Steven managed to get the door unlock despite carrying several large bags of groceries. He had spent the day with Roark exploring parts of the Underground he had yet to visit since his move to Sinnoh. "Cynthia, I'm home!" It had been a tough couple months for Cynthia. She had been very overwhelmed managing her position as Champion of Sinnoh along with writing her first book. Apparently his wife's editor had recently given her a big chunk of notes which she was extremely stressed about addressing. It caused him a lot of pain to see Cynthia this way which is why he thought it'd be nice if he made her, her favorite meal, plus ice cream of course.
Steven waited for a response as he started putting the groceries out on the counter. After a minute with no response, he furrowed his brows. Part of him was concerned something had happened to her but he was smart enough to reason that Cynthia must be busy writing.
Instead of barging into the study Steven decided to give her some time and make dinner. He made a homemade pizza with all of her favorite toppings. His pokémon helped him chop up the toppings and make a side salad to go along with it. Steven was certain this would cheer her up at least slightly.
After Steven lit several candles throughout the dining room he laid out the meal on the table. On the counter was several pokémon friendly versions he had cooked made for his and Cynthia's companions. Steven decided it was finally an appropriate time to visit Cynthia. Steven walked down the hall to their study where he'd knew she'd be working. He gently knocked on the cold door before peaking his head in. "Hey, how's it going-" Steven cut himself off when he saw Cynthia face down on piles of papers that were lying on the desk. His heart ached as he gazed at her exhausted position. "Oh sweetie," he breathed out. He froze near the doorway debating what to do. It was only 6 o'clock, however, she desperately needed to sleep. But if he didn't wake her up, he knew one, she hadn't eaten probably all day knowing the work habits of his wife and two she'd be upset that she lost valuable writing time.
As Steven thought about what to do he noticed a loose paper sticking out. He couldn't help but inhale sharply. Cynthia had been refusing to let Steven read the book until she felt better about it. He hated seeing her struggle in her own thoughts and felt that maybe having someone to bounce ideas off of would be helpful for her. However, she never took him up on his offer. As tempting as it was to take a peak of her work he decided to give her, her privacy.
Steven sighed feeling ashamed by his thoughts before carefully picking Cynthia up into his arms and taking her up to their bedroom. Gently, he placed her down on their bed before tucking her in and kissing her forehead. He prayed she'd finally get the sleep she needed.
A couple hours later, Steven had packed up the food he made and decided they could have it another time. He made sure to feed their pokémon who loved their poke-pizzas. Steven had spent his night writing in a leather notebook near the fireplace. He often wrote poems that only Cynthia really was able to read. He liked putting his private thoughts on paper, comparing his love for Cynthia to nature, or adventures to astrology. It kept him busy when he wasn't off exploring. His pen stroked aggressively into an abstract line across the page when he heard a panicked yell from the bedroom. Steven sprinted up the stairs and swung open the door. "Cynthia, what's wrong?!"
Cynthia was holding the clock in her room with panic in her eyes. "Steven it's 9:30! I fell asleep! I'm not even close to being where I should be with this chapter!" She was completely overwhelm with tears nearing her eyes. Cynthia slammed the clock on the desk and gripped her hair.
Steven exhaled before walking over and placing a gentle hand on her back. "Love, it was just a couple hours of sleep. You've been exhausting yourself and I'm worried about you. I know this book is important to you but don't you think you can take the night off?"
Cynthia was about to protest when she realized deep down he was right. She had been desperately needing a moment of relaxation but felt if she gave into that temptation she'd never catch up. Steven always encouraged her to do her best but if she was straining herself he'd always be the first person to try to bring up her health. Unable to panic any longer she rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him. "I just want this to be good you know? It's my first book and I just want people to take me seriously."
Steven wrapped his arm around her waist with one hand and carefully stroked her hair with the other. He comforted her as best he could wanting her to feel that he was there for her. "And it will be. You are so intelligent and have such a way with words. I have no doubt your debut into the book world will be anything less than perfection." Steven rubbed her back and placed a long kiss on her forehead. "You hungry at all? I made some a pizza but put it the fridge when I saw you were sleeping. I also got some icecream."
Cynthia couldn't help but grin and gently twirled his hair with his fingers. "Steven that's so sweet. I don't know what'd I do without you. How are you the best husband ever," she said before kissing him lovingly.
Steven kissed her back enjoying the moment briefly before an overwhelming feeling of guilt caused him to pull away. He paused a moment before his smiled faded and he bowed his head ashamed. "There is something I have to tell you… When you were asleep at your desk… pages of your book were out."
Cynthia flinched back completely thrown off by the words out of his mouth. "But I told you not to read it…" Her heart stung as she felt betrayed by the person she trusted most in this world. She felt completely embarrassed because she wasn't ready for him to read it yet. How could he take advantage of her vulnerability?
Steven quickly shook his head. "No! I didn't read them! I would never invade your privacy like that. However I feel bad because the thought crossed my mind and I'm so sorry I would even think to do something like that. I know you are very particular about your work and I respect your process. I just... am not the perfect husband you think I am."
Cynthia raised and eyebrow before letting out a sigh of relief. "Oh you," she teased letting out a chuckled. She brushed her hand across his jaw before kissing his cheek. "Don't feel guilty for not reading it. That makes absolutely no sense. Thank you for respecting my wishes and I'm sorry I snapped. I just want you to see the best version of this work. I'm sorry I keep pushing you away from it. I'm just worried it won't be up to your standard."
Steven shook his head. "It's not a flaw to be a perfectionist my love," he said softly brushing a stray hair back from her perfect blonde mane. "As long as you aren't hurting yourself I wouldn't want you to change yourself. Just know you don't need to do this alone and if you ever need help no one will judge you for it."
Cynthia nodded slowly. "I will. I promise." Her stomach started to growl and she blushed. "So what was that about dinner again?"
Steven grinned and lead them downstairs.
Steven woke up the next morning to an empty bed. Cynthia often had to wake up early to travel to the Pokemon League. He groaned as he stretched before sitting at the edge of his bed. After rubbing his eyes he foggily noticed a vase on his night stand. They were some dafodills and other various wildflowers. He chuckled softly. The two of them had discovered after two years of dating and a couple months of marriage that the glitz and glamour of expensive flowers were boring. They bonded over their love of flowers just found in nature. They considered it more thoughtful and personal. "How lovely," he hummed before noticing what was next to the flowers.
A large stack of papers.
Steven raised an eyebrow before reaching over and picking up the sticky note.
Dearest Steven,
Thanks for giving me my privacy in regards to my book. As a reward I thought you deserved to finally get a chance to give it a look. I believe your opinions would be extremely beneficial before it gets published.
I look forward to hearing what you think.
xoxoxo,
Cynthia
Steven grinned as his heart started racing. The day was finally here. Another thing Steven and Cynthia bonded over was their love of books. A large portion of their relationship was spent discussing various books they had read. That's why when she told him that she was going to write a book he was ecstatic. He knew her work would be enticing.
Steven grabbed the stack of papers and flipped over the title page.
Acknowledgements
To my Grandmother who introduced me to my love of reading, to my little sister who inspires me everyday, to my parents who guide me despite being gone and finally to my beloved Steven whose support has made me confident enough to write this book.
Steven felt his heart sore at the acknowledgement. "What a woman," he said proudly to himself before getting out of bed and carrying the papers downstairs. He knew after he fed his pokemon he'd spend all day reading the book that had been number one on his list.
~A Few Months Ago~
One night the happy couple was eating dinner together. Steven was in the middle of telling her about all the stones he had found that day when he noticed Cynthia was looking down at her barely touched food playing with a piece of broccoli. Steven paused before looking down. He knew sometimes he could go on too long rambling about his love of stones but usually she'd muse him some. Not that she was required to but the thought of boring her made him fear that she'd grown tired of him and might leave him. "Sorry I was rambling," he said softly.
After a moment Cynthia noticed her husband had stopped talking. She looked over and saw a glum expression on Steven's face. Cynthia sighed feeling extremely guilty. "Steven, I'm sorry. That was rude of me. I just have a lot on my mind, it's not you."
Steven glanced back up. He could tell she was telling the truth. "Oh…that's okay. I should have noticed. What's wrong?"
Cynthia bit her lip and shrugged. "I've been thinking that I need to change things up. I feel like I've been in a rut. I need to stir up my name a bit."
Steven raised an eyebrow. "Is this in regards to work? Or is it…" He couldn't finish his statement because the thought of her feeling trapped with him broke his heart.
Cynthia looked back down. "It's work. I love being champion and it's very rarely a dull moment but I want to do more. Obviously I'm not going to leave the position but I think I want to do more along with it. Does that make sense?" She figured if anybody understood it'd be him. He left his position.
Steven carefully took in her words. Of course he understood. "Absolutely. You are capable of anything you put your mind to. Was there something you had in mind?"
Cynthia blushed. She was nervous to say the words out loud because what if it was too ridiculous. What if she wasn't good enough to? "I… I think I really want to write a book."
Steven's eyes widen. A book? A book written by the most interesting woman he had ever met and had been lucky enough to marry? Would it be a memoir or book on her studies? His thoughts were racing with all the possibilities of pure genius he knew she was capable of. He slowly stood up and walked to over to her.
Cynthia raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Steven what are you doing?" She couldn't help but stand up next to him.
Finally, his expression broke into the brightest grin ever. He wrapped his arms around her and picked up. "Cynthia! I can't think of anything more wonderful." He twirled her in the air. "I'm so excited for you! "
Cynthia was very confused at first before she couldn't help but break out into laughter. She couldn't believe how supportive he was. "Steven you're such a dork!" she giggled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.
Steven put down the last page awestruck. It was incredible. By far his new favorite book. He wished it wasn't over yet. He pressed the papers to his chest and hugged it close as tears crept to the corners of his eyes. Cynthia always made him so emotional. As he pulled away he noticed another sticky note on the back of the last page.
Steven raised and eyebrow and picked it up.
I wouldn't have been able to do this without you my love. I want to push you to do your best the way you've always supported me. That's why I think you should publish your poems you write. I know you say it's just for fun but you're extremely talented. I have been worried about telling you how much I love them because I didn't want to embarrass you and you'd stop writing them. However, you deserve to know they make my heart soar. I love you so much and of course I don't want to pressure you but the world would be honored to see that side of you.
Since you're done the book I'm sure I'll be home any minute so I'll talk to you soon.
Steven was bright red. He always thought his poems were lame and they were just a way to pass the time. He also didn't realize how much Cynthia enjoyed them All of a sudden he felt two warm arms wrap around his neck from behind. Despite being slightly startled he didn't flinch because he knew this touch better than anyone else. He leaned back and hummed before placing kisses on her hand then up her arm.
Cynthia blushed at the sweet gestures. "Sooooooo," Cynthia asked nervously as she rested her head on his shoulder.
Steven interlocked one of his hands with hers. "Objectively, the best book I have ever read. I'm so proud of you my love. It was so inspiring."
His approval meant the world to Cynthia, however, she wasn't looking for just compliments. She wanted his insight. She was about to say something when she noticed the pad of paper next to him. "You took notes?" At that moment she was certain she was the luckiest woman on the earth.
Steven raised an eyebrow before nodding. "I hope that's okay. It's nothing major. Honestly, already it's spectacular I just thought I'd point out some minor things. If that's okay?"
Cynthia walked around to him and placed her hands on his cheeks before kissing him deeply.
Steven carefully picked up the woman so she was on his lap as he kissed her back. She was his everything. The sunseting on the beach could not compare to beauty her love has made him feel. Everything about her made him want to be his best self.
Cynthia pressed their forehead's together and ran a hand through his hair. "You read my note?"
Steven inhaled before smiling softly. "It certainly is an interesting idea," he mused leaning into her touch. "Let's talk about it after we discuss your book. I will say you definitely have ignited me into wanting to put my words out there, love." Despite feeling incredibly shy about showcasing his vulnerability to the world he felt excitement inside of him thinking about all the posibilities he could do with a book. "
