Time period: pre-ORAS but happens after their data distribution journey.


III. The Mentors

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It was odd for Winona to invite Wallace at her house on a Friday, for their meetups usually took place on the weekends. Wallace could only fathom one reason why: Winona might be busy on the next days, which explained their early bonding slash tea time.

Wallace sat upright on his chair as he crossed his legs. He watched his fiancée grab the freshly baked biscuits from the oven then placed it on the kitchen counter. He couldn't help but to smile at how pretty she looked.

"Would you like me to assist you?" he asked but Winona shook her head.

"No, it's alright. I can take care of this."

Wallace's smile widened. "Alright."

Winona grabbed a plate from the container and gently placed the biscuits on it. Once the tray was empty, she left it in the kitchen and went to the dining room where Wallace was. She placed the plate of biscuits at the middle then sat in front of her fiancé. "Right, where were we?"

Wallace chuckled gracefully and held her hand. It was slightly sweaty and too warm but he didn't mind at all. It was still his future wife's hand, after all. "I was going to ask why are we having tea and biscuits on a Friday; it's usually on the weekends."

"Ah," Winona squeezed his hand. "I'll be busy training Sapphire for the next two days. She said she needed to know how much she improved."

"I see," Wallace responded. He was right.

"Speaking of Sapphire,"

Wallace rose an eyebrow. He grabbed the teapot and poured in his and Winona's respective cups. His eyebrows moved upward, forming a line on his forehead. It was his way of telling her to continue.

"Sapphire changed." Winona continued with a smile on her face.

Wallace placed the cup of tea down then set Winona's cup close to hers. "Well, you did say she changed a lot. How exactly did she change this time?"

Winona placed a hand on her chin, thinking. Now that she thought about it, she could have been more specific. "You know she can be brash, right?" Wallace nodded while taking a slow sip from his tea. "She somehow became subtle recently and I can only conclude that Ruby was the one who influenced her."

Wallace chuckled in his drink. He placed the cup down and grabbed a napkin to wipe the excess tea on his face. Winona giggled as she watched her future husband wipe himself clean.

"I thought I was the only one who noticed such things."

Winona furrowed her eyebrows. "You noticed it too?"

Wallace raised his hand. "Of course, but it's more on Ruby's side than Sapphire's. Ruby was never really an open guy. He usually keeps things to himself but out of nowhere and who-knows-what reason, he suddenly asked a strange question. He's a very confident boy but it's the first time I've seen him ask if he was doing well as Sapphire's 'best friend'."

Winona sighed as her palm hit her face.

"Hey now," Wallace gently removed her palm from her face and held her hand as gently as he could. "Don't do that."

"I know, but did Ruby really mention that he is just Sapphire's best friend?"

Wallace couldn't help but wonder about it. She did have a point and now that he recalled that event, Ruby did stop for a few moments before continuing his question. His student sounded like he was hesitating to tell him that he was Sapphire's best friend. He knew how much Ruby changed throughout the years and the main influencer was no one but Sapphire. "Well, he did hesitate at one point."

"I see," she muttered and grabbed her cup of tea. She savoured its soothing smell before slowly taking a sip.

"I feel like Ruby changed a lot for the better because of Sapphire," Wallace spoke after moments of silence. He grabbed the teapot again and filled his cup of the fragrant tea he loved so much. He then carried on and placed three biscuits on his plate. "Those two seemed pretty close and the way they acted around each other isn't exactly how friends would act around each other. They act more like..." he paused, trying to find the right word to say. He could only think of one word, however.

"Lovers," he and Winona spoke at the same time, earning a chuckle from both parties.

"I guess we're thinking of the same thing, huh?" Winona asked, though she already knew his response.

"Absolutely," he replied with a warm smile.

"I wonder if they're really together or not." Winona continued and placed her cup down.

"It'll be quite ironic that our students are also in love with each other."

"For the record, they bring out the best from another so I don't see what's wrong with it."

Wallace chuckled again. "Exactly."

They were later greeted by silence. The future husband and wife ate their biscuits and drank their tea silently until Winona stood up.

Wallace tilted his head, wondering why and looked at her. He was about to ask why but stopped when she grabbed the teapot. He watched her went to the kitchen to prepare another batch of her delicious tea.

"Do you think we should intervene or just let them be?" Winona asked from the kitchen and Wallace bit his lip. He only wanted what's best for his student and he knew Winona felt the same. It would be frustrating and depressing if Ruby and Sapphire's relationship ended up like theirs. Sure, there would always be ups and downs in a relationship but before he and Winona were engaged, they went through a lot of struggles and challenges together.

"Maybe we should just..." he paused to further think about it. Winona later returned and placed the teapot in the middle of the table.

"Hmm?" Winona hummed, grabbing his attention and he just chuckled, which confused her. "What?"

"We can always advise them. I know you don't want Sapphire to go through all of this."

"And I know you want the same for Ruby."

Wallace nodded and intertwined their fingers together. "We can't intervene and force them, unfortunately. Let's just act as their guides—their mentors, to be more precise."

Winona snorted. "Their love mentors."

"Or their supporters."

They laughed. They may look like they're taking the role as wingmen but they knew their students were very elated whenever they're together. As their mentors, they just wanted what was best for them, especially when it involved their happiness.


Just...gracefulshipping...I love them...I LOVE THEM... *CRIES*

Also, next chapter is Wally. ;v;