She Loved Her

#1: You Make It Look Easy

(Gloria x Marnie)

Gloria collapsed face-first onto her hotel bed, letting out an exhausted groan into the pillow as the weight of the day's pressures finally began to leave her.

Today had been her fourth day in a row of doing interviews and events, after defeating Champion Leon and being crowned the new Champion of the Galar League.

It was a lot, to say the least. What had once been a triumphant accomplishment, was now an incredible burden.

"You make it look proper easy, ya' know,." The voice came from her Rotom Phone, the Pokemon-possessed device floating up near her head.

Turning to face the phone, she saw her precious friend, Marnie, gazing at her, a slightly smug expression on her face. It was a rare glimpse at the girl's true self, usually hidden behind the stoic mask she always wore. Gloria couldn't help but smile at seeing her, despite her intense weariness.

"I gotta live up to Leon's legacy, right?" Gloria did a sloppy rendition of the former champ's signature hand sign, before letting her hand fall to her side again. "…Do ya' think it'll ever be fun again?"

Marnie put a finger to her chin in thought. "Hmm… Well if there was anythin' Leon did.. It was have fun. So I'm sure ya' will get to, eventually."

Gloria groaned and sat up, grabbing the phone and pouting down at it. "I need you. Do we have to wait til tomorrow?"

The girl on the other side flushed slightly, before looking away. "I-I'm… Well…" Marnie's camera view shifted, showing that shed arrived at Gloria's room. "Surprise?"

Finding a renewed burst of energy, Gloria popped off of her bed and ran to the door, opening it to find, sure enough, Marnie standing there, her hair down and a more casual appearance than normal, wearing a light black jacket over a violet t-shirt and shorts. Marnie beamed happily, but had to run her eyes over the girl's appearance.

"Did you…"

Marnie nodded sheepishly. "I kinda' came on impulse. I saw ya' weren't havin' such a good time in those interviews."

Gloria felt her face flush now, and she quickly stepped forward, cupping Marnie's cheeks softly as she kissed her. The girl tensed up, but slowly relaxed as they shared in the soft, gentle kiss, before Gloria pulled away, smiling mischievously.

"Well, you were right," Gloria said softly, grabbing Marnie's hands. "I think I need somethin' to take my mind off of it.~"

Marnie's expression became incredibly embarrassed as she was tugged inside of the room, the door closing firmly with the lock making a loud KERCHUNK that echoed down the hallway.

The next night, a gala was being held with all the most important figures in the Galar region in attendance. The event was being held to commemorate a new era, one free of Chairman Rose's wicked schemes, and one where a new Champion had taken the throne..

But that wasn't the most important thing, at least not to Gloria. Tonight was going to be the first night where it wasn't just her, but it was her and Marnie.

Up to this point, their relationship was mostly a secret. Only a few people knew, like Hop for example, whose chipper nature made it impossible to keep anything from him anyways. Now they were going to make it public, because, eventually, it would be news anyways due to how much press Gloria was getting daily— It was better now than later.

Hotel Ionia in Circhester was the site of the event. The old design of the city and the grandness of the hotel made for a very quaint yet elegant appeal that many in the Galar region loved, despite the cold.

Now, Gloria and Marnie stood side by side, waiting for their turn to enter the event hall. They wore matching dresses of blue and red, colors that symbolized the legendary heroes Zacian and Zamazenta, which was the theme for the gala as a whole. Marnie seemed to fiddle with her dress a lot, obviously not comfortable in that kind of wear, though Gloria had to struggle to stop herself from staring.

"I can't wait til this is over," Marnie grumbled as she adjusted the long flowing bottom of the dress. As petite as she was, the dress was a bit big for her, being a potential tripping hazard if she wasnt careful.

"I getcha', but this is important," Gloria told her, grabbing her hands to make her stop. "Not the whole.. Champion thing, I mean this."

Gloria stepped closer, putting Marnie's hands to her chest. The girl's face flushed, and she looked around, seeing a few event coordinators nearby who werent looking their way. Gloria puffed her cheeks out.

"What are you looking for?"

"Nothin', I…" Marnie took a deep breath, then looked at Gloria. "I'm nervous… It's tough for me to be admittin' that, you know it."

"Oi, you're way more nervous about this than I am," Gloria said with a giggle. "I guess it makes sense, of course they'll all be lookin' at you." She reached up and ran a hand along Marnie's hair, which was pulled back a bit and neater than usual.

Marnie nuzzled the girl's hand softly, giving one of her rare smiles.

"You've been practicing.~"

"Just for you," Marnie said, before a sharply dressed man approached them, telling them they were about to be called out. Marnie's face instantly dropped again. "Oh I'm really feelin' knackered."

"You've got this." Gloria stood at Marnie's side, her hand entwined with hers.

Marnie moved a bit closer, her other hand moving up to touch Gloria's arm reassuringly. It made her look much more fragile than what she had ever shown to anyone in public before.. But Gloria liked that. People could see more of the girl that she'd fallen for, and appreciate things beyond her cool exterior.

The large doors before them opened up, and the girls stepped up. As their names were called, applause reigned out as they stepped out together, hand-in-hand.

That night was only the beginning. The cheers, the dancing, the speeches, all of it paled in comparison to being with each other. As they sat listening to Leon's excited speech near the end of the event, Gloria's eyes stayed on Marnie beside her.

Marnie looked a bit tired, but certainly more confident as she gazed at the former Champion, even managing to crack a smile along with the crowd's laughter at a joke that Leon had made.

Gloria took it all in, because these would be the most precious memories in her life, even if there were hardships ahead of them. Nothing could be stronger than these feelings that were welling up inside of her… After all—

She loved her.

End

Next Story: It's All for Show

(Roxie x Elesa)