Oh, come now. Lolishotashipping?
-AC
"Dear, can you come here?"
Cynthia tensed up in the middle of looking for her Umbreon clips in the bedroom. She brushed her hair out of her face, pondering her boyfriend's strained voice. He almost sounded something akin to stressed which was alarming enough. As he dealt with people such as that aggravating Wallace on a daily basis, it was worrying to hear him so on edge.
She sauntered into the living room to see Steven Stone sitting stiffly on the couch, holding a newspaper. Uneasily, she walked behind the furniture and proceeded to rest her chin on his shoulder. Even though he didn't seem to calm much the man still acknowledged her presence and tilted his head to nuzzle hers. Cynthia smiled softly, rather content.
"What seems to be the problem?" She murmured into his hair as she straightened. The man shifted on the couch to give his partner room before responding. He seemed to have calmed a little more but still seemed on edge.
Steven tapped the newspaper currently holding residence in his lap. "I'm sure that you're aware of how the news loves to run articles on celebrity couples," he began.
The blonde raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow. So, someone must have run an article about the two of them? It only seemed fair since they had recently moved in together. There had never been an article capable of bothering the steel-type trainer beside her before. "Right," she answered finally, not understanding the direction this conversation was going.
"Well they decided to give us," here he sighed, "a couple name."
Cynthia smirked. How could he be so upset about that? It was just a name, child's play. It could be a little shocking since most newspapers avoided the taboo of just combining names in favor of being creative. Thankfully they weren't exactly known for their creativity.
"I'm assuming we have one now?" She said smoothly with an easy smile.
He bit the inside of his cheek. "Yes."
"What is it?" The Champion of Sinnoh asked, now slightly disconcerted once more by his attitude.
In an unlike show of brusqueness Steven shoved the paper into her lap. Surprised, the woman picked out the article about their relationship and began to read. For the press it all seemed rather flattering to her. There weren't any problems she could see. That was until the woman got to their conjoined name.
"Lolishotashipping?" She muttered, eyes wide with confusion. "What in Sinnoh is that?"
Without making eye contact, the silver-haired man beside her slid his cell phone gently into her palm. Cynthia's stomach twisted like a Seviper. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.
You could hear a pin drop in the room as her eyes scanned the definition pulled up on the device. When she was done she ever so quietly handed her boyfriend his phone back. "What," she hissed haltingly, "does that mean?"
He paused for a second to play with the fabric of one of the couch pillows. The former Champion would not meet her eyes. "They may be implying," he began quietly before puttering out.
"Implying what?" She had this nagging feeling that she already knew.
Steven finally looked her in the eyes. "That we like children," he ground out, putting emphasis on the word like.
"Pedophiles?" The usually confident woman gasped.
He looked away once more. Gritting her teeth, Cynthia stood up and unclipped on of her pokeballs from her belt. There was a flash as the capsule hit the floor before revealing her beloved Garchomp. It growled agreeably upon seeing the rage on its trainer's face. Steven leaned back into the chair and stared at his girlfriend curiously.
"What are you doing?" He asked blankly.
She stared at the Garchomp who was getting a rise from its trainer's anger. "All because I help a few kids on their journey," she muttered as she went down the hall to get her shoes. When she returned she put them on forcefully. "All because I assist them in taking down a criminal organization," she snarled, "I'm a pedophile?" Her eyes flashed dangerously.
"Are you coming or not?" She asked her boyfriend after whirling around to face him. Steven smirked in response before calling out Skarmory, who screeched upon release as always.
"What do you have in mind, darling?"
The pair sat on the ground in front of the burning building, the stars twinkling happily above them. Cynthia, from her position in Steven's lap, leaned into the man and sighed happily. He pressed a kiss into her hair before resting his chin on her head. Garchomp had been recalled for her good work while Aggron stayed out of his pokeball in order to tend to the flames. Neither of the Champions moved from their comfortable spot.
"We're okay with property damage now?" He teased joyfully.
Cynthia giggled, feeling giddy. "No one would think that the mild-mannered Champions would do something like this," she reasoned.
"Except for the news company," he scoffed.
She shrugged. "I'm sure they understand our position about the name now at least."
They sat in silence for a little while longer before one of them spoke up.
"But you're definitely not a pedophile, right?"