A/N:

Lol, okay. I feel kind of bad about the battle writing in the last chapter. I thought some of it was okay, but I don't know, I felt like some of it was inadequate. I just wanted to make it short and sweet though because I wanted to show the battle and everything, but still have the story focused around Dawn and Cynthia's relationship as people.

Maybe I'm just being obsessive over it, but I'm not sure. Tell me what you all think.

Thanks so much and I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I do!

Cynthia kept trying to get Dawn's attention, but it wasn't working. She had fainted.

Cynthia frowned since they wouldn't be able to finish the battle and then looked at the referee. "Cancel this match." She said. She then recalled Garchomp and called Ryuu over to the scene.

Ryuu cooed when she saw her trainer lying on the floor, unconscious.

Cynthia smiled at Ryuu and rubbed her head. "It will be okay." She said. "But can you do Dawn and I a favor?"

Tears were forming in Ryuu's eyes. She nodded.

"Good." Cynthia said. "We're going to take Dawn to my house so she can rest." Cynthia then put her arm on Dawn's back and on the backs of her knees, picking her up and holding her. She then stood up and walked over to Ryuu, putting each of her legs on either side of it.

"Open the ceiling." Cynthia ordered the referee, who obediently listened to her words and pressed a button on the arena's control panel.

The lights on the ceiling above were soon turned off and taken up into the ceiling. Then, the ceiling lifted up, revealing the night sky above. Once it was fully open, Cynthia held onto Ryuu with one of her arms, holding onto Dawn with the other. It was good that Dawn was smaller than Cynthia so that she would be secure while they flew.

"Let's go, Ryuu." Cynthia said.

Ryuu cooed and then flew out of the arena quickly. Cynthia wasn't surprised by Ryuu's speed, however, since Garchomp was just as fast.

After about a minute of flying, Cynthia pointed towards to her estate, which looked like a regular sized house, only shaped like a castle.

"There it is." Cynthia said.

Ryuu looked down and slowly descended towards the house. She didn't want Dawn or Cynthia to fall off or anything, so she was very careful.

Soon, Ryuu landed right in front of Cynthia's front door, and Cynthia smiled at Ryuu's gracefulness.

"That was much better than before." Cynthia congratulated Ryuu. She quickly hopped off of the Pokemon with Dawn still in her arms.

Ryuu cooed at Cynthia. The two then made their way inside and towards Cynthia's living room. The walls in her house were covered with pictures dealing with Pokemon history and mythology.

Cynthia put Dawn down on her black velvet sofa, making sure that she was in a comfortable position. She then went in the kitchen and got a warm, damp towel for Dawn, placing it on her forehead.

Cynthia then kneeled down next to Dawn and watched her, their faces being only about a foot apart.

I should have turned the air on…Cynthia thought. And the lights were probably too bright in there. Most people don't have a problem with it, but I guess Dawn isn't "most people." Cynthia smiled.

As Cynthia kept her eyes on Dawn, she noticed how peaceful she looked while she was resting. Cynthia couldn't help but to blush slightly as she watched her either.

Even though Dawn was really just another challenger, from the moment they met, Cynthia felt a compassion for Dawn, a compassion she probably shouldn't have felt. Dawn was polite, yet slightly arrogant at the same time. She was cute and she was a brilliant Pokemon trainer. Also, she was friendly and seemed like she was a very interesting person. She couldn't help but to feel something more for Dawn than she usually felt for her challengers or fellow Pokemon trainers, especially when she herself was indeed known to be attracted to women.

As she watched Dawn, Cynthia also thought about her past, mostly about her sexuality.

Like Dawn, Cynthia had known that she was not straight since she was a young girl. The circumstances were quite different, however, and instead of being just ignored by her father, Cynthia had been slightly physically abused, being beaten up by a gang when she was only twelve. On top of that, she had always felt a certain fondness for other women.

As she had grown older, Cynthia had gone from being bisexual to a lesbian. Throughout the years, she had many relations with men and women, and because she felt like the ones she had with women were more comfortable for her, she decided that it would be best for her not to be interested in men at all, and she really wasn't anyway.

Afterall, Cynthia was a dominant person, and to find a man who would accept that to even the smallest degree was like finding a needle in a haystack.

She looks like an angel…Cynthia thought as she stared at Dawn. Cynthia then extended her hand out and stroked Dawn's hair lightly, thinking that it might help her wake up.

Such soft… dark hair. She thought.

After a few moments of letting her hand softly flow through Dawn's hair, Cynthia noticed Dawn's hand moving a little. She got scared and stopped stroking her hair for a moment. Whatever happened, she didn't want for Dawn to notice that she was totally hitting on her.

After Dawn stopped moving, Cynthia smiled to herself and then continued to stroke her hair some more. She was just probably dreaming. Cynthia thought. She then closed her eyes and daydreamed herself, still petting Dawn gently.

"Mmmm…" Dawn moaned, slowly opening her eyes.

Cynthia gasped and immediately took her hand away, blushing deeply.

Dawn weakly smiled at Cynthia. "Where are…we? …And what happened?" She asked.

Cynthia smiled at Dawn sheepishly. "Well… We were both on our last Pokemon in battle and you fainted." Cynthia said. "And… We're at my house. Don't worry, everything is all right."

Ryuu cooed when she saw that Dawn was awake, even though she had been sleeping in the corner of the room. She soon fell asleep again.

Dawn blinked. "What about our battle?" She asked.

Cynthia smiled. "Don't worry about it. We'll work that out later." Cynthia said. "You just rest for now."

Dawn nodded. "Okay."

"Would you like something to eat or drink… or anything?" Cynthia asked.

"No, thank you." Dawn said. "But… were you brushing my hair earlier?" She asked in a confused voice.

Cynthia immediately blushed. "Ah… No." She lied. "…Why?"

Dawn giggled. "I thought I felt it." She said.

"Oh…" Cynthia then crossed her arms and looked out the window, which was right above the couch.

Dawn looked around the room. "This is a really nice place." She complimented. "…Thank you... for saving me."

Cynthia blinked. "…You're welcome." She said, looking down at her.

Dawn smiled brightly. "You're so nice when you're not in battle." She said.

Cynthia blushed again. "Eh heh… Well, thank you."

"Mmhm." Dawn said cutely. She then grinned at Cynthia. "Hey… can I ask you a question?"

Cynthia's eyes widened a little in surprise, but then she knodded. "Sure."

"Well… I don't mean to be rude, but…" Dawn paused for a moment, a little nervous to ask the question. "…How old are you?"

"Uh… I'm thirty-three." She said.

Dawn blinked, shocked. "Wow, you totally don't look that old." She said. "You look like you're 25."

Cynthia laughed at her compliment. "Thanks."

"Yep." Dawn responded. "I'm eighteen."

Cynthia smiled. "That's cool." She said. "It's a great time in your life."

Dawn nodded in agreement. "Sure is." She said. "Now I don't have to call my parents every stinkin' day." She said.

Cynthia chuckled. "What's wrong with your parents?" She asked.

Dawn blinked at Cynthia's question and then looked away. "Well..." She began. "I just don't feel like they accept me for who I am."

Cynthia uncrossed her arms. "…What do you mean?"

Dawn blushed and looked at Cynthia again. "…It's embarrassing." She said. "And I don't think you'd like to hear."

Cynthia shook her head. "Not really…I've been through a lot in life…" She said. She then closed her eyes and smiled. "…I'm a pretty open person, despite my looks."

Dawn blinked and contemplated whether she should tell Cynthia or not. What if she gets totally grossed out and will never challenge me again? She asked herself. …But, I can't be afraid of telling people these things forever… I'm an adult now and I need to be comfortable with myself.

Dawn then decided that she should tell Cynthia, knowing that self-esteem and becoming an adult was more important than just becoming the Pokemon League Champion of Sinnoh. Afterall, there were other places she could go if she wanted to become a champion.

Dawn bit her lip nervously and looked at Cynthia. "Do you promise not to get grossed out… or tell anyone?" She asked.

Cynthia smiled at how cute Dawn's nervousness was and then nodded. "I promise." She said sincerely.

Dawn sighed and tried to relax herself before she just spilled it all out. After a few moments, she began. "Okay, well… the reason why I feel like I really can't fit in at home is because I'm really not the little traditional girl my parents want me to be." She said.

Cynthia nodded, wondering what she was going to say next. "How come?" She asked.

"Well… first of all, I HATE tradition." She said. "And second of all, I'm…well… I…"

Cynthia blinked. "You can say it."

"I like girls!" Dawn blurted out, embarrassed. She then turned away from Cynthia and looked out the window.

Cynthia immediately blushed when she learned that Dawn wasn't straight. It WAS a surprise to her, especially since she liked Dawn so much, but she had kind of figured that something might have been up with her, especially because of their sexually awkward encounters earlier.

The room was silent after that. Great… She probably hates me now. Dawn thought. She felt like she wanted to cry.

Dawn then turned over and looked at Cynthia. "See? I knew I shouldn't have told you." She said. She then put her hand over her eyes in shame.

Cynthia's eyes widened and she shook her head. "No… No, it's fine." She said. "I…"

"Yeah, I know. You don't feel comfortable with that kind of stuff… Blah blah blah…" Dawn interrupted.

"No!" Cynthia barked. She quickly grasped Dawn's wrist, taking Dawn's hand off of her face so that she could look her in the eyes. "I like… other women too!"

Dawn blushed and blinked at Cynthia. "Oh." She said, feeling stupid for being so dramatic about it.

Cynthia nodded. "Yeah."

The room was then really silent, awkwardly silent. It was so silent that they thought they could hear Ryuu snoring, even though Ryuu didn't even really snore.

Wanting to break the silence, Dawn decided to ask Cynthia another question since she now knew that she didn't have to be so concealing around her. "…Uhm…" Dawn began.

Cynthia looked at Dawn. "What?"

"Well…Uh… What are you… in terms of your sexuality?" She asked nervously. Both of them were still blushing.

"I'm a lesbian…" She said in a sort of ashamed tone. "You?"

Dawn blinked in surprise. She had only met a few full-fledged lesbians in her life. She then remembered that Cynthia had asked her the same question. "Uh… I'm bisexual." She said. "…But I think I like girls… a lot more."

Cynthia nodded. "…I used to be bisexual when I was your age." She said, crossing her arms again. "…I've been through a lot of what you've been through."

"I see…" Dawn said.

"Yeah… I actually told my parents when I was younger." She said. "They abandoned me."

Dawn's eyes widened. "I'm so sorry." She said.

Cynthia shook her head. "No, it's all right." She said. "If they can't accept me for who I am, then I don't want to be their daughter."

Dawn smiled. "…You're… You're really strong." She said.

Cynthia blushed at Dawn's comment and returned the smile. "I suppose…"

Dawn paused for a moment, but then she smiled at Cynthia again. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

How much more personal can it get? Cynthia asked herself. She then sighed. "Sure…" She said reluctantly. She liked Dawn a lot, but she was really wondering how personal the question was going to be.

Dawn blushed a little. "Uh… how far have you been with a girl?" She asked nervously.

Cynthia blinked and immediately blushed. My goodness this girl is nosy! She thought. Oh well, she might as well answer the question. She was a curious girl when she was Dawn's age too. And afterall, she was happy to have Dawn's company.

"Well… I've done many, many things with other women." Cynthia said. She couldn't help but to smirk a little at Dawn when she responded. "I've probably gone as far as you can go…"

Dawn's eyebrows raised in surprise and she smiled. "Wow!" She exclaimed. "You're lucky… I've only gone to second base."

Cynthia laughed at this. "Well, you're only 18… You've got many years ahead of you."

Dawn thought about that and then smiled again. "Mmhm." She nodded in agreement.