Obsession
Having grown up in a traditional Sinnoh-style house for most of her life, moving to the Sinnoh League Headquarters was a huge adjustment as the architecture of the building was so different to what Cynthia was used to.
Though the headquarters was built from an old castle, she couldn't help but first think that the residence itself was probably designed for royalty of Sinnoh's olden days, which she hardly thought was suited for her. In time, Cynthia was able to grow used to the place, even going so far as to grow fond of it as the castle held remnants of seeming like she was living in the past.
And as she visited Steven's villa for the first time, she couldn't help but feel similarly in awe at the modern architecture.
The property itself was unique and intricately designed in terms of its infrastructure. Everything looked so bright and pristine that she was afraid to touch anything. In comparison to her family house and the League residence she lived in, it all seemed new and fresh to her. When she first laid eyes on the building, the asymmetrical style threw her off but coming inside, she found it to be absolutely fascinating.
Cynthia turned around when she heard Steven coming back into the room with a bottle of champagne and two flutes in hand. The familiar fluttering in her stomach overcame her whenever he sent a fond smile her way.
He handed her a glass and poured some of the beverage into it as her eyes gazed around towards her surroundings once more. Steven took notice and chuckled.
"You look very amazed right now," he said and her grey eyes focused back on him.
"Your house is incredible. It's definitely something I've never seen before."
"I could give you a tour, if you'd like?"
Her eyes lit up with great interest. "Please, I would like that very much."
It was as if she couldn't get ever more astounded as she followed him around the house.
The entirety of the home was decorated with contemporary-looking furniture that never actually appeared to clutter any of the rooms due to how large each of them were. The ceilings were high in the living area, with a grand chandelier hung over their heads. There seemed to be a running theme of white walls and exposed brick stones throughout, which only added to the charm to the home.
Steven even showed her to some of the many guest bedrooms on the upper floor, which she was surprised to find out just how many there were. It certainly was a rather large house for just one person to be occupying, she thought.
The backyard was nothing to scoff about either. It was outfitted with a large pool connected to the porch as they stepped outside, while the rest of the yard was a grassy terrain where all of Steven's pokémon were lounging about.
Everything about the place was a beauty, she found. And while she might have preferred living in places that were more traditional or long-established, she was curious to know what living in such a modern space was like.
When it seemed like she'd seen everything there was to see in the home, they passed a door just next to the kitchen that happened to catch her attention.
"Where does this door go to?" she pointed out to him.
Steven turned around to see what she was referring to and his eyes seemed to light up. He opened the door and turned on the lights showing a staircase going down.
"It leads to the basement where I store most of the rocks I've collected so far in Sinnoh." He saw the curious look in her eye and laughed. "I can show you, if you're interested?"
To that she nodded eagerly and followed him down.
They met only a single door at the very bottom, that had a padlock on it, to which Steven quickly unlocked and let her pass through.
Cynthia was speechless at the sight.
The basement was one, huge open-floor room where many glass display cases and high pedestals were arranged in neat rows, all of them featuring polished, uncut stones and rocks of different colours. Many broken geodes and bright crystals that all varied in different sizes were also displayed. It was like stepping into a museum exhibit, with how neatly arranged everything was.
Cynthia could only imagine what great lengths Steven must have went through to obtain all of them, as everything appeared so rare and valuable. To think he had one big large area just for such a beautiful collection was impressive to her.
Her eyes were wide when she looked around the room. "These are all from Sinnoh?"
Steven nodded. "The collection's still growing, too."
"They must be worth a fortune," she commented as she followed behind him when he started to walk around the room.
"That's hardly a concern to me," Steven said. "I keep them because they tell of all the memories I spent trying to gather all of them."
She raised a brow in slight skepticism. "Is that right?"
The former champion was grinning with pride. "Are you doubting me?"
"You mustn't make assumptions, Mr. Stone." Cynthia suppressed the urge to smile at the face he made. "I never said I doubted you."
"I suppose I mistook your tone the wrong way, then." They were standing face to face now, a foot apart. Cynthia had to look up to look him in the eyes.
Then he gestured to the entire room. "Pick a stone and I'll tell you when and where I managed to find them."
Cynthia let out a small laugh from his sudden challenge. "Alright, then."
The Sinnoh champion made sure to carefully look over each piece of rock before settling on a random one that caught her eye. She pointed to a brown, crystal-like stone, behind a glass cover. The stone itself was no bigger than the size of her palm upon first glance. "This one, right here."
"That's a type of smoky quartz I found inside Mount Coronet," Steven replied with ease. "They're said to relieve one's negative energy and replace them with positive energy. But I only picked it up because it's got a rather darker hue than what I've seen in the past."
Cynthia smiled in amusement. "Interesting," she said and began walking through the aisles once more.
"And how about this one?" She was pointing to a geode that appeared to have been sliced open, revealing varying shades of blue rings spiraling into the rock's core. The lighter shades of the blue colour had initially reminded her much of Steven's eyes.
"That one is a blue agate geode from Stark Mountain," he said as he went over to stand beside her. "Of course, I had to have it cut open to be able to see the blue colours like this. It wouldn't have looked all too pretty if I didn't."
Cynthia was impressed at his extensive knowledge of all the stones he'd collected. At that point, she wouldn't have minded on going through every single item in the room if it gave her the chance to learn something interesting.
But she looked around the room once more, in hopes of finding something that would have him stumped to recall where he had obtained it. She wasn't entirely expecting him to, however.
Her grey eyes glazed over one row, until they did a double take on a particular orangey, pink-like crystal that had caught her attention almost immediately. She had never seen the two colours blended together so beautifully and intricately as that stone did. It reminded her of a sunset, the moment the sky barely touched the beginnings of the night while still reflecting the sun's rays, producing a similar orange-pink hue. The sight was comforting, reminding her of home.
"What's this one?"
"I found that in the Underground a few months ago," he said over her shoulder. "It's a rare type of sapphire from the two shades of colour in it, which is a rare occurrence."
Cynthia took a moment to just stare at its wondrous beauty. "It's a very beautiful stone," she said earnestly, almost wishing she could hold it were it not for the glass casing around it.
Steven smiled brightly. "Exactly why I decided to take it with me."
"Your collection is really something, Steven." Cynthia was looking straight at him now.
He beamed at her words. "Thank you, I'm glad you think so," he replied. "To be honest, that's a rather refreshing thing to hear these days. A lot of people would say I have a rather odd interest in making this a hobby of mine."
Cynthia frowned slightly. "If it makes you happy, why care about what other people have to say?" She gave his hand a light squeeze of reassurance. "I, for one, am more than impressed by your collection."
She didn't want to ask if he meant family, friends, or complete strangers who thought it odd for him to have a hobby and deep interest like this. She simply believed that no matter how many people thought his interests to be out of the norm, that shouldn't stop him in doing what he loved most. It was the same with her and her fascination when it came to researching regional mythology and lore.
Cynthia gazed around at the display cases one last time, until her eyes caught sight of a particular stone a few steps away. A sense of familiarity swelled within her as she gazed upon its bright orange complexion and she stepped closer to get a better look. She heard Steven's laugh when he saw what she was looking at.
Her hands touched the glass cover. "Is this…?"
"That's the Old Amber you gave me," he confirmed her suspicions.
A smile graced her lips. "You actually kept it?" she found herself murmuring as her eyes looked over the shiny fossilized stone she had presented to him when he arrived in Sinnoh so many months ago. Seeing it again after such a long time brought a joyful feeling inside her chest.
"I saw no point in giving it away." Steven came over and opened the glass case to hold the stone in his hand. "It was a present, right?"
Cynthia smiled. "I'm just happy to know you still have it."
She took the stone out from his outstretched hand.
Cool and smooth, just like she remembered it when she first picked it up exploring Mount Coronet all those months ago. Her heart felt warm inside her chest as she gazed upon the amber colour it reflected back. It might have brought her some good amount of money if she had decided to sell it initially – the person who got it appraised for her said as much – but found it in herself to keep it a little while longer instead. Even then, she'd been unsure of what she was going to do with it, at the time.
And then it ended up in the hands of the former champion. Her initial thought was that Steven would probably put it to better use; to sell it or even revive it since his father owned the technology to do just that. She never would have guessed, however, that he actually chose to keep it safe and in the best of care.
"You can call me sentimental, but I kept it because it reminded me of you, in a way," she suddenly heard Steven say. He smiled softly at her when she looked back at him. "This amber has its own mysterious and heartwarming vibe, just like you have that effect on me sometimes."
Cynthia had the urge to roll her eyes at his comment but that certainly didn't stop the slight warming of her face as she listened to him. She put the amber back in its holder as he placed the glass cover back on.
"But you know, amber stones are known for bringing good luck and success to someone," he told her as they began heading back to the staircase.
"'Good luck and success'?" The Sinnoh champion laughed once they reached the top step and stood before one another. "Are you saying that everything that's happened up until now is based off some stone's properties?"
They both had an idea to what they were implying to one another that they needn't say it out loud.
Cynthia was never one to put her faith into letting fate run its course. Instead, she believed that one's own actions would ultimately decide what would happen next. But if luck was a factor that might have brought them together, then she would accept it wholeheartedly.
Modern/Contemporary homes are so, so, soooo cool and beautiful. All the pictures on google make me wish I lived in those kinds of houses.
And, my gosh, have we really reached 100 reviews? I'm really surprised! Honestly, you guys are an awesome bunch! Even if this shipping never occurred to you or you just happened to stumble upon this story, you have my sincere thanks. If I could, I'd hug you all. Thanks for reading!