Chapter Seven

In which Cynthia and Diantha take a trip to Striation City

Content Warning:
Alcohol
Drug Mention (a mention of weed in passing lmao)

Many hours into the following morning, Diantha began to wake up, tangled in her covers on her bed, and with no memory of getting there. The last thing she remembered was Cynthia talking about Thundurus.

Untangling herself, she looked around the room. Her phone sat on her nightstand, plugged into its charger. Another thing she had no memory of doing.

She reached over to press for the time. Eight forty-two. In the morning.

She vaguely remembered it being just before four when she had last checked the time, Cynthia insisting it was PM once again. The idea of sleeping for over sixteen hours made the hunger pain in her stomach more apparent.

To her side, the bed was empty, echoing the feeling in her stomach. She wished Cynthia was next to her, but figured that was probably too much to ask for. Having her for an evening to comfort her had been more than enough; now she was just asking for extra.

Stretching her arms out, she forced herself to get out of bed, working on getting her bed loosely made.

On her way to the kitchen, she almost missed it, but in a quick double take, she saw Cynthia sprawled out on her couch, asleep. She had the grey throw blanket over her, laying at an odd angle to be completely covered.

Diantha's heart fluttered at the sight, bringing a smile to her face that left her feeling warm.

She had been intent on making tea for herself first, but now that would be changed to tea for two.

She tried to work as quietly as possible, but in her preparation, Cynthia began to stir.

The tea leaves to her jasmine pearl tea had unfurled in the glass kettle, and the water had turned a light honey color. It had steeped long enough. Pouring some into a cup, she brought with her a sugar set.

"Good morning, my dear," she said, setting the sugar set on the table and herself on the edge of the sofa.

"Morning," she said, wiping the sleep from her eyes. "I hope it's okay that I stayed. I wanted to make sure you were going to be okay, but if you want me to leave I can–" Diantha's laugh stopped her.

She wore a grin that was already easing her anxiety towards the subject. "I was actually about to tell you that you could have slept with me."

Carefully, she moved into a more seated position, making sure to not get too much in Diantha's space. Not that there was much room to work with. "I didn't want to freak you out, or anything." It had certainly crossed her mind, but Diantha's comfort was her main priority.

"Next time, perhaps," she said coolly, handing her the warm cup. "I made tea if you would like some. It's jasmine pearl."

She took the cup, cradling the warmth in her hands. "Thank you."

"I didn't add any sugar. I tend to like things very sweet, so I figured I would let you add that yourself," she said, gesturing towards the sugar set.

She nodded, taking a cursory sip. It was warm and floral, the jasmine flavor bright on her tongue. Even though it was her first time having the tea, it was an instant association with Diantha. "This is lovely," she said, looking over to the sugar set.

A little white and gold-rimmed ceramic bowl with a decorative teaspoon that was so Diantha, if she wasn't feeling anxious about how close she was sitting, she might have been tempted to tease her.

While Cynthia got her tea to her liking, Diantha got up to get herself a cup, returning shortly after. "When did I get up and go to my bed?" she asked, resuming her spot next to her.

She laughed, looking over her cup. "You didn't. I carried you."

The answer was absolutely not supposed to be a turn on, but it ended up being one. "Oh." She didn't trust herself to say anything that wouldn't immediately give that away.

"I tried to wake you up once, but you were out. Figured it would be better to just let you sleep," she said, handing her the teaspoon.

She took the spoon, busying herself with adding too much sugar. "I don't think I slept at all yesterday night, so thank you," she said, taking a sip in a desperate attempt to think about anything other than being carried by her.

Cynthia nodded, having figured her lack of sleep. "Of course."

Together they sat on the couch, making light conversation and eventually sharing a small breakfast of Kalosian breads and jam. The conversation steered itself back towards filming as Diantha began to clear their dishes, walking them off to the sink.

"Oh, yeah, and we finally get to meet Coral today," Cynthia said, stretching out her arms. Sleeping on the couch was a decision she was already paying for. It was one of the only things she missed about being seventeen: the ability to sleep anywhere with little to no repercussions.

She heard the distinct sound of a spoon being dropped in the sink. "Really?" Diantha rushed over to the bar, looking intently at Cynthia.

Cynthia laughed, bringing herself to a stand. "Finally get to see why she has even you starstruck," she said, walking over to the kitchen, intent on helping her at least clean up.

Diantha looked up at her. "Just because I'm well known doesn't mean I'm immune to being starstruck. I'm just better at hiding it," she said.

Working together, the dishes were quickly put away on the drying rack, Diantha insisting that's all she cared to do for the morning.

While she was enjoying their morning, Cynthia knew she needed to get moving. "I should probably at least run out to Undella to change. Showing up in the clothes I left in might, I don't know…" she trailed off.

"Stir up rumors?" Diantha jokingly finished, leaning on the bar countertop.

She shrugged. "Maybe. Not sure if anyone pays that much attention to me, though, so maybe it's more about protecting your reputation."

She laughed in response. "Darling, there's nothing you could possibly stir up that I haven't been accused of before. Up until about four years ago, I couldn't go more than a week without someone accusing me of something."

Cynthia took a seat on the entryway bench, looking over to Diantha. "What happened four years ago?" she asked, beginning to put on her shoes.

She looked down at her hands. "I started dating Mel exclusively."

"Oh." In hindsight, she realized she should have put that together without having to ask. "Right, sorry."

Diantha shrugged, not taking her eyes off her hands. "That relationship was…It was long overdue that I left him. Especially considering what I know now." A heavy weight settled into the pit of her stomach. "If I had seen all the signs…" She shook her head.

Stopping mid tie, Cynthia looked back up at her. "Diantha, please don't blame yourself-"

Diantha was quick to cut her off. "I'm not blaming myself. I'm just saying I should have seen the signs. They were all there, I–"

"That's blaming yourself, Diantha," she interrupted.

She shook her head, not wanting to listen. It was still too painful to think about. She wanted to blame herself for now, because it was a much easier thing to do. "I really don't want to talk about this, Cynthia. I just– go back to Undella and I will see you later."

Cynthia felt herself wanting to be hurt by getting shoved out, but stopped herself before she could fully give into the emotion.

Finishing tying her shoes, she looked back up at Diantha, who was still staring intently at the marble countertop. "I'll leave, because I completely understand the need to be alone and process, but just…" She sighed. "I want to say one more thing before I go, but then I'll drop it."

She stood up, but made no motion towards her. "Back when we had that argument in the studio, you told you had set aside all reservations you had about working with someone so new, and you were patient with me when I didn't deserve it."

Diantha spared her a glance.

"Maybe I'm wrong, but…It comes across to me as you being the kind of person who wants to see the best in others, even when you have doubts. Mel clearly knew that as well, and took advantage of you, and that says way more about him than it ever will about you. None of this is your fault."

With that, she turned to leave, figuring she had overstayed her welcome and had pushed her luck just as far. "I'll see you at the studio."

Watching her reach for the doorknob, Diantha relented. "Cynthia, wait."

She hesitated, looking over at her.

Diantha forced herself to step around the bar. "I don't want to send you out on this note. I'm sorry, I'm just– I'm so– I don't know where to begin."

Her hand slipped off the doorknob as she turned to face her. "I get it. Really, I do. You don't have to apologize."

She shook her head. "I shouldn't be taking my anger out on you."

Cynthia shrugged, taking a small step towards her. "Again, I get it. You're hurt. He breached your trust. I'm not expecting you to just get over it. Take your time– literally as much as you need. I'm on your side no matter what."

The sting of tears building at the back of her eyes was quickly starting to give Diantha a headache. The swell of a warm emotion towards Cynthia was a far more welcome feeling than anything else she was experiencing, but she was helpless to properly express it. "My dear Cynthia, I– thank you."

A smile played at her lips. "You don't have to thank me for anything." She stepped back, resuming her earlier position. "I'll see you later, okay? But if you need anything, call me."

"I'll see you later, my dear."

With a nod, Cynthia headed out, leaving Diantha alone in the apartment. If she concentrated enough, she could feel the building swaying below her.

Returning to her room, she searched for where she had placed her pokémon, picking Gourgeist's poké ball among them.

"Oooh?" the pokémon spoke upon being released.

"Gourgeist, darling, help me put together a lunch for later," she said, walking with her back to the kitchen. Making something ahead of time would give her a better chance at eating before leaving for the studio.

Gourgeist made a happy trill, and together, they put together a meal, her pokémon doing her best to make it a pleasant chore.

With a thank you, Diantha returned her to her capsule, and began to get ready for the day, trying to concentrate on the excitement of getting to work with her celebrity crush for the week.

In the middle of getting ready, from her nightstand, her phone began to vibrate. Her first thought was to ignore it, figuring it was probably Mel. While he was the last person she wanted to speak to, on the chance that it was the studio calling her, she figured she should at least see who it was. If it was Mel, she would ignore it, and maybe even temporarily block his number.

The sight of the contact name brought a smile to her face.

Sliding to answer, she sat down on the edge of her bed. "My dear Siebold, your timing couldn't have been better."

"Is this a bad time? Quite honestly, I was expecting this to go to voicemail."

She laughed lightly. "No, that wasn't sarcasm. I have another half-hour or so until I have to be at the studio. What can I do for you, my dear?" she asked.

"I meant to call sooner, but with all the renovations going on it completely slipped my mind. I will be out of the region this coming weekend, which leaves Drasna as the acting league head."

He was calling as a formality.

"I'm still looking to return in time for the summer conference, so you have my blessing. Where are you headed?" she followed up.

"That's the other part. I'm going to be in Castelia. The University of Castelia invited me to guest speak at an event. I'll arrive Friday morning and present later that night. I don't have plans to leave until Sunday night, so if you have any free time, I was wondering if you would like to get together for dinner?"

She refrained from laughing, her cheeks hurting from grinning. "Let me guess, there's a quaint little restaurant in Striaton you would love to go to–"

He was quick to respond. "Your words, not mine! But if you insist." It was no secret to anyone in either leagues that he and a certain Striaton Gym Leader were fond of one another; always building in time during their trips to see one another.

At that, she did laugh. "I would love to keep teasing you, but I'll just skip ahead and say yes. A weekend getaway sounds lovely."

Having known her since they were children, Siebold immediately understood that something was wrong. "Is everything alright? Is working with Cynthia not everything you had hoped it would be?"

She forced another laugh. "If only that were my problem." She thought about waiting to tell him, but couldn't think of a reason to do so. "I recently found out that, for the last two years, Mel has been cheating on me." Siebold was generally the first person to know things that the public wasn't supposed to, anyways. There were only a small handful of things he didn't know.

There were a few seconds of silence that followed.

"So, I might have been mistaken. I think I fly in on Wednesday, instead."

She shook her head, as if he could see the motion. "You don't have to change your flight just to come comfort me," she said, knowing it was exactly what he was implying.

"Consider it already done, Diantha."

At least there was one man she could rely on no matter what. "Then at least allow me to offer you a place to stay. I don't imagine the university was going to put you up in more than a two-star hotel."

He laughed. "It was a step above student housing, I believe. I'll definitely take you up on that offer."

He was the only other person who had a key to the apartment, so thankfully, that wasn't something she was going to have to worry about.

"Text me when you plan on arriving. Hopefully I'll be done with filming by then. If not, you know you can let yourself in," she told him.

He hummed from his end. "Will do." There was a pause, accompanied by the faint sounds of keyboard clicking. "And I do want to ask you how filming is going, but I don't want to risk you being late."

She forced a laugh. "Truth be told, my dear Siebold, I can't tell if this project is an absolute daydream, or an absolute nightmare."

"Would you like to call me back later and talk about it?" he asked.

Had he been bisexual, she probably would have married him years ago.

"I think I would rather talk it over in person," she said.

He hummed again on his end. "Then, if I arrive early enough, I will have dinner waiting for you when you're done with filming."

In a way, he really was her saving grace. He was only one of very few people on the planet who she trusted to put anything in front of her and she would enjoy it, and never once would he make food a thing to be guilty over. "In a different lifetime, my dear, I'm sure we're already married."

He laughed. "I'm sure I could easily find an online article written by someone still thoroughly convinced we're secretly together, and is there really much of a difference?" he jokingly asked.

It got a genuine laugh from her, one that felt good. "Probably not."

"Well, allow me to finish rearranging my travel plans and to make some calls so my restaurant is properly staffed for the next few days, and I will text you when I have everything finalized."

"I can't wait to see you, my dear."

"I can't wait to see you as well. Goodbye."

She said her bye, and then hung up.

Placing her phone into her lap, she allowed herself to fall back onto her mattress. While she was immensely grateful for Cynthia comforting her, some comfort from Siebold was precisely what she needed to begin mending her heart…


A last-minute text told Cynthia to head to a different studio on the grounds, and with some directions from the gate attendant, she made her way there. While it was refreshing to be in a different space for the day, she couldn't help but miss Oscar the Audino's chubby-cheeked smile at the front desk.

The front desk of building F6 had a pokémon sitting atop it, but it wasn't one Cynthia was entirely familiar with: Cramorant, a pokémon more commonly found throughout Galar.

Its green, wide-eyed stare unnerved her, so she opted to move along and try not to think too hard about the pokémon as it followed her with an unblinking stare.

In the main area of the studio, where most of the crew had already gathered, Cynthia's eyes were immediately drawn to Diantha. She stood off to the side, talking with someone Cynthia hadn't met, leading her to assume it was Coral.

Diantha took notice of her as she approached, turning the other woman's attention to her as well.

"Cynthia, darling!" she said, an infectious enthusiasm in her voice. "This is Coral Santos! Coral, this is Cynthia!" she introduced.

Coral's hand shot out towards her, which Cynthia was quick to shake. "It's such a pleasure to meet you, Cynthia!" she said, quick to let go of her hand, putting both of hers into her jean pockets. "Man! When I got offered Lady in Red's sequel, I was already excited, but to get to work with two champions? It's an absolute dream come true!" Her voice had a natural rasp to it that had Cynthia feeling like she could listen to her for hours.

"The pleasure is all mine," Cynthia responded, glancing over at Diantha. "Diantha's told me quite a bit about you."

Coral looked over to her, amusement in her pink eyes. "Only good things, I hope."

"Of course!" She was fully aware that Cynthia was teasing her; and she would get back at her soon enough. "I've just been telling her how you and I only ever crossed paths in the past, and that this was our first time properly working together."

"Right, right." She looked back up to Cynthia. "My wife, Koren, is a photographer, and she's been on a ton of film sets."

"Probably the only set photographer I trust to always get my best angle," Diantha joked.

Briefly, Cynthia wondered if Coral's wife was as equally gorgeous as she was. "Do we have a set photographer?" she asked, instead.

Diantha giggled. "Yes, but I don't want to ever point them out to you. We had a hard enough time getting you to not pay attention to the filming cameras already," she teased, reaching out to lay a hand on her arm, but stopping herself short, thinking better of the action.

Cynthia looked away from them. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Coral laughed between them, the raspy sound one Cynthia was already endeared to. "This is gonna be a lot of fun," she said.

Soon enough, Tom and Lita called everyone together to go over what the day's goals were. They were to start off with the scene that introduced Vicki, and then by midafternoon they would break off and start to work on some of Coral's scenes that didn't involve either Cynthia or Diantha.

With a wardrobe change and some quick makeup and hairstyling from Dezerea, Cynthia was just as soon back on set, joined by Diantha shortly after.

Coral approached the group, going over the script in a whisper before putting her phone away into her inner coat pocket.

"Ready, ladies?" Tom asked.

The three of them looked to one another, then to him. "As I'll ever be," Coral answered.

"Alright! Let's take it from just before Elizabeth and Scarlet enter Vicki's office."

The air on the set around them was permeated with the musty smell of old furniture, annoying Cynthia's senses.

Standing in front of the wooden door with Diantha, she looked down to her, trying to distract herself from the smell. "Okay, I get it about Coral," she said to where only she could hear her.

She immediately giggled, about to put her hands to her mouth to cover her grin, but stopped herself at the last second to save her lipstick. "She's stunning, right?"

"Quiet on set!"

They fell into silence, turning away from one another to face the door.

Lita called the scene numbers and take one.

With a quick breath, Cynthia steadied her, and Elizabeth's, nerves, before opening the fake doors.

Coral sat behind her desk, feet kicked up on the top. She raised her eyebrows at their entrance, quickly breaking into a grin. In a fluid motion, she brought her feet down so she could stand.

"Liz!" she said, gesturing grandly with her hands. "Took ya' long enough to get out here!" Her attention just as quickly turned to Diantha, eyeing her in a way that was making her hot under her coat. "Been wondering what kept ya' so long."

Walking around the desk, she began to make slow circles around them, mindful of her speed so the cameraman could keep up with her movements.

"Been havin' a little too much fun out in the desert, huh?" She stopped her circle around them, still keeping her pink gaze on Diantha. "Find yourself a little lady friend?" She glanced up at Cynthia, who immediately put a protective hand on Diantha's waist.

Cynthia knew the action was too soon, but Coral had pretty much sold her on the mob boss act.

"Keepin' you busy?" Coral asked.

She pulled Diantha closer to her in response. "Leave her out of this. What do you need?"

She backed away from them with a flippant shrug, making sure to give Diantha a noticeable look-over.

Diantha could practically feel her eyes on her, and it was taking every ounce of her training to not react. Scarlet was supposed to be keeping up a good front, not impressed with the mob boss in the least. She, however, wanted to crumble into a pool of her own gay ecstasy.

"Just need ya' to go shake someone up a little bit for me." She talked with her hands but kept it away from her face. "A vendor up on Malone and 5th. He's been skipping out on some payments, and while I would love to send Darmanitan to do it for me, he's a little busy with Jackdaw and his knuckleheads." She then began to hold her hands like she was going to pop her knuckles. "Let him know he's got one last week to pay up, or he loses everything."

With a nod, she took her hand off Diantha. "Consider it taken care of."

She grinned wide. "You're the best, Liz!"

Just as they were about to turn to make their exit, Coral reached out to grab their attention. "Oh, and by the way." She paused just long enough to have them look at her. "Really like this one. She's gorgeous, and I can tell she's got blood on her hands. You should keep bringin' her around," she said.

Diantha turned to face her completely, digging her nails into her palms in an effort to remain in character. "Now, how would you know that?" she asked.

Coral smirked, kicking herself off the desk to saunter up to her.

Cynthia stepped forward, moving her hand, only to stop herself, hoping it would convey that she was about to push her away, but had decided against it.

Coral leaned down into her face, Diantha at least not having any trouble keeping her eyes on her pink ones. "'Cause you're not shakin' like that last Lillipup of a girl she brought to stand in front of me. Can see it in your eyes that you'd like to take a shot at me." She leaned back up to her usual height, still keeping an intent gaze on her. "Which I like in a woman."

Opening her mouth to speak, she was thankful Cynthia's direction was to then pull her away. Her mind was already completely blank from the scripted flirting, so there wasn't anything she could think of to quip back with.

"Let's go, Scarlet," Cynthia said, tugging at her arm.

Coral's grin never left her face. "If she ever doesn't do it for you, you know where to find me, doll," she said with a wink.

She forced herself to keep pace with Cynthia as they headed back the way they came in.

"Cut!" Tom called the second they were out the door.

"Good take!" Coral called from the other side of the set piece.

Cynthia released her grip on Diantha, keeping her voice down as she looked at her. "I know none of her flirting was directed at me, but I'm flustered," she admitted.

Diantha began to laugh, putting a hand on her arm. "Try being in my shoes!"

Coral quickly joined them, confusion written on her features. "I miss something?" she asked.

Diantha looked to her, feeling warmth tinging her cheeks. "You've just got me a little flustered is all, darling." To which she laughed.

"Oh, man, see, I was worried I put on the whole Castelia accent too strong, and you were laughing at me," she said, rubbing the back of her neck.

Diantha shook her head. "Darling, I wouldn't dream of laughing at you!"

They continued talking amongst themselves until Lita and Tom had figured out what they wanted out of the next take.

With notes from their directors, they got themselves resituated.

Just before Lita called the scene numbers, some off-set noise distracted everyone.

"Tango!" Came the voice of Camila, followed by furious chittering noises.

Hearing the pokémon's name, Cynthia was the first to look over, just in time for the Watchog to run straight up to her, wagging his tail and chittering away at her.

Despite the obvious frustration from Camila, Cynthia couldn't help but lean down to his level, ruffling his head. "Hey, buddy. You know you're not supposed to be here right now," she said.

Diantha carefully leaned down as well, smoothing out her jacket. "He probably missed you," she said, looking at the pokémon.

He nodded.

"It's only been a week," she said. Granted, they had only filmed together once in that time, and prior to that, they had been together less and less. She certainly missed the pokémon, and was glad to see that he had missed her, too.

Angry squeaks soon followed, Camila's Pansage running up to Watchog in an attempt to get him to go back to her.

Tango shook his head, hiding himself behind Cynthia.

Coral peeked her head out of the set to see what was going on, and it was all already becoming too much of an ordeal for Cynthia.

"Why don't we let him have a go at it?" Lita asked above the noise. Tom grumbled some, but Lita pressed on. "C'mon! Let's give him at least one take. What harm could it do?" she asked him.

Tom looked to Tango. "Think you can adlib it, there, Watchog?" he asked.

He peeked around Cynthia, nodding.

"Give it a go," Tom relented.

Tango have Camila's Pansage a grin, happy to stand next to Cynthia as he scurried off back to the handler.

He then placed himself next to Cynthia, who was quick to shake her head. "No, how about you go and stand on Diantha's side?" she asked.

Coral nodded in the doorway. "Yeah, if your whole thing is being protective in this scene, it would make sense you'd have him out to provide some extra defenses."

Diantha laughed to herself, leaning down again to fix Tango's fur tuft. "Using Hypnosis on a mob boss sounds like an idea with absolutely no consequences," she joked, getting a laugh from Coral.

"Do it an' see what happens, Liz!" Coral said, once again playing up the Castelia accent.

"Alright, alright, back to your spots! Let's get this rolling!" Tom ordered.

With some quick direction to Tango, he was seamlessly added into the scene, all takes involving him ending up better than anticipated. Before the evening was over, they did a few more takes with him waiting off to the side –him being too upset about being away from all the action to be put away in his poké ball.

Before Cynthia even knew it, the day had completely passed them, and Lita had called cut to the final take involving her and Diantha. With a little coaxing, Cynthia was able to convince Tango to go back with Camila for the day.

As she watched the pokémon walk away, she realized that saying goodbye to Tango at the end of filming was going to be a lot harder than she expected it would. She had grown partial to the pokémon, and it seemed he had grown just as partial to her.

At least she wasn't the only "bad" actor in the building.

Heading back to her dressing room, Dezerea was quick to greet her with a pack of makeup remover wipes. "Need any help getting cleaned up?" she asked, already slinging her messenger bag over her shoulder.

Cynthia shook her head. "No, I'm good, but thank you." She never felt the need to force Dezerea to stay any longer than necessary. Not when removing her makeup was such a simple thing to do.

"Hey, Cynthia! Got a minute?"

Looking up through the mirror, Coral had appeared in the doorway. "Yeah, sure," she answered, saying a quick bye to Dezerea.

Coral waited to continue until they were alone. "So, my wife said she'd be super mad if I didn't at least ask, so I wanted to ask you and Diantha if you wanted to come to dinner with us, sometime this week?"

So distracted by the fact that Coral even wanted to be around her off set, it took her a noticeable second to respond. "Sorry– I mean, yeah! I'm–yeah, that sounds great." Coral's grin was now equally distracting to her. "I don't know what Diantha's plans are, but I can ask her–"

She laughed. "Y'know, that's another thing I wanted to ask you." She lowered her voice. "Are you two like…?" she trailed off, but Cynthia was able to easily infer what she was asking.

She wanted to answer honestly and say that she was at the very least interested in Diantha, but knew it was better to keep her reputation intact. She wasn't sure when it would become public knowledge that Diantha had left Mel. "She's dating someone, so I mean–"

"Mel Shithead, right?" At that, Cynthia couldn't resist a laugh. "The idiot who was hitting on my lesbian wife for about a month straight on a film set she was on last year?" She leaned up against the makeup chair. "Look, I'm not gonna ask you or her to confirm or deny anything, because I know how Holly-weird works, but if they even are still together, I'd be genuinely shocked."

"I mean, she's technically a coworker, and I can't get involved in any way–" Just as she realized she was unsuccessfully steering the conversation, Coral interrupted her with another laugh.

"Cynthia, literally, my wife photographed me for about three solid years before I even got the courage to ask her on a date. I basically married my coworker."

Cynthia was unsure of what to say from there. While she was fine with Coral as a person, she didn't know her nearly well enough to continue with the topic. She had already said too much as it was.

She seemed to sense that, bringing her hands up in a dismissive motion. "Anyways, all I'm saying is that if that's an obstacle that's there for no real reason, maybe don't let it be." She turned to walk away, her hair whipping around her shoulders with the motion. "Oh, and do let me know if you two are free anytime this week."

"Will do," she said, returning her attention back to her own reflection in the mirror.

While working on removing her makeup and changing back into her regular clothes, she thought back on the day, trying to figure out what would have lead Coral to the conclusion that there was something between herself and Diantha. While, sure, she hoped she wasn't alone in her feelings, she wasn't sure if there was enough there to lead an outsider to the situation to that conclusion.

Maybe it was the fact that Coral was another gay woman, and could see something between them.

Regardless, Cynthia couldn't shake the feeling that she was risking Diantha's reputation by just being into her in ways different from a friend.

Despite the worry plaguing her, once she was done getting cleaned up, she headed for the terrace; her usual meeting spot with Diantha after filming had ended. From there, they could decide if they wanted to go get lunch, or just say goodbye for the day.

Outside, Diantha was already waiting for her.

"Got a question for you," Cynthia said, standing at her side.

"And I have one for you, but you first, my dear," Diantha said, turning on her heel.

"Coral told me that if we're free any night this week, she and her wife would like to go to dinner with us. I have no plans, and said I'd ask you."

Her face lit up at the mere thought. She clasped her hands together. "I certainly don't have any plans, now!"

Cynthia laughed, having already anticipated an answer of that nature. "What day do you think we should go for?" she followed up.

She shrugged. "I would say tomorrow night is perhaps too soon, so maybe Thursday night?" Plus, she wanted to make sure she would be home at a reasonable time for when Siebold would get in.

Cynthia nodded. "Works for me. What did you want to ask me?"

"Oh, right! Siebold is going to be in the region and has invited the two of us to dinner in Striaton City on Saturday night," she explained.

She nodded along, knowing she had no plans for then, anyways, but the detail of the location stuck out to her. "Why Striaton?" Off the top of her head, she couldn't think of a reason Siebold would be tied to the city in any way.

Diantha looked to the side, laughing to herself. "He and one of Striaton's former gym leaders are…involved," she told her, keeping her voice down. While Siebold never made it much of a secret, she didn't want to air it too much until he was ready to say it to the public.

With what little she did know of the former gym leaders, it didn't take Cynthia long to figure out just who she was talking about. "Cress?" she guessed.

She shrugged, taking a step forward to get them walking. "Yes, but that's not public knowledge. Considering you were invited, I'm positive he doesn't care that you know, but–"

"Holly-weird," Cynthia finished, echoing Coral's earlier sentiments.

She laughed lightly. "Precisely." While she would have loved to stand around and talk some more with Cynthia, the evening heat was already starting to get to her, and she had an apartment that needed to be readied. "Well, my darling, I wish I could ask you to lunch, but I have to get my apartment ready for company."

Cynthia nodded, putting her hands into her pockets. "Sounds good. If you need anything, just call."

"Will do, my dear…"


Day two with Coral had been a blast for Diantha. Spending the entire day in the face of a woman she had a celebrity crush on ranked high on her list of favorite acting experiences thus far.

However, walking into her apartment late that night to the smell of something warm and savory, with Siebold in the kitchen felt like coming home in a way that not even returning to her childhood home ever did.

She placed her purse over the back of one of her dining chairs. "My dear Siebold, it's so wonderful to see you."

He was quick to set aside his cooking utensils, opening his arms to wrap her in a warm hug. "It's good to see you as well."

She stood in the warmth of his embrace for a few seconds longer than she usually would, a strong tell to Siebold that something was off.

"So, regale me on how filming has gone, and how things in your personal life have been since we last saw one another," he said, stepping back towards the stovetop.

She leaned back against the counter, observing his work. "I will, but first tell me what you're making for tonight," she said.

"Right. I figured I would keep things simple enough. A homemade lobster ravioli with a cream sauce, and some roasted mixed vegetables." She was tempted to laugh at his definition of simple. "I would have picked something a little more uniform, but I hated most of what the one grocery store I went to had, and was too tired to go to another."

"You know I will eat anything you prepare, so I am thrilled beyond belief," she told him.

He nodded, stirring the cream sauce that was simmering away in a pan. "And so how have you been?" he asked.

She took a deep breath, following it up with a heavy sigh. She wasn't even sure where to begin. "Everything is a mess, dear Siebold."

He hummed. "How so?"

"I've just– I've absolutely fallen for Cynthia when I know I shouldn't have. Mel was in the region and so I went to leave him because I wanted to drop it all and finally just chase everything Cynthia had been making me feel– which is just so much more than I ever thought I would feel towards her. Sure, I've always fancied her in a physical way, that I figured was nothing more than a superficial, eye-candy sort of way! But now, for the first time ever, I'm unable to separate the emotions between myself and my character!" She gestured grandly with her hands, unable to contain every emotion she was feeling within herself.

He slowly began to give her his full attention, turning the heat down on the stove's burner.

"And so, I went to leave Mel, and what do I find out? That he's been cheating on me for the last two years! Aria Grey was in his office and it was quite clear that he had been kissing her, and then he admitted that she wasn't the only one, and- and–" Her voice had already begun to do the thing where it got higher in pitch as she struggled to keep her tears in.

By the time she was finished explaining it all, she was a mess of tears all over again.

Thankfully, Siebold had practice when it came to consoling her. With a lot of comforting words that mostly mirrored Cynthia's own, along with a few threats to kick his ass if he ever dared step within even a meter of any of his restaurants, he had at least got her to stop crying.

A bit of laughter, good food, and even better company proved to be an excellent emotional bandage. Enough of one to where her dinner the next night out with Cynthia, Coral and her wife Koren was one she was able to be more present in the moment with.

Soon enough, Saturday evening had rolled around. She and Cynthia had agreed to meet separately in Striaton.

By the time her driver pulled up to the old Striaton gym, Cynthia had already arrived, and was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. Without meaning to, they looked like they had coordinated their outfits. Though, it was an easy thing to do when they had both decided on a muted color scheme –something, in hindsight, Diantha realized she should have expected from Cynthia.

Thanking her driver for their time, she shut the door behind herself, turning to look at Cynthia. The smile she greeted her with was enough to make her heart skip a beat.

"I hope I haven't made you wait too long, my darling," she said.

She shook her head. "I've been here five minutes at most."

More than anything, Diantha wanted to take her arm and walk in with her; but her breakup with Mel still wasn't public, and they both had images to keep. So, she would refrain for the time being, enjoying simply walking into the restaurant side-by-side.

Cynthia reached out to open the door for her.

"Before we go inside," Diantha said, bringing her to a stop. "I figured I would let you know that you're going to…" She paused, trying to figure out how to best phrase everything. "You're probably going to see a very different side of Siebold than you're used to."

It only served to intrigue her more. She was used to Siebold being a very serious man, who was only animated when talking about battling and food.

"I've been looking forward to this all week," was all she said, resuming with opening the door for her.

The interior of the restaurant had been renovated since the triplets were gym leaders. The old battle stage had been removed, making way for more table sections, and the floors had been redone entirely. The overall wood tone was much brighter than it used to be, but the accents of blue, green, and red were still present throughout, albite in a much subtler way with the flower center pieces.

Having anticipated their arrival, the three brothers and Siebold were standing at the front podium when they walked in, Cilan being the first to greet them. "Good evening, madame champions!"

"Hello, darlings!" Diantha greeted.

As Cress stepped around the podium, Diantha just barely caught the motion of Siebold's hand falling off his waist.

"So good for the two of you to be joining us this evening!" Cress greeted, clasping his hands together. He glanced over at his youngest brother. "Chili will seat the two of you."

He stepped out from the other side of the podium, two menus in his hand. "If you'll follow me, ladies," he said, taking a step towards the main dining room.

Chili then asked them about their day, but as Diantha answered him, Cynthia couldn't ignore the stares they were receiving. They had gotten looks from people plenty of times before, but they usually had a sea of other film people around them to take away most of the attention.

Thankfully, Chili lead them towards the back of the restaurant, where nobody else had been seated. He pulled out the chairs for both of them. "Cress and Siebold insisted we have this section reserved for just the two of you," he said, placing menus in front of them.

Cynthia looked across to Diantha. "I guess traveling around with you has its perks," she joked, earning an eyeroll.

Before she could return with her own jab, Chili spoke.

"Nah, we usually throw this one with the rest of the riff-raff," he said, placing a wine menu between them.

"So, you've been here a few times before?" Cynthia asked.

She nodded. "Whenever Siebold and I are in the region, we always somehow find our way here," she said, giving Chili a knowing look.

He snickered. "Yeah, and we always end up in Lumiose at whichever restaurant Siebold happens to be working at that night. It's weird. Not quite sure how that works out." He took a small step back from the table. "Anyways, the three of us will be checking in on you tonight, and since he's our guest chef tonight, Siebold will be over in a moment to let you know the specials he's prepared. I'll give you two time to look over the menu and be back shortly with some water."

Diantha smiled at him. "Thank you, darling."

Cynthia turned her attention to her menu. "Seeing as you've been here before, anything you recommend?" she asked.

Diantha reached forward to grab the wine menu. "Admittedly, I've never had a bad meal here, but I will be having whatever Siebold decides to prepare for me."

She nodded, scanning over the menu. There were a few things she figured she would decide on if none of the specials appealed to her.

"Evening, ladies," Cress greeted shortly after, two glasses of water on his tray. "Can I interest you in anything other than water this evening?"

Diantha handed Cynthia the wine menu. "Would you happen to have that Rutherglen Muscat I like?"

He nodded. "It just so happens we ordered a few bottles, so yes."

"Then a glass of that would be lovely, dear."

He then looked to Cynthia. "Anything for you, Cynthia?" he asked.

"Admittedly, I can't say I know much about wine."

He nodded. "So, it's safe to say you're not worried about how your wine might pair with your meal?"

She shook her head. "Not in the least."

"I would suggest a glass of what she's having. It's incredibly sweet," he said.

"Sounds perfect."

"Despite knowing both of you are over 21, I am required to see your IDs," he told them.

Diantha reached for her purse that was sitting in the empty chair next to her. "Right."

As they both handed him their IDs, he glanced at them if only for a second. "I'll be back shortly."

Diantha waited for him to be out of earshot to speak. "So, my darling, how have you been?"

For a second, Cynthia thought to lie. To say that she had been fine, and had been looking forward to this all day. The last half was true, but she had woken up with anxiety and it sat with her most of the day.

"I've been anxious all day, so I mean, there's that," she said carefully. Even though she was positive she could be open with Diantha, there was still the worry in the back of her mind that her problems would always be too much.

Diantha clasped her hands together, setting them in her lap. "Is everything alright, my dear?"

She shrugged, leaning back in her chair. "I was anxious because I've been looking forward to this." She paused, laughing a little. "Roserade got sick of me pacing around, though, and made me sit with her and do all that breathing, meditation stuff."

"Did it help any?" Diantha asked.

She nodded. "It took enough of the edge off to where I could get myself to finally get ready."

"I'm glad. I've been looking forward to this as well, so I understand the anxiety."

"What about you? How have you been since yesterday?" Cynthia followed up.

She avoided eye contact for a moment, choosing to scan the restaurant behind Cynthia. "With Siebold gone, it's been much more quiet at my apartment, but having him come see me was exactly what I needed to help process everything regarding Mel, among other things." Like how she wanted to proceed with Cynthia.

That had been the previous morning's lengthy conversation before she had left for filming, and he had left to get ready for his presentation at the university.

"You know, I don't think I've asked. How long have you two known each other?" Cynthia asked.

Returning to the table with two wine glasses and a bottle, Cress was joined by Siebold, who had overheard the question.

"Since we were born, really," he answered, placing a hand at the back of Diantha's chair.

She nodded. "Our fathers became friends back when they were in university together, over in Galar."

Cress quietly moved about them, pouring wine into their glasses, listening in to the conversation.

"And despite how much our mothers…don't care for one another, our fathers remained good enough friends that we practically grew up together. I can't remember a summer we didn't spend together as children," Siebold said.

Diantha laughed lightly, covering her mouth. "Well, I think your mother is more amused at how much my mother can't stand her." She then looked to Cynthia. "My mother can't stand anyone who is willing to call her out when she's in the wrong, and his mother, Noémi, is always willing to do that."

Diantha hadn't painted much of a picture of her own mother to Cynthia, but from what little she had gathered over the last few weeks, she felt she could safely assume that she wasn't a pleasant woman.

"Are you two going to talk family politics, or are you going to explain your specials for the night, Siebold?" Cress asked, his voice tinged with amusement.

Siebold huffed at him. "To think, I was about to call you my gracious host."

Cress laughed to himself, saying nothing more, only offering him a quick squeeze on his arm as he headed back towards the kitchen.

He laughed a little before quickly composing himself. "Anyways, yes, I have some specials prepared for tonight if you would like me to go over them with you."

"Sounds good to me," Cynthia said.

Unfortunately for her, everything he ended up listing off for her sounded good.

After Diantha gave him her order of "Chef's Choice", it gave Cynthia an idea.

"You know what, Siebold? If it's alright, Chef's Choice as well," she said. "I have to know if the famous Kalos chef lives up to his reputation."

He grinned. "Then allow me to ask a few questions. I already know what I'm preparing for her, so let me get to know your palate a little. Any allergies I should be aware of?"

She shook her head. "Not unless you plan on putting penicillin in my meal."

He chuckled. "Any textures you have an aversion to?"

She shrugged. "Nothing comes to mind."

"My final question: what is something you do not like?"

Again, she shrugged. "Red meat, probably, though, I say this as a person who also likes it medium-rare."

He grinned. "If I wasn't gay, I might have just proposed to you."

Both Cynthia and Diantha laughed.

"If I had said well-done, would you have asked me to leave?" Cynthia asked.

He nodded. "Respectfully."

Diantha leaned on her hand. "Just so you know, this means he is going to prepare you something that is red-meat based."

She looked up to him for confirmation.

"I believe the best display of a chef's skills is their ability to get someone to enjoy something they dislike," he told her.

She merely shrugged. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Well then, I will return in a while with your meals. Until then, if there is anything you need, do let the brothers know," he said with a quick dip of his head before heading back towards the kitchen, picking up a few empty glasses along his way.

Watching Diantha take a sip of her wine reminded Cynthia she had yet to try hers. After a cursory sip, she smiled. It was so sweet, she hardly registered it as wine.

They fell back into easy conversation. How the rest of their days had been. Reflecting on how the week had gone, and eventually getting around to where the next week was going.

"I think I remember Lita mentioning that they got the bar situation figured out, right?" Cynthia asked, taking the last sip of her first glass.

Diantha nodded. "First thing Monday morning, we're filming at the Maractus Room."

The bar's name got a laugh from Cynthia, much to Diantha's confusion.

Cynthia shook her head. "Sorry, it's just, any grass-type pokémon followed by 'room' is a completely different establishment in Sinnoh."

Her eyebrows furrowed, taking another sip of her wine.

"Marijuana," Cynthia clarified.

"Oh! Right! That's always been legal in Sinnoh, hasn't it?" she asked.

She nodded. "As long as I can remember. The fact it's not legal in certain regions is wild to me."

"Kalos only legalized recreational use…" she looked off to the side. "Three years ago, I want to say?"

"I'm pretty sure it's only medical use here in Unova."

Diantha laughed. "Yes, but from what I've heard, all you have to do is tell your doctor that you're having trouble sleeping, or something like that and you can easily get a prescription," she explained. Plenty of Unovan stars at least explained it that way to her. "I'm curious, have you ever…?"

She looked to the side. "Only twice. The first time was great, the second time, I freaked the fuck out, and decided to never do that again. You?"

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Never, my dear, it's been illegal– only a few times, but all I ever did was sleep and I just decided it was an absolute waste of my time."

She laughed. "There's not a lot that's truly illegal in Hollywood, is there?" she asked.

She shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. The legal drinking age in Kalos is eighteen, but I had people trying to shove alcohol on me as young as fourteen."

Cynthia hummed. "Y'know, the more I learn about Hollywood, the more I'm…I don't know. Glad I'm not really anybody."

"It has its charms, but it has plenty of downfalls as well."

Cynthia crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair. "Why do you stay with it?" she asked, the implication lying in knowing what she had been through during Getaway Car alone. She didn't like the thought of her dealing with harassment on any other set.

"Despite how much…bad there has been, I…I've always loved how the final project comes out. I love how we film things in such a weird order, and then getting to see how it comes together in the end. I've loved how many people I've met over the years. I love the opportunities I've had because of it. I even love the simplicity of stepping into a character's emotions. Getting in their head is just…fun to me, I guess," she explained.

Noticing that Cress was approaching their table, she lowered her voice to add, "Besides, it also brought us closer, and I'll forever be grateful for that."

Under the table, Diantha put her leg against Cynthia's.

"I doubt I'll do any acting after this, but I certainly don't regret it," she said, putting weight against her leg.

"Ladies," Cress greeting, carrying with him the bottle of wine. "May I interest you in another glass?" he asked.

"Please," Diantha said.

"Same."

"Siebold should be out shortly with your meals," he said, setting Cynthia's glass back in front of her.

"Thank you," she said, reaching for her glass. She wanted one sip while it was still cold, but the rest was going to be reserved for her meal.

Watching Cynthia reach for her glass, it was that exact moment that Diantha realized she was starting to really feel the alcohol. An action as simple as wrapping her hand around a wine glass shouldn't have her thinking all about how she wanted to know her body like it was her own.

She told herself to stop thinking about it. It would still be, at the earliest, another hour before they left, and sitting there with that kind of frustration was going to make the whole experience miserable.

Thankfully, just as Cress turned to leave their table, he caught sight of Siebold approaching, a tray hefted over his shoulder.

"Right on time," Cress said, stepping out of his way.

"Thank you for your patience, Madame Champions!" He brought the tray down, the warm smell food washing over them.

He looked to Diantha. "For you, Diantha, I have prepared pan-seared scallops with a citrus cream sauce, with a side of lemon orzo and roasted vegetables."

He then turned to Cynthia, setting her plate in front of her. "And for you, Cynthia, I have prepared Steak Oscar, which is two sirloin medallions, topped with crab meat, grilled asparagus, and a béarnaise sauce, all served over mashed golden potatoes."

He brought his tray closer to his person. "Does everything look alright?" he asked.

"I don't think I've ever been more excited for a meal than this exact moment," Cynthia said.

He grinned. "I'll be back shortly to check on you," he said, heading off.

On his way back to the kitchen, by one of the server kiosks, Cress put a hand out to stop him.

He moved to stand at his side, situating himself so he had a discrete view of the table, wanting to know how Cynthia received the meal.

"So," Cress began. "I've been dying to ask since they walked in the building: are they involved?" he asked.

Siebold shook his head. "They're not." Though, as he said it, Cynthia said something that made Diantha's face visibly flush, which in turn made Cynthia throw her head back in a laugh.

Siebold smiled, returning his attention to Cress. "Though, she has told me she can't decide between wanting to not rush into anything too soon after Mel, and wanting to absolutely throw herself at her."

Cress laughed lightly. "Sounds familiar," he said casually, nudging Siebold as he made his way back to the kitchen.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he lied, following him.

Back at their table, their meal was enjoyed thoroughly. Two glasses of wine turned into three, and with a rotation of the brothers and Siebold coming to check on them to share stories and laughter, their evening went well into the night.

Siebold eventually joined them, a glass of wine and a meal of his own. With the restaurant having few other patrons, and most of the other servers gone for the night, the seating arrangement shifted throughout the night, ending with Diantha and Cynthia next to each other, rather than across from one another.

Setting her glass of water down on the table, there was officially enough alcohol in her system to where Cynthia had decided to stop caring. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembered Coral's words of "Don't let it be an obstacle".

She turned her attention to Siebold. "So, Siebold, Diantha tells me I need to ask you about what she said about me at the last meeting."

Diantha immediately looked to him, her cheeks flushed. "I said no such thing!" she said, even though she had said exactly that.

Siebold looked to her, a glimmer in his eyes that said she was in trouble. With a laugh, he returned his attentions to Cynthia. "She told you, did she?" he asked.

She shrugged. "She gave me a brief summary. She mentioned getting drunk and making fun of the way I gave my speech, but said you would have the entire discography."

She grumbled while Siebold threw his head back in a laugh. "I did say that, didn't I?"

"Oh, please! That's not all!" He wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to tease his best friend.

"I'm dying to know how I give my speeches," Cynthia continued, leaning forward.

They both blatantly ignored any of Diantha's attempts to steering the conversation in any possible other direction.

Siebold put a hand to his chest, in a way that was surly mocking Diantha. "You give your speeches with the confidence needed to speak to an entire room, but with a passion that feels like you're speaking to me, one on one."

Diantha groaned, the heat on her cheeks flushing out towards the rest of her body.

Cynthia only grinned, absolutely eating up every word.

Siebold continued. "You're so poised and elegant– really, ethereal is the only word that comes to mind, Cynthia. It's obnoxious."
Cynthia had heard the compliment before. It was one she had always thought of as odd, or at the very least, one she never felt deserving of. To know Diantha thought of her as such? Maybe she would learn to take the compliment.

Diantha covered her face with a hand, shaking her head. "I am never confiding in you about anything, ever again," she grumbled.

Cynthia looked to her, nudging her leg with her own under the table, but she was interrupted by Siebold before she could say anything.

He looked at Diantha, dramatically placing the back of his hand to his forehead. "Siebold, I'll never be able to even talk to her! Please, Siebold, you must help me figure out a way out of this interview tomorrow! I don't want to hand my battle with her off to you!"

"It was a good battle, at least," she said casually.

"It was! I'm still honored have had the chance to battle you," he agreed.

She then glanced to Diantha, whose cheeks were still red. "I'm actually glad I got to battle you, Siebold, because now I'm pretty sure I would have lost to her."

She perked up at that. "Oh, are you finally convinced I could beat you in a full team battle?" she asked.

Under the table, Cynthia put a hand on her thigh. "I've been confident in that from the very beginning. I just like giving you a hard time."

Siebold laughed. "You and I have that in common, then."

Diantha rolled her eyes, now more focused on Cynthia's hand. Any other time, she might have had the conscience to keep a low profile, doing nothing to risk either of their images.

But she was drunk, and moving her leg was just enough of an invitation for Cynthia to move her hand to her inner thigh.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembered telling Siebold that she couldn't decide between taking things slow or jumping in headfirst. Her drunk self had certainly decided which of those options she wanted to choose.

Cynthia drew slow circles on her thigh with her thumb, pretending to give Siebold her attention. "I'm pretty sure I remember her saying she complained about me more than once, though."

He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "I don't even think I can tell you how many times she has 'complained' about you."

Before he could embarrass her any further, Cress returned from the kitchen, effectively rescuing her.

Standing behind Siebold, Cress slipped his arms around his neck, resting his head atop his. "My, you come into my kitchen, make a mess, don't even offer to clean up, and now you're accosting my guests? Where does it end, Siebold?"

He laughed in response, reaching up to grab his arm. "Admittedly, I am in no shape to do any cleaning. Nobody drinking is ever allowed in my kitchens."

"What am I to do with you?" Cress asked.

Cynthia and Diantha remained silent viewers, thoroughly content to enjoy this side of the usually stoic man.

Siebold shrugged. "I suppose I could make it up to you tomorrow, seeing as I am in no shape to drive out of Striaton." Though, that had been the plan from the very beginning.

Cress hummed, seeming to forget they were in anyone else's company. "Lucky you, I know someone who might be willing to accommodate you."

Their blatant flirting got a small laugh out of Cynthia.

Letting go of Siebold, Cress straightened his posture, wiping his hands on his apron. "Madame Champions, pardon me for getting sidetracked!" He said, a noticeable tinge of red on his cheeks. "May I be of assistance to either of you? We are about to close up the kitchen for the night if either of you would like anything else."

Cynthia shook her head. "I'm good, but thank you, Cress."

"I could do with some more water whenever you get a chance, my dear," Diantha said, receiving a nod.

"What about accommodations? Do the both of you have means to get back to wherever you're staying, safely?" he followed up.

Cynthia nodded. "I shouldn't admit this, seeing as I'm a champion and I have an image to keep, but I've flown on Braviary when I was absolutely– yeah."

Diantha reached over to her thigh, pulling her leg closer to her. "I want to hear more about this," she said.

She already regretted saying anything. "Absolutely not."

"I think after the last few minutes, I've earned this!"

Cynthia laughed, giving in. "Went a little wild after my 21st birthday. Probably the only scandal I've had as a champion, but it was quickly overshadowed by the Giratina stuff." Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed Chili and Cilan approaching, so she let go of Diantha's thigh, moving away just enough from her to retract her own hand.

Chili rounded the table, quick to grab Diantha's glass to refill it with the water pitcher he carried. "Yeah, yeah, Hero of Sinnoh. Flint's told me at least a million times. 'Cynthia and a trainer named Dawn stopped Giratina and Team Galactic! What's Alder done recently'?" he mimicked. "Fuck if I know, dude! Probably broke the record for number of bad jokes in one speech!"

Both Cynthia and Diantha laughed at that, knowing exactly what he was referring to.

Cress looked to both his brothers. "At least Iris takes things seriously– Must all three of us be out here? Who's watching the kitchen, anyways?" he asked.

Chili shrugged, placing Diantha's glass back in front of her. "Jade's got it, she's fine."

"Besides," Cilan chimed in, "It's not every day we're graced with the presence of two champions!"

Chili snorted in response. "Yeah, usually it's only Iris we're entertaining."

"She does stop by now and then," Cilan said with a nervous tinge in his voice.

Having witnessed the near-exact conversation many times in the past, Diantha figured she would save Cilan the torment from his brothers about his not-so-secret crush on Iris. Just this once, anyways. "As much as I would love to tease dear Cilan, I would like to request the bill."

Siebold gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "I already took care of that before I joined you," he said.

"Siebold!" Diantha scolded.

"I was going to–" Cynthia began, but Siebold interrupted her.

"I won't hear any of it. I invited you here, I wanted to pay," he told them.

Diantha only shook her head. "There's no arguing with him. He does this to me all the time."

"The next time you're in Sinnoh, I'm returning the favor," Cynthia told him.

He nodded. "I appreciate that."

For a while longer, they sat together visiting with everyone, both Cynthia and Diantha wanting to finish their water and have a more time for their drinks to wear off before they headed out.

By the time they did leave, the sun had long set, leaving the city outside the restaurant washed in the soft glow of streetlights. The temperature had cooled off, and the normally bustling street was nearly empty, only people sitting on the patios of bars that would be open until the early morning hours remained.

"Do you have plans to be driven back to Castelia, or can I offer to fly you?" Cynthia asked.

She shrugged, reaching out to take a hold of her hand. "I wouldn't mind being flown, but I would hate to make you fly all over the place." She thought about inviting her in so they could both give into whatever way the night progressed.

"You could come with me to Undella," Cynthia said before she could even begin to think better of it. "I do have a pretty great ocean view that I haven't gotten to show you, yet."

"Tempting," she said, stepping closer to her. "But I would hate to intrude."

Cynthia reinforced her grip on her hand. "I'm inviting you. That's hardly intruding." She figured it was just a way for Diantha to try and let her down gently. "But if you don't want to–"

Diantha laughed low, leaning into her to lazily wrap her arms around her. "Take me with you."

By the time they landed in Undella, they were both practically asleep on their feet.

Cynthia gave her a brief tour of the villa, ending in the master bedroom. "Do you wanna borrow one of my shirts, or are you gonna sleep in that?" Cynthia asked from the dresser, one of her shirts and a pair of shorts with a drawstring in hand.

"I'd much rather borrow something," she answered, taking the clothes that were offered to her.

She began to disrobe, not thinking anything of it, but as soon as Cynthia turned around, mumbling something about going to take her makeup off, Diantha laughed. "My dear Cynthia," she said, her voice low like the warmth that had begun to pool on Cynthia's body. "You don't have to look away if you don't want to."

Cynthia put a hand on the doorframe, looking just barely over her shoulder, trying hard to make sure she looked nowhere other than Diantha's face. She failed to do that. "If I don't, I'll definitely want more, and I think we're both too tired for that." A decision she was already upset with herself for making.

She turned around to head into the bathroom, before she could think too much about wanting to help her take off her white bra that she was sure had a lace texture to it.

She heard Diantha giggling behind her, a soft, "Fine," somewhere in there.

"Do you have a spare toothbrush? Or at least some mouthwash? Because I might throw a fit otherwise," Diantha said, now standing in the doorway.

Cynthia looked over to her to answer, momentarily distracted by the look of her in her oversized shirt.

Forcing herself to veer away from any thoughts about going back on her decision, she bent down to look under the sink. "Yeah, Caitlin keeps this place stocked with everything a person might forget," she answered, fishing out an unopened toothbrush packet from the basket that was tucked under the piping.

Diantha grabbed it from her, beginning to peel it open as she made her way to the other sink basin. "You've said her name a few times now, and you've said in a way that makes me think I'm supposed to know who she is."

Cynthia breathed a laugh. "Unova's Elite Four," she said, wetting her own toothbrush and stealing the toothpaste before Diantha could.

"Oh! That makes a lot of sense now," she said, taking the toothpaste tube that Cynthia then sat down on the counter.

As they brushed their teeth together, she thought back through the other mentions of Caitlin, wondering why she hadn't put it together sooner.

Once done, they both removed their makeup from the day, and were quick to crawl into bed after Cynthia had changed into sleeping clothes.

While the king-sized bed was comfortable, the distance between them was far too much for Diantha's drunk self. As soon as Cynthia had the nightstand lamp off, she moved closer to her, content to curl up right next to her.

As she threw an arm around her, she briefly remembered a personal rule she had for herself regarding this exact scenario. It was a decade old rude, and the thought of how mortified her younger self would be for breaking it got a laugh out of her.

"What's so funny?" Cynthia asked, feeling a smile tug at her own lips.

Diantha shrugged against her. "I might have just remembered an old rule of mine that I'm definitely breaking," she answered.

"Which is?" Cynthia continued, putting a hand over Diantha's.

"I promised myself I would never get involved with a coworker of any kind; but I made that rule when I was seventeen, and…" she trailed off with a laugh, nuzzling into Cynthia's shoulder.

"And…?" Cynthia prompted. Her head was still swimming from all the wine, and at this point she was just pushing her luck and willingness to stick to a decision.

"Had I known you at seventeen, and knew there was ever a chance we would be working together, I would have never made that rule."

All Cynthia could think about in response was how much she wanted to roll her onto her back and kiss every inch of her. To get an even better feel for how soft her skin, because as soft as her hands were, she was sure her lips would be even softer.

"Can I tell you something?" Cynthia instead asked.

"Of course."

She rolled over onto her side to face Diantha. It wasn't something she thought she would be telling her anytime soon, but she was still drunk, and they were in her bed, together, and they would wake up together. If she was lucky enough, she might even finally have the courage to kiss her at some point –preferably before they had to on screen when she worried it would mean less. "Do you want to know the real reason I asked for my battle to be against you at the last meeting?"

She reached up, brushing aside the strands of hair that had fallen in Cynthia's face. "I assumed it simply because we hadn't battled yet."

"Partially," she said, throwing an arm over Diantha to pull her closer. "It was also because I had finally…gathered the courage to be willing to speak to you, or something like that."

She moved her hand to trace her thumb along Cynthia's jaw "You were scared to talk to me?"

She shrugged a bit. "I definitely let the whole, you being a famous actress get to me. I just remember being so convinced that someone like you would never even want to waste her time around someone like me."

She laughed lightly. "You don't give yourself nearly enough credit, my darling."

"As a researcher, I didn't think I would ever…I don't know. Be interesting enough for you. Always figured I would just be boring as hell," she said.

As long as they were being honest with one another… "You know, one of my favorite things about you is just…how you, I don't know. You have a calm about you that has always drawn me to you. I don't feel like I have to perform around you." It didn't stop her from doing so, as far as putting on makeup and dressing nicely around her, but it never felt like a prerequisite. With other past relationships and lovers, she rarely ever felt comfortable enough to even be around them without makeup.

But here she was, makeup from the day long gone, and no plans to reapply in the morning; and nothing about the thought left her with anxiety.

In a desperate last-ditch attempt to think about anything other than kissing her, Cynthia pulled her closer, Diantha tucking herself under her chin.

"I like how you were absolutely willing to call me out on being a huge pain in the ass when filming first started."

Diantha laughed, and as a result, Cynthia realized that having her lips so close to her neck hadn't solved the problem one bit. "If nothing else, I am good for that."

"I like you for more than just your willingness to call me a diva," she admitted.

And when Diantha asked for clarification, fully expecting to not get an answer, Cynthia told her. In a wine-drunk moment of blind courage, she told her everything. Just about, anyways. All the thoughts she deemed safe enough for the time being.

In hushed whispers tinged with exhaustion, they both admitted to many things, most of which would be forgotten by the morning…


Many hours later, with the sun just barely back over the horizon, the sound of a phone buzzing on wood woke up both Cynthia and Diantha.

Still not wanting to wake up, but now aware of the distance that had come between them again, Diantha moved over, snuggling close to rest her head on Cynthia's shoulder.

Cynthia reached for her phone at an awkward angle, not wanting to push Diantha off her, but also wanting to at least mute the call.

Looking at the caller ID, she saw that it was her sister. She wouldn't be calling if it wasn't important. Hopefully.

"I should take this," she whispered, leaving a quick kiss on Diantha's forehead.

She threw an arm over her, keeping a tight grip. "Stay," she said, her voice tinged with sleep.

Cynthia laughed lightly, remaining in her spot as she slid to answer. "Hey," she said, hoping her tone would indicate to her sister the early hour.

"Hey, I'm– Look, I'm sorry it's ass-o-clock in the morning for you, but I just– I need you right now."

Diantha overheard Kay's tone, easing her grip on Cynthia as she moved to lay back against the pillow.

"Give me just a sec," Cynthia said to kay.

Pulling her phone from her ear, she went to hit the mute button, not checking to see if she actually hit it.

Crawling out of the warmth of the covers, she turned back to Diantha, offering her a smile as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Go back to sleep," she said, leaning down to kiss her temple once more.

With a stretch, she pulled Cynthia's pillow over to her, content to sleep a while longer.
If her sister wasn't waiting on her, Cynthia would have been tempted to just take in the whole visage of her lying in bed in the early morning light, as well as revel in how natural and easy it felt to kiss her.

Instead, she headed out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her. Flipping her phone back over in her hand, she saw that she had failed to hit the mute button.

Anxiety swept over her, the air around her stifling. Her own reputation could take a hit, sure, but she didn't want to risk Diantha's any.

She prayed Kay was too worked up over whatever was bothering her to have overheard anything. "So, what's up?" she asked, feeling her voice strain.

Kay didn't react in any way that made Cynthia think she had heard anything. "I wanted advice on something, but it's, like, something I wish I could ask grandma, and then I started missing her, and then I started missing mom and– it's all stupid. It's so fucking stupid."

"Hey, hey, it's okay. I get it…"

Back in the room, Diantha dozed off. For a while, she drifted in and out of sleep, woken up by the muffled sound of Cynthia's voice, her moving about the villa, or just the faint memories of a conversation they had shared before falling asleep that she was desperately trying to piece back together.

After about an hour, she heard what sounded like Cynthia hanging up, and by then, Diantha had begun to miss her.

Slipping out from the covers, she put them back into something resembling order before grabbing the throw blanket off the other side of the bed and putting it around her shoulders. Out in the living room, Cynthia was sprawled out on the couch, hands behind her head as she looked up at the ceiling.

Hearing Diantha's footsteps, she looked over. "Sorry if I kept you up." She moved over enough to give Diantha room to sit next to her.

"You didn't. I just missed you is all."

Cynthia exhaled, bringing her hands down to her stomach.

Diantha put a hand over hers. "Is everything alright, my dear?"

She looked away from her, across the villa, to the painting that was in the kitchen, trying to concentrate on its distant details rather than the choked up feeling she was experiencing. "My sister was missing our grandmother, then started missing our mom, and taking her through that got me missing them and–" She paused, desperately fighting back tears.

Up until that point, Diantha had assumed with how infrequently Cynthia spoke of her relatives that she had a strained relationship with all of them. She didn't realize they were no longer alive.

"I spent so much of that call telling her it's not stupid to miss them, and here I am feeling the exact same way."

She tightened her grip on her hand. "There is nothing wrong with missing someone. No matter how long it's been."

"Grandma's been gone for over five years now, and my mother died when I was fifteen. I should be over all of it, but–" she felt too choked up to continue.

"Cynthia, that is not a loss you just get over." She assumed, anyways. She had yet to experience such a loss. "It's okay to feel this way, my dear."

She reached up to brush away the single tear that had begun to fall.

The distant painting of a waterscape was only able to hold her attention for so long. "You know, I don't think I've heard you talk much about your family, other than you mom doesn't like Siebold's, and that perfume you said reminded you of your grandmother."

She laughed lightly, brushing away Cynthia's bangs from her eyes. "You're deflecting," she pointed out.

She shook her head, not ready to make eye contact. "I really just don't want to cry in front of you."

Diantha brought both hands up to cradle her face. "My dear, I would never think less of you, if that's what you're worried about."

"It's not– I just…" she grumbled shaking her head enough for Diantha to retract her hands.

Cynthia kept her gaze on the sofa's back, studying the details of the white cushion's stitching. Her voice was strained as she tried to keep herself from getting too emotional. "I've already been way more vulnerable around you than I normally am with anyone. It's– I don't like people knowing how anxious I am. I prefer when people just think I'm the cold and aloof champion. Not the champion who's actually always about six seconds away from a meltdown at any given minute."

Diantha looked over her face, feeling a tug of sympathy pain in her chest. She understood the feeling all too well.

"Darling, none of us are perfect. I'm willing to bet every champion in the Indigo Alliance has their secrets. I mean, is Steven actually as cool and suave as he likes to pretend he is?"

She breathed a laugh, rolling her eyes. "Hardly."

"And I could list a whole host of mental health problems I have, but I don't want to make this about me. It's okay that you're not perfect, my dear. I don't want you beating yourself up because you're holding yourself to an impossible standard." Words she probably needed to listen to regarding her own self.

Reaching up again, she guided Cynthia to look at her. "While I do not wish these pains on you, I do like knowing we can relate to one another."

Cynthia put her hand over Diantha's, allowing herself to accept affection. She went to say something in response, but ended up laughing, instead, prompting an amused raise of Diantha's eyebrows. "Sorry. Sometimes I think about how we started things off, and it's just…wild to me that we're here now."

She laughed in turn, low and soft, leaning in to kiss her forehead.

"Again, sorry I called you a diva," Cynthia said.

"Oh, please. I am a diva, and you have every right to call me out on it." She moved enough to allow Cynthia to bring herself up into a more seated position. "I would apologize for calling you a rookie, but, unfortunately, that is what you currently are," she teased.

Cynthia rolled her eyes in a good-natured way. "What, does my month crash course and everything we've done so far not count for anything?" she asked.

She immediately shook her head. "Hardly. You'll only stop being a rookie after a few years, give or take."

She laughed, leaning in. "Guess I'm going to be a rookie forever then, because I seriously doubt I'll ever pick up another acting gig after this."

"Not enjoying filming?" she asked.

Cynthia shrugged. There was plenty about the whole mess of it that she hated. The bad costar that Alexander had turned out to be. How Tom wanted to sweep everything under the rug. How Lita was only the co-director when she clearly should have been the lead director. All among other things.

But there were plenty of things she was enjoying about it as well.

"I wouldn't say that, entirely," she carefully answered.

She leaned in. "What would you say?" she asked.

Cynthia glanced at her lips, anticipation swelling in her chest. "Like you said last night at dinner, it got us at least talking, when four international meetings couldn't even do that," she joked.

"Do you think we would have never come around to one another?" she asked, reaching up to brush Cynthia's bangs aside once more.

She shrugged, leaning into her touch. "I want to say we would have, but we were both under the impression of, 'She would never want anything to do with me', so it's up in the air, really."

She spoke in a low voice that was just enough to put Diantha over the edge. She wanted her, and she was going to make that clear. "Regardless of whatever I may have thought in the past, I must admit to you that I want quite a lot to do with you, now." Anything and everything.

"Like what?" she asked. She only needed Diantha to say it. One word, and she was hers, for better or worse.

Instead of words, Diantha leaned in, intent on finally closing the distance between them.

As if the universe was only trying to spite both of them, from the bedroom, Diantha's phone began to ring, and it was tone that told her it was from someone she would rather not answer.

Looking away from one another, Diantha cursed in French under her breath, bringing herself to stand. "That's either my manager or my mother, and I'm not sure which would be worse right now."

Cynthia threw an arm over the couch, trying to appear as least upset as possible. She understood completely, but it didn't stop the feeling any. "I'm sure it's important, so don't worry about it."

With a sigh, she headed off, praying to the stars she wasn't about to be pulled away for anything, or have to endure a lecture of some sort from her mother.

Cynthia remained in her spot, torn between the war going on inside her and trying not to overhear too much of Diantha's conversation with who she was pretty sure was her manager.

"Kathi Lee, please, now is not a good time–"

This was all a bad idea, anyways, Cynthia reasoned.

"I know I have nothing scheduled, but– please."

Getting involved with a costar was a bad idea. Getting involved with another regional champion was also a bad idea.

"This is literally me begging you to call them back and cancel– I do not want to sit next to Alexander for an hour– and why wasn't Cynthia invited as well?"

Everything about this was one big, awful, stupid idea that only ended with a broken heart.

"Fine. Tom is an idiot, though, let me make that clear."

In the middle of her downward spiral, Diantha returned to the living room, grumbling to herself and pushing her hair up over her head. "I am terribly sorry, my darling. I get to guest star on The Tonight Show this evening with Alexander, and the only reason you weren't asked to come is because Tom isn't ready to reveal you as filling the role for Elizabeth Park –Even though I'm almost positive that's not even a secret!"

Despite having done nothing but chastise the idea of getting involved with her for the past few minutes, seeing her in distress got her to put it all aside.

If it was all wrong, she didn't care to be right. Not now.

Getting up, she rushed over to her, grabbing her hands. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not upset." Disappointed, maybe, but she would get over that.

"I swore you being Elizabeth was public knowledge," she continued. Really, she just didn't want to have to be alone with Alexander for any amount of time.

She would much rather spend the day kissing Cynthia.

Cynthia shrugged. "Excluding my Elite Four, Steven, Rosa, and my sister, I haven't told anyone specifically why I'm in Unova, so I don't know. Maybe it's not." She still couldn't even remember what she was and wasn't allowed to say on social media regarding the role, and she was too stubborn to ask Mandy anything.

With a heavy sigh, she leaned into Cynthia, taking comfort in the arms wrapped around her. "I really don't want to have to look at Jimmy Fallon tonight."

Cynthia laughed lightly. "At least, with him, you can make the worst joke in the world and he'll still act like it's the funniest thing he's ever heard."
To which she laughed. "This is true."

"So, what are you going on The Tonight Show for? I'm assuming it's Getaway Car related," Cynthia asked.

"The original guest stars cancelled, and since we're all in the same region, Alexander and I are going to be on with two other stars since our two episodes are the only ones with continuations this season. Hopefully, I'll get my own greenroom." Most late-night talk shows did give her a room to herself, but in the event they didn't, she might have to play up the diva aspect in order to keep away from Alexander as much as possible.

"I still haven't even watched the first Red Dawn episode," she admitted.

Diantha pulled away from her, but remained within her grasp. "I can summarize it pretty quickly if you would like."

"Sure." It might even actually motivate her to watch it.

Maybe that's what she would do for the day. That and laundry.

"Essentially, it was Scarlet getting her start, feeling the rush that came along with taking the life of someone who had wronged her and everyone around her. Then her basically rounding up William, and–" she made air quotes with her fingers "–'falling in love' with Charles."

Cynthia laughed. "A love that was obviously meant to last."

"It was supposed to be Bonnie and Clyde-esque, but now it's Bonnie and Clyde if Bonnie betrayed Clyde and said, 'I fuck women now'."

Cynthia snorted a laugh that was entirely too cute for Diantha to handle. "I hope you say that word for word to Jimmy Fallon's face tonight."

She threw her head back laughing. "I can't even imagine the backlash I would receive!"

"When do you have to be at their studio?" Cynthia asked, keeping a light grip around her, enjoying the moment for all it was worth.

"I need to be there no later than four, since they start filming around six."

"You sure you don't mean eighteen?" Cynthia asked with a grin.

She returned the grin, reaching up to lightly tap her nose. "You're hilarious," she teased.

"Do you wanna get going, or can I convince you to at least stay for breakfast?"

She shrugged, leaning in to rest her head on her chest. "I suppose it wouldn't be all that hard to convince me. I did want to at least have a chance to sit out on the lanai with you."

"I think I can arrange that. Do you want me to fly you back to Castelia, afterwards?" she asked.

"That would be lovely, my dear Cynthia…"


In the comfort of her greenroom, Diantha sat on the couch, Hawlucha next to her, plucking grapes off the vine one by one to toss up into the air and catch.

Diantha looked over to her, amused. "You know, those are technically for me, my dear."

Hawlucha trilled, offering her a single grape.

"So thoughtful," she joked, snagging the single fruit before her mind could be changed. Diantha knew she should have expected half as much. Grapes, mangoes, apples, and pomegranates were among her favorite fruits, and grapes were the hardest to get her to share.

Leaning forward, Diantha grabbed her strawberry sparkling water and took another reluctant sip. Sparkling water was common throughout all of Kalos, but it was something she rarely ever asked for. She had opened the bottle by mistake and resigned herself to her fate of sipping on a weirdly flavored drink that somehow made her feel even more thirsty.

From her purse, her phone vibrated. Checking the caller ID, she saw it was Siebold. She slid to answer, not bothering to even do the mental math of what time it was for him and if this was an odd hour or not for him to be calling.

"Hello, my dear Siebold. I take it you arrived back in Kalos with no trouble?" she asked.

"Only with reluctance," he answered.

Her heart ached for him. She knew it was painful for him to leave Cress behind. She also knew the thought of what could happen at the end of filming with Cynthia was one she wanted to avoid at all costs. Thinking too hard about a painful goodbye would only make it harder to enjoy the moments they did have together.

"I'm terribly sorry to hear that, my dear," she said.

"Which is why I called so I could make fun of you in order to distract myself."

She laughed, looking down to Hawlucha, who was still munching away on the grapes. "By all means," she invited. If anything, she was looking forward to whatever he had to throw at her.

"You are aware of how much you fancy her, correct?"

"Cynthia?"

He laughed over the sounds of what was likely him putting away things from his suitcase. "Was there somebody else you were calling 'my dear' or 'my darling' the entire night? Don't think I didn't notice the specific use of 'my' in there. You don't use 'my' for just anybody."

She smiled, comforted by how well he knew her. "I'm pretty sure we almost kissed, earlier, so…" she shrugged, unsure of where to continue. She had hardly been able to stop thinking about it…


Pulling her laundry out of the dryer, she fished out the black hoodie and threw it on. With a cold villa around her, and a fresh warm hoodie, she was about as content as she could be.

She had finally watched the initial Red Dawn episode for Scarlet, and even idly watched a few others, but the living room TV was now set to one of the local news channels. The volume was kept low so she could focus on folding her laundry, and there was a good chance it would stay that way until Diantha's group segment on the show.

Her pokémon were sprawled out around the living room, Garchomp curled up on the floor, Roserade dozing off on the other end of the couch, and Zora and Milotic curled up together on the loveseat. Milotic had the seat first, but Zora had quickly decided she wanted to attempt to annoy Milotic into moving. So far, her attempts were in vain as Milotic was an incredibly patient pokémon.

Cynthia figured that soon enough she would give up pestering her and then go bother Garchomp.

By the time she had finished her laundry, and everything was put away, the late-night talk show had already begun.

As she sat down next to Roserade, to her surprise, Zora carefully got off Milotic and made her way over to her. With a little adjustment, she allowed the pokémon up onto the couch, and to rest her head in her lap.

With a quiet laugh, she smoothed down her massive mane so she could watch the program.

The warmth radiating off the Zoroark along with still being tired from inadequate sleep, she felt herself dozing off through the first half of the show. A small grunt from Zora told her it was time to start paying attention.

During the cheers and introductions all Cynthia could think about was how good Diantha looked. It was the same outfit she had worn the day they went to the World Tournament, black pants and a black and white striped shirt.

So focused on how Diantha looked, she missed the names of the other two actors.

Jimmy looked down at Diantha and Alexander, "So, gotta ask, what can you tell us about your new episode?"

She and Alexander looked at one another, Diantha being the first to speak. "Unfortunately, I don't think either of us know how to explain any of it without giving away any spoilers! I can say I am so very excited for our new costars to finally be revealed."

Alexander nodded. "I agree! She's been a pleasure to work with, and I think it'll be a great surprise."

Cynthia laughed to herself, absentmindedly petting Zora. "Really, the pleasure of threatening to kick his ass was all mine."

Her pokémon all snickered.

The other actress leaned over, looking at Diantha. "I heard a little rumor that there are multiple well-known people coming into your episode!"

Diantha nodded. "Well known, but one of them is rather unexpected. Whoever you're thinking, I promise you, you're wrong."

"When I was first given the name, I thought I was hallucinating because I just never expected to work with them," Alexander said.

Jimmy laughed in his usual exaggerated way. Something she might have found otherwise endearing, but since it was directed to Alexander, she couldn't even bring herself to find it entertaining. "Now, now, yours was an old western, essentially, and yours is futuristic sci-fi, right?"

The other actress nodded, her costar speaking for her. "Yeah! We're two totally different worlds!"

He continued on, explaining in some detail what their upcoming episode was going to involve, and Diantha and Alexander did their best to steer conversation away from Getaway Car.

Soon enough the segment was wrapped up, Jimmy ending with, "The official promotional videos for the upcoming season of Red Dawn will be released at the end of the month, so be looking forward to that! Let's give it up again for our guests!"

That was news to her. Then again, she still wasn't the person to ask when it came to film matters.

She leaned up, forcing Zora off her lap so she could grab the remote to turn off the TV. With a stretch, she got up, and began to make her way to her bedroom. Garchomp followed behind her, moving her resting spot to the foot of the bed.

All while brushing her teeth and then crawling into bed, she couldn't rid herself of thoughts of how much she simply missed having Diantha around…


EDIT 10/20/19:
oh my god...of all the things for me to mess up...The Tonight Show doesn't film on sundays...oh my god. i.
let's all just tell ourselves they have sunday episodes in the pokemon world bc i'm noT about to rework any of this nonsense just to fix that.

thanks for reading this far. stay hydrated. love ya

Content Warning for the next chapter:

-Alcohol
-Sexual Content