Hello everyone!
I am finally back with a story for you all. Sorry for the long hiatus, with Xmas, work has been extremely busy, so my free time was zero during then, but now with it slowly returning to normal, I can have the freedom to write again...and enough of the boring stuff.
So this story is told from Diantha's point of view, so her thoughts will be in italics.
I think the story is pretty self explanatory from the title.
This one-shot is not part of the family saga, it's a stand alone.
Rating it K+ as I don't think there is anything written that could constitute a higher rating.
Enjoy
Diantha could admit, that under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have acted so surprised. I mean; it wasn't as if she hadn't suspected, or even anticipated this happening, really.
To be fair, it was purely by accident, that this rather innocent encounter had happened at all; helped along with, a major error on their part.
Perhaps she should rewind.
It was another Champion's meeting once again, this time being held in Unova.
For Diantha, these meetings became slightly more tolerable with the introduction of the Sinnoh Champion eleven months ago, as there was finally, another woman that could help break up the high level of testosterone; that had permeated these meetings beforehand.
Diantha couldn't help but shake her head slightly, before releasing a little inward chuckle at the thought; her musings made the male Champions' sound like cavemen, which was actually, the complete opposite to what they were; although, sometimes she questioned the theory with regards to Alder on occasions.
But she digressed, even though the male contingency of Champions' were actually really decent men; still…it just wasn't the same as having another female to collaborate with, because reasonably, there was only a minority of things you could talk to a man about.
Which was exactly where she was heading now. Cynthia had given her, her hotel room number last night, as they had both made plans to meet up before breakfast, in order to have a little catch up, before meeting up again with the men.
Five minutes later, as she finally arrived at her friend's hotel room door, she raised her hand to knock lightly, but as the seconds ticked by, there was no immediate response from inside.
Strange…she thought. Cynthia was pretty punctual when it came to appointments and meetings, but yet, it seemed on this occasion, this wasn't the case. Perhaps she has gone downstairs already?
Diantha couldn't help but shake her head slightly in disagreement at the thought; Cynthia wouldn't do that, not without informing her first, she was too well-mannered for that, and besides, breakfast didn't officially start for another forty-five minutes yet, so to go down that early, seemed highly ludicrous.
The more reasonable explanation; was that she was probably still asleep. It was the most plausible reasoning, as they had all been up fairly late last night, plus the travelling beforehand; even she had to admit; she had been exhausted, and she had less of a distance to travel than the Sinnoh Champion. Arceus knows how tired Cynthia must have been, so really, she couldn't begrudge her for oversleeping a little.
With that in mind, she debated on whether to turn around and leave, but her logical mind won, as she knocked on the door again, slightly louder this time.
Despite feeling slightly guilty for trying to awaken her, Diantha thought it was for the best, because she knew, that Cynthia would be extremely mortified if she knew she had missed breakfast, not to mention their arranged meet up. She couldn't help but chuckle at the thought; the Sinnoh Champion was old fashioned in her thinking that way.
After a few seconds, she could finally here the tell tale sounds of someone moving around. Well, it looks like she is finally up…
After another minute of waiting, Diantha could here the handle turn, as the door finally opened. She was just about to give a cheery, 'good morning sleepyhead,' but her words instantly vanished, as she immediately froze at the sight of the person that greeted her at the half opened door.
Hang on a minute…she was quite positive that this was Cynthia's room number…and yet, standing before her, barefooted; dressed in trousers and an un-tucked and half undone shirt; and sporting, what could only be described, as a severe case of bed-head…was the Hoenn Champion, Steven Stone.
Taking in his rather dishevelled appearance, it almost looked like he had just rolled out of bed, and Diantha would lay her shirt on the fact that that; was literally what had just happened.
She deduced, that she must have looked like a right idiot, standing there gaping slightly with widened eyes, but she justified, she had every reason to be; as this was one of the last things she would have expected to encounter this morning, when she'd knocked on the Sinnoh Champion's door.
To be fair, Steven looked just as surprised to see her, but probably for an entirely different reason.
"Diantha?" he asked, obvious confusion clouding his features, at seeing her standing there. "What…I mean…is there something I can help you with?"
It was his question that finally seemed to snap her out of her stupefied state. Well…now that he mentioned it…
"Well actually…I was here to speak with Cynthia, since we made plans last night to meet up before breakfast."
Steven shuffled nervously, as he cleared his throat, before replying.
"Well…what makes…you think she is here?" he asked, closing the gap of the doorway he was standing in a bit more, further obscuring her view of inside the room.
If Diantha wasn't thoroughly convinced that there was something going on, she was one hundred percent certain now. The man was known for becoming slightly flustered under pressure when it came to personal matters, and his current stuttering and nervous fidgeting, sealed the decision for her.
The Hoenn and Sinnoh Champion's were definitely together.
She had suspected that something had been going on between them for quite a while, however, she had never had any proof, until now. She had had her suspicions, many people had, but she had never seen anything that would suggest that they had been anything more than just very good friends.
Okay, okay, there had been the occasional flirting, and it was obvious to see they were both attracted to each other, but still, they had been the optimum of discretion, up until now. How long this had been going on for, she could only guess, but judging by what she was witnessing, she could deduce, it had been a while.
She could easily guess why they would want to keep it a secret though, because if news got out of a relationship between the pair, the flurry of gossip and media harassment; would be downright shameless.
She could sympathize with them wholeheartedly on that front. Being an actress and Champion herself, she was used to the media following her, but she could only imagine it would be a hundred times worse for them, especially, with them both being Champions, not to mention Steven's title, of heir to the Devon Co-operation. They'd be prime targets on the media front.
She could understand their desire for privacy in the matter, but this current situation, had obviously been a mistake on their part, although, she had to admit, she didn't think they'd have been this careless.
Despite that, she couldn't deny, that the thought of the both of them together, actually thrilled her. It was crystal clear that the pair were made for each other, and she wasn't above admitting to herself, that she had been secretly rooting for them; she was a closet romantic after all. Still, it was time to get the confirmation she so desired.
"Well…I assume she would be here, as this is her hotel room after all," she stated, as she folded her arms, her gaze firmly locked onto the blue irises of the Hoenn Champion. "Which begs the question Steven," she continued, as she raised her eyebrow questionably, before a little smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Why exactly are you here this early in the morning? And if I dare say, looking like you have just rolled out of bed?"
As she trailed off, she instantly saw the colour drain from Steven's face, as there was a deathly, silent pause, before a bang, followed by a loud curse, could be heard coming from behind the Hoenn Champion, somewhere inside the room. She didn't even have to wait for any words; Steven's expression said it all; busted.
Her small smile slowly morphed into a smirk, as the silence dragged on. She could almost here the gears turning inside of Steven's mind, but it really didn't matter if he did think of anything to say, as far as she was concerned, they had been caught in the act; quite literally.
After a few more seconds, the stalemate was finally broken.
"Let her in Steven," she could hear Cynthia's voice say from behind, the still half closed door. "She'll only attract more attention if we don't."
With a heavy sigh, Steven opened the door wider, before standing to the side and making a sweeping motion with the hand that wasn't on the door handle.
With a rather triumphant smirk, Diantha strolled in, her eyes immediately scanning the inside of her colleague's room, before they locked with those of the Sinnoh Champion, who was staring directly at her, her gaze steely, as she sat on the edge of the bed, dressed in a hotel bathrobe.
Judging by the clothes that were littering the floor, that was probably the only thing she was wearing. Diantha couldn't help but chuckle inwardly at the thought; she had definitely caught them in the act; that was for sure.
Her musings were finally broken by the sound of the door closing behind her, before Steven re-appeared in her eye line, as he went and sat next to Cynthia on the bed. As soon as he had, Diantha cleared her throat, and asked the question that she had been dying to know the answer to.
"So…exactly how long has this been going on, hmm?" she asked, with a raised eyebrow, as she glanced between the pair of them.
Both Steven and Cynthia exchanged glances, before returning to face her, as Steven cleared his throat.
"Well…you see…it's…well…"
Diantha had to once again repress a chuckle, at the man's flustered appearance. Steven was generally smooth talking and quite the diplomat. (Probably due to his upbringing as heir to a thriving company.) Challenging business negotiations and pokemon battles didn't faze him in the slightest, but any references or insinuations towards his personal life…the man became a total wreck.
It seemed that Cynthia had decided to take some sort of sympathy on her…boyfriend? partner?; as she slid her hand into his, before giving it a slight squeeze, in what she was quite sure, was reassurance.
At the touch, Steven seemed to visibly relax slightly, as he let out a little sigh.
"Well, we have been together for just over eight months now," he stated, as he squeezed Cynthia's hand in return. "We had been keeping in frequent contact long before that; but one evening, when I had been visiting Cynthia in Sinnoh, we…" he trailed off slightly, as a flush overcame his cheeks. "…Decided to give a long distance relationship a try."
At his words, Diantha could feel her eyes widen slightly in surprise. Had they really been seeing each other that long? She couldn't believe she hadn't realized sooner; although to be fair, she did have her suspicions of course, but she was actually disappointed in herself for not catching on quicker. She had to hand it to the both of them though; they had done a stellar job at hiding it.
She was once again brought out of her musings by Steven's voice.
"At first, the decision to keep it quiet was a necessity, especially, giving our status'," he explained, before rubbing his free hand across the back of his neck. "But as the months have gone on, we just, didn't want to draw attention to ourselves."
Diantha could see Cynthia squeeze his hand again, before taking over.
"We just…wanted to keep a low profile, for the moment at least." Her face furrowed slightly in concern. "You won't tell anyone, will you Diantha? I mean, it's not as if it isn't serious, it is; and we know we will have to tell people eventually, but we just don't feel ready enough yet. We just…want to enjoy our relationship for the time being, without it being a…public spectacle, if you know what I mean?"
Diantha could clearly here the worry in her tone, and couldn't help but release a little inward sigh. She had thought this was the case, and to be honest, she really couldn't blame them for wanting to keep it private.
"Of course I understand, and trust me when I say, your secret is safe with me," she replied, as a soft smile settled across her lips. "Believe me, I totally sympathize with your reasons for why you are both keeping this quiet; Arceus' knows, how much publicity you'd receive if you didn't. I thought the amount I receive is bad, but news of you two as a couple? I dare to think."
She unfolded her arms, before waving her right hand in the air, in a circular motion.
"And besides, technically, it's really none of my business; I mean, it was only by pure accident that I found out myself; and it's certainly not my place to announce it to the world."
At her words, she could see both of them relax slightly, as they exchanged small smiles, before Steven gave Cynthia's hand another squeeze, obviously in reassurance.
Diantha couldn't help but smile slightly at the sight; she couldn't deny, that they were actually quite cute together, even if it would probably embarrass them both greatly if they knew that. Hold on…now there was a thought…
Just because she wasn't allowed to tell anyone, that didn't mean she couldn't have a little fun with this knowledge. Besides, as far as she was concerned, no harm ever came from a little private teasing.
"However, now that I know, you do now realize…" she trailed off, as a smirk once again spread across lips. "That this gives me the right to tease you mercifully, don't you? I mean it would only be fair right?"
At her words, she could see both of their eyes widen, in what she suspected was fear, or possibly alarm, however, she couldn't be sure. It didn't matter anyway; it seemed only fair that she could tease them a little, especially, since she had to keep it a secret after all. But those were thoughts for later, after she had had more time to prepare. Speaking of…
With that thought, Diantha glanced to the clock situated on the bedside table.
"Well, would you look at the time!" she exclaimed. "I better make a move, in order to let you both prepare for the day, because I dare say, if all three of us are late to breakfast, then I'm quite sure your secret won't remain that way for much longer, because no doubt Lance would guess something was up straight away."
At her words, the Hoenn and Sinnoh Champions exchanged another glance, before turning back towards her and nodding in affirmation.
"Excellent," she replied, with a smile of her own. "Well then, I should…" With that, she took a step backwards, towards the door. "I shall see you both at breakfast."
And with that, Diantha whirled around; and began striding towards the door, but before she opened it, a thought quickly entered her mind.
"Oh…before I go, a word of advice…" she paused, her hand grabbing firmly onto the handle of the door. She tilted her head back in their direction again, before a smirk stretched across her lips once again, as she took in the pair still sat on the bed. "If you do want to keep this a secret, you might want to double check next time, whose actual room you are in first before answering the door, or better yet, make sure you are at least, appropriately dressed."
Diantha could see the flush of embarrassment that appeared over both of their faces again, before giving a little parting wave and chuckle, as she opened the door and strode out into the corridor, a triumphant smirk plastered across her lips, as one thought repeatedly ran through her mind…
Oh…this was going to be a lot of fun.
Yeah...a whole lot of fun!
A nice short one to get me back in the swing of writing. Got a few idea lined up, but any requests and reviews would be much appreciated. But fear not if I disappear for a length of time, I will not stop writing about these two.
Hope you enjoyed, until next time
