"How was the honeymoon?" Maria asked when he walked into the office the following week.
"It was great. We spent most of it at my villa in Sinnoh. Oh, and Wallace didn't bother to tell me until we were there that the Cup they'd been planning for what, 2 years? Was finally happening."
"They asked me to keep that one quiet. I thought it was very cunning to have it in Sinnoh so you wouldn't see any of the advertising. Anyway, I'm glad you had a good time. Your online fans want to congratulate you." She pulled up a list on her Nav. "I have some choice pikas if you'd like to hear."
"I suppose so. I haven't checked any of the accounts since the last time I was here."
The general reaction was a lot of fans were happy for him and Wallace, but were disappointed that he was now officially spoken for. Some even had the gall to ask when the divorce would be so they could prepare to win his heart next. There was also a demand for wedding photos and, much to his pleasure, a new line of stones.
"They've figured out you've been travelling and they want stones from other regions," Maria said.
Steven smiled. "I have waited for this day. Consider me gone for the next few weeks to dig in caves all day long until I pass out from exhaustion."
"Wallace won't be happy."
"They don't have to come. In fact, I bet they'll decline. They're going to challenge May for the Champion title, so we could probably do with a little time apart to get back to our own lives."
OooO
Wallace pinned Steven down against the sand. No one could see them here behind Granite Cave.
"Are you sure this isn't too much?" Steven asked.
"We wouldn't want to disappoint our client with anything less." Wallace adjusted their cloak to reveal their lack of clothing underneath.
"I never asked for this," Steven sighed as he heard a camera click.
A certain male-targeted magazine had approached Maria with an offer to pay the business for an ad, but only if it fit the specification they'd provided. Steven couldn't say no to someone willing to pay them for an ad rather than the other way round, but wished he'd read ahead before agreeing to it – not that he had to go through with it; this was a pay-on-delivery job. Now he found himself naked on a beach, Wallace on top of him, probably soon to stand up and find sand in all the places he never wanted it.
"It's going to be tasteful – I mean, I am directing this." Wallace leant in closer.
"It's going to be all over the internet." He could see it now – whatever photo that was chosen posted on every social media site he was on (and not on), people tagging him multiple times. "Oh Arceus, my father's going to see this."
"And you didn't have that problem with your previous shoots?"
Steven placed a hand on Wallace's neck as directed. "This is completely different. The last time I did a shoot like this was with a girl I didn't know, but with you…"
"Stop getting so embarrassed, they'll ask us to stop if your face is too red."
He took a deep breath. "I only wanted to be like this with you when we were alone… And I'm being painted as the bottom."
Wallace couldn't help but laugh. "Well, you shouldn't have lost the right to this cloak then. Not that I thought something like that would matter to you."
"I can feel the sand in my ass. I would do many things to be in your position and not have this feeling."
The crew finished placing the stones around them and called for the shot to be taken.
"Maybe I'll just keep the photos and not sell the ad," Steven mused.
"After all the effort I've put in?"
"You can have a copy too – for when I'm not around and you want to think of me." He winked.
OooO
The sound of a Nav ringing woke Steven from his slumber. He rolled over towards the sound, confused as to why he'd left the Nav on this side of the bed.
"Hello?" he said groggily.
"Blimey, do you sound rough in the morning." It was Sidney on the other end. "Anyway, just called to let you know we're starting a little earlier due to the number of hopefuls today."
"What time is it?" Steven looked up at the familiar wall clock.
"Steven? Is that you?"
"Yes? You called me?" Why did Sidney sound so surprised?
"I called Wallace's Nav. Pass the message along will you?"
"Starting early, yeah, I got it." He ended the call and fell back onto the pillow. For a moment there he had forgotten he wasn't Champion. It certainly was odd to be back here.
"Who was that?" Wallace walked in, hair still damp from the shower.
Steven relayed Sidney's message, not that Wallace needed to worry, being the early bird they were.
"I wonder if I'll get any challengers today," they mused.
It was day 3 of the busiest period, and Wallace had already called him over because they were bored. Steven was grateful he had such a time consuming hobby that could be done at a table. It wasn't that Wallace didn't have such hobbies, but they complained that challengers would disrupt their creative flow.
"I hope you do – I want to watch."
Wallace stood looking into the wardrobe. They looked over at Steven for some advice. "Wake up, sleepy head."
"I'm not sleeping, I'm just resting my eyes." Truthfully, he didn't want to get out of this bed; he'd missed it too much.
"I guess I'll have to eat those fresh pain au chocolats by myself."
They both knew Wallace wouldn't eat two persons' worth of pastries, but Steven still rolled out of bed – the thought of having a fresher pastry rousing him.
Wallace didn't have a challenger until the early afternoon. Steven made sure to tune into Ever Grande's League channel which was broadcast exclusively within the building. Today's challenger was probably not much younger than him and that gave him hope they would put up a good fight. They led with an espeon, and when it fainted it became clear that Wallace was dealing with an eevee trainer. Leafeon put up a good fight against Wallace's water team, but it wasn't quite enough. Left until last, Umbreon attempted to carry them to victory. Wallace did them the honour of using Milotic to finish them – one fairy move was all it took to take out the already tired umbreon.
Steven clapped as Wallace claimed victory. He high-fived them when they walked through the door minutes later. "That was great."
"There's definitely something more satisfying when you beat someone as Champion." Wallace hadn't yet lost to a challenger in their short time in the position, but there had been few to make it as far.
"The level restrictions on the gym can't be fun to work with."
"No, not when I know I'm about to be beaten by someone who has Pokémon 10 levels above the ones I can use because it's only their third badge," Wallace sighed. "I hope I have someone come for a rematch here after beating me."
"I think I had one of those in my whole time," Steven said. "Although it was one of the best battles I've had."
"If you challenge me then I can use my highest level Pokémon, right?"
Steven hummed. "Well, technically it would be my first league battle against you." He grinned. "Do you want me to take the title from you?"
"Yeah, forget that. I need to hold the position for just as long as you."
"Nothing's stopping me…"
Wallace moved in closer. "Really?"
"Mmm, I think I could beat you."
They inched forward more, arms enclosing Steven. "Do you think?"
"Are you trying to intimidate me?"
"Perhaps."
Steven closed the gap and pressed his lips against Wallace's. "I wouldn't want to upset you."
"Oh? I almost want you to challenge me now."
"I don't have time for this. I'm off to Kalos to go rock hunting with Grant."
Wallace released their hold. "You're going to Kalos without me?"
"Of course not – where would I be without my translator?" Steven smiled. "I mean, assuming your League obligations will allow you to." He knew that the League would be more than happy for a reason to close its doors for a few weeks after the busy period.
"Are we staying in that ridiculous penthouse again?"
"Only if it was expensive enough for you."
Wallace laughed, they wasn't actually being serious, but they'd take all the luxury they could get.
"Oh, also I think we should get a cute, fluffy Pokémon. Maybe an eevee, like your challenger."
"What's suddenly brought this on?"
Steven shrugged. "None of our Pokémon are cuddly, as I have pointed out before. I guess it would be like our child, but with a lot less maintenance."
"Why, Steven, are you feeling parental?" Wallace placed a hand to his forehead. "Are you feeling okay?"
Steven brushed their hand away. "I want something that can share in my joy when you win battles - that I can hold in my arms."
"Is Aron not enough?"
"I love Aron to bits, but it's a workout trying to lift him. Besides, I don't think he knows you as well as he should. Don't you want us to have a shared Pokémon?"
"I'm not against it. I suppose we can always release it if things don't work out."
That made Steven frown. He was used to releasing Pokémon when the time came as he particularly didn't enjoy keeping them locked away in the PC. But he couldn't imagine saying goodbye to something he'd captured and trained with Wallace, much like he would never part with the metagross that had once been a beldum his father had given him.
OooO
The sun was beginning to set when the pair left the Devon building. They walked onto Route 116 and Steven took out his Nav – the latest model with some new features. The DexNav function helped trainers seeking specific Pokémon and today he had it calibrated to search for an eevee.
They walked around, following the screen until they heard the sound of a small Pokémon. It was running around, chasing its own tail, stopping only when it noticed the humans staring at it.
"Aw, Wallace, it's so cute." Steven chose Aron for the occasion. "Be gentle."
Aron, realising it was a lot tougher than the Pokémon in front of it, gently nudged the eevee. It didn't seem fearful of Aron, so it nudged back. Aron looked to Steven for instruction. "I think it wants to play."
Steven and Wallace watched on as the two Pokémon got to know each other.
"I almost don't want to capture it," Wallace said.
"I don't think we'll have to." Steven knelt down and called Aron back. Eevee watched curiously. Steven held a hand out and Eevee approached until it was able to nudge against his hand. "We have to go now," Steven said. "You can come with us if you want."
Eevee watched as Aron happily returned to his ball. Steven held out a luxury ball in offer. Eevee considered its options and inspected the ball before pressing its nose against the button and disappearing into the ball in a flash of red.
Wallace smiled. "It's been a while since I've had a capture that sweet."
"Are you sure about the nickname we picked?" Steven asked.
"I think it will suit her well."
Steven cupped the ball and brought it to eye level, as if the eevee inside could see him. "Welcome to the team, Stella."
/END
A/N: Thanks for reading (Y). I, too, cannot believe it ended up being this long.