This one is kind of inspired by a comment I recently received combined with something I had been working on for a while. I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for all the supportive feedback!
Cynthia was never the biggest birthday person... but who didn't get slightly excited for their special day? Of course, she treasured the birthdays at her home in Celestic Town sharing homemade cake with her grandmother and sister however, this year both family members were unfortunately in another region for her grandmother's research. She hadn't been too bummed out though because she figured this year would be different since she had actually started seeing someone. The man was a young Sinnoh politician. It had been fairly early into their relationship and she wasn't sure if they were actually official. However despite the status of their relationship, at the bare minimum, she figured he'd take her out to dinner. That idea was thrown away when she found out he had an important conference to attend to in Kanto. It was now the day of and he had yet to even wish her a happy birthday.
The blonde was brought out of her trance at the Pokemon League when she felt a nuzzle against her shoulder. Of course, her loyal Garchomp knew when something was wrong. "Thanks, Garchomp. Who needs him anyway?"
The Elite Four Members prepared a really nice party for her during lunchtime so she couldn't complain too much because their friendship meant more to her than any relationship. However, just thinking that added to her gut feeling that the relationship wasn't going to work out. He was a very attractive and intelligent man but something about him felt off but she had been trying to ignore it. After packing up for the day (with still no word from the man) she flew back to her apartment.
When she arrived back she discovered a brown package outside her door. Upon further inspection, she could tell it was not from the man she had been seeing because the handwriting was too pristine to be his. While his was good, this one was way better. After bringing it inside, Cynthia sat on her couch to invesigate it further. There was something very familiar about the handwriting, particularly the way her name was written. Even though she could not yet place who's handwriting it was, she couldn't wait any longer and decided to just open it.
Inside was a blue leather book that with a gold title that read 'Orbs Throughout History.' Her eyes lit up since she couldn't not be amazed at such a unique subject. History was very much one of her greatest passions so for someone to find a book that she hadn't read was very surprising. After the initial shock, she opened the book and found a note.
"Dear Cynthia,
First off I'd like to wish you a very Happy Birthday. Over the past couple of months, you have become one of my dearest friends. You are an incredible woman who I am lucky to have gotten to know.
I was passing by a rare book store and I saw this book which immediately made me think of you.
I hope you enjoy it and I hope your day is as special as you are.
With Love,
Steven Stone"
Her heart thudded in her chest like a jackhammer as she reread the message. It was such a sweet gesture that she honestly never expected. The Hoenn Champion was not only charming but a very good friend. He constantly made an effort to be there for her since the start of their friendship. Becoming so close with him had been one of the best parts of becoming champion.
Cynthia glanced at the time and figured it was probably about 11 pm where he was. They had shared many phone calls so she knew he'd be up right now probably doing some work for Devon Corp or organizing those stones of his. It would be rude not to thank him so she decided what better time than right then.
After a few moments of her pokégear ringing, his face appeared on the screen with his usual messy bangs and charming smile. It had been a few weeks since the last time they spoke so they were both happy her birthday finally gave them a reason to. "To what do I owe the pleasure, birthday girl."
Cynthia smiled and relaxed into her couch. "Well, I just received your gift and wanted to thank you. It's so sweet. I can't believe I have never heard of this book before."
Steven smiled wider than he had before. He knew she'd love it and had been looking forward to her reaction for days after sending it. The Hoenn Champion was aware of her current relationship since he had discovered the news on the cover of a magazine. It had really surprised him not only because she had not told him herself but because of his constant confused feelings for the woman. Was he jealous? He'd never admit it but her happiness was always something he would try to contribute to no matter what. "Of course. I just had to get it. It seemed too obscure to not get for a history fiend who's read basically everything."
Cynthia chuckled and nodded before drifting to a silence. Why was this the highlight of her birthday? There was such a connection between them that neither one could explain. It felt like so much more than friendship yet that's all they were.
Steven raised an eyebrow when he noticed something was off. Her smile seemed to twitch when she had slipped to a silence. Then he started to connect the dots like how come she was calling him when it was a Friday night, her birthday and clearly she was off of work. "I am a little surprised you're calling me right now. Shouldn't you be out celebrating?"
Her smile faded a bit more as she looked away. She was rather embarrassed by the fact that this was all she was doing. "Oh no... I'm just spending my evening in."
Steven furrowed his brows clearly not accepting the answer. "But it's your 20th birthday? That's awful. I was sure you'd have plans with…" He trailed off realizing he had started saying something he shouldn't have.
Cynthia raised an eyebrow at where the rest of that statement was obviously going. She wasn't sure why she hadn't mentioned it to him but maybe she just wanted to separate him from that part of her life. It was probably something that she should have told him personally but she just hadn't figured out the right way too. Despite her curiosity, she noticed his cheeks being a slightly red tint and decided it was for the best not to press and embarrass him. "No, Georga has some conference in Kanto he had to go to."
His jaw was visibly clenched at the statement. That was extremely rude of him to do to such an amazing woman. How did this guy manage to date her but yet somehow just ignore her birthday? It made no sense to him. "I'm so sorry to hear that. If I would have known you'd be alone I would have flown out." That's when an idea struck him. He checked his watch and tilted his head, already calculating numbers in his head. "I mean I still could?"
Cynthia's jaw dropped at his absurd statement. "Steven, don't be ridiculous."
He shook his head and started standing up while still managing the call. "If I leave now I can be there by 11 your time. We can celebrate your last hour. Or even tomorrow too if you are free and wouldn't mind me staying."
She couldn't tell if he was joking or not but knowing Steven...he probably was serious. "I would hate to bother you if you were busy."
Steven shook his head and gave that classic smile of his. "Nonsense, I have nothing going on I swear."
After several hours of reading the new book she had recieved, Cynthia couldn't believe at 10:45 she was actually getting a knock on the door. She opened the door and there he was, somehow earlier than he promised. The blonde shook her head at the man who had also managed to buy a small cake for her in the very short time. It didn't look like the normal lavish style that Steven was associated with but it was an extremely sweet gesture nonetheless. The Sinnoh Champion stared at him astonished before chuckling and shaking her head. "Why on earth are you like this?" she teased before pulling him into a tight hug.
The warm embrace made everything worth it. He held her close with his free hand as he chuckled. "What can I say? I couldn't let you spend your birthday alone."
Cynthia smiled genuinely before opening the door for him to come in. The shock had not worn off that he had really done all of this for her.
The blue-haired-man entered her apartment and placed the cake down on the table in her kitchen. When she wasn't looking Steven stared at her for a long moment letting out a content sigh. Her hair somehow looked more radiant than usual. While she was simply wearing a black turtleneck and leggings it complimented her form so well. Why couldn't he break this spell? No matter how hard he tried she filled his thoughts. Steven quickly regained himself when she turned back to him with a bright smile. "So how's it feel to be 20 now?"
Cynthia once again rolled her eyes. She always acted older than she was but Steven liked to brag about his year and a half age advantage over her. "It feels like I'm almost as old as you are."
Steven rolled his eyes playfully back. While he used his age as a joke over her it was a double edge sword when she'd return with jokes that he was way older than he actually was. "Oh please, you make it seem like I'm ancient. I'm twenty-one."
"22 in a few months," Cynthia corrected before chuckling. After a moment she shrugged and glanced at the ground. "I guess it hasn't really set in yet."
Steven nodded understandingly. "Well I mean that's because you've barely celebrated it." All he could do is attempt to make the remaining bit of her birthday special. Steven pulled out one of her chairs and gestured for her to sit down.
Cynthia raised an eyebrow at his actions but he just smiled. After a pause, she obliged and sat down in the chair.
After pushing her in Steven pulled out two candles that together read 20. He put them on the cake before pulling out a match and lighting them. Finally, he switched off her lights so the candles were the only thing illuminating the room.
Cynthia couldn't help but laugh as he lamely sung all of 'Happy Birthday' by himself. Even in the candlelit room, she could see him blushing brightly. For someone so shy he had a pretty decent voice. She had heard him sing once before when she had played the piano for him. Despite his introvertive personality. He was determined to finish the song. The man was committed but still sweetly endearing. When he was done she applauded the man. "Wow bravo!"
Steven chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Sure sure. Tease all you want," he said running his hand through his hair. "Okay, blow out the candles and make a wish."
Make a wish. She glanced up at the man and saw him gazing at her with his beautiful blue eyes. Then she thought back to their warm embrace after his arrival. She closed her eyes and blew the candles. After blowing them out she felt guilty for wishing for what she had.
Steven grinned and turned on the light. He hadn't noticed the blonde starting "Alright. Let's do this." He went to her cabinets and pulled out some plates. As he placed them on the table he noticed how she nearly looked like she was tearing up. Something was wrong but he wasn't quite sure what had changed in the last minute. He knelt down in front of her and frowned. "Hey, what's wrong? Was my singing that bad?"
Why could he make her laugh in moments like this? Why was he so much more charming? Why was this so confusing? She shook her head tried to wipe away the tears that were starting to fall down her face. "No of course not. I just… Don't know what I'm doing? Why didn't he call, today? Why am I even seeing this guy?"
"He didn't call," he repeated as his jaw was extremely tense, taking in her words and realizing who she was talking about. After a moment he knew this wasn't the time to be selfish. "Oh, Cynth…" He gently placed a hand on her cheek and brushed away a tear. "I don't want to overstep my place but I will say you deserve better than a guy who doesn't call you on your birthday. You're truly amazing. I know that if I was seeing you- someone I would do everything I could to make them have a special day."
Cynthia sighed at his touch. She wished these feelings would go away since she wanted to be professional. "I'm sorry. This is hardly appropriate. It's very immature actually."
The man quickly shook his head. "Oh stop. If you're upset I'd much rather you talk about it then deal with it on your own."
His sincere worried expression made her feel confident enough to admit how she had been feeling. "I think I just got caught up with what everyone wanted."
Steven listened intently knowing exactly what she meant. "The second people start caring about your name they like to pair you up with other well-known people. What pretty person would this other pretty person look good with?"
Cynthia's eyes widened as he had completely nailed how she had been feeling. "Exactly! I don't know why I got caught up in all of that. Truth is... Truth is he's very boring and I don't know why I'm involving myself with him because it's certainly not for me."
Steven sighed and ran his hand down her arm. He felt a pinch of relief that this wasn't something she truly invested in. If she was going to date a guy he at least wanted it to be someone who was good to her. He had never met the man but from what he could find out he seemed very serious, older than he was and kind of boring. It didn't make sense why Cynthia was dating him but that had been up to her. Steven's motives for them ending weren't bad, he just was looking out for her... right? "You have to do what makes you happy. Screw everyone else."
Cynthia sighed and nodded. He was right. Maybe one day that would mean figuring out how she felt about the man in front of her. "You're right."
Steven nodded. He had fallen so hard for the blonde it was just so difficult with the distance. After a moment he pulled away and handed her a slice of cake.
Cynthia watched him put so much thought into every little thing he did when he was around her. From the size of the slice of cake to the way, he sat down next to her. She just didn't know what it meant.
A month later there was a charity gala in Unova. Cynthia had since broken up with George and had tried to figure out what she in fact wanted. While these galas were very dull she always looked forward to going because she'd at least be in the company of her closest friend. However, this time Steven had brought a date which had certainly come as a surprise. Cynthia crossed her arms at the party while watching her best friend speak intently to the woman. She was a tall brunette in a very beautiful blue dress. Something about her was familiar but she couldn't exactly place it. All she knew was the way the way the two laughed had her furious.
Of course, she wanted his happiness but she had really been looking forward to spending the evening with him. That's it nothing else... right?
"I can't believe ut either. We were all shocked when he said he had a date tonight. The man can be super private about his love life."
Cynthia's eyes widened and she turned to see the ghost type Hoenn Elite Four Member. The girl was very close with Steven so Cynthia inevitably had many conversations with her as well.
Phoebe raised an eyebrow at the woman. "You know I'm sure he'd still love to see you though. You don't have to hide out here the whole time."
Cynthia tried to hide her blush by looking away. "Actually, I'm feeling a bit under the weather. Would you excuse me? I think I'm going to head to my hotel room."
Before Phoebe could say another word the Sinnoh Champion had disappeared.
The woman had gone to coat check-in and was already waiting for the clerk to find it. She'd be gone in less than two minutes, however, a familiar voice caught her attention.
"Are you leaving already? I haven't even seen you yet?" The man stood there with a sweet smile and his hands in his pockets casually.
Cynthia raised an eyebrow slightly. The woman who had been by his side the entire night wasn't with him at the moment. She avoided his gaze as she brushed down her gold gown. "Yes… I feel a bit under the weather."
His expression was immediately concerned. "I'm sorry to hear that. Would you like me to escort you home? I'd hardly want you to go back by yourself when you aren't feeling well."
Cynthia blushed at his comment. While he was offering what she had been wanting for the past hour she didn't know if she'd be able to manage a conversation with him anymore. "No no no. I'd hardly want to interrupt your evening."
Steven furrowed his brows since he really didn't like the idea of her going home alone when she wasn't feeling well. It really wasn't that far a walk.
Before he could say anything else the woman from earlier came over to where they were and handed Steven a drink. "There you are." She glanced over at Cynthia and offered a tense smile. "Steven, who is this?"
The Sinnoh Champion felt her shoulders tighten at the additional presence. She really had tried to avoid this. After a moment, she extended her hand to the woman politely. She didn't wait for Steven's introduction. "Cynthia. I'm the champion of Sinnoh."
The woman shook her hand back. "Oh well, it's nice to meet you. I'm Jessica Flint. I'm a reporter for the Hoenn News Network."
Cynthia nodded. That's where she had seen her before. She didn't realize that was Steven's type. However, if she was a reporter she definitely knew who Cynthia was and this was some sort power move. Cynthia should have cared more but at this point, she refused to believe she di. "That's very interesting." She noticed her coat had been placed on the end of the counter. "I'm sorry but I really should get going."
Steven frowned and glanced at Jessica before shaking his head. "Hey, I'm gonna walk her back to the hotel. I'll be back soon," he said before handing her his drink.
Jessica raised an eyebrow as she held his drink "Oh? Sure. That's fine."
Steven had asked for his coat before Cynthia could even protest.
While he was away Jessica gave a slightly annoyed expression but Cynthia just ignored it. She wasn't in the mood for this kind of game... however, if she was she'd point out that Steven was leaving Jessica to go with her.
After a moment of awkwardness, Steven returned and offered his usual smile. "Ready to go?" Steven asked Cynthia.
She nodded simply as she started to leave she saw out of the corner of her eye Steven kissing Jessica's cheek before following along.
As they walked along the path Steven raised an eyebrow at how quiet she was being. "So how have you been overall?" The two had exchanged a phone call after Cynthia had broken up with George and she seemed to have been doing better. However, seeing her in person acting sort of off made him think otherwise.
Cynthia shrugged and just looked down at the pavement. "I've been fine."
Steven raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm sorry I didn't see you till now. I was introducing Jessica to a bunch of people." He was trying to get some sort of true Cynthia response from her but nothing seemed to be getting through to her.
Cynthia tensed her shoulders at the name. She just wanted to go home alone. The last thing she wanted was to hear about his latest girlfriend. To be fair this was very unlike him but she wasn't really thinking straight."She seems nice."
Steven kept trying to get a glance of her expression. "She's very nice. We met after I did an interview for Devon. She's very smart and successful. It's been a very... different experience." He had to force the words out despite him previously thinking that the statement was true. He was trying to get past his feelings for his closest friend and was actually moving on... so why was this so weird. Cynthia wouldn't look at him which had never been a thing before.
Cynthia just nodded her head simply. "You seem very happy with her."
"I am," he said softly. After being unable to bear the treatment any longer he turned around and started walking backwards to look at her. "Why won't you look at me, Cynth?"
Cynthia sighed as she continued to diverge eye contact with the man which was getting increasingly hard with him being right in her face. "What are you talking about? Steven I just don't feel good and would really like to go to bed."
Steven frowned because he wasn't buying this excuse anymore. "Have I done something? I don't understand. Even if you were sick... you'd look at me."
Cynthia shook her head. "Of course not. I'm just not having a good day."
That caused him to become very worried and pause for a moment. Her statement certainly made him start to overthink the situation. Steven frowned and carefully grabbed her arms. "Has someone hurt you?"
Cynthia flinched and looked at the didn't want to tell him that he was the one who hurt her. That wouldn't be fair. "No of course not. You are overthinking this. I don't like being sick and you just decided for me I might add to escort me to the hotel. So can we please just go? "
Steven stared at her sincerely as her words stung him. She wasn't wrong, he did decide to take her to the hotel when she initially declined him. Guilt filled his body as he noticed she still wasn't looking at him. However, he didn't want to push her anymore because he felt like somehow he was making things worse. "Okay." He walked with her silently for the rest of the way to the hotel feeling very confused and guilty.
Cynthia glanced at him. She knew he was upset now and that's not what she had wanted. After a moment she turned to him and looked him in the eyes. It wasn't fair to blame him for her bad mood especially with everything he'd done for her. "Thank you for walking me home, Steven. I'm sorry for the outburst. I just-"
"Don't feel good. I get it." A sigh escaped his lips as he slipped his hands into his pockets. He was relieved she finally was looking at her but still... something seemed off still and he couldn't place why. He stared at her intently. "You know you can tell me anything right? Like if you ever need anything I'm here."
Cynthia bit her lip and nodded. "I know. Thank you...I'll talk to you later." With that, she turned around and went into the hotel.
Steven watched her go and sighed. He slumped back to the party visibly distraught. He just didn't understand why Cynthia was being so distant. Once the Hoenn Champion back in the bustling ballroom he was too distracted to notice Wallace approaching him and putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Why so glum Steven? I thought you'd be having a wonderful night?" Wallace asked with a raised eyebrow.
Steven crossed his arms. While Wallace might be nosey he did know him better than anyone else so it couldn't hurt to get his take on the situation. "Cynthia just seemed really off today. She said she was sick so I walked her home, right? But she wouldn't look at me? It was really weird like she was mad at me."
Wallace bit his lip trying to figure out how someone could be so blind. Steven had been the same level of upset when he found out about the woman's relationship with the Sinnoh politician but instead of avoiding Cynthia, Steven, on the other hand, convinced her to end things with the other man. Wallace mentally facepalmed realizing how dence his bestfriend was. "I mean have you done anything to upset her?"
Steven shook his head. "Of course not… I just offered to take her home."
Wallace took his hand off his shoulder and rolled his eyes. "Maybe it was something different you did this time."
Steven raised an eyebrow and turned toward him. "What do you mean different?"
Wallace gave him an incredulous look. "I mean you were distracted tonight. Which is totally fine if that's what you want."
"Distracted?" I mean sure he hadn't talked to her because of... That's when he noticed Jessica talking to another guy across the room. They seemed awfully close especially with the way she was touching his arm. "Because of Jessica?"
Wallace nodded as he shrugged. "Maybe Cynthia felt a little blindsided by you bringing her. A lot of us were. I honestly thought you were into someone else…."
Steven rubbed his temple at the sore subject. He had already told Wallace he was over these feelings. "Please not this again."
Wallace shrugged. "I'd just be careful. You are playing a messy game. Even if it's just from a friend point, usually you two are practically inseparable at these events. This time you waited two hours to even go up to her."
Steven swallowed hard at the truth behind the statement. He wasn't sure why exactly he had even brought a date. Was it absentmindedly to make Cynthia jealous and want him more? No wonder why she had seemed so upset, he had been playing with her emotions. "I see…" He had wanted to push Cynthia away rather than having to deal with falling any harder for her but now her hurt expression was trapped in his mind.
Wallace sighed. "I just don't know why you are in such denial. It's very clear to everyone that there is an attraction between you two."
Steven shook his head because he couldn't deal with those kinds of thoughts. He had to fix their friendship first. "It's not that easy." He brushed off his coat before glancing back at his date. "Look I think I'm going go. I'll see you later." As he headed toward Jessica he thought about how the woman was interesting but he felt like he was being the Steven everyone thought he was not who he actually was. Cynthia, on the other hand, embraced his true self. When he finally arrived to Jessica he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Hey. Jess, I think I'm starting to feel unwell too. I'm going to0 "
Jessica looked over from her conversation and nodded. "Oh okay. I think I'm going to stick around." She barely seemed phased which showed how much she seemed to care.
However, Steven didn't care either at this point. "Of course," he muttered before leaving her with whoever she was talking to. As he walked to the hotel, he pulled out his phone and looked at Cynthia's contact. Maybe part of him did want to get a rise out of Cynthia. Despite how often he tried to say they were just friends he knew deep down that wasn't the case. He wanted to call her and make things right but he just didn't know what she wanted anymore. Finally, Steven stopped walking and decided to just call her because he did really want to catch up and spend time with her. After a minute of ringing, she finally picked up. "Hey, are you still up."
There was a moment of pause before she responded. "Yeah."
Steven entered the hotel and sighed. "Can we hang out and catch up? Just the two of us? I know it's late. I just can't stay at that stupid event anymore," he muttered as he loosened his tie nervously.
"What about Jessica?" Her tone wasn't bitter but more confused and concerned. While she was jealous she always would prefer his happiness above all else so hearing him so frustrated was alarming.
"She was talking to some other guy at the party. I don't know. It was weird. It doesn't matter," Steven responded pretty nonchalantly.
She paused again. "Of course. What room are you in?"
Steven thought about how he and Jessica had planned on sharing a room so that was a grey area for sure. "Would it be cool if I came to yours?" He knew at some point Jessica would either get her bag or he'd just have to get a new room. Either way, he knew it was best to avoid that.
Cynthia didn't question any of it and just gave him her room number. She had been pretty upset but trying to force herself not to cry (okay she might have failed a little but not too much). She had changed into leggings and a sweater after leaving the party and had decided to watch some crappy tv show. When there was a knock on the door she opened it up and saw Steven with a spooked expression. "Hey, are you okay?" She carefully pulled him in and shut the door behind him. The blonde lead him to her bed so he could sit down.
Steven blinked at her before nodding. He sat down and ran a hand through his hand anxiously. "Of course yeah. I just… I don't know tonight was weird and I feel like I acted out and let some people down."
Cynthia raised an eyebrow at him as she poured him a cup of tea. "I'm not following?" She handed him the cup before sitting beside him on the bed. "But even still I hardly see how you let anyone down."
Steven glanced at her before taking a sip of the tea. "I don't know. I get really out of character with dates and I just wasn't enjoying it I guess?"
Cynthia sighed. "I get that…" she said softly remembering the prior month with what she had gone through. "Did you really like her?"
Steven sighed and shrugged. "I think a bit but it seemed mostly like a distraction." How was she so kind to him? Even after everything. "Hey, I'm sorry I didn't talk to you till later or like tell you about her. I just..." He wanted to explain why but the words couldn't escape his lips.
However, she didn't seem to need an explanation. "You really do not need to apologize. We're good. I promise." She stroked his hair back into place to ease.
The two stared at each other and felt the connection between them grow. However, a loud noise on the television startled them out of their trance.
Steven raised an eyebrow at the tv to try and hide his blush. "Wow this looks like garbage Cynth, I expected better from you," he teased.
Cynthia rolled her eyes. "Oh like you are any better! You're the one who likes rom coms! I don't want to hear it," she teased back poking his chest. Despite the bickering, both felt like a little progress had been made when it came to figuring out how they felt.