My apologies. Would you believe I ended up finishing this chapter and forgot to upload it? Well, I'm still hunting for jobs, and that's taking time. Hope everyone has been healthy!

DaX0315, and our two honoured guests, please have a slice of zucchini quiche, and stay healthy and socially distanced... Maybe I should write down the recipe in a later chapter.

Chapter eighty-three: W&W

It had been almost or around a week since the coconut incident on the train, but Diantha was finally allowed discharge. That was good news, because Steven had invited her to take part in a special dinner hosted by both the Stone Restaurant and Bistro and Vue sur la Lune. Diantha needed time to decide what to wear and look good. She had no doubt that Steven and Cynthia must have picked out something to wear already, so she should do the same.

Walking out of the hospital (that is, the Pokémon Centre), she was immediately baffled that the first people to welcome her were Wallace and Winona. It was like it was almost planned that Wallace wanted to meet her now.

"Bonjour, Diantha! You look better than ever!" Wallace said.

"Bonjour, Wallace." Diantha put on a pair of sunglasses before stepping out. "I was just about to go to the boutique. Want to come with me?"

Winona felt like she didn't have a say or her voice wasn't even heard, because Wallace had dragged her to the boutique following Diantha's footsteps. She had a sudden urge to punch Wallace in the face again, but her fist was getting sore. Punching him could wait another day. So the three of them ended up in the local boutique and Diantha was looking at dresses.

"Say, Diantha. Don't you have a wardrobe already? Why do you need another dress?" Winona asked. "You know, you can only wear so many things in your lifetime."

Diantha paused to look at Winona. "But you see, that's the difficulty of being a celebrity. There's this sort of expectation that I have to wear something different or the media, particularly Gym Freaks here in Kalos, will catch on. Don't you have the same expectations in Hoenn?"

"Nope. You see Steven wearing a collared shirt everyday," Wallace said. "It's rare that he goes out without wearing one! But come now, I can wear this everyday." He pointed at his own attire which was probably a step too much in flamboyance, in Winona's opinion. Winona could only sigh.

So Winona tugged Diantha's arm. "Let's pick something out together and away from this guy."

"Aw, Winona. That hurts my heart." Wallace placed both his hands over his chest.

The reality was, though, that Wallace had to dress decently for tonight. So that was what had actually happened. Winona saw no need to wear her helmet for tonight but retained her hairstyle without it, including her ponytail. As for her choice of dress, its colours were reminiscent of her Gym Leader's outfit, which was appropriate, she supposed.

And Wallace, for once, had chosen to wear a suit. But he still kept his hat on! Nevertheless, he sported a light purple dress shirt and a teal tie, which Winona that was a little overboard. But in light that this was her boyfriend of all people, and she knew his tastes pretty well already, she would accept Wallace's choice of apparel right now. It could have been worse. Besides, her dress had tints of purple and blue too, which should make her and him a good match. Winona sometimes found herself questioning again how she even fell for this flamboyant idiot, but he did make sacrifices for her, and he was willing to put up with her punches.

"Winona, dear? What's on your mind?"

Wallace's words snapped Winona back to reality.

"Oh, nothing. It's nothing…" Winona muttered. "Come on, we're almost there."

It was evening and the sun was setting again in the horizon, where its sunlight was reflecting brilliantly over the ocean waters, and the sunshine on the waters was like glittering diamonds. This was one of the treasures that could be seen in Cyllage City on a clear day, and only one such other city could rival the view, which was Shalour City in north Kalos. But what Shalour City couldn't rival in was the presence of two very successful restaurants who were known to have rivalled each other in the past month, and across from each other on the same street no less. No other city had such a reputation, although some people wondered when the restaurants would earn a Richissime star.

Wallace and Winona were talking together on the street towards the Stone Restaurant and Bistro, anyway. Lisia had told them she would arrive early to meet with Martine, so it was just the two of them walking together. That said, Lisia decided to wear her usual idol costume for tonight, so that was one thing that didn't change. But as for Wallace, he was looking better than ever, in Winona's opinion.

They continued walking together in silence, enjoying their surroundings. With the gentle ocean breeze, the rolling waves, and the sunset, it was like a genuine romantic moment. Winona wondered if this was even the best backdrop for a marriage proposal! Not that she was expecting Wallace to do so. It might be too early, but when would ever be the time…?

"Winona? You sure you're okay?"

Okay, now Winona could tell Wallace was concerned for her.

"I'm okay, heheh…" she said sheepishly. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

"Because you are the most beautiful thing in the world. It's kind of hard to miss," he said.

Winona rolled her eyes. "As if you don't say that enough times…"

"You don't believe me? That hurts, Winona."

"Oh, who knows? You might be saying that just for show."

"Aw, Winona…!"

She giggled, then she wrapped an arm with Wallace's. The restaurants were not too far off, and they could be seen plainly in front of them. Before long, the two of them entered the doors of the Stone Restaurant and Bistro, under the chandelier once again. Such a sight was a trademark to the restaurant, and it did give some sort of warm welcome.

At the desk were Sophie and Laurent, who were busily working away as usual but were taking in a larger-than-usual number of customers. Of course, for an event like this, it had to be done. While Sophie was talking with customers over the desk, Laurent was directing staff to take guests up to their respective tables. In other words, that meant Wallace would get to talk with Sophie.

"Looks like business is looking good, friend!" he greeted Sophie.

Sophie looked up to see him and her gut reaction was a nervous laugh. After she had directed her helped guest to Laurent, she replied, "Can I help you, Wallace? No, scratch that. Let me find your name on the list here…" She looked down like she wanted to avoid looking at Wallace at all costs. "Oui, you are on the list. Laurent can show you to your seats…"

"But I want you to show us to our seats, dear! Laurent is too busy, so you will have to do."

There was some truth in what Wallace had said, because Laurent had considerably more customers to handle than Sophie. But couldn't a typical server do that already? Sophie had to stay posted at this desk. Normally, if the customer attending wasn't an invited guest of Steven or Cynthia, they would have to pay for a seat. But since Wallace and Winona clearly had invitations, they were on the guest list that Steven and Cynthia had prepared.

Sophie sighed. "I can't do that, Wallace. Maybe Martine will show you around instead."

"Aw, don't be like that, Sophie! You can do the same!" Wallace said.

And to Sophie's misery, of all things Laurent agreed with Wallace. "I got it covered, Sophie." He smiled at her, causing Sophie to soften a little.

"Fine, fine…" she whispered.

So Laurent took over the desk for the time being and he seemed fine with the increased volume of customers. But as it happened, there was only one other customer waiting in line, so that would give Sophie plenty of time to show Wallace and Winona to their seats.

What Wallace did notice was that that one other customer in line was the platinum blonde who wore almost all purple. He recognised her at once as the girl who Steven had walked once every so often with, and even had dinner with her at Vue sur la Lune. He even hazarded a guess that she was in a relationship with Steven! But that clearly wasn't happening. While at that time Steven hadn't made his feelings for Cynthia as clear as they were now, now was different. And now Wallace could have sworn he saw her eyes sparkle when they looked at Laurent.

So while walking to their seats, Wallace said, "Sophie. Are you sure that you and Laurent are meant for each other? That Laurent has eyes for no one else?"

"Uh… sure? I hope so."

"Good…"

It didn't take long for Sophie to guide Wallace and Winona to the floor where their seats were located, and there were many familiar faces seated already. Wallace could see the Kalos Gym Leaders, the Striaton brothers Cress, Chili, and Cilan, and Siebold; the same people who showed up to the cookoff in Lumiose. In fact because the servers were busy, Sophie showed the two of them to their table. The table was meant to hold four people, and there was someone sitting there already. It was Diantha.

"Bonsoir, Wallace. Bonsoir, Winona," Diantha greeted.

"Hi there, Diantha." Wallace waved and then helped Winona to a seat before taking his own. After sitting down, Martine shortly showed up at their table with Lisia alongside her.

"I heard you two arrived, so it was better to get Lisia to sit with you now," Martine explained.

"Alright you two." Wallace looked directly at Martine and Lisia. "Tell me, what kind of gossip have I missed out on?"

"Not much!" Lisia said. "Just going over Steven's love story, that's all. It looks like the end is in sight, because he finally confessed to Cynthia. It's about time!"

"And not to mention tonight," Martine added. "I mean, he and she are hosting this. But we have yet to see results. Still! I can't say too much for now! Because you'll find out soon enough. Anyway, without further you better be seated, Lisia. Steven and Cynthia will be present shortly." As Lisia took her seat beside Wallace, Martine was about to leave them be but realised Sophie had stayed where she was. "Um… Sophie? We should get back to work…"

But Martine could see that Sophie's face had gone pale. What had happened…? Her serious eyes were anything but serious right now. They actually looked frightened.

Before Martine could check out what was going on, Wallace had beaten her to it. Somehow, Wallace had gotten up again and was standing next to her. "Ah… haha… This is very bad news for Sophie, isn't it?" In the distance, Martine could clearly see Laurent escorting someone to a table. That was perfectly normal.

But that 'someone' was Astrid, and she had an arm wrapped with Laurent's and she was leaning on his shoulder as she walked with him. Oh dear. Sophie would not take that kindly at all. Astrid was clinging to Laurent's side.

"Sophie." Martine gently locked an arm with the appalled receptionist to lead her a few steps. "You may want to get back to the desk. I'll call you up when Steven shows up, okay?" She gently patted Sophie's shoulder. Too bewildered to bother, Sophie merely walked away. Wallace and Lisia exchanged nervous glances, unsure of what to make of Sophie's situation. A potential love triangle in the making? This might be difficult to solve. However, they decided to focus on the present situation for now when Martine came back. "In any case, shall I fix you some drinks?" she offered.

Wallace and Lisia still kept their eyes on Sophie, who looked like she was in the midst of heartbreak. But not wanting to get involved in that (yet), Winona cleared her throat to get their attention. "Well, it is a celebratory dinner. So perhaps some wine might be in order, right, dear?" She added the last word with emphasis to get her boyfriend's attention. She looked at the drinks menu, scanned the list for something she liked, but stopped short upon seeing one drink that caught her eye. "Oho, 'C&S'? Martine, what is this? That sounds suspicious."

In an instant, Wallace took the menu from her (which, annoyingly, left Winona speechless). "Oh I see! You know, that sounds like the perfect recipe for someone who is lovesick and decides to make up a drink as if to live out a fantasy. Ha, so Martine. Can you tell me about it?"

The redhead giggled. "As far as I know, Steven made it up. He told me he made it once while visiting Cynthia's restaurant before he went to that cook-off. But Cynthia made up the name and Steven only was aware of it when we helped him look for Cynthia after the cook-off. When he came back, it put this on the menu. It's three measures of Ambrette liquor, one of Razz berry liquor, a half-measure of Oran berry liquor, shaken over ice and served with a thin slice of Pinap berry peel. It's pretty intense, I know. Shocker. Cynthia added the Oran berry, by the way."

What Martine had left out was that she knew most of the recipe during that one depressing night at À la Mer, but Wallace didn't need to know that. After all, shortly after she enlisted his help in helping Steven find Cynthia in Lumiose.

"I'll have one of those, then," Wallace replied. "Winona, dear. Will you have one too?"

Winona looked like she was deep in thought. "Martine, uh… can you make this for me? A measure of Wepear berry and two measures of Qualot berry liquor, and add a Sitrus berry on top of that."

Lisia was quick to notice how smoothly Winona ordered that. "My, my, Winona! You sure know how to order! Is that something special?"

"…Maybe," Winona replied.

"You know what, Martine? I will have one of those instead, but keep the berry," Wallace said.

Diantha rolled her eyes. She knew Wallace and Winona had some kind of special relationship between them, but it was almost comedic to see it before her. The way Wallace called Winona 'dear' was like a joke, and she wondered if Wallace took it seriously. Then again, Diantha had seen Winona punch Wallace in the face, which was enough already. As some say, sometimes love hurts. That said, Diantha and Lisia ordered non-alcoholic cocktails at Wallace's expense.

The atmosphere in the air was one that buzzed with anticipation that the hosts would show up. There was not one guest sitting at their tables who didn't know that Steven and Cynthia had some kind of agreement with each other, but whatever the details were and the circumstances that led up to it, that was another story. Only a handful knew the details (Martine and Wallace, to name a few).

"Oh, there they are," Lisia said.

Wallace, Winona, and Diantha followed their gaze. As if on cue, the restaurant fell into a state of indistinct chatter as Steven and Cynthia appeared together where everyone could see them, at the front. The last time Wallace and Winona had seen such a sight, it was way back at that wedding banquet when they slipped into Steven's restaurant without him know. Who knew that they would be back here again? At that time, Wallace had promised Steven he would provide all the support Steven needed to pursue a romantic life with Cynthia.

And now, it had materialised before him. It was reality. Steven and Cynthia were walking together at the front. They were dressed brilliantly in clothes that Wallace and Winona had not seen before. Plus, what was that on Cynthia's ears? They were glittering like sunshine, and made her look absolutely pretty. And then there was Steven in a new dinner jacket! He looked dazzling.

"He looks very handsome, doesn't he?" Winona remarked.

"He's so dreamy…" Lisia kept her eyes on Steven. "And he has the perfect woman beside him to compliment him. His love story certainly became a good one."

Steven and Cynthia could tell there was a kind of silence still hanging in the air, so they each stood near their table and faced the familiar faces.

"Um, bonsoir, tout le monde," Steven greeted. "I'm glad you're all here tonight to join me and Cynthia in this occasion. It's a special night, as we mark the start of a slightly new chapter for the Stone Restaurant and Bistro." Everyone's eyes looked at him and then to Cynthia, so he added, "and I won't need to introduce her. You all know who she is. Well, all I can say is that starting tonight, this dinner, the Stone Restaurant and Bistro shall be working together with Vue sur la Lune across the street. Cynthia here has graciously become a friendly competitor and… well, she's making dessert for us."

Cynthia rolled her eyes and bumped Steven's arm.

"He sure knows how to ruin a speech," she said calmly, much to everyone's amusement. "But anyway, yes. If you haven't heard, Vue sur la Lune underwent some changes in ownership in the past two weeks. All I can say is, Vue sur la Lune may be working together with this restaurant here, but we're going to compete against each other for the best performance. It's a nice way to keep us going! Starting tonight, we'll be enemies but partners."

To her major annoyance, Wallace stood up. "That's what your love like has been always like, Cynthia! Good on y–"

SMACK

Winona punched him in the face, forcing Wallace back to his seat.

"Désolé, Cynthia," Winona said, to some laughs.

Cynthia rolled her eyes. "As I was saying, this is a new direction for both our restaurants. But hey, you never know, we might earn a Richissime star on the way. Here's to our success in the future, but for now, I want you all to enjoy this celebration. This will be a special evening! So please, enjoy yourselves, and you never know, Steven and I might stop by your table to chat."

A round of polite applause followed Cynthia's words, and as then everyone went back to their conversations. For Wallace, he clearly had a bruise on his face and Winona was fine with that, and Winona and Lisia kept their gazes on Steven and Cynthia.

"You have to admit, it was a success," Lisia said. "Their love life, I mean."

"If only this guy had the same energy and manners." Winona made a face at Wallace.

The appetizers were rolling out of the kitchen and had no sooner had made their way to the dining floor where all the guests were seated. Martine, among others, carried plates of croissants and a serving of salad. The salad placed before Wallace and Winona, they saw, was a vibrant green salad served with tomatoes, bits of ham, a Chansey egg, and generously mixed with slices of fromage Couriway, a specialty cheese from the town of the same name. Fromage Couriway was a firm cheese and had a special kind of taste to it, with a ground-like earthy flavour. Such a cheese made the salad, dubbed Salade Mozheim as it happened, something quite unique. If nothing else, the salad was also served with the optional Wepear berry vinaigrette for an extra bitter and sour bite, which somehow gave the earthiness of the fromage Couriway a natural flavour.

Still recovering from his fistful from Winona, Wallace began to eat his salad. The flavours were magnificent, as they tasted refreshing, natural, and full of flavour. He could not only imagine what kind of effort was put into making this salad, but also the effort that was made in making the ingredients. The cheese, the vinaigrette, and of course the lettuce leaves.

"Oh… This is so good…" Lisia said. "And it's very healthy! I wish I could have more!"

"Lisia, you haven't even finished a quarter of it." Winona too was eating, but secretly thinking the same thing. The salad was delicious, and the Chansey egg plus the fromage Couriway were portioned just right that it wasn't too filling either.

As they continued eating, Wallace, Winona, Lisia, and Diantha watched Steven and Cynthia walk together and talking with several guests (as it happened, the brothers from Striaton City plus Siebold). Clearly the two chefs were too busy to eat and looked more like they were interested in getting feedback on the salads. Besides that, Wallace and Winona couldn't help but think they looked really good in their choice of dresses, that and including Steven's dinner jacket and Cynthia's earrings.

Still eating their salads, Martine finally returned with the drinks. "Here are your special orders, vous deux," she said, placing the cocktails before Winona and Wallace, with the Sitrus berry missing in the latter. Then she placed a blend of blueberries, banana, kale, and ginger before Diantha and another blend of strawberry and Oran berry for Lisia. After that, Martine added, "That's a very interesting mix you have there, Winona. How did you think of that?"

"I, uh…" Winona trailed off. "It just popped into my head."

Wallace picked up his glass and sipped the cocktail. "Winona… This is delicious. You made this up just now? You didn't get it off of a show or fanfiction? Genuinely, it's yours? You should think of a name for that."

So that was what it came to. Everyone had finished with their serving of Salade Mozheim and the entrées were rolling out of the kitchen afterward. What were they? Everyone would have half a serving of the new signature dish, the Stone Accolade en croute, plus a slice of quiche personally prepared by Cynthia. The quiche was composed of egg and cheese, and was reinforced by layers of mushroom and spinach, and also had a very distinctive taste of Kelpsy berry. There could be no doubt that Cynthia had added Kelpsy berry extract for a small dash of flavour in the quiche, and it tasted wonderful (in spite of being meat-free, which made the vegetarians happy). The food itself didn't look much, but Winona could tell it would be filling.

In the same time Wallace, Winona, Lisia, and Diantha got their serving, Steven and Cynthia arrived at their table. As Winona expected, Wallace's face brightened up at once.

"See? I knew it worked out for you two!" he said, wishing to stand up and congratulate the two (but Winona dragged him back down).

"Heh, you can say that, Wallace," Steven replied. "How does the food taste? Enjoying yourselves?"

Diantha spoke first. "It's very nice, Steven, and hey, thanks for treating us. You two are looking very lovely, like the ideal couple. It's a wonder that this isn't your wedding banquet, but sure feels like one." Cynthia looked away for a moment as Diantha continued speaking. "So what are your plans now for the future? Anything on your mind?"

Steven looked away briefly to think. "There is some business me and Cynthia need to settle in the short-run right now, but after that's done, then we'll have to think of bigger plans."

Cynthia smiled as well. "Well, we're also planning improvements to both restaurants, especially mine at Vue sur la Lune. So if you have time someday, come and drop by." She paused, stopping to look at what Winona and Wallace were drinking. "Wallace, what are you drinking?"

Pleased that Cynthia, and then Steven, was interested, Wallace proudly held his glass up. "You like this, eh? It's a little something Winona made up, and it's delicious. Who'd have thought she had this kind of taste? It's Wepear and Qualot, but without the Sitrus berry as Winona does."

"Does it have a name? I have never heard of that." Steven's interest in it could not have been more obvious. "Unless if Winona made it up, then she might as well name it.

But for once, Wallace couldn't think of a name, so he also turned to Winona. "What do you think, dear?"

Winona mumbled.

"What was that, dear?"

Winona whispered.

"Oh, Winona. You'll have to do better than that."

"W&W…" she said quietly.

Cynthia and Steven exchanged glances and couldn't help smiling, with Cynthia saying, "That's probably the most original name I've heard. It sounds like a drink I know."

"We'll just pop it under 'C&S', then," Steven said. He looked even amused. "In any case, enjoy your evening, you four, and your meals. I'll talk to you soon."

They walked away, leaving the four of them at their table again. Once that had happened, Lisia and Diantha simultaneously looked at Winona, with Diantha speaking first. "Really, Winona? Of all the names, you said 'W&W'? That name will stick."

"Aw, but it's learning from example!" Lisia said. "For once, Winona (and my uncle) are learning from Steven and it's not the other way around! It seems like Steven can take care of his love life, but you two need to start taking your relationship more seriously and not on others. Well, maybe except Sophie's." She turned her attention back to her food. "Bon appétit, Winona. The food will get cold."

So Winona, Lisia, and Diantha started eating, with Wallace following seconds later.

The flavours did not disappoint. They had all seen the Accolade en croute in Lumiose before, during that cook-off, but never had the opportunity to actually eat it. The flavours of the Stone Accolade were there, all encased within the pastry shell. There were spices, mushroom, Bleu de Sud-Est cheese, meat, and served with the trademark red wine cream sauce. And then Cynthia's quiche! At least in this table's view (Diantha included), Cynthia had her work cut out. It had the flavours any customer would expect from Steven's expertise, but it had the comforting feeling one would expect from Cynthia's cooking. It almost tasted of home cooking.

In short, dinner tonight was especially special.

In case you haven't noticed, this chapter is told exclusively from the points of view of Wallace, Winona, and Lisia. Thought it'd be interesting to do it!

There is a lot of food in this chapter, I should say. Leave a review! And you will be served a serving of Salade Mozheim, a slice of Kelpsy quiche, and a glass of W&W. That sounds appetising, doesn't it?