Steven didn't understand Wallace's urgency to not let him go. The mission's simple, or he thought it was.
He had gone to find Brendan and May, and learned that Maxie and Archie, the leaders of Team Aqua and Magma, had the orbs. They're going to use the orbs to awaken the legendaries, Kyogre and Groudon. He felt something must have gone wrong as only the former has awakened.
Either way, he left with this new information for the Weather Institute. Where he spoke with the lead scientist and found that the weather patterns were moving. The rain was following Kyogre's movement all around Hoenn.
Simple.
He had to follow the creature, find Archie, obtain the blue orb and calm the pokemon.
Of course, easier said than done.
After some great trouble of diving deep enough to find Marine Cave, he fell into a trap by Archie. Against all odds, but not a surprise to Steven, Wallace came swooping in. He managed to fight off the leader's henchmen until the cave collapsed.
...
Darkness envelopes Steven, tempting him with the possibility of staying down until everything blows over. He can hear a water trickling nearby and feel something wet touching his leg. Squeezing his eyes shut, Steven lets out a pained groan while sitting up.
His body aches and his head is pounding. He sheds his torn coat and checks himself for any wounds. Scratches and bruises litter his body, but nothing too bad. The wetness had come from water dripping down the wall above him. Gritting his teeth, he takes another glance around only to find that the room is pitch black.
"Ow... W-Wallace?" he calls out into the dark room. He hears nothing in response, his heart starts racing and he fumbles for his belt. "Claydol, light the place up."
The pokemon croons in the darkness, illuminating the room by the rings on its body. Steven blinks away the sudden contrast, glancing around the rocky rubble piled around them. A few feet away, he spots a white cloth draped across the ground.
"Wallace!" Steven rushes over to find the gym leader unconscious, half of his body beneath a pile of rocks. "Claydol help me please."
The pokemon floats over as Steven holds Wallace's limp body in his arms, he tries not to panic at the feel of sticky blood. Claydol begins to glow pink. Part of the wall crumbles away, allowing Steven to pull him free. He thanks his pokemon and sets Wallace down to check for major injuries.
His right shoulder is battered and bloody, the sole reason he felt the blood on his hand. The rest of his body is dirty and his clothes are torn.
"Come on, come on..." Steven checks for a pulse on his wrist while listening to his chest. His own heart is pounding his chest, making it harder for him to hear. "Wallace! Wake up! Don't die on me!"
Frantic and uncontrolled, Steven fumbles at his wrist, trying to see if he's too late. His eyes become blurry as he mumbles to himself, getting ready to do CPR when he finds a pulse on his neck. Staring at Wallace's chest, he sees it move up and down in calm breath.
"Oh, thank the Gods," Steven exhales and sits back. Claydol hovers next to his trainer as he glances around the room. "We've got to get out of here-"
"Ugh!" Wallace jolts up, coughing and spluttering. "Where am I? Steven?"
"Hey, hey, be careful!" Steven lurches forward to steady Wallace's movements. "How are you feeling?"
"My shoulder is killing me and my head feels like it's going to explode," he groans, touching the side of his head. When he pulls back his hand he gasps at the sight of blood. "Oh my."
"Let me see," Steven leans over Wallace's leg to examine his head. "Just a scratch, it's bleeding."
"Into my hair?" Wallace whines.
Steven chuckles, nudging his short blue curls back behind his ear without touching the bleeding skin. "You look fine."
"Stop being cute, I'm still mad at you."
"Why?"
Wallace looks almost offended by the question, jabbing a finger into Steven's chest. "I almost lost you. You're trying to be a hero and look where we are now?"
"I never asked you to be here!" Steven snaps in reply. "You almost lost me? I almost lost you! And you're not supposed to be here. I told you to stay in Sootopolis, you have citizens to worry about. A job to do."
"Yeah, I know. I gave it to Glacia and Phoebe considering you didn't give them a job to do," the blue haired man retorts with a glare. "We're wasting time, we have to get out of here."
"Oh, now it's 'we'," Steven sneers under his breath, getting up and helping up the other. He turns to Claydol, "Teleport to the surface, please."
The partial psychic type twists its body before they're gone in a flash.
...
"We have to get you to the league to get looked at," Steven speaks as soon as they're in the open air.
He's feels relief at the open air, he may love caving but that was too much for him. Turning to Wallace he hides a grimace at the latter's condition, looking fatigued and glum. Waves lap at their feet as they gather their bearings before traveling again.
"No," Wallace states before Claydol can move them.
"'No' what?" Steven turns to him. "You're hurt, you need to be looked at."
"You're going to leave me again, I'm not going anywhere," Wallace flinches as he stands on his own. His blue eyes gaze into Steven's fierce like ocean's waves during a storm. "Don't forget that if it weren't for me, you'd be dead in that cave."
"Yeah, but now you're the one that's going to be dead if I don't take you to the league!" Steven shouts. "I'm not letting you get hurt worse."
"Please, then let me get patched up so I can help you," he begs, clutching Steven's arm. "I won't be able to stand you leaving again."
Releasing a heavy sigh, Steven reaches up to hold Wallace's face, careful to avoid his wound. He holds the gym leader close, staring at him with a mixture of emotions. Wallace returns the look, reaching up to rest his hands on Steven's.
"Wallace, please. The worst of it is over, Kyogre won't be underground anymore. At least in uncharted caves. Go back to the league and once you're patched up go to Sootopolis, okay?" Steven explains and, without thinking, presses his lips to Wallace's forehead. "I hate seeing you hurt like this. I promise I won't be in danger, I'll wait for you in Sootopolis."
Nodding in response, Wallace bites his lip as if he were about to cry, the champion rubs his thumbs over his cheeks to soothe him. Wallace leans into his touch, knowing that this is the place where he's been aching to be. Within Steven's grasp, trusting him and knowing everything's going to be okay.
"Wallace, you have to go," Steven murmurs. "I have to go."
Raising his eyes, Wallace tilts his head up and presses his lips to Steven knowing he's going to be talking with Winona soon. At first, the champion stiffens before pressing back. Wallace feels him sigh into the kiss and wrap an arm around his waist.
Steven reluctantly pulls away, breathless and a little dizzy. "You have to go."
"I'm trusting you," Wallace breathes, smirking at him.
Steven pecks his lips once more before telling Claydol where to send Wallace. The blue haired man is gone in a flash, leaving Steven to breathe and think straight. He smiles at the tingling in his lips before requesting his pokemon to take him to Sootopolis. With someone to protect, who now feels the same, the rest of this mess will go better.