A/N: Hey everyone! Just wanted to say thanks for helping this month get off to a great start. I've already seen, across various fandoms, a good 30 other fills to the prompts so far. I hope even more of you will join me on this month-long shipfest :D
Also, while I have about six other requests for specific pairings, that's still over half the month left to fill in. If you have any pairings you'd like to see me try, let me know :D
Day 4 - "Date Night" - Snowpointshipping
The night after the Grand Festival had been a series of animated phone calls as Zoey called literally anyone she could think of – and a few she hadn't thought of, but had been asked to call by her mother – to talk to them about her win. With no phone of her own, she had to rely on the pokemon center's, so everything was outgoing. It was just as well, as she doubted she'd have been able to tolerate the endless string of voice mails and missed calls that everyone trying to call her at once would have provided.
None of the calls had been more filled with smiles than the one she made to Candice. Of course, none had been as quick or as quiet, either. Candice was the one person who had truly believed in her the whole time, after all; the tone of genuine surprise that Zoey had won the title at such a young age was absent from only her voice.
"I knew you could do it," she said simply, reaching out to touch her girlfriend's image on the gym's video phone.
"It wasn't easy," she answered, which earned a hearty laugh.
"Nothing's ever easy with you. Stop being so modest, it doesn't suit you. Hurry home; we'll have a nice big party to celebrate your victory."
She'd agreed to the idea and gone to invite her friends from the Grand Festival; to her surprise, but inwardly, her relief as well, all of them had turned her down. She'd called home to tell Candice the news, and she'd assured her that she'd found enough people back home for a decent party none-the-less.
She arrived back to her senpai's apartment that Wednesday night to find it completely dark inside. She laughed, calling out that it wasn't much of a surprise party if she knew about it in advance.
One lone light came on in the dining room, a small flame following quickly as Candice lit a pair of candles on the table; together, the dim illumination revealed a full course meal laid out on the table, which was set only for two.
"You're right on time," the gym leader smiled, pulling out one of the chairs. "If you want to go get changed first though, I won't stop you."
"What happened to the party?" Zoey answered, a little taken aback both by what appeared to be home-cooked food – something Candice excelled in but seldom spent time on – and at the fact that no one else appeared to be there but their Glameow. "They coming later?"
"I decided this was the better way to congratulate you. The others will have plenty of time to fawn over you come the weekend."
It had been a while since the two had had a proper date, let alone one as fancy as what Candice had set up. Zoey cast her a grin, dropping her bags by the door and taking the offered chair with a quick kiss on the ice trainer's cheek. "Sounds like a plan to me."