient should’ve left some sort of clue of its existence, and Granite Cave is decently well mapped out. How had it been hidden for so long? If it held some clue to the ancient beasts that formed Hoenn, it’d be imperative for him to look into it, given he’s the region’s Champion after all.

“We have arrived at the airport, Mr Stone. I will inform the ground staff to start unloading your baggage,” Captain Jason interrupts his thoughts from the intercom. “I’ve also been informed that someone is waiting for you inside the private lobby at the airport terminal.”

Steven cocks his head in surprise - he hadn’t been expecting anyone today, but perhaps something had gone belly-up at the finance department and he’s needed urgently. Steven sighs and makes a mental note to look out for Monica or someone else on his Devon team. He’s already taken a ten-day leave of absence from the League due to the conference obligations, and had left everything in his capable Elite Four’s hands - he’s likely not needed there given that Hoenn seems to still be in one piece today.

Steven disembarks the plane quickly. His baggage is being loaded into his car on his behalf, so Steven heads into the airport lobby to see who’s waiting for him.

The first thing he sees as he enters the lobby is a giant cardboard sign that reads “WELCOME HOME STEVEN STONE!!!!!!” in huge loopy handwriting, along with a few doodles of what suspiciously look like cartoon Beldums. The sign is so big that the top half of the person holding it can’t even be visualized, but judging by that slender abdomen and low-rise jeans, he can’t help the huge smile that lights up his face. He brisk walks towards his beloved girlfriend who awaits him, almost scampering with glee.

“What a lovely surprise to be welcomed home like this,” he grins as he reaches Flannery, grabbing the sign from her hands and leaning it on the ground so he can visualize her fully.

She looks happy, healthy, almost glowing even - or maybe those are Steven’s adoration-tinted glasses on.

“Of course I had to come - I missed you so much!” she replies, beaming like sunshine.

He can see how violently she’s vibrating - it looks like she desperately wants to launch her arms around him and is barely holding herself back. Steven stifles a laugh, and puts his duffel bag down, before wrapping his arms around her, pressing his nose into her fiery crown of hair. Flannery emits an adorable noise of surprise, but quickly her arms come up as well, wrapping around him tenderly.

“Hugs are okay?” Her voice is muffled into his chest as Steven cradles her protectively, breathing her in.

“They are very much invited,” Steven smiles fondly. “I’m so glad you’re here - I’ve also missed you terribly.”

They hold onto each other for a few precious seconds, before Steven regretfully detaches himself. He picks up the sign again, marvelling at it - she’s put in a decent amount of effort into it, given that the lettering even has 3-D effects and colours. Unfortunately the cartoon Beldums look more like squiggles than actual Pokemon, but he adores them anyways. What has he done to deserve such a sweet girlfriend?

“How did you know what time the flight would be? I’m surprised they allowed you into this terminal, since I didn’t tell them you would be here,” Steven asks curiously.

Flannery giggles.

“A lady has her secrets,” she replies mischievously. “No, I’m kidding - Roxanne told me which terminal you usually land at, and when I went to the concierge, they let me in. I guess they recognise me by now!”

She lets out an awkward laugh.

“By the way… a magazine wants to interview me… they popped by the gym the other day to ask - would you be okay with it?” She asks, twiddling her fingers shyly.

Arceus, how is that so cute? Steven thinks to himself as he replies absently, “yes, of course you don’t need my permission. Which magazine is it?”

“Umm… the Hoennese Bachelor…” Flannery replies sheepishly.

Steven feels his stomach plummet to Hades below.

The Hoennese Bachelor is one of the most notorious men’s magazines in the region. Steven has never purchased a copy himself, given the racy subject material that they’re famous for publishing, especially regarding the type of photographs they take of their models.

He would really rather Flannery not involve herself in this sort of media, especially given their demographic. But she’s old enough to decide what she wants to do, and he definitely doesn’t want to be the kind of boyfriend to hold her back from pursuing her interests.

“Did you… want to be in this magazine…?” Steven chooses to ask instead.

“I’ve never really heard of it before… to be honest, they were a bit shady,” Flannery admits. “I don’t know why they approached just me instead of both me and Norman, since they said the piece was going to be on this year’s new gym leaders. But wouldn’t it be fun to take pretty pictures and talk about the gym?”

Steven thinks about it for a moment. It’s obvious why they’d approached Flannery only - she’s stunning and her figure is lovely, with curves in all of the right places. If she ended up on their cover, not only would she boost the magazine’s reputation, but she’s also the exact kind of girl that their demographic desires. And try as he might to prevent himself from being overprotective, he cant help but want to shield her from these people with veiled intentions, especially if they’re not for her benefit as well.

“I’ve done several interviews with the Hoenn Gazette,” Steven offers. “Maybe they would be a better option instead. Their reputation is very good, and they’re highly ranked in the publication world.”

That, and they don’t take photos of their models in skimpy barely-there underwear at awfully demeaning angles. Steven has always been tastefully dressed by their wardrobe team, and they have a great publishing team as well. They are owned by the media conglomerate TV Mauville after all, so have ample resources to dip into.

“Oh! Well, maybe you could put me in touch with them?” Flannery asks, rocking back and forth on her heels. “I think it’ll be nice to talk a bit more about the gym too - since the town is so small, I’m not getting as many challengers as the rest…”

“Anything for you,” Steven can’t help his fond smile. “I’m just wondering, but do you have plans for the rest of the day?”

Flannery shakes her head eagerly, her spiky ponytail swishing back and forth. “We ended early at the gym today, so I’m off work!”

“Let’s go to dinner then,” Steven offers. “My treat, of course. I must reward you for such a lovely welcome home.”

Flannery blushes warmly, and nods her head shyly. Steven offers her his hand, and she takes it eagerly as they head out of the airport.

Steven leaves it to his capable personal team to deal with his luggage, and quickly sends Monica a text to send him a list of restaurants for dinner. He emphasizes as well that it’s for Flannery, so that she wouldn’t be overwhelmed again like the last time. As he awaits Monica’s recommendations, Steven releases Metagross from their Pokeball.

“What kind of food do you like to eat?” Steven asks conversationally, as Flannery oohs and aahs over Metagross. “I’ll pick a place for us.”

“Mmmm… I haven’t really had much food aside from homecooked,” Flannery replies thoughtfully.

“What about something you’d like to try then?” Steven thinks aloud.

“Pasta! I’ve never really had pasta before!” Flannery answers immediately, nodding her head vigorously with excitement.

Steven stifles a laugh - she’s always so eager about food.

“Pasta it is then,” Steven smiles. “I have to pop by Rustboro anyways, so we can eat there. Monica has recommended an Italian place about ten minutes from the office.”

“We’re taking Metagross instead of
Skarmory? I thought Skarmory is faster,” Flannery asks as Steven helps her onto his partner Pokemon.

He ignores the buzz of indignation from Metagross, and smiles at her instead.

“I just wanted to spend more time with the prettiest girl in the region,” he replies fondly. “There’s no real rush for me as I’ll only need to report to my father tomorrow.”

“Aaa…” Flannery squeezes her eyes shut, her face reddening with embarrassment.

“You only spent one week without me, and you’re this shy already?” Steven stifles a chuckle as she buries her burning face into his bicep, Metagross taking off into the sky.

“You’re always flustering me so much!” Flannery grumbles, never lifting her face from his jacket sleeve. “Stop teasing me, you meanie!”

Steven can’t help the bright laugh, but soon falls into companionable silence as Flannery starts rambling excitedly about what she’s been up to the week he’s been away.

He’s so, so glad to be home.

Chapter Text

It still gives me the heebie jeebies,” Brawly gives an exaggerated shiver, as Steven shines his torch upon the cavern beyond the ruined cave wall.

Granite Cave is just as damp and dark as ever, and Steven’s dressed for the occasion in his regular neon cave-dwelling outfit. This time though, he isn’t here to look for fun rocks - instead, he has been tasked to investigate the mysterious mural that he’d inadvertently discovered with Flannery and Brawly just a couple of weeks earlier. For reasons unbeknownst to him, the League Council expects him to be the one looking into the mural, even though he’s not an actual qualified field researcher. It’s just another gargantuan task on top of his already full plate, though admittedly, Steven’s interest is piqued by the mysterious relic of the past. It is still a complete marvel to him that the giant ancient artwork had gone undiscovered for so long - the length of the mural spans almost the entire cavern’s walls, and the paint gives off a dim, eerie glow in the darkness of the cave. How could anyone have missed this?

“D’you still need me Chief?” Brawly stands at attention, and Steven shakes his head distractedly as he digs out his research tools, placing them neatly onto the floor for easy use.

Within seconds, the spiky blue-haired man has disappeared - he probably had an Escape Rope on him somewhere, and Steven is left to his own devices. Clearly Brawly didn’t want to stay any second longer - it seems he’s more superstitious than Steven had realised. Steven takes a second to ponder the implications of that against Brawly’s current relationship with Roxanne, a notorious skeptic, before beginning his investigation promptly.

First he takes measurements of every part of the mural - both the entire length and height of it, but also of the individual ancient beasts, Groudon and Kyogre. As he works, Steven recalls listening attentively to the bedtime stories his butler would regale of the devastating battle between the two weather legendary Pokemon during his childhood. The destruction caused by that awful war had almost leveled the region thousands of years ago, until a divine hero miraculously appeared to calm the raging brawl. The ancient beasts retreated - Groudon to the depths of Mount Chimney, and Kyogre to the depths of the sea, never to be seen again.

Steven wonders where that ominous feeling in his chest has bloomed from, as he methodically details the measurements he’s taken in his pocket notebook. When he was much younger, those stories would both exhilarate and terrify him at the same time, but now that he’s older and much wiser, he knows that it’s likely just an old folktale passed down to keep kids from wandering too far into the sea or jumping into Mount Chimney. After all, there’s just no evidence that Groudon or Kyogre ever existed in the first place. No tracks, no bones, no fossils - and a brawl that devastating would have left some clues for the future generations to find.

He traces the artwork with gloved fingers, feeling the indent of the gouged marks that form the outlines of the ancient beasts. The paint comes aglow under the pressure of his fingertips, just like it did two weeks ago. Some sort of ancient tool was used to carve these outlines into the cave wall, and he can easily fit almost half of his index finger into the recessed carvings. The outlines have been painted in with ancient pigments - in the past, the Hoennese natives would likely have used a mixture of all sorts of things to make paint, from rocks and charcoal to actual human and Pokemon body parts. He’s never seen any cave painting glow in the dark before though, and he wonders how they’d managed to get it to do so. There is ancient Hoennese script carved below the fearsome warring beasts, the lettering painted a deep dark red - almost like the colour of dried blood.

While Steven isn’t particularly interested in the archaeology side of things, he’s picked up a decent bit of knowledge about it from his ex in the past. He at least knows his way around an investigation, but something prickles at the back of his neck - he feels like he’s missing something very important. The mural looks just like a regular ancient cave painting, but the glowing paint and the dreadful expressions on the Pokémon’s faces makes him wonder if there’s something more to it after all.

He can’t speak the ancient language fluently, but there are certain characters he recognizes - “beware”, “red”, “blue” and “rocks”. Red, blue and rocks don’t sound so bad to him, but beware in that awful dried blood colour sends alarm bells ringing in his head. Beware of what?

He decides to take some photos just in case - someone back at the Devon fieldwork team would definitely be much better at translating this ancient script than he is. As he lifts his Pokenav to take a picture, a sudden angry yell interrupts him rudely, almost shocking him into dropping his precious tech in fright.

He turns around in disbelief - Brawly was meant to have Granite Cave closed off today - and a tiny teenage girl is snarling at him angrily from where he’d entered. Her mousy brown hair flares out from her face like a lion’s mane, barely held back by a thin ribbon.

She looks somewhat familiar to Steven, and he wonders if he’s met her before when she storms up to him, jabbing her finger agitatedly in his chest.

“There you are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” She gripes, putting her hands on her hips and looking thoroughly put out.

Steven feels annoyance prickle at his brow, and a familiar headache coming on.

“My apologies, do I know you?” Steven asks politely, and the teenager’s face almost goes white with shock.

“You forgot who I am?! We only met a couple weeks ago!” She insists. “You came by to Littleroot with your girlfriend who’s not your girlfriend remember?!”

A dim lightbulb pings in his head.

“Norman’s daughter? Uh… what was your name again?” Steven asks awkwardly.

“Ugh, you’re the worst. It’s May Maple!” She puts her hands on her hips in a huff. “And I’m going to be the next Champion of Hoenn! Don’t you forget me, you hear?!”

Steven allows himself a slight pause of resignation - yes, he does recall having a very similar conversation with a young teenager like this when he and Flannery were on their trip. He also remembers conspicuously trying to avoid rolling his eyes at the youngster’s audacity, just like he is now.

“Nice to meet you again, May Maple,” Steven finally replies courteously. “Have you come looking for me for a reason?”

May huffs and digs into her fanny pack, producing a severely crumpled envelope. Steven frowns - that’s Devon’s letterhead…

She passes it to him and Steven quickly digs into the letter, an ominous feeling blooming in his chest.

“Your dad asked me to hand-deliver this to you,” she announces as Steven scans the letter’s contents in increasing horror. “There were some weirdos harassing one of your scientists and trying to steal his stuff.”

Proprietary information of the submarine project has been leaked to nefarious forces. The blueprints were almost stolen from Roberto when he was travelling through Petalburg Woods. This young girl managed to fend off the attackers, who called themselves members of the”Team Aqua”, and returned the blueprints safely to us. Please investigate who is leaking the information. No other individuals can know about this.

PS; when will you bring Flannery to see me?

Steven ignores the last bit of the letter, focusing on the crux of the matter instead. Roberto is a junior member on his submarine project team, and whilst not a seasoned trainer, is a great lab assistant. He’d been running errands between Petalburg and Rustboro, and the blueprints were top secret, so nobody outside of Devon would have known he was travelling with them. The blueprints were intended for manufacturing a key part of the submarine which would allow humans to be onboard when descending to the depths below, and without them, travelling in the submarine would prove deadly.

Whilst the submarine project is an important one for Devon’s fiscal year, it wasn’t so important as to warrant an attack on a humble research assistant.

Someone must want the blueprints for something, and the boiling in Steven’s gut hints that it’s something not good at all. Nobody outside of the project even knows how important this part is. How did this “Team Aqua” find out about the part?

“Earth to Steven, hello???” May waves her hand in front of Steven’s face. “You look like you’re about to faint. Should I call your girlfriend-not-girlfriend to come get you?”

“If you’re speaking about Flannery, we are actually dating now,” Steven bats the teenager off as the thoughts in his head swirl forebodingly. “But thank you for delivering this letter to me. I should reward you for your efforts.”

May immediately goes big shiny Rockruff-eyes on him, her hands clasped together.

Belatedly, Steven realises that he only has his bank cards on him. He never travels with paper Pokeyen given his financial standing, and today he’s here for work purposes. He digs into his bags distractedly, before nodding approvingly and grabbing a palm-sized robot that was hidden away in his briefcase.

“Ah - we’ve just developed this technical machine at Devon,” Steven passes the robot to May, who examines it in wonder. “It’s a single-use item, as we’re still developing it for the market, but you can have this prototype.”

“What does it do?” May asks, eyeing the little robot in her hands with curiosity.

“Different technical machines teach different moves. This one teaches Steel Wing, which is one of my favourite moves. We’re researching more ways to make the machines multiple use but unfortunately due to the delicacy of the tech, they can be quite flimsy and break after one use - so try not to drop it please.”

May immediately tears off her ribbon, wrapping the robot up as gingerly as she can. Steven stifles a laugh - that’s a familiar reaction.

“You remind me a lot of her,” Steven smiles approvingly.

May snorts.

“Your girlfriend? I’m 15 you creep,” she sniffs derisively.

“Ugh… I don’t mean it that way obviously,” Steven almost smacks his forehead in annoyance. “you’ve both got the same kind of drive, I mean. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens for you next. Have you started collecting any gym badges?”

“Heck yea!” May grins proudly, and flips open her badge case to show off two shiny badges from Rustboro and Dewford.

Steven nods approvingly.

“I’d be interested to see if you do make it to me,” he speaks sagely. “Though you’d have to get through Flannery first. Where are you headed to next?”

“I’m going to challenge my dad!” May sticks her nose up in the air proudly, before deflating a bit. “I had to stop over here and then at Slateport later to deliver some stuff for Mr Stone so Brendan’s got a head start over me with that.”

“That’s Professor Birch’s son?” Steven recalls, and May’s cheeks blister red.

“You remember him and not me?!” She complains loudly. “Just you wait, Steven Stone - you’ll regret forgetting me!”

With that, she speeds off angrily, not even allowing Steven a word in edgewise. Steven raises an eyebrow at the teenager’s tantrum, before a wave of tiredness suddenly crashes over him.

There’s a mole in the company. Somehow, the submarine project he’s spearheading is involved. And out of the thousands of employees at Devon, Steven has to find the one person who’s leaking confidential information, and for what purposes, and who Team Aqua is in the first place… and all by himself.

He’ll have to leave the mural to another day - this is clearly a more pressing matter, especially if something bad is brewing under the surface of peace. Steven grabs an Escape Rope from his satchel and evacuates Granite Cave, his heart heavy with dread.

When he reaches the surface, his Pokenav pings - it’s a message from his beloved redhead.

“Dinner?” It reads, and Steven can’t help the smile blossoming on his face.

“I’ll come pick you up,” he quickly types back.

Somehow, she seems to always know when he needs her the most.