This has to have been the best chapter I've written in "Culinary Rivals". Hats off to approaching 300 reviews, but I see that it's been the victim of internet trolls on the site.

As well, I am approaching the twilight of my university career. After one more year (or rather, nine months) I'll complete my studies, and then I'm off to the beyond. Glad I had "Culinary Rivals" to stick around with me over the years.

So! DaX0315 and StRAngE ToASt, have a chocolate tart Galette!

Chapter seventy-one: C&S

For a café in Lumiose, this one was surprisingly comfortable. It was the sort of place that went out of its way to be unnoticeable so that private meetings could take place here. This was no place for the tourists and appealed more to the locals. Besides, the outside of this café wasn't eye-catching either.

Steven was handed a drinks menu, which was a single sheet on one side of menu board (a narrow one, come to that). Since this was his first time here, he scanned the options, where the descriptions briefly outlined what was in each drink. There was a small variety of beers, red wines, and white wines which made up half of the menu, but there were also cocktails too. Given the cocktails were at the top of the menu, he supposed they were the speciality of this café.

But it was the one item at the bottom that caught his eye.

C&S.

Something about it made him curious, as if it was inviting him to try it. The name of it sounded like… like a fairy tale? Not quite. To him, it sounded like a dream that never came true. What kind of drink it was made of; Steven wanted to know. But he decided that tasting the drink itself would be a better bet than asking about it. As a result, he waved down the server to place his order.

"A 'C&S', please," he said.

"Of course. Will that be all?" the server asked.

Steven nodded, and the server went to place the order in. As Steven waited, he took a moment to look at the café's surroundings. It wasn't brightly lit, which made its environment secluded, but it also helped that every table had a lamp to make up for the dimness. Given it was also nighttime, the café also had some kind of atmosphere designed to put people to sleep.

Looking back at his table, Steven reflected on what had happened over the past couple of days. Everyone had been so supportive of him, but it had been fruitless to find her. He had looked for her based on a rumour and there was no telling whether the rumour was true.

Of all the people who supported him, he credited Martine who was the only one who had looked out for him. Yes, she may have wanted to push his relationship with Cynthia to be as close as she could, and she may have been the biggest irritant he knew since Wallace. But unlike Wallace (Steven smiled at the thought of this), Martine showed no lack of understanding.

How was it that the others, such as Diantha and Wallace, were so persistent about this relationship, anyway? This was an extremely private matter (in Steven's opinion) that no one had a right to get involved in. Ever since the media had caught onto Cynthia's restaurant setting up shop across his restaurant, it had been an unending world of issues.

Perhaps it was because of exactly that that he didn't want anyone to get involved with his matters. Perhaps he was too embarrassed that people like Wallace shouldn't intervene in his personal life. What was the point? Steven would not forget that wedding night he had hosted at his restaurant where Wallace, Winona, and Lisia had gotten involved in his personal life since then, like a Magikarp attracted to a fisherman's lure.

That might be the truth that he didn't want to admit at the start.

Ah yes. Wallace.

Despite being the biggest irritant in his life for the past month, Wallace would not give up on him. He moved heaven and earth to get that cook-off to happen, getting all those contacts and resources put together, calling up Clemont and Chef Bordeaux on the way. Where did that get to?

The only thing Steven felt he got from that was not recognition as a chef, but something worth much more. So much, that he pained him to think about it. That is, meeting Cindy, who turned out to not be a real person at all. Instead, Cindy was the girl he had done so much harm to. That left Steven wondering why Cindy of all people was actually Cynthia.

It was like he wished this cook-off never happened in the first place.

"Le voila," said the server.

Steven snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the server, who placed a slider on the table and a tall glass of the cocktail. After thanking the server, Steven looked at the cocktail served, which had a distinctive red tint to it and a thin slice of Pinap berry peel in it.

There could be little doubt as to what it was, but Steven on impulse picked up the glass and brought his lips to it.

His eyes widened after taking just a sip of it.

The flavours were just a medley, like a couple dancing gracefully together. Except that it wasn't just any couple who were dancing together. What Steven could envision was himself and her dancing together. It was almost as if they were made for each other, if not exactly that.

They held hands and danced in sync perfectly. Like a fairy tale, she felt like she had found her prince, and he felt he had found the love of his life. Moreover, this was a dance that was unique only to them and no one else.

As the song ended, they still wouldn't let each other go.

Tears started rolling down Steven's cheeks. He had to wipe them off with this sleeve. It can't be, but it was. There could only be one other who knew how to make this cocktail, which was Cynthia. Except that this cocktail tasted differently than how Steven made it. There was a little something extra in the drink that gave it a slightly sweeter flavour such that it was refreshing. Steven sipped it again to try to figure out what it was, but then realised that that wasn't important. He ought to ask her himself.

Steven stood up from his seat and turned around.

And standing in front of him was Cynthia.

Her eyes looked like they were about to well with tears, but Steven said nothing. He was unsure how to react in a moment like this; it was unreal to him.

"You…" she whispered. "So it was you who ordered it."

Steven was still stunned at seeing her.

"You must think it was a stupid name," she said. "I must feel like a teenager with crazy dreams that won't happen. So why? Why are you here? Do you have to keep rubbing things in? If you must know, 'C&S' is an acronym for 'Cynthia et Steven'; 'Cynthia and Steven', in other words."

As Cynthia said that, her cheeks flushed pink out of embarrassment and self-shame. She even giggled as if to shake off her emotions.

"But you broke my heart. Why did you come here?"

Steven held his breath for a few seconds. Cynthia guessed that this was an important question for him and was forced to answer carefully. In Cynthia's mind, she couldn't anticipate what Steven wanted to say either. This man had hurt her so, like glass shards piercing her heart. Sharp, deadly, and fragile.

It appeared that their conversation was the only commotion in the café. While there were no customers at the moment, the staff – which consisted of only a cook and the server who welcomed Steven earlier – were curious with what was going on. They saw their boss talking with the customer, so they supposed they were acquaintances at first, but when they saw that he was clearly Steven, they changed their minds. Now this should be interesting.

"Because I…" Steven started, his mind still in pieces, before whispering. "I wanted to apologise."

Cynthia's first reaction was to look more directly into his eyes, like she was assessing his validity. But she shook her head. "That won't be enough. You've caused me too much pain. I don't even know why I bother with you!"

She raised her hand as if to do a Winona-style slap on Steven's face, but Steven didn't flinch. Cynthia paused. Was Steven genuinely sorry? If anything, now that she got to look at his face more carefully, he looked extremely depressed.

"Why?!" she whispered angrily at him. "Why do you have to come now?"

Steven blinked.

"Let's say that too much has been going on…" he started, but Cynthia raised a hand for his silence.

"Forget it, Steven… Please…" she said with eyes starting to well with tears. "Partez!"

Steven bit his lip. "Okay. Okay, okay. Just hear me out one more time. I promise, I won't ever bother you again after this," he whispered and took a step closer to her.

Cynthia nodded and waited for Steven to keep talking. Steven, who half-expected Cynthia to agree, breathed again and went on. He whispered just loud enough for Cynthia to hear clearly.

"It's just that… the past few weeks have been bad for me. I may have won our cook-off, but I need to admit that I've been sinking into depression since then." He couldn't believe he was talking to her like this but kept going. "I… I…"

He hung his head. Surprisingly, to him, Cynthia was patient. She looked as if she had all the time in the world.

"I couldn't escape my depressions," he said, looking into her eyes. "And it's all because of you, Cynthia. I… I tried to run away from you all this time, and I hurt you because of me. It's harmed me, and now it's hurting me back."

Cynthia was silent, but she could hear the smallest of sobs from Steven.

"You were right. I did… I did fall in love with Cindy," he said. "What hurt me the most was that I fell in love with someone who wasn't real, and it turned out to be my most hated culinary rival. She was someone who matched my hobbies and interests, but also who I could relate to in cooking. When I discovered that truth, I couldn't bear it."

He paused, expecting Cynthia to shoot him down, but Cynthia was attentive at least. Her face remained neutral.

"Part of that truth, too, was that I… I was attracted to you from the beginning, when you gave me those invitations to your restaurant," he added. "I just wanted to keep that a private matter, and I…" He blushed and looked down but kept talking. "I wanted to cover all that up so no one would know about my privacy. My… affections for you turned my perception of you, as if you threatened my business from the day you came to Cyllage City. Then the media caught onto this, and Wallace blew this out of proportion."

Cynthia understood that quite well.

"But after meeting Cindy, I noticed that I wanted to be close to her. She was the one woman I could get along with. At the end of the day, I really wanted to be close to you all along." Steven scoffed at himself as if what he said was ridiculous. "Ironic, that I ended up hurting you and me, and pushed you far away."

Steven continued. "I couldn't notice your cooking, could I? Between Cindy and Cynthia, they have been the source of all my troubles. All I can tell you is that your desserts have been, by far, the best I have ever eaten. But for my selfish perceptions of you and me, I would have gotten closer to Cindy. I now wish she had never existed."

SMACK

Cynthia slapped his cheek. Tears were flowing down her eyes, and she didn't let Steven see them.

"Stop…! Please." Her breathing was short, her voice was caught up in sobs.

Steven closed his eyes. He decided he had said more than enough. In fact, he had told Cynthia almost all what was on his mind.

"And," he whispered, "I still have feelings for you. I just did not want to admit I had them, and for that, I apologise. I deeply am."

Cynthia shook her head. She also thought Steven would know what was on her mind as well: she wasn't buying it still. He had hurt her so much that hearing all this was overwhelming. She just wanted the crisis to end.

Steven turned his eyes to the cocktail. "You made this drink again. So it's a regular on your menu now?"

So he was shifting the topic? Cynthia knew he must have. Personally, she didn't want to speak to him anymore. He was dead to her.

But instead she blushed and looked down. "Yes, I, um… It's the one thing that could remind me of you. It's something personal to me, okay? It caused me emotional distress… You would think it's very selfish of me," she added. "To pick out our names and name a drink after it. But…"

"I like the name, and I think it tastes excellent." Steven said calmly. "If it was that personal to you, then you may keep the name."

Cynthia looked up at him instantly. She looked as if she didn't buy Steven's words or that she refused to believe them. Steven couldn't blame her, as finding her here at all was hard to believe as well. He could imagine what thoughts were racing through her head and guessed, like him, she couldn't find the words to speak.

Cynthia took a step closer towards him. Just one.

"If you must know, I added half a measure of Oran white wine liqueur in there," she whispered.

She could sense the atmosphere was becoming awkward, because Steven was at a loss for words. What better way to pause than stopping for a drink? Steven picked up his glass and sipped the cocktail. In Cynthia's eyes, Steven was trying to see if the liqueur was really there as she had described. After he had put down his glass, he spoke again.

"But again, Cynthia. There isn't anything I can do to make up for what happened between us. You even left Cyllage City and put your property on the market. Yes, I know you've been selling it." Steven added quickly when he saw Cynthia's eyes widen. "It's just that… have you seen the market? Your restaurant's property has become a price battleground."

"I don't care about that anymore." Cynthia replied. "I… I just want to get away from all that."

Steven held his breath, and then took out his phone to find the proper files and show them to Cynthia. He was glad Pokénav technologies had made it possible to receive file transfers instantly, and now he could see the file on his phone. The files, in particular, showed he was the new owner of the property.

"Please…" he whispered. "Can you look at these?"

With a huge sigh, Cynthia took up on Steven's request. He sounded like he was begging her to do so, so this was the least she could do. She took Steven's phone and read over the files. After reading the first one, she showed mild surprise (Steven guessed it was because of the price he had paid for), but the second one caught her off-guard.

She was shocked and her eyes showed it.

"Steven! This is…" She couldn't speak.

She couldn't believe it either, or this was the last thing she had expected to see. What Cynthia had seen was a file that essentially gave Cynthia the ownership rights to the property. When Cynthia considered the price that he had paid for it, and that he was simply giving it to her, she couldn't understand it. The price paid was well above market prices. That made no financial sense at all, Cynthia thought. Why did he do this?

It was almost like he had deliberately hurt himself for her.

"You can call me crazy, possibly insane, for buying up your property because I thought that would bring you back." Steven said. "I realised that, despite all that competition between us, I enjoyed it."

Cynthia looked up from her reading to see his face.

"I just want to see you across the street again, okay?" Steven said. "But it's fine… I understand if you don't want to come back. Sorry, it's selfish of me. I understand if it becomes too painful to even think of me… I feel exactly the same way about you. But this won't bring you back."

She could see tears forming in his eyes.

"And if it is better that I don't bother you again, I will respect that." Steven admitted.

Hearing that almost broke her heart. Cynthia couldn't take it anymore.

She put the phone down, leaned forward to Steven's face, and kissed him deeply.

... And so it finally happens. A 'C&S', anyone?