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Hello, thanks for reading! I am currently working on a long vacation fic that I want a lot more progress with before I publish it, but this section I wrote recently is just the sweet focus of Cynthia enjoying a quiet dinner on a yacht with her partners, Lance and Steven. There's no spiciness or trigger warnings here, pure fluff, history, trying to flesh more of the Pokemon world as I see fit, depicting their dynamics and troubles. I'll add a few notes at the bottom but enjoy.!
┗━✦❘༻ ♡ ༺❘✦━━┛
Honoring the deceased was incredibly important to Cynthia. Many years ago she learned just how important that was to her and what it meant as a historian. There had been a shortage of starter Pokémon at the time of her own journey to set off. With help of her rival, she uncovered both the source of the shortage and the source of anxiety in Pokémon along the surrounding Solaceon area: all the fault of a greedy breeder unearthing tombs at the Hallowed Tower for dark profit.
The difference between a grave robber and an archeologist… Confronted with the similarities, she found her answer had been with her all along. Cynthia only wished to respect the lives of the Pokémon and people who travail these paths– past, present, and future. History and happiness should be shared freely with everyone.
At the risk of sounding too much like her grandmother, Cynthia loved retelling these stories and historical facts she's learned. Especially with her partners, Lance and Steven, they were both great listeners and always so thoughtful in their questions.
"After that, Professor Rowan said I was reliable, then he gave me access to more advanced research tasks and published work," She finished and dipped her ramen again to swirl around in Grumpig hakata broth. They were in the middle of their gorgeous vacation to the little islands south of Ever Grande, sharing a yacht with a few close friends out over the open sea and having dinner together on the stern deck of the Flying Wailord. It had an extendable roof over the sunbeds in case of inclement weather, a cafe table, and round glass brick to let light down into the cabins below. This spot was a bit more private, which was a nice change of pace.
"He said you were reliable- and that's it? You save the future trainers in Sinnoh, and all he says is 'you're reliable'?" Her tall, dark and handsome boyfriend picked the last of his karashi mentaiko, a spicy Goldeen roe over rice, but Lance honestly was more focused on giving her a vexed look at the end of her story.
Their favorite dragon master typically liked simpler foods with rice, street food, or sushi, nothing too garnished or overly extravagant. They had to go to a fine dining conference in Kalos once and he clearly didn't enjoy the deconstructed food they had to offer. She found these facets of his personality quite sweet and relatable, many trainers don’t expect the two of them to share such rural inclinations.
"It's at least worth an 'outstanding' or 'incredible' or 'trainer of the century'..." He also had a habit of embellishing praise. She giggled at Lance's flattery before sipping up some noodles.
"Hehehe. If you can believe it, he has softened a bit over the years. The Professor is very shrewd but handling children was never a strong suit of his."
"Hmm, Lance is right though," Her cool and mysterious boyfriend to her left now added, dipping a Breloom mushroom and cabbage gyōza dumpling into some rayu sauce. "Giving up your own opportunity to receive a special partner Pokémon, then going on to investigate the origin behind the shortage so thoroughly… you were nothing short of wonderful. It makes me wish I had been there to see it with you back then."
Apparently the prestigious Steven Stone hadn't always started with such a wide palate for different kinds of dishes. He’s told them how he had a stubborn streak as a kid which frustrated his parents. He wasn't all that adamant now that he’s learned more about the rich cultural history of meals around the world. She feels deeply connected to him whenever he talks about traveling to see the world with his own eyes; they’ve always shared this drive to keep moving.
Cynthia tucked down her shoulders, eating her noodles a moment quietly against the backdrop of ruminations. Steven’s heartfelt words… what could it have been like to travel with Steven and Lance, all as young, fledgling trainers? It was hard for her not to think about that, both as a happy and sad consideration. She tapped her chopsticks to her lower lip then lifted her eyes to him to finally answer. "But, the journey you had… Surely it was a precious experience that shaped you. I wouldn't want to change who you are now, even if it meant losing the chance to become a trainer alongside you at the beginning."
He smiled back earnestly. The setting sun illuminated his beautiful crystal blue eyes into a color she could only describe as a healing hue of light, the sight made her heart flutter. Steven looked so pretty in the sunset… A new thought struck her, so like a Quick Attack, she grabbed her phone and held it up.
Lagging behind her impulsive speed, Steven only blinked back. "What's this…?"
"Here, before you finish it," She came up with the excuse on the fly. Her two boyfriends both looked so cute sitting there, she wanted that memory to stay longer. She captured their momentary bewildered look, then Cynthia held up a v sign for good measure. "Smile for victory~" Her boys smiled for her with their own unique flavor of a cool aura, quick to shift into that facade as any league celebrity.
"It would've made more sense to do that before we started," Steven rationalized. Lance must have caught onto her goal in the low light and he shook his head at him. Steven looked his way, missing her third shot as she still giggled from behind her phone. "What?"
"I'm perfectly content with this," She answered cryptically.
"If you insist… Well, would either of you like my last dumpling?" Steven was always good about offering them a little bit of anything he ordered to try if they wanted. Still, Steven's offers to share his plate hadn't done much to budge Lance's taste to enjoy more high class dining… in an ordinary circumstance, that should consider her a tie breaker for questions like ‘where do they go for a meal together’… Except Cynthia was notoriously indecisive. It weirdly became a perfect strategy to stay out of minor disagreements between her boyfriends; they knew they had to resolve it between each other because she wasn't going to pick a side.
“I’m good,” She politely declined his dumpling. To the same offering, Lance only gave him a silent, stoic look.
"You could just say no," Steven reminded him.
"No."
"Lance," Steven sighed as Lance cracked a wry smile back. Cynthia snickered at them. Times like this were so nice… She always found herself laughing whenever she was around them, feeling warm like a Blissey’s hug, and also full of relief for the stress she had been ignoring for weeks, or maybe years. Going their respective ways for their work and family obligations was a bit more painful than she liked to admit. Ever since her rival went missing years ago… It was hard not to automatically wonder if this was Cynthia’s last time seeing them. If it was, would Lance and Steven have the peace of knowing how loved they were? Did she properly express her joy in a way that could transcend any distance of space and time?
What more could she do now, in the moment?
“About your story,” Steven quietly interrupted her ruminations. He seemed to have detected her trailing into unseen corners of her mind. “Do you still have the photos you took documenting the cavern under Hallowed Tower? I’d love to see them sometime.”
“Of course,” Cynthia beamed. “Though, I don’t personally have them, they were donated. There’s some copies at the mayor’s office in Solaceon Town, but the original polaroids are in Hearthome City hall, in their historical entryway for visitors.”
“I’ll definitely have a look the next time I’m in Sinnoh then.” Steven folded his hands together and rested his chin on them.
“Together,” Lance added.
“Of course.”
“You’ll want your tour guide too. Unless you want to borrow Spiritomb and see what she has to say instead.” She smiled, bemused again. Her trickster was still the last holdout of her Pokemon to accept her two boyfriends, but she also knew it took time for the myriad of spirits within to get in line. Steven closed his eyes, acting cool despite clearly remembering the last time Spiritomb took down Cradily in battle only to taunt Steven with a Will-O-Wisp haunting.
“No thank you.”
“I’d be curious what she thinks of the daycare now. Whatever happened to it after one of the owners was caught disturbing spirits at a gravesite?” Lance’s question was a pleasant surprise and caught her on the last slurp of her noodles.
“Oh, Rhea made an ultimatum to Ajax: get turned over to the police or abandon his stake in the daycare. She ended up marrying into a bigger family of farmers in town, so the center has been doing well ever since.” Lance held a steady, pensive look, prompting Cynthia to frown. “Oh… do you think we should have let the police arrest him?”
“I wouldn’t necessarily say that.”
“In hindsight, maybe that would have been better. He never did show any remorse.” She leaned back to look at the steadily fading colors of the early summer sky, and deeper over it, the indigo hue of night rolling in. Whispering, Cynthia added, “neither did Cyrus…”
“Maybe. But I don’t think it’ll matter.”
“Because Cynthia is the champion, right?” Steven wagered a guess. Lance chuckled.
“Of course. He got to see how mighty and persistent you were, I’m sure he’s the type to avoid ever crossing paths with you or your Garchomp again.”
“I wish that intimidation always worked.” Her smile returned, though saddened by how the most important conflicts in her life hadn’t been as successful as she had hoped.
“I know what you mean,” Steven added quietly.
“But it does work,” Lance said with an assertive voice, commanding their attention with a serious tone. “A Champion’s presence is more than the fearsome presence against the bad inclinations of people. It’s also to nurture the strength of the next great trainers and to watch them step into the role of protectors.”
“It’s quite a burden to put on children like May, though.” She felt the same about Dawn, too, catching Steven’s gloomy look. Cynthia wished that she had been a stronger and wiser trainer to have handled Team Galactic on her own.
“Everyone is empowered to fight for the justice they want to see in the world, that freedom to battle is critical,” Lance reiterated. “The structure of an organized force, police or the league, will always be too slow to handle the kinds of conflicts we see young trainers insert themselves into to solve.” Or they would do even worse. As a historian, Cynthia knew too well that war often came with large organized forces within regions- police, military, or otherwise. One of the biggest shifts away from continuous strife between territories was the birth of the Pokemon leagues.
“I know you’re right.” She smirked, laying her chopsticks down properly over the bowl then having a sip of her royal milk tea. “It’s still a bit funny to hear you argue about the inefficiency of organized force, officer Champion.”
“I’m a principled man first.” He shrugged despite the serious tone. Lance worked in a secret unit in the International Police called the G-Men, but he kept a lot of his work details to himself.
“Naturally, I’m inclined to agree with Lance. It sounds like you perfectly handled the situation with the grave robber. Though…” Steven paused. “Maybe not for almost burying yourself along with the cave.”
“Eheheh, that’s fair.” She lightly scratched her cheek, recalling the moment of being trapped under Gabite's protective hold. Cynthia had asked her new Pokemon to bring peace to the deceased, not sink the whole cave. Spiritomb has always been a wild card. “I certainly didn’t expect her to do that, but given how decrepit the Hallowed Tower was, I could have better anticipated its collapse.”
“Please be careful,” He waned and rubbed at his ring. Steven did tend to be the quiet worrywort of the three of them, she had noticed there was a certain way he’d spin his index ring with his thumb whenever he was concerned about something. That was a hard bargain for her, given Cynthia’s nature to jump in wherever she saw trouble, but she still reached over to lay her left hand on his reassuringly.
“I promise to try my best.” He warmed to her touch, wrapping around hers and leaning in to kiss her hand.
“Thank you. And I promise to find the perfect ring to put here, my dear~”
“–But you did though!” She whined, blushing suddenly and feeling her hand sweat. Oh no, she was afraid this would happen. Steven and Lance had surprised her with a gorgeous pearl ring recently, the whole event was so special, so she didn’t want them to think it was unappreciated. She needed to do better to express how she felt…! “Come on, I love the ring you got me…”
“Of course, that’s understandable. I still believe I could do better next time though,” He said soothingly. Cynthia couldn’t imagine such a thing was possible, that ring was, what, a zillion ℙ? She already felt so nervous to bring it home to show her family, they’ll absolutely think it was a real wedding ring… not to mention the paparazzi in Sinnoh would be going nuts if she began wearing it publicly.
“Please,” She breathed shakily, getting increasingly worked up over considering another romantic gift like that. “Y-You’re spoiling me too much…”
“My apologies,” Steven chuckled, closing in to brush her hair aside and kiss her on the cheek. “I don’t mean to take it too fast. I’ve been wanting to give you one for so long that maybe I’m not satisfied with just one.” He has mentioned getting her a ring now and then. Perhaps it was how unaccustomed she was to receiving showy, expensive gifts– this yacht trip and now a shining and brilliant ring– Cynthia began to think she couldn’t ever properly thank them enough.
There had to be a way. She exhaled, releasing her hands to reach up and cup his face to kiss Steven back fully. His eyes flickered with amusement, returning her passion along his own warm lips. Her heart racing made it hard to embrace for too long, she broke away for a shaky breath.
“So, do you like that idea?” He beamed under her hands with that genuine smile. She laughed breathlessly and pinched his cheeks back playfully.
“Steven, I said you’re spoiling me. I’m still in awe of the gift you just got me, so give Lance something incredible before you talk about the next one.”
"Oh, I'm great,” Lance flashed a grin, arms crossed and watching them. “I’m going to order the purin." So much for that lifeline she was begging for, Lance. She let go of Steven’s face to shoot him a pointed look, face reddening more.
"–No, you're not," She pouted. Cynthia saw through Lance’s new habit in the last year, he'll order a dessert that she was debating, despite him openly not having a sweet tooth, then he’ll have a small bite and slide the whole thing over to her without a word. Sometimes she adored him for that, it made her decision process feel easier, but today was not going to be that day. "You’re included in that, stop spoiling me. It’s senseless to have leftovers in a place like this."
He looked momentarily surprised at the resistance before grinning back in that cheeky way he does when he's successful in getting a rise out of them for fun. "But what if I want it?"
"Since when," She retorted back.
"It's a special occasion," He chuckled. She simmered down a little, recognizing she definitely wasn't going to win this if she kept egging on his challenging retorts. Cynthia took a slow sip of her drink to glower at him.
"Well," Steven filled in her purposeful silence with his own cocky smile. "Every day we get to spend together is a special occasion."
"Hah!" Lance waved a hand quickly over the other before leaning back to hang one arm over the chair. "There it is!"
The downside to having these two as her boyfriends was when they both conspired against her. Lance and Steven were a menace to combat together, so she absolutely needed one of them to switch to her side of this. "No guys, stop…! I’m serious,” She softened her voice, pleading. “Everything about our vacation has been magical. I don’t need two gorgeous rings. I don't want two desserts every night we're here."
"Oh, but you have decided on a dessert tonight?" Steven smiled knowingly and folded his hands. She fell right into the trap, eyes darting back to their menu to skim.
"Hmm, um, n… no… but I will. Don't rush me yet, I'll make a choice." Lance and Steven shared a bemused look as she scanned through the menu, now facing down the threat of making a choice again. Cynthia was so bad at that…
At least she could eliminate the option of yokan Gateaux because she had that yesterday, but she really did enjoy the ice cream from the day before. So maybe ice cream... But she also hasn't tried the decadent chocolate cake yet and Diantha's looked so good when she ordered it the other day with a cheri on top. Yet still, since Lance said it, now she keeps thinking about the creamy purin pudding… but the strawberry daifuku would taste especially good with her milk tea–
Cynthia heard Steven's voice and it took another moment for her internal war over confections to come to a cease fire and safely return her attention to them. She blinked, looking up, "I'm sorry, were you asking me something?"
She was lost in her thoughts longer than expected again, her boyfriends had let out Metagross, Skarmory, and two Dragonite to chase each other high up in the open, moonlit air. The radiant sunset was gone without her notice, and the deck lights were now glowing beautifully to illuminate their path. She really hated losing time to her choice paralysis…
"Oh, I only asked a hypothetical. If you had been given the choice of a starter Pokemon back then, which would you have picked," Steven hummed back, untroubled by her ongoing delay. Which starter? Geez, if it wasn’t hard enough trying to pick a dessert.
"Eheheh, well, I never made a decision." She balled up her hands in her lap, chuckled at her silly, younger self and hoped to diffuse her own embarrassment. It was admittedly weird to finally say it out loud. "I was planning on closing my eyes and spinning around to point at one… I've wondered if Professor Rowan would ever have trusted me as a serious researcher if he had thought about his pupil making life-changing decisions in such a childish way."
"No way, that sounds cute! You should pick like that more often."
"No, I'm a dignified woman now." She hesitated, finally noticing that subtle look between them and piecing it together to share an exasperated look with them. “Don’t you dare get me a starter Pokemon either.” Steven snapped his fingers as if disappointment.
"Sure, but if one just appeared out of the blue," Lance started and she shushed him. Right on cue, a Magneton floated out through the automatic door to her right with a silver platter and cloche suspended from its magnetism. Speechless, she watched it place the platter down on the edge of the table between herself and Steven. Her boyfriend was suddenly teeming with excitement, he hopped up out of his seat to wave off the steel type.
“Thank you, Magneton!”
“Tell me you didn’t,” She murmured, wondering what they were up to but apprehensive to open the gleaming silver cloche. There’s no way they actually got three starters arranged and delivered in such a way… right? But with Dragonite’s speed of traveling the globe, and Steven’s limitless budget… it suddenly wasn’t all that outrageous. Dragonite has delivered her lost items from Johto with incredible time, and Hoenn wasn’t relatively far away. They absolutely had the connections necessary.
“Didn’t what?” Lance pried and wrapped his strong arm around her shoulders. She felt too overwhelmed to clarify, Cynthia only stared at her distorted reflection along the surface with mounting suspense. Their Magneton waiter buzzed happily beside her before leaving.
“So,” Steven sat back down, scooting in to grasp the handle and hold it there in front of her with suspense. “You can still try spinning around to decide which one you really want.” What would she even do? These Pokemon are always so excited and eager to go home with a new trainer… But, as a gift from them, to look after and think about, to share her happiness with when they weren’t here… wouldn’t it be amazing to have another little one around to care for? It was a way to share her love for them even from afar.
“I… th—that won’t be necessary,” Cynthia answered, nearly paralyzed in her seat. Their visible excitement quelled noticeably at her stiff reaction. Lance shifted to gently tuck some her hair back out of her way and his voice lowered into that deeper pitch as smooth as finely conched chocolate.
“Are you feeling alright, Cynthia?” She didn’t know what she was feeling now. Excited? Scared…? She turned her head up to Lance a moment, studying his face for an answer she couldn’t find herself. His strong features against his kind demeanor… And Steven to her left, with his sharp and gentle eyes observing her…
Maybe a love that would move mountains in a moment for her happiness was overwhelming, but intimately knowing such bonds could disappear in an instant, reading so many histories of lovers long passed and handling the remains of their lives… Cynthia decided. Loving boldly was the best problem to have.
“I’m fine,” She exhaled after a moment.
“Are you sure?” Lance reiterated cautiously. Steven waited, still poised to reveal their delivery but looking increasingly concerned.
“Mmhm.” Cynthia smiled through her nerves. “Let’s see them.”
“Very well,” Steven nodded and lifted the cloche lid on the plate revealing… three desserts decorated like the three Sinnoh starters given away from Professor Rowan. There was a Turtwig green tea daifuku with a pocky stick poking out of its noggin and dollops of cream for the leaves, a Chimchar purin pudding with an extra squiggle of caramel for the head flame on top and vanilla wafers poked into the sides to make the ears, and last was a Piplup scoop of ice cream drizzled in blue Oran sauce and garnished with a carefully shaped cut of a Sitrus berry for the beak.
They sat there in total silence as she looked over the adorable desserts with a pleading eye.
How… ridiculous. She got caught up in her own analysis and worries. Cynthia felt the stress leave her all at once again, weirdly enough. What else was a vacation for? Mirth bubbled up in its place to flood her thoughts, she started to giggle then laid her head in her hands and racked with uproarious laughter. It wasn’t even that funny in itself, but the whole situation was too downright silly and once she started, it only spiraled out of control. Lance and Steven remained hesitant until they eventually caught her amusement like a contagion and laughed along with her.
How were they so good at giving her a world full of joy…?
She did end up spinning around to pick the Turtwig daifuku afterall. Not that it mattered, since they left their Chimchar and Piplup dessert for her anyway.
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Thanks again for reading! Before you can ask, Cynthia's 'rival' is an OC I made, the older brother to Riley, though you'll just have to be left with that suspense alone. I think the rest of this works well as stand-alone from the great fic I am trying to work on, but you tell me! ^^
┗━✦❘༻ ♡ ༺❘✦━━┛
Honoring the deceased was incredibly important to Cynthia. Many years ago she learned just how important that was to her and what it meant as a historian. There had been a shortage of starter Pokémon at the time of her own journey to set off. With help of her rival, she uncovered both the source of the shortage and the source of anxiety in Pokémon along the surrounding Solaceon area: all the fault of a greedy breeder unearthing tombs at the Hallowed Tower for dark profit.
The difference between a grave robber and an archeologist… Confronted with the similarities, she found her answer had been with her all along. Cynthia only wished to respect the lives of the Pokémon and people who travail these paths– past, present, and future. History and happiness should be shared freely with everyone.
At the risk of sounding too much like her grandmother, Cynthia loved retelling these stories and historical facts she's learned. Especially with her partners, Lance and Steven, they were both great listeners and always so thoughtful in their questions.
"After that, Professor Rowan said I was reliable, then he gave me access to more advanced research tasks and published work," She finished and dipped her ramen again to swirl around in Grumpig hakata broth. They were in the middle of their gorgeous vacation to the little islands south of Ever Grande, sharing a yacht with a few close friends out over the open sea and having dinner together on the stern deck of the Flying Wailord. It had an extendable roof over the sunbeds in case of inclement weather, a cafe table, and round glass brick to let light down into the cabins below. This spot was a bit more private, which was a nice change of pace.
"He said you were reliable- and that's it? You save the future trainers in Sinnoh, and all he says is 'you're reliable'?" Her tall, dark and handsome boyfriend picked the last of his karashi mentaiko, a spicy Goldeen roe over rice, but Lance honestly was more focused on giving her a vexed look at the end of her story.
Their favorite dragon master typically liked simpler foods with rice, street food, or sushi, nothing too garnished or overly extravagant. They had to go to a fine dining conference in Kalos once and he clearly didn't enjoy the deconstructed food they had to offer. She found these facets of his personality quite sweet and relatable, many trainers don’t expect the two of them to share such rural inclinations.
"It's at least worth an 'outstanding' or 'incredible' or 'trainer of the century'..." He also had a habit of embellishing praise. She giggled at Lance's flattery before sipping up some noodles.
"Hehehe. If you can believe it, he has softened a bit over the years. The Professor is very shrewd but handling children was never a strong suit of his."
"Hmm, Lance is right though," Her cool and mysterious boyfriend to her left now added, dipping a Breloom mushroom and cabbage gyōza dumpling into some rayu sauce. "Giving up your own opportunity to receive a special partner Pokémon, then going on to investigate the origin behind the shortage so thoroughly… you were nothing short of wonderful. It makes me wish I had been there to see it with you back then."
Apparently the prestigious Steven Stone hadn't always started with such a wide palate for different kinds of dishes. He’s told them how he had a stubborn streak as a kid which frustrated his parents. He wasn't all that adamant now that he’s learned more about the rich cultural history of meals around the world. She feels deeply connected to him whenever he talks about traveling to see the world with his own eyes; they’ve always shared this drive to keep moving.
Cynthia tucked down her shoulders, eating her noodles a moment quietly against the backdrop of ruminations. Steven’s heartfelt words… what could it have been like to travel with Steven and Lance, all as young, fledgling trainers? It was hard for her not to think about that, both as a happy and sad consideration. She tapped her chopsticks to her lower lip then lifted her eyes to him to finally answer. "But, the journey you had… Surely it was a precious experience that shaped you. I wouldn't want to change who you are now, even if it meant losing the chance to become a trainer alongside you at the beginning."
He smiled back earnestly. The setting sun illuminated his beautiful crystal blue eyes into a color she could only describe as a healing hue of light, the sight made her heart flutter. Steven looked so pretty in the sunset… A new thought struck her, so like a Quick Attack, she grabbed her phone and held it up.
Lagging behind her impulsive speed, Steven only blinked back. "What's this…?"
"Here, before you finish it," She came up with the excuse on the fly. Her two boyfriends both looked so cute sitting there, she wanted that memory to stay longer. She captured their momentary bewildered look, then Cynthia held up a v sign for good measure. "Smile for victory~" Her boys smiled for her with their own unique flavor of a cool aura, quick to shift into that facade as any league celebrity.
"It would've made more sense to do that before we started," Steven rationalized. Lance must have caught onto her goal in the low light and he shook his head at him. Steven looked his way, missing her third shot as she still giggled from behind her phone. "What?"
"I'm perfectly content with this," She answered cryptically.
"If you insist… Well, would either of you like my last dumpling?" Steven was always good about offering them a little bit of anything he ordered to try if they wanted. Still, Steven's offers to share his plate hadn't done much to budge Lance's taste to enjoy more high class dining… in an ordinary circumstance, that should consider her a tie breaker for questions like ‘where do they go for a meal together’… Except Cynthia was notoriously indecisive. It weirdly became a perfect strategy to stay out of minor disagreements between her boyfriends; they knew they had to resolve it between each other because she wasn't going to pick a side.
“I’m good,” She politely declined his dumpling. To the same offering, Lance only gave him a silent, stoic look.
"You could just say no," Steven reminded him.
"No."
"Lance," Steven sighed as Lance cracked a wry smile back. Cynthia snickered at them. Times like this were so nice… She always found herself laughing whenever she was around them, feeling warm like a Blissey’s hug, and also full of relief for the stress she had been ignoring for weeks, or maybe years. Going their respective ways for their work and family obligations was a bit more painful than she liked to admit. Ever since her rival went missing years ago… It was hard not to automatically wonder if this was Cynthia’s last time seeing them. If it was, would Lance and Steven have the peace of knowing how loved they were? Did she properly express her joy in a way that could transcend any distance of space and time?
What more could she do now, in the moment?
“About your story,” Steven quietly interrupted her ruminations. He seemed to have detected her trailing into unseen corners of her mind. “Do you still have the photos you took documenting the cavern under Hallowed Tower? I’d love to see them sometime.”
“Of course,” Cynthia beamed. “Though, I don’t personally have them, they were donated. There’s some copies at the mayor’s office in Solaceon Town, but the original polaroids are in Hearthome City hall, in their historical entryway for visitors.”
“I’ll definitely have a look the next time I’m in Sinnoh then.” Steven folded his hands together and rested his chin on them.
“Together,” Lance added.
“Of course.”
“You’ll want your tour guide too. Unless you want to borrow Spiritomb and see what she has to say instead.” She smiled, bemused again. Her trickster was still the last holdout of her Pokemon to accept her two boyfriends, but she also knew it took time for the myriad of spirits within to get in line. Steven closed his eyes, acting cool despite clearly remembering the last time Spiritomb took down Cradily in battle only to taunt Steven with a Will-O-Wisp haunting.
“No thank you.”
“I’d be curious what she thinks of the daycare now. Whatever happened to it after one of the owners was caught disturbing spirits at a gravesite?” Lance’s question was a pleasant surprise and caught her on the last slurp of her noodles.
“Oh, Rhea made an ultimatum to Ajax: get turned over to the police or abandon his stake in the daycare. She ended up marrying into a bigger family of farmers in town, so the center has been doing well ever since.” Lance held a steady, pensive look, prompting Cynthia to frown. “Oh… do you think we should have let the police arrest him?”
“I wouldn’t necessarily say that.”
“In hindsight, maybe that would have been better. He never did show any remorse.” She leaned back to look at the steadily fading colors of the early summer sky, and deeper over it, the indigo hue of night rolling in. Whispering, Cynthia added, “neither did Cyrus…”
“Maybe. But I don’t think it’ll matter.”
“Because Cynthia is the champion, right?” Steven wagered a guess. Lance chuckled.
“Of course. He got to see how mighty and persistent you were, I’m sure he’s the type to avoid ever crossing paths with you or your Garchomp again.”
“I wish that intimidation always worked.” Her smile returned, though saddened by how the most important conflicts in her life hadn’t been as successful as she had hoped.
“I know what you mean,” Steven added quietly.
“But it does work,” Lance said with an assertive voice, commanding their attention with a serious tone. “A Champion’s presence is more than the fearsome presence against the bad inclinations of people. It’s also to nurture the strength of the next great trainers and to watch them step into the role of protectors.”
“It’s quite a burden to put on children like May, though.” She felt the same about Dawn, too, catching Steven’s gloomy look. Cynthia wished that she had been a stronger and wiser trainer to have handled Team Galactic on her own.
“Everyone is empowered to fight for the justice they want to see in the world, that freedom to battle is critical,” Lance reiterated. “The structure of an organized force, police or the league, will always be too slow to handle the kinds of conflicts we see young trainers insert themselves into to solve.” Or they would do even worse. As a historian, Cynthia knew too well that war often came with large organized forces within regions- police, military, or otherwise. One of the biggest shifts away from continuous strife between territories was the birth of the Pokemon leagues.
“I know you’re right.” She smirked, laying her chopsticks down properly over the bowl then having a sip of her royal milk tea. “It’s still a bit funny to hear you argue about the inefficiency of organized force, officer Champion.”
“I’m a principled man first.” He shrugged despite the serious tone. Lance worked in a secret unit in the International Police called the G-Men, but he kept a lot of his work details to himself.
“Naturally, I’m inclined to agree with Lance. It sounds like you perfectly handled the situation with the grave robber. Though…” Steven paused. “Maybe not for almost burying yourself along with the cave.”
“Eheheh, that’s fair.” She lightly scratched her cheek, recalling the moment of being trapped under Gabite's protective hold. Cynthia had asked her new Pokemon to bring peace to the deceased, not sink the whole cave. Spiritomb has always been a wild card. “I certainly didn’t expect her to do that, but given how decrepit the Hallowed Tower was, I could have better anticipated its collapse.”
“Please be careful,” He waned and rubbed at his ring. Steven did tend to be the quiet worrywort of the three of them, she had noticed there was a certain way he’d spin his index ring with his thumb whenever he was concerned about something. That was a hard bargain for her, given Cynthia’s nature to jump in wherever she saw trouble, but she still reached over to lay her left hand on his reassuringly.
“I promise to try my best.” He warmed to her touch, wrapping around hers and leaning in to kiss her hand.
“Thank you. And I promise to find the perfect ring to put here, my dear~”
“–But you did though!” She whined, blushing suddenly and feeling her hand sweat. Oh no, she was afraid this would happen. Steven and Lance had surprised her with a gorgeous pearl ring recently, the whole event was so special, so she didn’t want them to think it was unappreciated. She needed to do better to express how she felt…! “Come on, I love the ring you got me…”
“Of course, that’s understandable. I still believe I could do better next time though,” He said soothingly. Cynthia couldn’t imagine such a thing was possible, that ring was, what, a zillion ℙ? She already felt so nervous to bring it home to show her family, they’ll absolutely think it was a real wedding ring… not to mention the paparazzi in Sinnoh would be going nuts if she began wearing it publicly.
“Please,” She breathed shakily, getting increasingly worked up over considering another romantic gift like that. “Y-You’re spoiling me too much…”
“My apologies,” Steven chuckled, closing in to brush her hair aside and kiss her on the cheek. “I don’t mean to take it too fast. I’ve been wanting to give you one for so long that maybe I’m not satisfied with just one.” He has mentioned getting her a ring now and then. Perhaps it was how unaccustomed she was to receiving showy, expensive gifts– this yacht trip and now a shining and brilliant ring– Cynthia began to think she couldn’t ever properly thank them enough.
There had to be a way. She exhaled, releasing her hands to reach up and cup his face to kiss Steven back fully. His eyes flickered with amusement, returning her passion along his own warm lips. Her heart racing made it hard to embrace for too long, she broke away for a shaky breath.
“So, do you like that idea?” He beamed under her hands with that genuine smile. She laughed breathlessly and pinched his cheeks back playfully.
“Steven, I said you’re spoiling me. I’m still in awe of the gift you just got me, so give Lance something incredible before you talk about the next one.”
"Oh, I'm great,” Lance flashed a grin, arms crossed and watching them. “I’m going to order the purin." So much for that lifeline she was begging for, Lance. She let go of Steven’s face to shoot him a pointed look, face reddening more.
"–No, you're not," She pouted. Cynthia saw through Lance’s new habit in the last year, he'll order a dessert that she was debating, despite him openly not having a sweet tooth, then he’ll have a small bite and slide the whole thing over to her without a word. Sometimes she adored him for that, it made her decision process feel easier, but today was not going to be that day. "You’re included in that, stop spoiling me. It’s senseless to have leftovers in a place like this."
He looked momentarily surprised at the resistance before grinning back in that cheeky way he does when he's successful in getting a rise out of them for fun. "But what if I want it?"
"Since when," She retorted back.
"It's a special occasion," He chuckled. She simmered down a little, recognizing she definitely wasn't going to win this if she kept egging on his challenging retorts. Cynthia took a slow sip of her drink to glower at him.
"Well," Steven filled in her purposeful silence with his own cocky smile. "Every day we get to spend together is a special occasion."
"Hah!" Lance waved a hand quickly over the other before leaning back to hang one arm over the chair. "There it is!"
The downside to having these two as her boyfriends was when they both conspired against her. Lance and Steven were a menace to combat together, so she absolutely needed one of them to switch to her side of this. "No guys, stop…! I’m serious,” She softened her voice, pleading. “Everything about our vacation has been magical. I don’t need two gorgeous rings. I don't want two desserts every night we're here."
"Oh, but you have decided on a dessert tonight?" Steven smiled knowingly and folded his hands. She fell right into the trap, eyes darting back to their menu to skim.
"Hmm, um, n… no… but I will. Don't rush me yet, I'll make a choice." Lance and Steven shared a bemused look as she scanned through the menu, now facing down the threat of making a choice again. Cynthia was so bad at that…
At least she could eliminate the option of yokan Gateaux because she had that yesterday, but she really did enjoy the ice cream from the day before. So maybe ice cream... But she also hasn't tried the decadent chocolate cake yet and Diantha's looked so good when she ordered it the other day with a cheri on top. Yet still, since Lance said it, now she keeps thinking about the creamy purin pudding… but the strawberry daifuku would taste especially good with her milk tea–
Cynthia heard Steven's voice and it took another moment for her internal war over confections to come to a cease fire and safely return her attention to them. She blinked, looking up, "I'm sorry, were you asking me something?"
She was lost in her thoughts longer than expected again, her boyfriends had let out Metagross, Skarmory, and two Dragonite to chase each other high up in the open, moonlit air. The radiant sunset was gone without her notice, and the deck lights were now glowing beautifully to illuminate their path. She really hated losing time to her choice paralysis…
"Oh, I only asked a hypothetical. If you had been given the choice of a starter Pokemon back then, which would you have picked," Steven hummed back, untroubled by her ongoing delay. Which starter? Geez, if it wasn’t hard enough trying to pick a dessert.
"Eheheh, well, I never made a decision." She balled up her hands in her lap, chuckled at her silly, younger self and hoped to diffuse her own embarrassment. It was admittedly weird to finally say it out loud. "I was planning on closing my eyes and spinning around to point at one… I've wondered if Professor Rowan would ever have trusted me as a serious researcher if he had thought about his pupil making life-changing decisions in such a childish way."
"No way, that sounds cute! You should pick like that more often."
"No, I'm a dignified woman now." She hesitated, finally noticing that subtle look between them and piecing it together to share an exasperated look with them. “Don’t you dare get me a starter Pokemon either.” Steven snapped his fingers as if disappointment.
"Sure, but if one just appeared out of the blue," Lance started and she shushed him. Right on cue, a Magneton floated out through the automatic door to her right with a silver platter and cloche suspended from its magnetism. Speechless, she watched it place the platter down on the edge of the table between herself and Steven. Her boyfriend was suddenly teeming with excitement, he hopped up out of his seat to wave off the steel type.
“Thank you, Magneton!”
“Tell me you didn’t,” She murmured, wondering what they were up to but apprehensive to open the gleaming silver cloche. There’s no way they actually got three starters arranged and delivered in such a way… right? But with Dragonite’s speed of traveling the globe, and Steven’s limitless budget… it suddenly wasn’t all that outrageous. Dragonite has delivered her lost items from Johto with incredible time, and Hoenn wasn’t relatively far away. They absolutely had the connections necessary.
“Didn’t what?” Lance pried and wrapped his strong arm around her shoulders. She felt too overwhelmed to clarify, Cynthia only stared at her distorted reflection along the surface with mounting suspense. Their Magneton waiter buzzed happily beside her before leaving.
“So,” Steven sat back down, scooting in to grasp the handle and hold it there in front of her with suspense. “You can still try spinning around to decide which one you really want.” What would she even do? These Pokemon are always so excited and eager to go home with a new trainer… But, as a gift from them, to look after and think about, to share her happiness with when they weren’t here… wouldn’t it be amazing to have another little one around to care for? It was a way to share her love for them even from afar.
“I… th—that won’t be necessary,” Cynthia answered, nearly paralyzed in her seat. Their visible excitement quelled noticeably at her stiff reaction. Lance shifted to gently tuck some her hair back out of her way and his voice lowered into that deeper pitch as smooth as finely conched chocolate.
“Are you feeling alright, Cynthia?” She didn’t know what she was feeling now. Excited? Scared…? She turned her head up to Lance a moment, studying his face for an answer she couldn’t find herself. His strong features against his kind demeanor… And Steven to her left, with his sharp and gentle eyes observing her…
Maybe a love that would move mountains in a moment for her happiness was overwhelming, but intimately knowing such bonds could disappear in an instant, reading so many histories of lovers long passed and handling the remains of their lives… Cynthia decided. Loving boldly was the best problem to have.
“I’m fine,” She exhaled after a moment.
“Are you sure?” Lance reiterated cautiously. Steven waited, still poised to reveal their delivery but looking increasingly concerned.
“Mmhm.” Cynthia smiled through her nerves. “Let’s see them.”
“Very well,” Steven nodded and lifted the cloche lid on the plate revealing… three desserts decorated like the three Sinnoh starters given away from Professor Rowan. There was a Turtwig green tea daifuku with a pocky stick poking out of its noggin and dollops of cream for the leaves, a Chimchar purin pudding with an extra squiggle of caramel for the head flame on top and vanilla wafers poked into the sides to make the ears, and last was a Piplup scoop of ice cream drizzled in blue Oran sauce and garnished with a carefully shaped cut of a Sitrus berry for the beak.
They sat there in total silence as she looked over the adorable desserts with a pleading eye.
How… ridiculous. She got caught up in her own analysis and worries. Cynthia felt the stress leave her all at once again, weirdly enough. What else was a vacation for? Mirth bubbled up in its place to flood her thoughts, she started to giggle then laid her head in her hands and racked with uproarious laughter. It wasn’t even that funny in itself, but the whole situation was too downright silly and once she started, it only spiraled out of control. Lance and Steven remained hesitant until they eventually caught her amusement like a contagion and laughed along with her.
How were they so good at giving her a world full of joy…?
She did end up spinning around to pick the Turtwig daifuku afterall. Not that it mattered, since they left their Chimchar and Piplup dessert for her anyway.
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Thanks again for reading! Before you can ask, Cynthia's 'rival' is an OC I made, the older brother to Riley, though you'll just have to be left with that suspense alone. I think the rest of this works well as stand-alone from the great fic I am trying to work on, but you tell me! ^^
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