Happy new year 2020! This chapter is a bit of filler, but hey, the train ride back could always use some, eh? You would think Steven's ride back was anything but quiet.
As you read, have some Mago berry and Pecha berry tarts! Especially for DaX0315 and the honoured Guests. Especially that honoured Guest.
Now just for the record, my updates usually take 3-5 weeks owing to my schedule. It's a way to balance my life, you know! The end of my university studies is nigh. Glad I could get this chapter up in just over three weeks!
Chapter seventy-five: Coconut on the Train
Under the box lid, the first things Steven's eyes could not fail to notice were the bright yellow tarts that looked like giant egg yolks. They were squishy and had a balloon shape to them, and were such that their appearance was not just about dessert, but about sending a message. It looked too delicate to eat. Beside those were two more kinds of berry tarts and biscuits too.
A warm and fuzzy feeling crept over Steven's skin.
And that feeling was immediately crushed by Wallace. "Wow! Steven! You must be a lucky man to have something like this just for you!" Wallace shouted. This was supposed to be a quiet car of the train, Steven thought, and having Wallace publicly embarrass not only him and himself but the other Gym Leaders, Laurent and Sophie, was anything but helpful for everyone's image. At least, having a celebrity in Diantha might calm things down, publicly.
But Martine, along with the others, were not as reactive as Wallace. Like Steven, they kept their eyes on the box of sweets that Steven had opened. They looked very delicious, for one thing, and too valuable to eat for anyone. Only one man was deserving of these, and that man was Steven.
"Do you know what kinds of tarts those are, Steven?" Martine asked, finally breaking the awkward atmosphere Wallace had created. Steven replied by shaking his head. No, he had never seen these tarts before, despite his culinary experience. From the silence from everyone else, everyone didn't seem to have a clue either.
That didn't stop Viola from taking pictures of the tarts.
Diantha glanced at her companions. She had hoped that Korrina or especially Grant would have a clue, but even they shook their heads. "Looks like you'll have to try one, Steven," she said.
Unfortunately, that meant Steven was waited on eating one of those tarts.
"You don't have to watch me eat this, you know…" He glanced at everyone from Martine to Winona to Lisia to Laurent. But Steven began to realise what kind of peer pressure he was receiving. Everyone was waiting for him to eat, so to stop keeping them from waiting as well as calming down Wallace's nerves, Steven picked up one of the
"Je m'excuse," a voice said nearby. Oh, was that Fantina's voice? It appeared that she, the Hearthome City Gym Leader, wanted to have a look too. Now that Steven thought of it, Fantina wasn't part of the search group from earlier. Was it a coincidence that she was on this train too?
"Bonjour, Fantina," Steven greeted.
"Ah, bonjour, Steven," Fantina said. "Don't mind me! I was passing by and I heard this loud noise – (when she said that, Steven shot Wallace a death glare that went unnoticed) – and I wanted to see what was going on. You have a party going on here, I see!"
"It's… nothing." Steven's cheeks started to flush.
Still, Fantina took a moment to look at the situation. So there was Steven sitting down with his young red-haired employee, and in his hands was a box of sweets. Brightly-coloured tarts and biscuits were a welcoming sight, Fantina granted that, but the yellow tarts caught her eyes right away. She had seen them before in Hearthome City and she even had at least one before.
"My, my, Steven! Aren't you a lucky one!" she remarked, glancing at the tarts.
All eyes went to Fantina right away.
"Tu sais ce que c'est?" Diantha asked.
"Oui, I do," Fantina replied. "I've seen these before back at home. These are cheese tarts that only dessert makers from Sinnoh would know. It is a Sinnoh specialty!" She grinned. "The fact there is half a box of them in your hands is something. You consider yourself lucky! I see there's a miniature spoon in the box too. That helps."
After hearing this, Steven suddenly felt not only awkward and embarrassed, but he also felt like everyone was giving him smug smiles (apart from Martine).
"So… you and Cynthia were really made for each other!" Lisia was first to break the silence. "This is it, Steven! This is the sixth chapter of your love story happening now and live!" She struck a pose that ended up bumping into Winona and Laurent behind her. "Let's see… I shall call it, "Sparks Fly! My One True Love!" Yes, that sounds like the stuff for an epic finale."
Lisia was still at it with her ridiculous titles. Even though Steven thought of them as a minor nuisance, it seemed worse that Lisia had to say it in front of his colleagues. She certainly had the nerve to do that, but then again, her uncle was Wallace. No wonder they were related.
Martine smiled. "Cynthia packed a spoon for you? And just for you? She must think you'll enjoy every one of those tarts. No spoons for any of us but you. You must be really special to her."
That forced Steven to blush. Martine had a point: if this box was just for him and there was only one spoon, Cynthia was probably expecting him to eat the entire box. As Fantina pointed out, these were Sinnoh cheese tarts, and they looked splendid.
It was then Steven looked at the silence he was getting from his friends and colleagues, as he reached in to take one of the tarts out. They all watched him place it on his seat table and also take the miniature spoon out, as if they were expecting great things to happen.
"It's… just a tart…" Steven whispered, but there was nothing more he could say. He poked the yellow shell to rupture it and revealed the creamy interior. It was not just cheese, but cheesecake. His eyes widened as it felt like he was just opening a gift. With that warm and fuzzy feeling returning to his skin once again, Steven scooped a bit of tart shell and cheesecake before eating it.
A sigh escaped his lips.
Why do I feel like I've had this before? Steven thought.
It was the sort of feeling he would get from resting after a long and tired day at work, and Steven was reminded of it. He would be completing endless rounds paperwork on a daily basis, back in his League days. After grinding through the papers, he left his office and prepared to head home.
But he decided to stop for a break at a local café before he did that. He ordered a steaming and creamy cup of milk tea made from the leaves of Magost berry plants. Magost berries were relatively common in Hoenn and Sinnoh, and like the berries themselves, contained a finely balanced flavour; albeit they were more bitter than sweet. Still, the tea was only part of the main event. The other was the yellow tart he had ordered as part of the café's promotion.
His Magost berry tea had no sugar in it, so the tart would have to make up for it. He ate a bit of the creamy tart and then sipped the tea.
It was an indescribably wonderful flavour. Like the Magost berry's finely balanced flavour, the flavour of the tea and tart was a special and mature blend for the discerning customer. Combined, Steven could relax in full and even drift away to sleep, both from the indescribably wonderful flavour and from the relief from exhaustion.
"Steven? Steven!"
Steven's senses snapped back to reality and he opened his eyes. Wallace had apparently been calling him out. But instead of answering Wallace, Steven smiled slightly and began to eat more of his Sinnoh cheese tart. Now he wished he had a cup of Magost berry milk tea to go with this.
"You should have one of these, Martine," Steven added, scooping another bite of cheesecake and eating it. Then he had another bite but with some tart shell.
"But boss, you have only one spoon." Martine frowned briefly, and then smiled. "Cynthia made those specially for you. You better enjoy those!"
"You… and you all really want to see me eat, don't you? It's just a tart." Steven was exasperated.
But Wallace then took the seat beside Steven and tried to reach into the box. Alarmed, Steven carefully but quickly shifted the box away from Wallace ("Go away! These aren't for you!" he protested). Unfortunately, Steven's hands were full because of the cheese tart, and Wallace was persistent. He managed to poke a soft spot on Steven's hip which made Steven jerk just long enough for Wallace to take out not one, but two of the biscuits. It was a miracle that the Pecha tarts and Mago berry tarts weren't crushed.
Wallace held the biscuits up like they were trophies, and Steven realised there was no point in fighting Wallace over them now. Sighing, Steven gave in and continued eating his cheese tart. That was probably worth more to him than the biscuits anyway. Not caring what Wallace was doing, Steven finished off the tart.
"Alrighty! Let's see what it tastes like, Cynthia's love for Steven!" Wallace bit half the biscuit off and began to chew. "This is delicious! Here, Winona, you have some!" He held out the biscuit to his girlfriend, how was now on the spotlight.
Rolling her eyes, Winona took the biscuit and examined it. True, the biscuit was simple, but even from an arm's length away Winona could smell the fragrance of Pecha berries… and coconut. She joined Wallace in eating this biscuit and enjoyed it like he did. True, it was very tasty indeed.
It was then her thoughts were rudely interrupted by a loud coughing sound from beside.
"Diantha? Est-ce que ça va?" Korrina asked.
"Je suis bien," Diantha replied, but she clutched her throat and coughed again. The coughing became louder and raspier. Sweat was forming on her head.
Steven's eyes widened. No way… He had seen this situation before. This was almost identical to that night. The night when she had sabotaged his dinner. No… There was no other way. Quickly as he did, Steven put the box on the floor and stood up.
THUD
But by then, it was too late. Diantha had coughed until her legs gave way and she collapsed. Behind, Grant and Korrina quickly caught Diantha's arms to stop her from falling. Meanwhile, Viola took the opportunity to take pictures of the scene.
"My, my, this looks too familiar!" Viola said.
Still alarmed, Steven seized the half-eaten biscuit from Wallace ("Hey! I was eating that!" Wallace protested) and look at the biscuit carefully. If Diantha had coughed until she fainted, then there had to be only one explanation.
Coconut.
There was no better explanation. Diantha was allergic to coconut, and just like that night, the coconut debacle that had damaged the reputation of the Stone Bistro. Fortunately, the media were not here now in this train with the exception of Viola, but despite that, this was not at all good for anyone. Diantha needed medical attention again. Steven meanwhile brought the biscuit to his nose.
He could smell the fragrance of Pecha berries, but there was coconut for sure. Then he looked at Grant and Korrina.
"Bring her away from this box. These treats may be too dangerous for her," he said.
"Or you could just close the lid…" Korrina replied, as Grant went to wipe the sweat off Diantha's head. Minutes later, while Korrina and Grant brought Diantha away with Viola joining them, Steven turned his attention to the box again. He was aware that his colleagues still wouldn't walk away just yet.
He held up a Mago berry tart, sniffed it, and then began to eat again.
"Do you really like her cooking, Steven?" Winona asked.
Steven looked back at her. He wouldn't have counted on Winona asking the questions at a time like this. Nevertheless, he did not say anything but offered one of the tarts to Winona instead. Winona politely refused, but Wallace was more than happy to take a Pecha tart and share it with her, much to Steven's annoyance.
Then Steven offered the box to Laurent and Sophie. "Venez, vous deux. You should enjoy these too. I'll give you one tart to share. Le voila, Martine. Here's one for you." He picked out another of the Sinnoh cheese tarts and gave it to the redhead, then picked out another and gave it to Laurent.
Sophie blinked. "But we don't have any miniature spoons…" She tapped her fingers together. Suddenly, Steven's last words started to sink in, and then Sophie cheeks went red. "Whoa, whoa, whoa… monsieur Stone! Just one tart?! But… That would mean…"
Laurent nervously scratched his hair, but Martine started to burst into a fit of giggles. Sophie's cheeks started to become very red, and she looked pretty for just doing that. Soon enough, Martine laughed.
"Aw…! Boss! What's making you do this just for them, eh?" she laughed.
Steven swallowed. "This is for Sophie. Sophie told me she felt Laurent didn't love her, because she wouldn't tell Wallace where I was this morning. Laurent, I'm doing this for you too."
Now it was Laurent's turn to blush, now that Steven had put him on the spot. Beside Laurent, Wallace and Lisia added extra laughter to Martine's giggling. So! Now even Steven accepted that Sophie and Laurent should be together. Flustered, Laurent and Sophie joined Steven and Martine in sitting down and shared the cheese tart together. It would have been better if Wallace and Lisia, let alone Winona and Fantina, weren't watching them eat.
By the time the train arrived at Cyllage City, Diantha had quickly been escorted to hospital. She was still unconscious, which made Steven think that it would take at most a day for her to wake up. He sighed. No matter. The situation was out of his hands now and he needed to deal with disembarking.
Now he was also left to wonder, did Cynthia plan this to happen? Was her box of treats merely a trap? Could she have betrayed him?
Betrayal.
Steven shuddered to think if that was the truth. Then again, it was perfectly possible… No. That was absurd. That was just as improbable as it was ridiculous. If Cynthia had actually betrayed him, Steven wondered how he would get over that. Oh, there he was, going into his ridiculous fantasy that Cynthia really wanted to crush him all along…
"Steven!" a cheerful voice that could only be Wallace's sang from behind, and then Steven found Wallace had wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"What do you want, Wallace?" Steven muttered. "Leave me in peace."
"You can't possibly leave like this! You must tell me about what happened with Cynthia! You owe me," Wallace said. "You never told me on the train
Rolling his eyes, Steven said, "I don't owe you anything. This whole thing was Martine's idea, wasn't it?"
"I bought your train ticket."
"… Fine, you've won me over."
For the next half hour, Steven reluctantly shared with Wallace some sparse details over what happened between himself and Cynthia. He would only say as much until he arrived at the hospital to pay a visit to Diantha. While Steven did talk about walking into Cynthia's café by accident, he left out the part where Cynthia had kissed him.
But Wallace wanted him to admit it, anyway.
"Come now, Steven! You must have kissed, right? You go through all that trouble to find her and then she gives you a box of sweets. There must have been kissing involved!"
"Au revoir, Wallace." Steven said.
"So you DID! Right? Right?"
"Okay, okay! I did. Satisfied now?"
"Nope! You must tell me how it felt. Steven, your cheeks have gone rosy! Tell me more."
"Why don't you tell me how you shared kisses with Winona?"
"Because your kisses are more interesting than mine!"
"Do you have any idea how wrong that sounds, Wallace?"
"So what was yours like with Cynthia?"
Steven let out a groan of annoyance and really did want to punch Wallace in the face like Winona always did. But Steven was more civilised than that. The best he could do was stay quiet and let Wallace talk as much as he wanted.
They had arrived at the hospital which was Wallace's cue to leave. As Wallace left with a disappointed face, Steven was about to walk in when his phone rang. Expecting Cynthia to call, he picked up his phone quickly.
"Bonjour," he greeted.
"Bonjoir!" Astrid's cheerful voice greeted him. For some reason, Astrid never failed to make him smile. "Steven! I hope you're not busy…"
"No no, I just got off the train and about to head home." Steven replied. "Something on your mind, Astrid? Let me guess: you want more training, right?"
"Aw… Steven! You must be psychic! Yes! I miss you lots already! That's kind of why I wanted to call you…"
Steven chuckled. "Alright, Astrid. If you're ever in town, I'll pitch a battle if you'd like once I'm off work. We can always set a date with Cynthia so you can test your skills with her."
He heard a gasp from Astrid. "Aw, you would do that for me? You're the best, Steven!"
"You are my pupil, after all," Steven replied. He couldn't help smiling.
Astrid hung up the call and Steven was left smiling to himself. No matter where he went, Astrid just didn't want to let him go. Then again, how did she end up becoming his student? Likewise, he had to treat her as best as he could. Steven wondered what kind of affection Astrid had for him too. Sighing, Steven began to walk into the hospital.
But almost immediately afterward, Steven got a second call, interrupting his walk again.
"Bonjour," Steven greeted.
"Bonjour," came Cynthia's voice.
"Ah, Cynthia, I was just thinking of calling you," Steven said.
"You were? You're too kind. Were you thinking about me already? Did you miss hearing my voice?"
Steven blushed briefly. "Not at all, Cynthia. I have more pressing concerns. First off, your tarts were delicious in every way. It brought back an old memory of mine, believe it or not."
Cynthia gasped. "Did I really? I… I'm touched –"
"Secondly," Steven interrupted. "Did you lace coconut into your biscuits?! Did you really have to do that? In case if you're wondering, Diantha got sent to hospital again."
"Wait. What…?"
Steven's voice turned serious. "Was that part of your plan? To knock her out again? This is the second time you've done this. Just what is going on with you? This is all your fault."
"But what happened?"
"Wallace wanted Winona to try out one of your biscuits and Diantha happened to be there. In an instant, Diantha collapsed. Tell me, was that part of your plan? Because she's at the hospital now."
"No! Steven, this was a misunderstanding, and it's not my fault Wallace –"
"So you're blaming Wallace?"
"I know he's your best friend, but you know how he is! It's not my fault that Diantha would follow you on the train!"
"So you are blaming Wallace."
"No! That's not what I meant!" Now Steven could hear panic coming from Cynthia's voice. "But listen to me! I'm very, very, very sorry!"
"Cynthia –" Steven started.
"Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorry…"
"Cynthia!" Steven shouted. "Once was enough!"
A silence followed afterward.
"Um… I'm calling you because I miss you, alright?! I just wanted to see if you arrived at Cyllage City safely." At that, Steven's cheeks flushed. He wasn't expecting that kind of confession from Cynthia just like that, so he suspected she must really miss him. It wasn't like she was hiding anything, right?
Like keeping the coconut in the biscuits a secret.
Steven shuddered. What kind of delusional state was he getting into? The simplest solution was to admit what Cynthia was saying. Besides, wasn't he already past that point? Cynthia did miss him.
"I'm back already," he replied. "I was just going to pay Diantha a visit."
"… I see," Cynthia replied. "I won't take up your time any longer."
"I hope to see you again, too. Come drop by the restaurants and see how they're doing!" In that instant, Steven's voice seemed to have brightened. "Vue sur la Lune will always be yours. I… I'll be waiting for you."
"Let's hope that day comes soon…" And just as Steven was about to hang up, Cynthia quickly added, "By the way, Steven! Just wondering, did Astrid look for you today? I mean, did she call you?"
At that, Steven's response was automatic and Cynthia could hear the lightness in his voice. "She did. She tells me how she wants to see me again for mentoring. Heh, I even told her I could arrange a date with her so that she could battle you. In case if you're wondering, I told… I told her that you were Cindy. She seemed to take it nicely though. So I invited her to drop by Cyllage City whenever she feels like it. I mean, she misses me."
"…"
Steven's eyes widened. He expected Cynthia to say something but was only met with silence.
Seconds later, the phone call went dead. Steven raised an eyebrow and looked at his phone. Yup. The call was closed, which left him confused.
Did Cynthia have a bad connection or something?
That last bit always makes me smile as to how clueless Steven is. Review, and have one of Cynthia's cheesecake tarts! They're delicoius!