It's been ages since I've updated this story (well, nine months since March 23, but still)! But a lot has happened in the past year, plus I was working on my Mars fanfic, and this fanfic was meant to be a seasonal one... Well! The season is here!

Chapter six: Under Shalour's Skies

Steven found Cynthia was behaving unusually brighter than normal when he met her the next morning in front of the Stone Bistro. They were preparing to head to Shalour City for the next round of Wallace's fundraiser. Since they were at Shalour City already Steven thought it a good idea to visit the Tower of Mastery. And he wondered if Cynthia would be up for it after the fundraiser was done.

"You look good today," he said to her.

"Do I? I guess I have been getting enough sleep," Cynthia joked.

They were each carrying a bag of ingredients that they would need for the upcoming event. Their Pokémon could have helped but they figured there was some pleasure in talking while carrying, like it was some kind of bonding between them. An hour later, they were at the seaside city with views that strongly rivalled and even surpassed Cyllage City's. In warm weather, Shalour City's views were such that that tourists would frequently come to see them.

But in cold weather, the city's atmosphere was considerably different. Lights were wrapped around every lamppost in the city as a light layer of snow had fallen everywhere in the city. There was snow on the roads, rooftops, and of course the Tower of Mastery, which looked like an ice castle. The salty breeze helped it stay unfrozen, but it was still covered in snow. Wherever there was grass, there was frost.

And the horizon where there was normally a majestic ocean view was obscured by a foggy cloud of snow. It made the Tower of Mastery look mysterious while in the city, lights were sparkling like beacons of hope in the streets. As it was morning, the city was dark since the sunrise came from the mainland direction.

Behind Cynthia and Steven were Diantha, Viola, and Grant, who thought it a good idea to pay Korrina the city's Gym Leader a visit also. They hadn't seen her for a season too, which helped.

"You got her a gift?" Grant asked Diantha.

"It's a small gesture of friendship. After all, she is a colleague of ours, right?" Diantha replied. "I think she'll like it."

In the next minute, they started noticing the light snowfall started to increase in volume and intensity. It was no snowstorm but the snowfall became thicker by the second. Snow of rooftops started accumulating and the roads were becoming a blanket of white. That was a sign for Steven and Cynthia to pick up their pace.

"We'll get there ahead of you," Cynthia said to them, then nodding at Steven to keep going.

So Diantha, Viola, and Grant were left walking on the quiet streets, though amused that the two culinary rivals could soldier through the snow like this. Mercifully there was no wind to make it cold enough as it was. But the light layer of snow had become a heavy layer.

"You don't suppose Korrina will be wearing boots? She won't wear roller skates in this weather," Grant said. "And even if she did, she would fall over."

Viola started, "I suppose–"

"Bon matin!" Another voice joined them from the beyond. The street only just further beyond, that is.

Grant and Viola had spoken too soon.

Korrina was there just ahead of them. Like themselves and Diantha, Korrina had opted to wear clothing more suited to this weather which was a sweater under a light coat (in contrast to what she normally wore). But otherwise, she was still wearing roller skates and her helmet.

And ski poles.

"Vraiment, Korrina? Vraiment?!"

"I have to! It is a must! Rain or shine, sleet or snow," Korrina said. "I keep telling you, Grant. You have to get your fill of exercise like me. Watching Steven and Cynthia cook will work up an appetite, but you can do better."

Grant crossed his arms. "I do rock climbing already…"

"And you can't rock climb in the winter, so you'll have to think of something else!" Korrina said, balling her hands into fists. "Just look at Viola. At least she's busy."

Diantha chuckled. Korrina was as enthusiastic as always though Diantha wondered if Wallace's irritable and pushy personality had rubbed onto Korrina somehow. Even though she had rarely seen them interacting, Wallace did make a small remark comparing Korrina like a fangirl of Winona. For what it was worth, Diantha hoped Korrina wouldn't become another Wallace. One was enough.

And Korrina also wore her usual helmet, so at least that hadn't changed.

"You should just get some cross-country skis, Korrina," Grant said.

Korrina grinned. "I'm getting there."

People in the Shalour City community soon were outside their homes shovelling snow. But in this weather and with this much snow, it seemed like a lot to do for one person. Korrina even saw a familiar face shovelling snow. It was the Poké Mart clerk. He was already sweating as he cleared a pile in front of his doorstep.

Korrina approached him. "Need a hand, mon ami?"

The clerk jumped a bit but softened when he recognised the local Gym Leader along with her accompanying friends, including the Kalos Champion. "Salut, Korrina. Yes, I need a hand. I won't be able to start work at this rate. I think everyone else feels the same…"

Diantha stepped forward. "Here, my Gardevoir and I will give you a hand." She paused and thought of this as an opportunity. "Have you heard of a fundraiser going on at the Pokémon Centre? Two certain chefs will be cooking food there! Go and check it out. It'll be worth your while."

The clerk blinked, not expecting to hear that but was more than welcome to hear it, given the Gym Leaders here were doing a service for him. "I'll head there right away, and thanks!" He went on his way toward the Pokémon Centre.

Diantha and her Gardevoir then set about shovelling and sweeping snow with the tools the clerk had lent them. That gave Diantha another thought. Turning to Viola, Grant, and Korrina, she said, "Why stop here? We could go door to door and ask everyone to go the fundraiser! And shovel snow too."

Korrina and Viola grinned at Grant, with Viola saying, "There's your fill of exercise today."

Grant rolled his eyes. He started shovelling snow too and thankfully the snowfall had stabilised, but it was still falling constantly. While he shovelled alongside Viola, Diantha, and Gardevoir, Korrina set about asking around and promote the fundraiser.

Martine, Sophie, and Laurent had helped with the setup of the next stage of the fundraiser at the Shalour City Pokémon Centre, which was a building of classical Kalos architecture. It didn't look as high-end compared to its counterpart in Lumiose, but it looked as welcome as an inn. In the space beside the centre, tents had been erected again to set the stage for the next part of the fundraiser.

"I know Wallace might have made it a joke to have tight kitchen space, but this is really pushing it," Martine remarked.

Instead of two cooking stations lined up opposite each other, there was only one cooking station. Only one. And it was space such that it was designed for a single cook in mind. One grill, one counter, one sink, and only one set of kitchenware, including one pan, one pot, one ladle, and a pair of knives.

It was the definition of impossible, in terms of competing. If Cynthia and Steven were feeling really competitive (which Martine guessed was Wallace's hopes), they would have had plenty opportunity to sabotage each other. Like the old days!

And mistletoe was expected. It was placed at the service area again.

Tonight's dinner for the Pokémon Centre was stew. It could have been easy enough to prepare a huge pot of it and then serve it like that. But it wouldn't that easy, given there a lot of people had gathered and the cooking station was small. They would have to make servings constantly.

The way Sophie and Laurent saw it, Wallace's plan had backfired by a lot. Because there was only a single cooking station that the chefs were sharing, they opted to share cooking duties too! And it made their lives considerably easier. Instead the two chefs were working away tirelessly, sharing the cooking space and tools like the perfect tag team. They were courteous to each other, letting each other pass by even if it involved physical contact.

Working together, the stew was composed of five primary ingredients. Beef, carrot, potato, Tamato berry stock, and a bottle of genuine Cornn berry beer. Or in the case of the vegetarian option, garlic and mushrooms were used in place of beef. It was fortunate that there was enough space on the grill to put two enormous pots have servings of both.

Steven spent most his time chopping the ingredients into evenly shaped blocks. Cynthia's attention was on the Tamato berry stock since movement was limited and it would take time before it was ready. Once Steven had chopped the meat, he passed them to Cynthia so that she could start cooking them with oil.

Watching from the distance, everyone watched Steven pass his prepared ingredients to Cynthia who poured them into the big pot and stirred them frequently. Even so, Steven turned his attention to preparing the next batch of ingredients for the vegetable stew. While he did that, Cynthia opened the bottle of genuine Cornn berry beer, with all its polarising sweet and dry flavour, into the pot to glaze the beef and bring out the beer's flavour.

"They're doing good," Sophie remarked. "It smells so… good… You can even smell that Cornn berry in the air."

Laurent smiled. Watching the two, he watched Steven check the Tamato berry stock, which seemed ready, and it ladled it five times into the main pot. Then Cynthia came and covered the pot before staring on the next batch. So, in short, Wallace's plan had failed. Or so Laurent thought.

"They need a bigger challenge, or rather, he needs a challenge!" Wallace said.

Did Wallace have to speak that loudly? Either way, Laurent and Sophie watched Wallace whisper frantically with Winona. No longer was their attention on Steven and Cynthia, but on the other couple. Sophie's serious eyes beamed with curiosity.

She looked at Laurent's eyes, who looked back and then shrugged.

"Are. You. Crazy." They heard Winona say.

Together, Sophie and Laurent saw Winona's eyes become a serious glare and she was ready to punch Wallace in the face. But Wallace had already gone and walked into the service area. Of all the places, he stood right under the mistletoe within a few steps from Cynthia!

"Wallace." Steven looked at him coldly. "What are you doing." It wasn't a question either.

It was as if Wallace was simply there to destroy the harmonious team dynamic between the two. Didn't that defeat the point of the fundraiser, anyway? The two chefs were doing this for Wallace! And this was how he repaid them? At least Wallace wasn't in the way of cooking, but given the tight cooking space, he was already a problem.

"Relax! I'm here to give moral support," Wallace assured.

"Just ignore him. Let's keep at it," Cynthia said, keeping her eyes on the Tamato berry stock and constantly stirring the beef. She added some herbs to intensify the Cornn berry beer flavour, which had glazed the beef. And after that, she covered the pot with a lid to seal the heat and soften the stew. Then she repeated the process with the vegetable variant.

Martine was waiting for the orders to come, but even she could tell from people's faces they were amused at Wallace. Was this a cheap effort at pressuring them to kiss? By the time the stew was done, there was only enough space for Cynthia to reach the service area. Bowls and bowls of stew were being sent out in groups by Cynthia, and since she had her hands full, it was a miracle she didn't spill any when she slipped by Wallace.

But once her hands were free, Wallace pulled Cynthia to playfully kiss her ("Wha-?" Cynthia said).

And Cynthia felt her face blush. Half out of embarrassment, half out of annoyance.

Steven felt something was starting to snap inside him, but not yet. He didn't know what to say, and the media were taking pictures of this too! What if this made headlines? Wallace would have produced an unnecessary artificial affair, given he was engaged to Winona now! Steven, feeling some kind of pain in his chest, was lost for words.

Thankfully he didn't need any words because Martine spoke first.

"Wallace! When is the stew coming?!" Martine said it like to scold him, with her arms crossed tightly and her facial expression annoyed.

"Coming right up, my dear," Wallace said, finally letting go of Cynthia and letting her bring the bowls to Martine. Even Martine could tell Cynthia was a little surprised and was speechless. Would that affect her performance?

It did, sort of, because when she turned around to return to her place at the cooking station, Wallace was still standing in her way under the mistletoe. How was it even possible to get past? As Martine brought the bowls out and distributed the stew accordingly, she glanced at Steven and then Winona. Neither seemed to take it kindly.

For Steven, as he prepared the next batch of ingredients to get into the rhythm of serving multiple dishes, he thought about speaking with Cynthia after this was over. Whatever was inside him hadn't snapped yet.

He shook his head and went to prepare the next bowl of stew, and tried ignoring Wallace the best he could. Now if Steven had snapped, he would have started a fistfight with Wallace, although Steven wondered if Winona would beat him to it.

The thought of Winona punching Wallace in the face gave him renewed strength and he kept on working. It wouldn't be long before the pot ran out of stew, which was why he had to start on the next pot quickly. Truly, he and Cynthia were on a roll!

"Steven… Can we switch spots?" Cynthia said quietly, a little nervous.

"Hmm? Yes, yes, of course." Steven quickly swapped positions with Cynthia although they had to sidestep to slide past each other. Cynthia was now preparing the next batch of ingredients, and Steven had another bowl of stew ready for service.

But when Steven walked toward the service area where Martine was waiting, his face paled. Wallace hadn't left where he stood and his face showed like he was expecting Steven to come forward. An idiotic smile was plastered on his face and Steven would have thought it looked superficial. And Wallace was nodding.

Steven's face fell. "No. Nononononono…" He muttered. "Never, Wallace! Please step aside!"

"There's only one way to get past me, friend!" Wallace grinned. "Come over here."

"I won't!" Steven put the bowl down and went back to Cynthia. "I… I can't either."

Cynthia was sympathetic, so she took the bowl over to the service area and slipping past Wallace as she did. Martine took the bowl with an amused face. When Cynthia went back to her spot, she was kissed by Wallace again.

Something was on the verge of snapping inside Steven.

The public was nothing short of amused by what was going on at the kitchen. But that hadn't stopped them from enjoying dinner and donating to the fundraiser. Sure, Steven and Cynthia were an ideal couple, but it seemed like they were also too easy to play around, as shown by Wallace. Or maybe it was because they were former colleagues in Pokémon League business.

Korrina, for instance, had returned from helping shovel snow for the community with Grant, Viola, and Diantha, plus their Pokémon. With a hot bowl of stew full of Cornn berry beer flavour, it was the perfect dish to savour amid snowfall.

The wind chill final subsided and all that was left was light snow falling on Shalour City. The sky was an extremely hazy gray that blocked out the moonlight and if midnight gray was a thing as opposed to midnight blue, tonight was it. Korrina could look up to the hazy night sky only to have thick snowflakes, like powder, gently fall on her face. And thanks to the wind chill subsiding, it wasn't cold either.

Even so, watching the competition between Steven and Cynthia amused her because it didn't seem like a competition at all. Instead Korrina wondered why Wallace was standing in the kitchen, kissing Cynthia whenever she tried passing by Wallace to serve the stew.

And as she ate a mouthful of stew, she nudged Grant. "So, what's going on?" Then she swallowed, feeling the relief sweep over her body.

"Wallace has made their lives difficult," Grant said. He too was eating a bowl of stew while watching the chefs rapidly getting bowls of soup out of the cooking station. As an afterthought, Grant dropped a one thousand Poké bill into the donation bucket as Lisia passed by. The lights were on the two chefs but more attention was on Wallace this time.

And Steven's reaction too. It was like Wallace had planned for Steven to break at some point.

"Well, I'm sure Steven can endure… for now," Diantha remarked. She knew Steven, Cynthia, and Wallace enough to know Wallace would play pranks on Steven. Diantha was more concerned for Winona, whose face was a mix of jealously, annoyance, and anger. "Grant, can you get Winona over there to join us? She could use some company."

Grant nodded, understanding the situation.

Besides the drama happening outside the Pokémon Centre, the stews were received favourably by the patrons whom this fundraiser was serving. Martine had taken the liberty of bringing the first orders in, so that the staff could bring them to their respective patients. The scent of hot stew glazed with Cornn berry beer wafted throughout the building which gave everyone, human and Pokémon alike, an appetite.

"Here they are," Martine said, placing her tray of bowls at reception.

"Thank you!" the nurse said. "We can't thank you enough."

Hearing that made Martine smile. In truth, she had to credit her bosses for even agreeing to this undertaking in the first place. While it did have its share of drama (particularly here in Shalour City), on the whole it was quite successful. Plus, the donations received were quite generous.

"By the way, what's happening outside?" the nurse asked Martine. "I get the media are making this a cover story but isn't it blown out of proportion?"

"It's a little more complicated that that," Martine said. "Let's just say it's as dramatic as what happened last season."

When Martine walked out to get the next order, she could see the crowd gathering around the cooking station just to see her bosses cook. Sure, the crowd might be amused by Wallace constantly kissing Cynthia but to have it occur frequently may be too much. Martine felt sorry for Steven. Even though the media were entertained, this was simply too much.

From what Martine could see, Steven was just about to snap. Better stop this before something bad happens, she thought.

So Martine walked right in to the cooking station and yanked Wallace away, much to the latter's annoyance. Now with Wallace out of the way, Martine could see Steven's face had relaxed. She made eye contact with Steven too, who wore a expression suggesting he was more than grateful. Martine simply winked back and then led Wallace away. Far away.

Cynthia rolled her eyes. "You okay, Steven?"

"I'm fine, Cynthia. Just fine." Steven started on preparing another set of ingredients for the next pot of stew. The beef stew was proving popular and the moment he had prepared the beef, Cynthia was already throwing them in the pot. Yet she had to focus on serving too, so Steven had to do have the work of cooking, plus the glazing with Cornn berry beer.

Martine smiled. The sizzling of beef combined with the beer brought another delicious aroma in the area around the Pokémon Centre. And almost anyone who passed by the smell would be curious enough to see what was happening. From Martine's point of view, it brought more funds to the fundraiser too. How was this not a success?

And even Martine dropped five hundred Poké into the donation bucket because the stew made her hungry too. It was dinnertime after all. Even though she couldn't eat while on the job, she was contributing to the cause! Besides, she was expecting plenty of leftovers afterward and that she, Sophie, and the others would have dinner too.

"You owe me one, boss!" she shouted quietly to Steven.

Steven was still cooking the beef and had poured another bottle of Cornn berry beer into the pot. He heard her nonetheless and agreed Martine was right. Intentionally, he looked right at Martine before walking towards her where Cynthia was standing. A surprised Cynthia was kissed quickly by Steven before he went back to where he was.

"Aw, boss, that is so unlike you…" Martine giggled, taking the next round of stew for service.

The dinner hour was starting to level off and Wallace knew his plan had failed. What was supposed to be competition had become a tag team. At least many orders went out!

But putting the two chefs together in the same kitchen worked out worse than he thought. No, he had to think of something else next time. Nevertheless, without the two of them working together, the orders wouldn't have come out in time.

And counting the orders that went out – 400 in total – Wallace admitted it was a success. The donation bucket was full to the brim and most people had left the area. All who remained were the Gym Leaders, the staff, and some journalists, including Viola.

So it happened over dinner. Steven and Cynthia sat together at a table, quietly enjoying their helpings of the stew they had made. In addition, Martine, Wallace, and the others who helped execute the fundraiser tonight were also treated to dinner. Everyone had a seat and a bowl of stew, the aroma of Cornn berry beer still wafting in the air.

"So the best you could can manage is a tie, at this rate," Steven said.

Cynthia knew he was right. Between her and Steven, they had somehow tied in the last round and Steven won before. What with Wallace making this round impossible to compete in, the final round at Geosenge Town meant she could tie with Steven at best.

"But that would mean you and I are equals, right?" she replied.

Steven smiled. "You got me there." He helped himself to another mouthful. "By the way, Cynthia, I was thinking… If you have time, want to go check out the Tower of Mastery? Just while we're here."

Cynthia's expression froze momentarily. "Uh… I can't. I'm meeting someone in a few minutes, but maybe we can do it another time. Maybe!"

And Steven's smile faded just like that, replaced by a look of surprise. He admitted secretly he wasn't feeling right ever since the ordeal with Wallace in the cooking station. And Cynthia's response now made Steven's chest tighten unnaturally. "I see…" he muttered. "Guess it can't be helped. What are you up to?"

"Training with Astrid," Cynthia said, oblivious to Steven's reaction. She was looking forward to training with Astrid a little. "À bientôt!"

She went off to somewhere else in the city, leaving Steven on his own.

He sighed. Astrid. Of course Astrid would want to maximise whatever time she could training with Champions. But he thought Astrid only wanted to train with him regularly, not Cynthia. And it appeared Astrid was robbing him of time that could have been spent with Cynthia. But no wonder Cynthia was behaving brighter this morning and he could see in her eyes she was looking forward to meeting Astrid. But he did want to spend some time with her, and the opportunity vanished.

And then Steven was joined shortly by Martine, Sophie, and Laurent. Martine couldn't help grinning at her boss.

"Did you strike out? Don't worry boss. Things like this happen." It was obvious Martine couldn't keep her giggles out. She didn't even need to ask Steven to know he was feeling annoyed, jealous, and angry at the same time. "You need to try harder, that's all! You spent so much time with Astrid before, and you know how Cynthia felt about that."

Steven mumbled to himself, "So that's what she feels like. Well, I'll be seeing her tomorrow."

Even thought it was well into the evening, Cynthia opted to get Astrid's training done at the Shalour City Gym. Korrina had been gracious enough to open the doors just this one time, as a token of appreciation for dinner. Plus, it enabled Diantha, Viola, Grant, and Wallace to stop by and chat too. The four of them, plus Winona and Lisia, were sitting on one of the gym's benches and talking while Cynthia and Astrid sparred.

"Really glad we got lots of visitors this time," Wallace said. "The numbers are amazing and going up and up, and the supervisor will be most pleased."

"I'm sure you can credit the marketing we did," Diantha replied. "What with us and our Pokémon going around and helping to shovel snow. It's not bad. That must have drawn the numbers in."

They heard loud noise coming from Cynthia's Garchomp. Namely it was an Earthquake attack which created shockwaves and shook the floor around them. Somehow, they weren't affected (maybe the range was limited, Diantha thought). The same shock waves shook the ground and sent Astrid's Absol into the air.

"Have you seen the news? It's been making headlines, this fundraiser." Viola happily showed some news headlines, both on print and online. There were photos shot by her showing Steven and Cynthia cooking together and at times kissing each other. "This is perfect. We might as well get some advertising revenue from kitchen suppliers."

Wallace nodded. "That's right! This is a success! Now all that's left is to bring it to the last round! I can't thank you enough–"

A blast from the battle between Garchomp and Absol interrupted his words. It appeared the two Pokémon were competing for speed and it was hard to tell who was faster. At times the Pokémon would be trading quick blows and then vanishing in the next moment. It forced Wallace to glance at the battle out of curiosity, and then he lost his train of thought.

Mercifully (for the others and not Wallace), Diantha steered the topic elsewhere. "Anyway, did you have a chance to visit the patients? They must have been happy."

"Non, not at all," Wallace said. "That's something I'm sure Steven and Cynthia did already. Everyone is crazy for them. I'm just glad the fundraiser is turning out very good."

But everyone, including Lisia, had their reservations about Wallace's intentions. If anything, this fundraiser was a platform to play around with the relationship between to the two chefs. And considering they were also fan favourites and shared an official third Richissime star between them, there was little to argue against that.

Eventually, the battle came to an end. The group watched Astrid talk excitedly with Cynthia and asking her for review of her performance. Even from this distance, they could see Cynthia smiling as she gave her opinion. Beside them, Garchomp and Absol were chatting and complimenting each other.

"Anyway," they heard Astrid say, "do your best tomorrow!"

Have a serving of Cornn berry beer-glazed stew! Glad to be writing this story again.