Hello again everyone! As promised, I'm here with a Christmas story for you all.
So, this story, is told from Steven's P.O.V, and as the title suggests, the poor man is actually in a dilemma, with regards to purchasing a certain Christmas gift.
No ties to any other stories, but you can link it to others if you like.
Rating it a T, just for safety. Steven's thoughts are in italics.
Enjoy!
Steven wearily sighed, as continued his stroll down Lumiose City's North Boulevard; through the heavy crowds of people that were littering the street. He usually wasn't one for crowds, but on this occasion, he had no choice but to join them.
The city was known for being pretty busy at the best of times, but today, it seemed to be far busier than usual. Well, there's a perfectly good explanation for that.
There was indeed, as today, was the twenty third of December; two days until one of the biggest holiday event's of the calendar year; Christmas.
He sighed again, as he glanced around the bustling city. He had to hand it to the region; they'd done a marvellous job of promoting the festive cheer. But despite the warm and inviting atmosphere, at the present moment, he felt anything but cheerful.
The reason for his sullen attitude; was mainly due to his utter cluelessness, with regards to purchasing a specific Christmas gift. Usually, purchasing gifts for Christmas was an easy affair for him. He didn't really have many to buy for anyway, but those that he did, were pretty straightforward.
When it came to the Elite Four, he'd usually just get some new guitar picks for Sidney; some scented candles for Phoebe, a bottle of perfume for Glacia, and for Drake; some tobacco for his pipe.
His father was another easy purchase, as he would just normally order him a new suit and tie set. As for Wallace; he would just give him a voucher for an expensive boutique. The man was always blathering on about elegance and he loved his clothes, so it made sense to give him something like that. Saves a lot of aggravation on my part too.
Then there was the other champions. Again, he had no real issues, despite them all having different styles and tastes.
For Lance, he usually just bought the man a new cape. Red was another easy one; as he'd just get him a care package, filled with potions and revives and such; as the boy loved his battling, so why not help him along a little?
When it came to Leon, he would just get him a new baseball cap, as the man loved collecting them for some reason; as for Alder, well, he would get him some sort of quirky book or toy of some kind, something that seemed to appeal to his humour.
Of course, that just left Cynthia and Diantha. He'd be the first to admit, that when it came to purchasing gifts for females, he wasn't the best; but he'd normally settle on an expensive box of chocolates for each of them. Everyone likes chocolate right?
Thankfully, both females had been quite thankful of their gifts in previous years, so he assumed, he'd made the correct decision. So really, there shouldn't be any reason as to why, he should be wandering around Lumiose City, on the twenty third of December, looking like a lost Wooloo. But yet, here he was… Although, there's a perfectly good explanation for that.
There was indeed a difference, as this year, he had a girlfriend to buy for. Okay, technically, I have been buying a gift for her, but this year; I have to buy her something more. There in, lied the problem.
Sometimes, it still amazed him; that he actually had a girlfriend to buy for. This time last year, if someone would have mentioned to him; that he would be in this sort of predicament the following year, he probably would have called them insane. But yet, here he was…
That wasn't to say he wasn't looking forward to spending Christmas with his girlfriend, far from it; in fact, he couldn't wait to celebrate it with her. He chuckled at the thought. Who'd have thought that I; would be willing to brave the elements of Sinnoh for Christmas?
Despite being a steel type enthusiast, he wasn't the best when it came to the cold. But then again, if I am going to be with the Sinnoh champion, I had better start getting use to it. A content sigh escaped him as he thought about her.
They'd known each other for a couple of years now, what with them both being champions and all. They'd hit it off almost right away, which had surprised him slightly at first, because usually, he tended to keep his distance until he got to know a person.
But despite his surprise, they'd only gotten closer as the months wore on, to a point, when he'd realized; that he didn't just feel friendship for her anymore. However, he'd refrained from mentioning those feelings, for fear of damaging their close friendship. That's the last thing I wanted.
However, astonishingly and quite surprisingly, it seemed he hadn't been as opaque about his feelings as he thought he had been; and much to his delight, on a warm spring day in May, whilst they'd been researching into Mt. Coronet, Cynthia had leant in to kiss him for the first time.
They'd been together ever since.
Of course, this was now the main reason as to why; he was in this current dilemma. He knew Cynthia wasn't the type of woman who liked to be lavished with expensive gifts, (she'd told him as much when they'd started dating,) but still, it was their first Christmas as a couple, so he knew he had to get her something special.
Once again, this wouldn't have been a problem, if he knew the first thing about what constituted as a suitable gift for your partner, but alas, he did not. He'd never been in a relationship before, so he had no clue, as to what an appropriate present would be, to mark their first Christmas as a couple.
He groaned, as he shoved his gloved hands into his coat pockets. He debated on giving Wallace a call, to see if the man could give him some ideas, but he quickly changed his mind. Even though the man would have probably have been some help, he could just imagine the water specialist's amusement at his cluelessness, and the vast amount of teasing that would have followed it. He shuddered at the thought.
No; there was nothing else for it, he'd have to muddle through this on his own, one shop at a time.
Another weary sigh escaped him. Arceus help me.
An hour later, after browsing through another five shops with no luck, he'd just about had enough. The snow seemed to be coming down heavier now too, as he felt a shiver course through him, as a brisk wind accompanied it. Great, just great.
"Well, well, fancy seeing you here Steven," a female voice exclaimed from somewhere behind him.
Steven's eyes widened at the call of his name. I know that voice. He whirled around, only to come face-to-face, with the Kalos champion herself.
"Diantha!" he exclaimed, nodding his head slightly in greeting. "This is an unexpected surprise. May I ask; what are you doing here?"
"Well, I thought I'd come and enjoy the festive atmosphere that Lumiose has to offer, whilst picking up a few last minute gifts," she replied, her eyebrows furrowing slightly, as she tilted her head in his direction. "Which begs the question Steven, why are you here? Shouldn't you be in Sinnoh now, cuddling up to my best friend?"
He groaned at the Kalos champion's teasing remark and the slight curving of her lips that accompanied it. I can so do without this right now.
However, despite being in no mood to deal with her teasing nature at the moment, he was actually grateful that she was here, because she may be of some help. Diantha is Cynthia's closest female friend after all, surely she might know what I could get her?
"Very funny Diantha," he replied, before running a hand across the back of his neck. "In fact, under normal circumstances, I should be, however, I had to come here for some Devon Corp business; but I will be departing for Sinnoh tomorrow." A sigh escaped him, as he returned his hand to his pocket. "Since you are here though, can I ask a favour?"
He could see the woman raise a questionable eyebrow in his direction at his request. He nervously shuffled slightly on his feet, before clearing his throat. Here we go…
"Well, you see…the thing is, I…I still need to purchase Cynthia a gift and…and I am ashamed to admit, that I'm at a loss."
The woman tilted her head at him, as a lone eyebrow rose upwards.
"You still haven't gotten her a gift yet?"
"Uh…well…" he managed to stutter out, rubbing a hand nervously across the back of his neck again.
He dreaded to think what was going through the Kalos champion's head at his response. Her expression gave nothing away, but he could only imagine the disappointment she must have been feeling.
However, seconds later, his fears were laid to rest, when a chuckle came from the woman stood before him.
"I thought there would be a good reason, as to why you're out in this large crowd of people, as usually, you avoid them like the plague."
Am I that predictable? He thought, as the actress chuckled again.
"Well, I'm sure I can spare a few minutes, as it does concern my best friend after all."
He breathed a sigh of relief at her positive response. Thank Arceus.
"Thank you Diantha," he uttered, sending her a grateful smile.
"It's not a problem," she replied, giving him a warm smile in response. "So, did you have any suggestions or ideas to start with?"
He shook his head.
"Not really."
She tilted her head again, as she tapped a finger against her chin.
"Well, this is Cynthia we are buying for, so, have you thought about a book on some sort of ancient mystery or myth?"
To be fair, that was a very good suggestion, and yes, under any other circumstances, he may have followed through with it, but on this occasion, to him, it just didn't seem special enough.
"Whilst that is a brilliant suggestion, I just feel that it's not…quite the right gift, if you understand what I mean?" He internally groaned at the slightly confused look he was now receiving. "I'm not saying this right. What I mean, is that it's our first Christmas together as a couple, so I want it to be special…memorable if you will; and I just don't think giving her a book is the right option to make it so."
He could see the woman tilt her head slightly again, as the confusion seemed to dissipate from her eyes.
"Hmm…I see your point," she finally hummed in response. "So what you're saying is, you want a gift that'll be extremely special; something that will be memorable for years to come?"
"Yes," he sighed, before running a hand across his forehead. "Something like that anyway."
"Well if that's the case, this begs the question, of what type of 'special,' you actually mean?"
He furrowed his brows in her direction, as he shoved his hand back into his pocket.
"Type of special? I'm not quite sure I follow Diantha."
Her eyebrow rose upwards again, as clear amusement overcame her, at his obvious cluelessness.
"Let me rephrase that for you then," she tittered, as a smirk crept across her lips. "What I mean, is that if we are talking about a certain kind of 'special,' I know of a few places that sell some beautiful pieces of lingerie that you can…"
He could feel heat instantly flood into his cheeks, as a wave of embarrassment washed over him, as it finally clicked in his mind what she meant.
"Uh…that's quite alright Diantha, I…I don't mean that kind of special," he managed to stutter out, albeit, still highly uncomfortable, with the woman's suggestiveness and the devious expression she was now sporting.
But despite being extremely flustered, he had to again admit, that her suggestion, wasn't actually a bad one. However, he instantly chastised himself for the lascivious thoughts that were now running through his mind.
There was actually, no real reason as to why he should be ashamed of his thoughts really, because it wasn't as if they hadn't…well…consummated their relationship, because they had, many times. But the thought of actually purchasing these types of garments for Cynthia, to potentially lead to that, was extremely embarrassing.
A snort came from the woman in front of him.
"Oh Steven, there's no need to be embarrassed. I know of many men who have bought their partners' gifts like this. Believe me, it's quite natural for couples."
He was inclined to believe her, but that still didn't mean he was comfortable with it.
At his lack of response, the actress' eyes widened.
"Don't tell me you haven't?"
Of course they had, but he wasn't going to tell her that. Arceus knows how much teasing I will have to endure if I do.
"Ca…can we change the subject…please?" he muttered, before averting his eyes away from her and burying his face further into his scarf, to try and hide his embarrassment.
"Fine, fine," he could hear her titter. "Although, you do realize though Steven, that you are making this a bigger problem than it should be right?"
At her words, he averted his gaze back towards her, slightly confused by her question. She must have registered his obvious confusion, because she gave another chuckle, before shaking her head, in what he assumed was amusement.
"Steven; I know Cynthia pretty well, and I can safely say, that it won't matter what you buy her, because she'll be happy with it, purely based on the fact, that it has come from you."
He furrowed his brows slightly at her words. He supposed in one sense, she was right.
"But…"
"And there's no buts about it," she continued, immediately cutting him off. "Listen, I don't usually break Cynthia's confidence, but I'll tell you exactly what she told me, the last time I spoke to her." Here she trailed off, leaning slightly closer towards him, before lowering her voice. "She said to me, that she didn't mind what you got her for Christmas, as long as she got to spend it with you."
Steven could feel a sudden rush of warmth spread throughout him at her words. To think Cynthia would say something like this… Although, Diantha could have only just been saying this, in order to ease his mind.
However, regardless of whether there was any truth in what she was saying, he couldn't deny; that it had helped improve his mood considerably.
"Thank you Diantha. I think I needed to hear that."
"You're welcome Steven," she replied, giving him a warm smile. "Just don't over think it okay? She's just happy that you are together. Anything else you give her; are just reminders of you."
He had to hand it to Diantha; the woman had a way of getting to the source of problems. No wonder why Cynthia held her in such high regard. She sure has a way of solving prob… He momentarily froze as he replayed the actress' last words.
"Anything else you give her; are just reminders of you."
That's it!
A wide smile broke out across his lips.
"You know what? I think I know what I can get her now."
After wishing the Kalos champion a 'Merry Christmas,' he hastily headed back into the bustling crowds with determination. I know exactly, just where to go.
Christmas morning…
Steven awoke to blistering warmth, and the sensation of fingers running through his hair.
A content sigh escaped him, as he tightened his arms around the woman he was currently resting upon. He could hear a little chuckle come from her, which reverberated through where his head was still currently resting.
"Good morning sleepy head," she tittered, before leaning down slightly, to place a kiss atop of his head. "Merry Christmas."
Another content sigh escaped him; as he finally cracked open his eyes, before tilting his gaze upwards, only to encounter her beautiful, storm grey eyes, softly gazing at him.
"Good morning beautiful," he replied, as a sleepy content smile overcame him as well. "Merry Christmas."
"It is indeed," she cheerily exclaimed, as her hand resumed its travels through his hair. "I've so been looking forward to this."
"Me too," he chuckled, before finally raising his head from her chest and moving onto his side, not before placing a kiss atop of her chest for good measure.
Once he was finally settled, she turned on her side to face him, before snuggling closer.
"So," she began, as her hand reached out towards him; to rest upon his chest. "I forgot to ask you yesterday; how'd your trip to Kalos go?"
"Good…great actually, I should say," he chuckled, as he adjusted his head slightly on the pillow beneath him. "I can safely say, that my father will be most pleased with the new contracts we will be acquiring in the New Year."
"Hmm…that's good to hear," she replied, before a little smirk curled up in the corner of her lips. "And while you were there, did you happen to see anyone?"
He stiffened slightly; at the amusing twinkle he could see shining behind her eye. He couldn't help but internally groan at it. Damn you Diantha. He should have guessed the actress would call Cynthia, to inform her of their coincidental meeting.
"I…yes. I happened to bump into Diantha in Lumiose City," he managed to utter, heat rising into his cheeks at his confession.
She chuckled again, at his obvious, flustered response.
"I know. She mentioned she'd bumped into you when she called me yesterday morning," she replied, whilst running her fingers across the top of his chest, before her hand came to a stop above his heart. "She said, that you were a little conflicted."
He sighed at her words, before closing his eyes in resignation. Of course she had.
"Yeah…I was." Here, he reopened his eyes, before raising his hand out towards her, in order to brush her fringe aside from her eyes. "I was a little bit lost to be honest." He sighed again, as his hand lowered to rest against her bare hip under the quilt. "I just couldn't seem to think of anything special enough to buy you."
Cynthia leant forward to rest her forehead against his. He took in a sharp breath as he gazed into her eyes. Up this close, her eyes seemed even more beautiful.
"Steven, you know I would be happy with anything you give me, right?" She leant forward to place a quick kiss atop his nose. "I'm just happy that you're here. Anything else is just a bonus."
"I guess I did know this deep down," he sighed, as he adjusted his forehead against hers. "But with it being our first Christmas as a couple, I was so convinced that I had to get you something special; that it completely slipped my mind," he chuckled, as his arms tightened around her waist. "It was actually Diantha, who managed to talk me round."
"She has a knack for doing that," she chuckled in response, as her arms came up to wrap around his neck. "Many times she has done the same to me."
"Really?" he asked, slightly taken aback by her response.
"Hmm…in fact, I owe her a lot. If it weren't for her constant assurances and support, I may not have worked up the courage to have kissed you that day."
His eyes widened in surprise at her confession.
"Really now?"
"Hmm…" she replied, as her voice lowered to a sultry whisper. "A decision; that I have never regretted, by the way." With that, she closed the remaining distance between their lips.
A sigh escaped him, as he returned her affection. Neither have I.
"Speaking of your gift, I actually have it here," he whispered once they finally pulled apart.
"It's okay Steven, you can give it to me later," she replied, running a hand through his hair once again.
"I know I can but…can I give it to you now…please?"
He could see her eyebrows' furrow slightly at his request. He could tell she was confused by his sudden insistence, something of which made him groan internally. Curse my impatience.
"I'm sorry…I just…I really want to…" He cursed at his inability to articulate, why he wanted to give her her gift now.
However, thankfully, despite his stuttering, his girlfriend seemed to understand exactly; what he was trying to say anyway.
"It's okay love, if that's what you want."
He sighed in relief, before quickly leaning in to peck her lips in thanks.
"Thank you." With that, he began to turn around, in order to reach the bedside table on his side of the bed. He could feel Cynthia's arms slide away from his neck at the movement.
He opened the draw, before reaching in and removing the perfectly wrapped gift he'd put in there yesterday afternoon. He'd hid it in there, with the sole purpose of giving it to her this morning.
Upon retrieving it, he closed the draw, before returning to face his girlfriend once more.
"I'm sorry for being so insistent," he began, shuffling the box between his fingers. "But I hope you can forgive me for my impatience." He shot her a loving smile, as he held the box out towards her. "Merry Christmas Cynthia."
She shot him a loving smile in return, before reaching out to take the box from his hand.
"Thank you love," she excitedly replied, before gazing at his gift. "I do have one for you mind, but it's downstairs under the tree."
He shook his head.
"It's quite alright love. I can wait. I'm quite content with just seeing you open yours."
She leant forward to give him a quick kiss, before averting her attention back towards her gift once more. She turned it over in her hand a few times, before finally, beginning to unwrap it.
As she did, Steven couldn't help but take in a deep breath. After departing from Diantha that day, he'd felt a strong surge of confidence overcome him with regards to this gift, something of which, that had stayed with him, until this exact moment. Now, as she had finally finished unwrapping it, that confidence was instantly replaced with a strong case of nerves.
He could see her inspect the small square box she was now holding. Now or never.
"When Diantha mentioned to me, that gifts could be used as reminders, it got me thinking, that just maybe, I could provide a gift that could combine the two."
Cynthia furrowed her brows slightly, as she glanced at him briefly, before averting her attention back towards the box and flicking the lid open. He could hear the sharp intake of breath she took, as she finally laid her eyes upon the gift he'd bought her.
"I…I know you don't really wear a lot of jewellery, but apparently, these are all the rage now," he managed to stutter out.
He could see her delicately lifting the item from its box; her eyes, never once leaving the beautiful piece of jewellery, that now dangled between her fingers.
"It's actually called a charm bracelet, but you probably already knew that, right?" He nervously chuckled. "As you can see, I put a few little charms on there for you already." He reached a hand out towards the bracelet, before pointing to each individual charm. "There's a little mini Garchomp figure of course, an ice cream cone, a book and a mountain charm; all the things that remind me of you," he explained, nodding his head towards the last two charms that were attached to the bracelet. "Plus, I added a little heart and pickaxe charm too. Just a little something to remind you of me."
At his explanation, she finally tore her gaze away from his gift. As her eyes connected with his once more, Steven could feel a surge of panic course through him, at the moisture he could see building up in the corner of her eyes.
"Uh…they're not permanent of course, you can actually remove them and just wear it as a normal bracelet. The man in the store said you cou…" But his ramblings were immediately cut off, when he felt her lips press forcefully against his.
Whatever else he was going to say, completely vanished from his mind, as he melted into her. It was almost as if could feel all the love she felt for him, seeping into him through her kiss. It seems Diantha was right after all; I was over-thinking things.
"Steven, this is so beautiful and personal," Cynthia breathlessly exclaimed, when she finally pulled back from their kiss a few moments later. "I absolutely adore it; and I will wear it endlessly; charms and all." She leant forward to quickly peck him on the lips again, as a few tears trickled out of her eyes. "Can you put it on for me?" she sniffled, raising the bracelet out towards him, as she gave him a loving smile.
A relieved sigh escaped him, as he took the bracelet from her hand, before leaning forward slightly, in order to try and clasp it around her left wrist. It took a few attempts, before he finally succeeded, but once it was securely on her wrist, he couldn't resist placing a kiss over where it now rested, before releasing her.
Cynthia raised her wrist closer towards her, as she gazed over his gift once more.
"I must admit, it looked beautiful in the box, but it looks even more gorgeous now."
I couldn't agree more, he thought, as he gazed at the beautiful woman, who was still, admiring her new gift. Despite all the stress and worry he had had, with deciding on what to get her; in the end, it seems his eventual purchase, proved to be the correct choice, especially if Cynthia's reactions were anything to go by. Thank Arceus for that.
Although, he did owe the Kalos champion a big thank you, because if it hadn't been for her talking some sense into him, he probably wouldn't even have considered getting her a gift like this. In fact, he probably would have settled on something more mundane, like a book. Thank Arceus Diantha had been there.
"You know, I have to say, I do owe Diantha big time for this," he chuckled. "It was because of her, that I came up with the idea of getting you this bracelet." He reached out to grasp the hand that was now bound by his gift. "Maybe we should give her a call to thank her. What do you think?"
Instead of answering, a mischievous smile crept across Cynthia's lips, as she rolled closer towards him; before using her whole body weight to push him onto his back, so she could straddle him.
"Hmm…later," she hummed, as she lowered her head downwards; so that her lips were now hovering an inch above his. "For now, I just want to thank my boyfriend, for this wonderful gift that he has given me."
Before he even had a chance to respond, she quickly closed the remaining gap between their lips once more. He couldn't help but smirk against her lips, as his hands trailed down her bare back.
Later is just fine with me.
Later is indeed, a very good suggestion.
Anyway. I hope you all enjoyed that!
This will be my last published story in 2020, but fear not, I will be back in 2021 with more stories for you, so please, keep those requests coming.
But until then, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
