Submission

Steven didn't think he'd ever find himself coming back to the coldest region in Sinnoh once more, for whatever reason. After the first couple visits to the northern area, it became clear that he and freezing temperatures would never be a good mix. He would have much rather preferred visiting someplace else.

The only reason he agreed to come was upon the insistence of his own mother, who was more than eager to make the trek up to Lake Acuity, despite his warnings of how cold it would be. And it was also the fact that Wallace and his parents were due for departure in just a few days that he felt it necessary to spend as much time with them as he could, before they all headed off.

But Wallace was out on his own for the day, after having mentioned that he was in for a 'much needed' spa treatment at the Ribbon Syndicate back in the Resort Area, for both him and his pokémon. Somehow, he'd managed to get himself a full day's appointment to which Steven was envious of his friend to have had such an opportunity on that very day, considering the situation he found himself in.

Because looking at it from his perspective, Lake Acuity did not seem all that different from the other two great lakes in Sinnoh.

Of course, saying such an offense out loud to the region's champion earned him quite an earful as to how the lakes were most certainly different from each other and that he'd yet to see otherwise. From there, Steven had to be sure to choose his words carefully and never challenge his obvious ignorance of Sinnoh's legends with her, in the future.

Still, it was a delight that his parents had made the suggestion to have Cynthia come along to guide them through the snowy area, which she'd been more than happy to agree upon. Since he rarely ever set foot upon the cold grounds of Sinnoh's north, he could hardly say that he knew the area well enough to be their guide. It only seemed logical to have someone else with a better experience of Sinnoh's terrains, to be their lead, instead.

And so, with all the layers of warm clothing clad he donned to fend off the weather, the four of them made the trek up the hill that would eventually lead into the lake.

To his surprise, his mother appeared completely unperturbed by the cold air and was withstanding it just as well as Cynthia was.

His father wasn't as lucky, though.

Steven patted the older man, who was dressed just as similarly to him, on the shoulder, as they treaded their way through the snow. "How are you holding up, Dad?" he asked.

"It's f-f-freezing," his father replied, breathing out visible puffs of air as he hugged himself to try and keep warm. He stared ahead towards the two women walking alongside each other, who were chatting away like it was a normal day for them, and sighed heavily. "I don't know how they do it."

Steven wrapped an arm around his father's shoulders to support him up the particularly steep hill, watching as Cynthia's Glaceon bounced around in the snow as it followed after her up ahead. "Cynthia comes here quite often on her own for research purposes," he explained. "But as for Mom…I'm just as surprised as you are, to be honest."

His father's teeth chattered as he chuckled. "She surprises m-me every day, your mother."

Steven soon noticed that the other two had stopped once the hill ended at the top and watched as Cynthia turned to send him a heartwarming (literally) smile his way. "I could say the same thing," he said, flashing a grin in return.

Once they caught up, both his parents had stopped in their tracks to take in the whole spectacle of the lake before them, appearing completely blown away with their star struck expressions. The view at the top of the hill was simply incredible, even the second time around since his last visit.

Clear water sparkled like starlight from the sun's reflection beating off its surface and surrounded the entire vicinity to make the lake appear as if it stretched for miles. An abundance of snow settled on the ground and on the tall evergreen trees lining the shoreline, which only added to the beautiful scenery. All of it was enough to keep his mind off the frigid air.

Off in the distance, he could see the cavern in the middle of the lake where, he'd learned, one of the lake trio pokémon was said to reside in.

"It's absolutely breathtaking," Steven heard his mother say in awe as she stepped closer to the edge of the shoreline.

Cynthia stepped forward and pointed off to the side where an open path was located. "There's a path right over there that leads towards the other side of the lake, if we were to go far enough," she said. "We can get a closer look at the lake's cavern from there."

"How convenient, let's go and see!" his mother exclaimed, beginning to head towards it when she stopped and looked over at the two men who had not moved from their positions. "Aren't you two coming?"

Steven grimaced, but thankfully, his father was the first to answer her, "A-Ah, I think I'd much rather prefer to see the view from here, instead, dear."

Steven nodded in response and held up a hand. "I second that."

But the older woman frowned. "Oh, come now, you two," she said, well aware now of how they were struggling to withstand the weather. "Standing around is only going to make you colder. It'd be wiser to move around and get your blood pumping to keep warm."

Yet, despite the logic behind his mother's words, both he and his father begged to differ.

"That's quite all right, Mother," Steven said, trying to sound convincing. "We…wouldn't want to slow you down with the pace we're moving at." He glanced at his father. "Right?"

The older man nodded without hesitation. "Right."

His mother gave them an odd look but shrugged the thought away and conceded, "Fine, then. We shouldn't be too long." Then she looked at Cynthia and gestured towards the open path. "Shall we?"

The Sinnoh champion smiled. "Yes, of course." When she looked back at Steven, he sent her a reassuring nod before she followed after his mother, with Glaceon at her heel.

For the former champion, it was relieving to see Cynthia bonding with his parents quite easily. Earning their trust and approval from them both was what he would have hoped for with anyone he chose to be with – though it might have helped that they were already fond of her to begin with, just like he had been, himself. It was as if at any given moment, the atmosphere would brighten up in her presence.

Still, he was simply pleased to know they held a deep admiration and respect for her, just like she did with them.

"Well, now, if you ignore the cold," his father had started, once the other two were gone from sight, "there's no denying that it's still a nice day out, isn't it?"

Steven looked up at the sky. Indeed, of the times he'd visited the northern part of Sinnoh, it had always been snowing. But just as the older man had noted, the skies were rather clear and blue with the sun in plain sight above them, with the occasional breeze blowing around them.

Despite that, a normal citizen of Sinnoh would have thought the air felt warmer to a certain degree because of the absence of strong winds and snow, but for Hoenn natives like them, they could hardly notice the difference.

"It is," Steven agreed, moving closer to where his father stood near the shoreline. "It's not at all like Hoenn out here."

"It's still a beautiful region, no doubt," his father said kindly. "And I can see why you've taken a liking to staying here."

Steven smiled. "There are also plenty of opportunities to find rare stones here, Dad," he said.

"Ah, yes, there's the Underground system, is it?" his father asked in a wistful tone. "How I wish I could go out and dive back into caves like I used to. The company has me far too busy these days for me to try."

"I'm sure we can plan for a trip over the next several days before your departure," Steven commented reassuringly. In truth, he also missed getting to explore and mine for rare stones alongside his father, back when he wasyounger.

"That's if these old bones can handle it. I'm not as young and fit, like you are, unfortunately." He then heard his father sigh. "But you know, I have to keep reminding myself that you're all grown up now and not the young boy you once were."

Steven scoffed at his father's words, crouching on his heels to stare the surface of the water where he could see his reflection through the clear water. "Father, I grew up a long time ago."

His father chuckled. "Yes, yes, I know," was his reply. "Though I remember it, like it was only yesterday, the days you'd come running into the house with your Beldum, covered in dirt from head to toe like you'd been rolling around in it all day."

Steven couldn't help but smirk at the mental image and at how true it all was. For even in his childhood days, his interest of digging in search of stones was something he aimed to pursue, back when his digging grounds were solely restricted to the backyard of their family estate.

He couldn't even begin to count the number of times his parents had to call in contractors to fill up all the holes he'd created, by having dug up practically every corner of earth he could find, to his amusement.

Though he had to give some credit to his father, since his love for the art was fueled even further from the times he'd gotten to attend real excavation trips with him before. And because of both his mother and father's encouragement on pursuing his interests, he was truly thankful to where he was today.

"Now wouldn't those be quite interesting stories to tell Cynthia?" his father mused.

Almost immediately, Steven's cheeks flushed pink. He could just imagine her amusement and the sound of her sweet laughter ringing through his ears.

But despite that, it was still somewhat embarrassing whenever his family chose to speak of childhood stories with anyone. And with Cynthia, it was no different.

Steven held back a groan of displeasure. "Father, please."

He chuckled. "I'm only joking, son," his father reassured him. "I'm sure Wallace has done enough of that for everyone."

The former champion frowned. "He's done more than enough, to be frank," he murmured, recalling all the chances he got to share with Cynthia some rather interesting childhood stories pertaining to him. Simply thinking about it brought back some of the embarrassment that he was unhappy to hear again.

"But I'm proud, you know," his father said.

Steven turned to the older man. "About what?"

"That you've decided to stay in one region for this long now." His father must have found it an interesting case to know his son had chosen to prolong his stay much longer than he had initially anticipated. "I reckon she must mean a lot to you."

Steven nodded once. "I've never met anyone like her before," he said softly. "She's just incredible and I…"

There was a pause before his lips curved into a smile and he openly admitted, "…I love her."

It was the first time he had openly informed anyone about it – not even to Wallace, even though his friend had guessed his true feelings already.

But there was simply no doubt over the fact that Steven knew he'd fallen in love with Cynthia.

Perhaps it was the evening that he spent dinner with her, the same day Wallace had him spend hours deciding on what to wear, that he finally discovered his feelings for her had grown immensely to what it was now. From the countless times his heart would race, to the simple fluttering sensation and overwhelming joy he'd feel just being in her presence, he had to question how he hadn't realized it sooner when the signs were all there from the start.

"Does she know?"

At his father's question, Steven shook his head. "No," he replied. "Not yet, at least."

Surely, he was overthinking it but the only real predicament now was actually telling her how he felt, which proved to be more difficult than it seemed. The matter of wondering if she felt the same or if he would simply appear like he was coming on too strong had him staying up at night analyzing and thinking about it.

He took into consideration that she had never been confessed to in such a way (nor was she ever on the giving end), which made the matter a little more troubling to him than it probably should've been.

He'd only felt this way for someone else once before, but even then, it wasn't he who had admitted it first.

Steven would have expected his father to have gasped in surprise when he said it, but he did the exact opposite and laughed loudly in response. "Steven!" he exclaimed in incredulity. "What on earth are you waiting for?"

The former champion hid his face deeper into his scarf. "I just…haven't found the right time," was the best answer he could give.

Suddenly, hid father's arm went around his shoulders and he felt his whole body lurching forward as he was pulled down to the old man's eye level. "Son, the best piece of advice I can ever give to you, as your father, would be to tell her you love her right away, no matter what the circumstances."

"But –"

"And there's no need to question it, either," he interjected, letting go of his son. "You kids need to learn how to be a little more spontaneous, like your mother and I were, back in our youth. Why, I remember it like it was yesterday the moment I realized I loved your mother and how I said it to her right after."

It was upon pure instinct that Steven grimaced as he heard his words. "Father, I've heard this story many times already," he quickly said, "from the both of you."

"Well, there's no harm in sharing it again, is there?" his father said, completely ignoring the note of dismay in his son's tone. Instead, he smiled brightly and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. Steven could already tell there was no backing off at this point. "It was a warm day – very warm – when your mother and I visited the newly built museum in Slateport…"

Steven sighed in defeat. He practically knew the story by heart now, by the countless number of times he'd had to sit through both his parents going off about their love story to him. And frankly, it was rather annoying and redundant, at this point. If he'd known that he would end up listening to the story again beforehand, he would have gladly gone and tagged after Cynthia and his mother earlier.

But while his father was speaking the similar words he'd spoken many times already, all Steven could really think about and pay attention to was what he'd just been told, seconds ago.

Unfortunately, being spontaneous and carefree wasn't so much a part of his nature – those traits were left to people like Wallace. Steven was a person of order and preparation, and having a different kind of mindset never came easy for someone like him.

Yet, he had to admit that he had almost admitted it to her quite a few times already, since he came to terms with it, but every time he would choke before the meaningful words could escape him.

Steven looked to the sky and shoved his hands into his coat pockets.

For now, he decided to just pay attention to what his father was saying, to pass the time until the other two came back. But all the while making it a promise to himself that he'd let her know soon.

I can't believe we've managed to reach just over 200 reviews, as of posting this chapter, and I'm so blown away! Thanks to all who have taken the time to leave a review with your comments at the end of each chapter and I'm hoping to get back into the regular writing pace soon, since it's been a long stretch since the last update. Thanks for reading!