I'm extremely thankful for the support given by you readers over the years! This school term (and this is my last one), I also got my hands on a loaned copy of Pokémon Shield and have been distracted from writing. Whoops.

I'm doing what I can to keep writing! It's just that we're heading into the busy season of the term... :( But at least I'm uploading this in less than four weeks from the last update.

darkwolf0909, Ou7X, StRAngE ToASt, DaX0315, and the three honoured guests, please have a cheesecake tart each! You've earned it. You would all think that Cynthia is very jelly right now. Well... hence this chapter's name. Did Cynthia cook up something delicious at Steven's villa? Maybe, maybe. We'll have to see. But we're not getting into that yet!

Minor update (02/25/20): the topic of this fanfiction popped up in my class this week again (Lauren! This chapter is for you)

Chapter seventy-seven: One Clueless Love Triangle

Locked out, Steven eventually phoned James d'Arc for help and James agreed to let Steven stay at his home for the night. James did not live close to Steven's villa at all. Instead, the home was situated within the city where the Stone Restaurant and Bistro was visible. Steven explained little about the circumstances why he couldn't go home, but at least while he was there, he could discuss the terms of the deal with Vue sur la Lune. That also included Steven's unusual proposal to give Cynthia back control of Vue sur la Lune as well. James was only mildly surprised.

"Steven, in a business view, that doesn't seem to make sense," he said. "But at least that will make everyone happy."

"How can I blame you?" Steven replied. "This is for her, after all."

James prepared a plate of snacks for Steven too. Although Steven wasn't hungry, he helped himself anyway. There was a pile of assorted chocolates of different flavours. Each chocolate was a ball with a berry cream middle. Since the chocolates were wrapped identically, it was impossible to tell what kind of flavour it had. Then there was a small plate of cheese. De Cyllage, from the looks of it.

James had a chocolate, and so did Steven.

"Ugh… Spelon berry…" Steven muttered, feeling the flavour of the extremely spicy berry in his mouth. Thankfully, the chocolate was enough to relieve him.

"I got a Kelpsy berry," James said. It was apparent he could taste the saltiness that blended nicely with the chocolate.

After having had the chocolate, they continued discussing over the future of the restaurants. In his view, James found the agreement a little bit complicated. Even if Cynthia could operate her business independently, she still would still effectively be a competitor to the Stone Bistro. It wasn't like Steven was simply giving back the restaurant to her either.

So James suggested a merger instead. "You could simply treat this as an acquisition," he said, "and you'll both operate the best you can. Suppose… you can have a friendly competition with each other without actually harming each other. Ever thought of that?"

Steven swallowed his cheese, then said, "That might work. I would have to bring the idea to her though, just in case. You can never tell what she likes." Aside from that, Steven knew that it could require some kind of rebranding for Vue sur la Lune. But at least he and Cynthia could pay taxes under one name, which could save them a bit of grief.

"I thought you knew her well enough? You should know."

"Hey, for the record, I need more time for that."

As Steven and James continued eating the cheese, a thought struck Steven's mind. Why hadn't he thought of that before? That is, James' idea of the two restaurants fighting each other in friendly competition? That would be one way to keep both sides running efficiently. And if one side were to stumble, the other side could help it back up. That was an idea, Steven thought. Maybe a merger didn't sound too bad after all.

But before he could think any more, James broke his thoughts. "By the way," he said. "Where is she now? Is she here in Cyllage City?"

Steven slowly nodded, not wanting to get into the topic and embarrass himself. He had earlier said as much as getting locked out of his house but did not elaborate why. While he trusted James, he knew enough not to say anything secretive that might morph into common knowledge. And then Wallace and Lisia would hear of it, and then Steven would probably never live to see the light of day. Plus, hadn't Cynthia already threatened to do that to him, anyway?

The light of day. Steven felt like he had felt that risk at least a dozen times.

"Something is bothering you," James said. "I can tell, seeing how quiet you are. It's not like you to keep staring at the floor, Steven. Did something happen?"

That was when Steven looked up and realised that he had been staring at the floor.

"Let me guess. Something happened between you and Cynthia. You made her angry, I'm guessing?" James added. "I'm not one to give relationship advice, Steven, but if there's one thing I know, chocolate makes a woman happy." Speaking of which, James helped himself to another chocolate and so did Steven.

The following day, after spending the night at James' home, Steven took the advice and did buy some chocolates. Unfortunately, he had no clue what sort of expectations Cynthia had for chocolate, but he had to get something. Besides, just the thought of Cynthia made his heart ache. Truthfully, Steven missed her already, but he was uncertain as to how to approach her now. Just what was he doing wrong? Cynthia was angry at him for some reason. He had to know what that reason was. Furthermore, how did James even guess the truth?

If making the sacrifice to purchase Vue sur la Lune wasn't enough to calm her down (it seemed to have worked, Steven thought), what was the problem? Cynthia had even kissed him on the lips after he had revealed that. There had to be something wrong.

Along with Skarmory, Steven walked near the Cyllage City waterfront to get breakfast at a local bakery. True, there was always the Stone Bakery as an option, but sometimes Steven figured it was worthwhile to try some tastes that weren't his own. Along the way, he ran into Martine, who was headed for the market to buy groceries but stopped once she saw her boss.

"Bon matin," she greeted. "Off to breakfast? Say, there are some things I wanted to ask you about… Attendez. You look tired, boss. Is everything okay?"

"Not really, no. I'm just confused," Steven admitted. "It's hard to explain."

"And who is the chocolate for?"

"… It's for her," Steven replied.

"Come now, I thought things were alright between you and her! What's going on?" Martine inquired, looking straight into Steven's eyes. "If things are off, I'm always happy to lend an ear, you know!"

"Merci, Martine."

They eventually walked into the bakery and found Sophie and Laurent sitting together, plus Wallace and Winona but not Lisia. Steven guessed Wallace had crashed on the receptionists' breakfast date, because first thing he saw was Sophie blushing madly and she was crying into her hands. "N-non! That's not true! Stop!" Sophie stuttered. "I'm falling behind him… Argh! No! Pretend I didn't say that!" And then Wallace invited Steven and Martine to join them. Skarmory happily knelt beside the table.

Martine looked bemused, and then she sat beside Sophie to as to console her. Then she looked at Steven. "What about you, boss? How about sharing your problems?"

"Martine!" Steven quickly shot the death glare that Martine was so used to seeing that Martine found it comical of him to do it. How would Martine take him seriously anymore?

After Sophie had calmed down, Wallace insisted that Steven share his problems. For the next several minutes or so, Steven went on explaining the cold responses he was getting from Cynthia. He had to admit, he was extremely confused by Cynthia's behaviour too. The day he left Lumiose, he reminded about Cynthia's spontaneous farewell gift before leaving and how she didn't want him to forget her. And then the following day Cynthia had gotten all angry at him and had practically evicted him from his villa. What he hadn't explained was why Cynthia was angry and frustrated, and he didn't mention Astrid either.

By the time he finished, he was met with bemused looks and silence. Wallace was first to respond.

"And you're sure nothing between that and then happened that caused the problem?" he said.

"I'm pretty sure. I mean, between that and then, nothing too serious," Steven replied.

"Did you speak to any other girls since then?" Wallace added.

"I did… But no one too personal to me," Steven replied. His thoughts went back to Astrid.

As if Wallace had read his mind, he said, "What about that girl you met before? That blonde-haired teenager dressed in purple? You know she might be a thorn in your side…"

"She is not a thorn in my side," Steven quickly said, as if to defend his pupil. "She is a reliable student and always eager to learn. I do enjoy spending time with her."

Judging from how quickly and automatic Steven responded, Winona banged her fists on the table, shocking everyone around that table.

"Steven…" Winona began slowly. "Are you saying you have feelings for her?! Just how much time do you spend with your pupil? Relative to Cynthia?"

"Um…" Steven started to become nervous. "Many times? She almost always calls me to set up training dates, and it's always a joy to do something I was good at."

Sophie caught onto Winona's thinking. "Monsieur Stone. Did you mention your student's name to Cynthia and that was when she got angry?"

"I did mention her to Cynthia once or twice," Steven admitted. "But I hardly see–"

"Steven! You idiot, don't you know that's how love triangles are formed?!" Winona shouted, enough for the bakery to stare at her outburst. "You may not know it, but that's exactly what happening right now! No wonder Cynthia is angry at you!"

"Love… triangle? No way!" Steven said. His face was getting hot. "It's not a problem I spend a bit more time with her. She is my student!"

Now Martine had to join in. "Boss. You may not know it, but that is the sort of thing that creates rivalry in Cynthia's eyes. Come on, you know business. Rivalry happens like that. That will get you into a love triangle, or at least a perceived one in Cynthia's eyes."

Steven opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Sophie.

"She is serious, and I'm totally serious about that too," she said. "See my eyes? These are the eyes of a girl who understands the nature of dating… so far."

Steven looked into Sophie's eyes, which were red from tears.

"These are the eyes of a girl who cares for your love life!"

Steven swallowed.

"These are… SERIOUS EYES!"

What Steven hadn't told anyone, not even Martine, was that the phone call he got from Astrid was about Astrid arriving in Cyllage City today. Could things get any worse than now? Astrid had to arrive in Cyllage City because she really wanted that battle!

Steven left the bakery feeling more worse than ever. To think he had sorted out his problems with Cynthia already, and now he was given another one? It wasn't entirely his fault either. But one thing was certain, he needed to repair the relationship with Cynthia that he had allegedly damaged.

Martine and Skarmory walked with him.

"Honestly, Martine. Is it that bad?" he said to the redhead.

"Uh-huh," Martine nodded.

"It wasn't my fault! Honestly!" Steven quickly added.

"You look pretty cute when you're flustered, boss."

"Martine…!" Steven whined.

Smiling, Martine eventually walked Steven toward Plaza Median and where the Stone Bistro was located. She left him there, near the Stone Bakery, saying that she would be happy to talk to him again but she wanted to do some shopping. So Steven was left on his own, sitting here in Plaza Median with the seaside on one side and the restaurants on the other.

Looking to his right, he eyed Vue sur la Lune's building. Business appeared looking good, and Steven was left wondering how he would help Cynthia with her debts. But apart from helping Cynthia with that aspect, he needed to find more opportunities to build on his relationship with her. It had barely started, and it was already falling apart.

For Cynthia, she had to remind herself why she was here in Cyllage City in the first place. She hadn't entirely forgotten Sébastien's 'advice' that she needed to break apart this love triangle and seize the initiative. That morning, she left Steven's villa, remembering to take the keys with her so that he couldn't get back in. If anything, Steven could always give her a phone call.

So why hadn't he called?!

Frustrated, Cynthia walked with Togekiss beside her. He was what the Pokédex called a 'jubilee' Pokémon, but he was always a helpful companion to be around. Togekiss never failed to make her smile. Speaking of which, Togekiss could have seen steam pouring out of Cynthia's ears. So he rubbed his head against her arm, which Cynthia accepted gratefully.

But as it happened, Cynthia spotted Steven sitting at Plaza Median. That was a small surprise. Her eyes made contact with his.

Cynthia knew that she had to face him inevitably, but emotions ran through her head. She didn't know what to say or how to react. Should she apologise? Scold him? Ask why he hadn't bothered calling her? Felling her heartbeat quicken, she walked towards him. Also, Cynthia was not dressed as Cindy, so she was easily recognisable. No, she was dressed in the clothes she wore as the Sinnoh Champion.

She also could tell Steven was holding his breath and a box of chocolates tightly in his hands. He made promises to her, that was one thing Cynthia was certain. But he couldn't grow his relationship with her just like that. It had to be more personal, or even intimate.

Plus, that box of chocolates better not be for who Cynthia thought it was. That would be the last straw. How could it be that Steven would have the nerve to get chocolate for Astrid and not her?!

Great. Was she becoming paranoid now?!

"Cynthia…" Steven said.

"There's only… There's only room enough for one woman in this relationship!" Cynthia lashed, seizing the box of chocolates from Steven's hands. "You are a bad man, Steven! You can't even watch over your relationships properly!"

She then walked over to the park bench and sat down with arms crossed. Togekiss made eye contact with Skarmory and they both shrugged and waited for Steven to make his move. Steven sighed and nervously sat beside Cynthia, trying not to look into her eyes.

"Look, Cynthia…"

"Don't touch me. Don't even speak to me." Cynthia said coldly.

"But I… Come now, I did nothing that bad, have I?" Steven tried sounding reasonable. "I haven't done anything yet to break your heart, as Wallace would say."

Steven had a point. Was this love triangle really taking a toll on her? Not that Steven had really done anything to have broken her heart. But the manner of how clueless he was had baffled her. Steven really didn't know what was going on!

"Cynthia… I'm sorry if I did anything to make you upset," Steven said quietly, like he was approaching her with a grain of salt. He even sat closer to her. "To be honest, I'm glad you're here. I've missed you."

To hear that from him made Cynthia feel a mix of annoyance and warmth. In Cynthia's mind, she missed him too. That was the point of her coming here. But still, he still didn't get it, did he? Was he this clueless? Or maybe it was because he had no idea at all. But the fact that he spent more time with Astrid still irritated her… Or maybe, maybe, it was because Cynthia hadn't taken more initiative on her part? Or maybe she should really try asking Steven out for dates more. That is, Astrid had been asking Steven for training sessions all the time, whereas Cynthia almost did nothing. What else did Sébastien and the others say? Something like confessing her feelings again.

"I've missed you too, but come on, Steven. You need to do better than that," she replied. "Tell me, and be straight with me, what is it between you and Astrid?!"

It had taken a moment for Steven to process Cynthia's question and mainly because he was wondering if there was anything implicit. It was then Steven's eyes became wide and he realised what Cynthia was asking.

And the conversation he had earlier with Winona and Sophie helped too much. It seemed Cynthia was implying some sort of close relationship with Astrid…

"No! It's not like that!" he said with panic in his voice. "How could you even say that?!"

"Well… Let's consider how many times she sticks by your side," Cynthia replied. Clearly, she wasn't letting Steven go easily. "You spend so much time with her that I wonder if she even has a crush on you. Is there anything between you and her…?

Steven blushed. "She's… But I have to spend time with her. She's my student!"

"You two seem to have a really close bond."

"We do, but it's not like that!"

"Sure."

"I'm serious, Cynthia!"

"Your face always brightens up whenever you mention her."

"I only want what's best for her. She is my pupil, right? My student. What teacher doesn't look out for his students?"

He could have gone further with that conversation and Cynthia wanted to retaliate, but they were rudely interrupted by a ringtone that belonged to Steven's phone. Staying silent, Steven took his phone out to examine the caller ID and it displayed the last name he wanted to see at this time. It couldn't have been worse, anyway.

It was Astrid.

Now unsure whether to answer the call, Steven was about to do so when the ringtone suddenly stopped.

"Let me guess, was it her?" Cynthia asked.

Her voice had gotten cold again.

"Oui."

"See what I mean?!" Cynthia said. Now it was clear her voice, if not herself, was about to boil. "Astrid will never let you go! It's like… It's like she's very attached to you! I bet you never noticed that!"

Steven did a double take. Cynthia had a point that he shared a strong bond with Astrid; there was no denying that. But why this was an issue for Cynthia, Steven wasn't sure. He honestly had no problems interacting with both Astrid and Cynthia. But Cynthia was probably pushing things way too far.

"Are you okay, Cynthia?" he asked calmly.

Cynthia stared at Steven. "Now you're addressing me like I'm the one going crazy?!"

"I'm just worried for you. Come now. Seriously! You're reading too much into it! There's honestly nothing what you're thinking between us!"

Beside them, both Togekiss and Skarmory were at a loss for words. The argument between the two lovers appeared to very pointless. As Cynthia and Steven continued arguing with each other, the two Flying-types looked to see someone else approaching them. Apparently, it was a certain platinum blonde dressed in practically all purple.

Astrid. Of course.

She ignored the looks she was getting from Cynthia, and instead sat beside Steven and hugged him. "There you are! Good thing you were hanging around here, or else I never would have found you!" she said. "You didn't answer my phone call…"

"Ah… Well, you can see I was busy, Astrid." Steven started to feel a blush on his cheeks again. Now that Cynthia had to point out her perspective on Astrid, Steven began to feel more uneasy about Astrid than he had before. "I had to spend some time with… you know…"

He couldn't finish his awkward sentence as Astrid hugged his arm more tightly, which caused Cynthia to immediately stand up.

"Astrid!" Cynthia shrieked, as she stamped her foot. "Get up! We're having a battle. Now!"

"Oh, good! That means my mentor can watch me. You will, right, Steven?" Astrid smiled that infectious smile brightly at Steven. There was an excitement and expectancy in Astrid's eyes such that Steven failed to not smile.

He nodded in response.

Cynthia's eyes then shot to Togekiss. "You! We're battling. Now!"

Skarmory felt sympathetic for Togekiss.

Ooh! Now things heat up again! Review, and as a reward you can have a choice between a Spelon berry chocolate or a Kelpsey berry chocolate.