I would like to introduce everyone to my rarepair: Courtney x Daisy. The did interact once in Courtney's flashback where they did contests together and it was beautiful! It made me ship them and the best part? They're the same age, they have a past together, they're lesbian, and it's not a disgusting pedo ship! It's a very valid ship! :D
Thank you so much, Vex and Xadhoom for beta reading! It means a lot! :D
Also, we need a ship name for Courtney x Daisy. ;-;
A flip.
A picture was attached to the side of the photo album.
Another flip.
Another photo.
Each contained a memory—a memento—something she would cherish for as long as she lived.
A breath escaped from her mouth. It was a sad one. It was yearning for something—something she knew it wouldn't happen any time soon unless she did something about it.
She took a deep breath.
The images in the album reminded her of her innocent past—the time before she joined Team Magma and started doing things that were against the law. She couldn't imagine what her friend would think if she found out about it. Would she stop being friends with her? She knew it's been so long since they last saw each other but she still continued to see her as a friend—a friend she loved and adored for the rest of her life.
Courtney closed the photo album and set it aside. She grabbed the Pecha Berry which was now lukewarm from all the photo-flipping she just did.
It was a relaxing day at her home. The berries she was growing were healthy as ever and the market often used her freshly grown berries to sell to its customers. She had a good business for the past years, but she felt like something in her life was missing.
But what was it?
She knew her past was still haunting her but she was trying to move on from it through this little hobby and business she was doing. She took a deep breath and sipped her tea. She couldn't fool herself; she was running away from a specific event in her past and that was to contact her long-time friend, Daisy.
Daisy was her first friend. They laughed together, cried together, did Pokemon Contests together, shared secrets together, and did almost everything together until Daisy's summer vacation ended and she had to go back to Kanto.
She never saw Daisy Oak again after that. They exchanged letters and text messages throughout the years, but she missed her friend. She wanted to see her smile. She wanted to hear her laugh. She wanted to feel her presence.
She just...missed her.
Courtney placed her cup of tea on the coaster. She stood up and grabbed her Pokegear. She looked through her contact lists. She had Matt's phone number, also Blaise's, and even Shelly's, but those weren't that important. Her eyes couldn't stop staring at Daisy's name on her phone.
She wondered if Daisy still had the same phone number. She hoped it was still the same phone number or else...
She shook her head.
She didn't even want to think about losing contact with Daisy. That's the worse that could happen.
Courtney gulped and pressed the call button. She held her breath and waited for her friend to pick up.
She removed her phone from her ear.
She couldn't do it.
She decided to place her phone back on the table and stood up from her seat. Maybe a little stroll outside would help.
...
...
Lilycove was crowded. Courtney thought that the Contest Hall was probably holding another event; that explained the crowd or there was a sale at the mall. She didn't mind the people. She had nothing to do with them anyway.
Her eyes caught a brunette girl walking outside the Contest Hall. She called her and the girl looked at her with a confused expression.
"Sapphire," Courtney called and approached the Conqueror. "Are you free?"
Sapphire nodded.
"Good," Courtney stood up straight. "Will you go to the café with me?"
Sapphire tilted her head. She was more baffled at Courtney's offer, but she didn't mind it. "Sure."
...
...
The Café was crowded as well, but Sapphire and Courtney managed to find a seat. Sapphire ordered a cappuccino while Courtney ordered green tea. They both sat on their respective chairs and drank their drinks for a moment.
Courtney coughed and placed her tea down. "I need your help."
Sapphire furrowed her eyebrows. "Why?"
Courtney smiled. "Because you're better at handling relationships than your boyfriend."
Sapphire's cheeks flushed when she heard that word. "Wait, how did you know Ruby and I are—"
"Everyone knows," Courtney stated, smug at her correct assumption. She was happy to find out that those two were dating; it was about damn time too. She always knew Ruby had romantic feelings for Sapphire.
Sapphire sighed. Why wasn't she surprised? She shook her head and tried to focus on the task at hand. "How can I help?"
Courtney's smile faded. She took a deep breath. "I have this friend. We used to do everything together but I haven't seen her for a long time. I was planning to see her again but I don't know what to do. She's very important to me and I wanna see her again."
Sapphire smiled. She knew exactly how to help her. "The answer is simple: just talk to her. Contact her again."
Courtney found herself chuckling. "Why do you think I should do that?"
Sapphire smiled. "Because communication is important in a relationship."
And Courtney knew she was right. The advice didn't throw her off guard; she kind of expected it. But why was she asking for more? She knew it was the only way but part of her wanted to have another method besides contacting her long-time friend. She took a deep breath, calming herself.
Who was she kidding? She had to initiate it whether she was nervous about it or not.
...
...
...
Courtney took the deepest breath she had to take.
She came home earlier than expected since Sapphire had to go to the Pokemon League to do her work, so she had no choice but to go home after bidding farewell to the Hoenn Champion.
The moment she got home, she immediately practiced her script if Daisy ever picked up the call. After doing it five times, she was ready. Or so she thought she was.
She was still anxious. Her heart was racing rapidly in her chest. She was sweating excessively. Was this what people felt whenever they would call their crush?
Courtney almost fell from her chair.
Where did that come from? Was that the reason why she was jumpy whenever she thought about Daisy picking up her call?
"Hello?" Daisy answered, snapping Courtney out of her trance.
"D-Daisy?" Courtney blinked, still having a hard time believing that she answered the call. She forgot that she didn't end the call when she removed her phone from her ear.
"Courtney?" Daisy asked. "Is it really you?"
Courtney breathed. It was hasty but she somehow didn't mind it. She was relieved to know that Daisy still kept her old phone number. "Yes, it's me."
"Courtney!" Daisy exclaimed in an excited tone. "It's been so long!"
Courtney found herself smiling. She could tell how happy Daisy was just by listening to her. "It is."
"How are you?" Daisy asked. Courtney somehow expected such a question. It had been years, after all.
She tried to answer but stopped to ponder about it. What would she say? She couldn't bear to tell her about the crimes she did in the past. Daisy may stop talking to her. She took a deep breath and tried to let everything flow smoothly. "I'm okay. I stopped doing contests. I grow berries as a hobby now and it became my business. It's quite successful too," She could hear Daisy giggling and it was enough to make her smile and ease her worry. "How about you?"
"I'm okay as well," Daisy responded with a smile. Her grandfather looked at her, asking her if she wanted a sandwich but she shook her head. "My brother is the new Gym Leader in Viridian City. You remember my brother, right?"
Courtney's eyes softened. Daisy loved her little brother. When their parents passed away, she gave her brother all the love and affection that he needed. She admired her for that. "Of course, I do. I would never forget everything you told me."
Maybe that came out as too obvious or slightly creepy. She didn't know but she knew she had to turn it around. "What I mean is—"
"I'm so glad you remember him," Daisy answered with tears in her eyes. "It's been years, after all."
Courtney gripped her phone. She could tell the sadness lingering in her tone. Did Daisy miss her that badly? "Yeah..."
"But besides that news about my brother," Daisy tried changing the subject. "I'm just helping my grandfather whenever his assistant isn't around. I also work with Bill. You know him, right? He's famous for inventing the Pokemon Storage System. He's a great guy too."
Courtney could feel an emptiness in her heart as it slowly broke. Her stomach started twisting and it was making her sick. Was this what it felt like to be... jealous? Why would she be jealous in the first place? It wasn't like Bill was Daisy's boyfriend.
But what if he was?
That thought almost made her puke.
Why was she feeling like this? Why would she be sad about it? She should be happy that someone is making her friend happy, but why was she feeling the opposite instead? Why did she want to be that person who could make Daisy happy? Why would she want to be in Bill's shoes? Why was she even tempted to ask Daisy if Bill was her boyfriend?
"Yeah, I heard of him," she replied in a shaky tone. She just hoped Daisy didn't notice it. "Listen, I have a client, and," she said, trying to end the conversation as quickly as possible.
Maybe she did have feelings for Daisy. Maybe she was sad because she wanted to be Daisy's lover. But she couldn't do something so terrible and separate them. She was supposed to be happy for her friend...
"Wanna meet up?" Daisy asked, catching Courtney off guard. What did she just say!? "I wanna see you again. If you can't go to Kanto, then I'll go to Hoenn just to visit you."
Courtney could feel herself crying. She was doing all of this...for her? She sniffled and smiled. "I'll buy my ticket right now. See you soon."
"Of course, and Courtney?"
Courtney gulped. Did she notice that she was crying? Did she notice that she was sad? "Hmm?"
"I miss you and I can't wait to see you again."
Courtney was speechless. She...missed her too? It...It felt nice knowing that. "I miss you too."
Courtney didn't expect it but at least now she knew why she was so anxious to talk to Daisy again: she loved her. She loved her own best friend and she wished she felt the same. Still, she couldn't wait to see her again.
And maybe, just maybe, she could finally tell her about her past.
Kinda proud of this since I'm so scared I may screw up the lesbian representation. If I did, please correct me constructively so I can do better next time. :)
Listen to "Hero Too" from My Hero Academia because it's so good. Stay safe, y'all!