Sapphire walked along the familiar route. Her trusted Blaziken striding along at her side.
"There isn't much to do today is there?" She fiddled with the white cape which was draped over her shoulders. The cape fanned out elegantly as she walked. She had won it from Wallace a good few years ago. He had taken over the championship after Steven left to travel the world.
She turned away from that thought. She hadn't heard a word from him since their last meeting.
They'd had a wonderful dinner in a fancy restraint located in Lilycove City. Afterwards, they'd strolled down the beach in the sunset. It had seemed so perfect.
She'd been sixteen at the time, he was nineteen. The belief that he would never like her because of the age gap had been burned away that night, burned away by the amber sunset, disrupted only by a leaping Luvdisc, crying its beautiful cry into the twilight sky.
The night had felt so perfect to her. They'd talked, laughed.
She'd turned to him on the beach, staring into his pools of molten silver.
He smiled down at her, agreeing with what she had just said. She wanted this night to be complete.
She edged towards him without him noticing.
"Today's been amazing Steven, thank you." She whispered, her tone becoming more serious.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it Sapphire." She was right in front of him, shyly contemplating what she wanted to do.
She'd leaned forwards, his eyes were closed, so she took her opportunity, pressing her lips to his, feeling the shock beneath her touch.
Her arms wrapped themselves around his shoulders as she continued the kiss, his eyes had flown open, he was starring at the girl confused.
He stepped back, away from her.
"I- Sapphire, I need to tell you something." She couldn't hide her disappointment, so she turned from him, hiding her face.
The sun dipped beneath the horizon, pitching her perfect moment into darkness.
"I head out tomorrow, I'm leaving Hoenn. I wish to travel the world before my father needs me to take over Devon. I don't know when I'll be back." His voice was sad, he tried grasping her shoulder, but she shrugged it off.
"Okay, it's what you want to do, you always wanted to travel." She muttered. "I have to go." She'd called out her Flygon and immediately swooped away, heading for her Super Secret Base, where she could be alone for a while.
While flying, she felt her tears drying, and vowed they would be dry forevermore.
To this day she hadn't seen Steven, hadn't heard from him or tried to contact him. She had no idea where he was now, or what he was doing. But she spent her time thinking of what to do next, not what happened in the past.
She'd travelled the long years, facing freezing winds and icy cold rains, distracting herself with struggle upon struggle, battle after battle, journey upon journey, but her life still seemed empty.
"Hey! I challenge you!" She looked over her shoulder at a young trainer, running up to her with a Taillow flying by his side.
They looked fresh, new to training, so she took a PokéBall from her pocket instead of letting Blaziken loose on this boy's weak Pokémon.
"Bagon go!" She called, feeling the thrill of battle take over her.
"That was a good fight kid." Her Bagon stood victorious; the boy was crouched by his fallen Pokémon's side. "You've got a lot of potential." She smiled at the boy.
"Thanks miss!" He beamed back, cradling his injured Pokémon.
She approached with a diamond-shaped yellow stone, pressing it to the Taillow's chest. The stone glowed, giving the tiny bird Pokémon new energy before losing its bright yellow hue.
"Here you go." She held out a berry for the bird, who took it cheerfully. "Feel better?" She asked the Pokémon, smiling down at it.
It chirped merrily as the boy thanked her.
Once more on the road. Blaziken was growing tired of doing nothing. It had given up walking, forcing her to recall it into its PokéBall.
Truth be told, she was wandering around Hoenn for the hundredth time. Still looking for what she knew she could not find a purpose.
She sat heavily on a tree stump in Petalburg Woods, Rustboro was just ahead, but nothing lay there which interested her, she'd just been heading this way. She hadn't even stopped by the Petalburg Gym to say hello to her father. She rarely went home anymore, if refuge was needed she had her Super Secret Base which she had now kitted out with everything she needed, a bed, a TV, a little kitchen area, storage cupboards, rugs, it was basically a house now instead of a child's base.
But her base was north of the desert, across Hoenn from here. She sighed, resting her head against a near tree, which had half-grown over the stump she had sat on.
"The night is warm; I'll be alright sleeping here." She whispered to herself.
"Not much of a bed for a champion." Someone nearby remarked. The voice rang bells of recognition in her mind, but she waved them away, keeping the memories from bursting forth.
"A bed under the stars is as good as any." She closed her eyes, breathing deep lungfuls of the tropical night air. "Or would you say a cramped cave would make a better resting place?"
"Perhaps, in some ways yes, for then you are protected instead of out in the open." Someone sat by her, just far enough away that he did not burst past her as he moved. "But in other ways, a view of a cave ceiling is not nearly as interesting as watching the night sky."
"Perhaps I was wrong in my thinking. Maybe this spot is not as peaceful as I had hoped," She went to stand. "I shall bid you goodnight."
"Sapphire, please wait a moment." A hand grasped her wrist gently, preventing her from leaving.
She sat back down, pointedly not looking in his direction. "Why? There really is nothing more to be said." She stated, reaching for Flygon's PokéBall.
"Yes there is." He pushed the capsule from her hand, letting it fall to the grassy earth.
"No. I gave everything I wished to say to blissful forget. I erased everything from my memory, there's nothing left of the memories we made." She twisted her wrist out of his grip.
He stood as she did, letting her pick up the PokéBall, but she replaced it into her bag instead of calling out the Pokémon. She turned to him.
"I don't think that's quite true Sapphire. Your words may be harsh, but your eyes are still the same as they were that day." He took her face in his hands, tilting it so it caught the rays of the moon perfectly, sending stark shadows dancing across her face.
She felt her resolve dissipate as he leaned forwards.
"If you forgive me all this," She whispered, "then I'll forgive you all that." She closed her eyes, feeling shudders of long forgotten feelings judder through her body.
His lips captured hers. The kiss was filled with apology and true, unrestrained, love.
Everything she lost, everything she forgot, everything that was dead long ago, all came back to her all the sadness, all the happiness, all the feelings of confusion as she found herself falling deeper and deeper in love with her friend Steven Stone.
When the kiss broke, her head span, she teetered before he caught her in his arms and steadied her with his embrace.
"I haven't wasted any of my time on you since then. It was so long ago. But it's all coming back to me now."
She kissed him in this golden moment of reunion. Their night was long, she felt pleased he was back, even though for these last year's she'd done all she could to forget him, him and his beautiful silvery locks, so straight and silky, and his eyes which were so vast she could lose herself for days staring into them, and his purple and black suits which framed his slender physique and suited him perfectly.
And when you kiss me like this,
When you hold me like that,
And if I touch you like this,
And if we…
A/N: Welcome to the first Drabble! I am open to suggestions as my imagination isn't quite as vast as I wish it were!
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed.
Song lyrics from 'It's All Coming Back To Me Now - Pandora's Box'