Disclaimer: I own nothing here.
Peacekeepers
AN: I just know everyone is gonna think I wrote this after a certain piece of Cynthia artwork was released, but the truth is, I had this first part written about three months ago! But whether you believe me or not, I hope you enjoy! This chapter is my treasure.
Warning: Alcohol referenced in this chapter too.
Chapter Fifteen - Memories
After an exciting plane ride and a short walk to a children's park, a seven year old Cynthia wriggled with excitement at the sight of other kids running around and shouting in play. She beamed up at her grandma, practically bouncing where she stood, waiting for permission to go play.
"Now Cynthia, you behave and have fun," her grandma said. "I'll just be right down the street in that big building, alright?" The elderly lady then regarded the loyal Umbreon that walked beside them. "And you stay with Cynthia and keep her out of trouble, understand?"
The Umbreon yipped affirmation and Cynthia nodded vigorously. She understood that her grandma had some important business with a "Mister Stone", and that was why they had to travel so far on a plane. Her grandma nodded back and regarded the child's Gible, who trundled along behind them. "You go play too."
The young Gible warbled its own excitement and trailed after Umbreon and Cynthia as they took off towards the other children while her grandma headed for the building.
Before she got within range of the group of kids, Cynthia noticed a lone boy off to the side. With interesting pale blue hair, he had his back to her and was sitting on the ground with a small shovel in his hands. There was also a large Houndoom watching over him and a silver plated Aron chirping and digging beside him.
Cynthia stopped and dithered, looking between the boy and the other kids. The obvious choice was to be with the group, because tag was much more fun that way, so why was this boy all alone?... She had to know.
"Hi there, my name's Cynthia. What's your name?" When the boy glanced her way but then promptly ignored her, Cynthia only grew more determined to get an answer out of him. She was oblivious to the Houndoom tipping his head at her curiously before he barked a friendly greeting to the Umbreon. "What'chya doin'? Why are you over here all alone?"
"Steven," the boy eventually mumbled and sighed in defeat as he shrugged his shoulders. "I prefer to play alone."
Umbreon and Houndoom continued to sit and watch the two children dutifully, alert to any potential dangers. Every now and then making small huffs or yips at each other, as if in conversation.
"How come?" Cynthia pressed again, her curiosity ever insatiable.
"I don't get along with the other kids." He shrugged again.
Cynthia blinked at him and tipped her head quizzically. "Why?"
Steven scowled suddenly. "Cause I don't like bullies!" His outburst caused her to flinch, resulting in him muttering an apology. "Sorry."
Cynthia was not to be deterred. She looked over at the other kids, then back to him. "Do other kids bully you?"
With his gaze downcast, the boy focused back on his digging project, nodding his head slightly in answer.
"Why?"
He sighed again. "It's complicated."
"Oh." Cynthia thought for a moment. "Do you think I'm a bully?"
The boy gave her an evaluating glance before answering with a comical snort. "No."
"Good!" Taking his answer as an invitation to stay, Cynthia chirped and plopped down beside him, inspecting the turned up dirt around him. "Sooo? What'chya doing?"
He didn't sigh in response for once, and blinked at her in bewilderment. "Uhm, well, I'm digging for treasure..." His expression suddenly grew animated, his eyes flashing with excitement. "My dad says there's all sorts of treasure buried in the ground!"
"Really?" Cynthia gushed back with her own excitement. "My grandma says that too!" She looked around for her Pokémon counterpart and called it over. "My Gible can help, she's really good at digging!"
When her Gible toddled over and met Steven's Aron, the two began barking and yelping at each other before launching into playful rough housing. The two Pokémon did not get much digging done after that.
Steven didn't mind though. He smiled contentedly, listening silently as Cynthia began chattering about some ruins her grandma was studying back home. And for a brief moment, it was as if they had been the best of friends for the entirety of their young lives.
Their guardians came to collect them some time later and they went their separate ways, waving to each other as though they would meet again soon.
They didn't.
Waking to the darkness, with only a faint, orange glow of a campfire from somewhere outside, Cynthia slowly sat up and looked around. She vaguely remembered settling into the spacious tent before promptly falling asleep. Against the meager backdrop, she thought she could make out Steven's outline and he seemed to be sitting up himself. "Steven? You awake too?"
"...Yeah," his response was hesitant, but she couldn't see his expression in the darkness.
She grabbed the lantern after blindly fumbling for it and had Garchomp, who was lying beside her, light it with a (mild) Flamethrower. She had considered having Kiss use Flash instead, but that would have conspicuously lit up their tent like a lighthouse.
With the limited light from the lantern, the first thing she noticed was a thin, pink mist permeating the air. Is this... Dream Mist? she wondered, but quickly disregarded the distraction. She looked over to see that Steven was sitting about five feet away with a pensive expression.
As anticipated, he had moved his own sleeping mat away from hers; she wasn't sure whether she should feel offended or venerated by this.
Thinking back on her dream, she felt such an intense sense of déjà vu that she found herself asking a question without really thinking about it first. "Steven, this might sound really silly, but did we ever... meet as kids in the past?"
His gaze snapped to hers in an instant, surprised but intent, as if he hadn't expected her to ask that question in a million years but had been eagerly anticipating it all the same. "You had the same-? Wait... Did we just, share the same dream?" He shook his head, looking confused. "The same memory?"
"You mean, you had the same dream about us meeting in the park? With Gible and Aron and our guardian Pokémon?" Cynthia hesitated to believe it, then prompted him to confirm a portion himself. "What did we talk about in your dream?"
It was Steven's turn to hesitate. "...About how I... didn't get along with the other kids."
She blinked at him, utterly astonished. "And... You're saying that actually happened? That it wasn't just a dream?"
Steven didn't reply directly, instead he glanced away, appearing dejected as he murmured, "so you did forget."
"And you... didn't?" Cynthia frowned, feeling a bit bad for having forgot such a happy memory.
"I was very... adamant about seeing you again, but my father wouldn't have it," Steven recalled somberly. "He insisted that I focus on making local friends instead. By the time I was old enough to travel on my own, well, I had assumed you'd forgotten all about me."
"So, when we met at my coronation, you still remembered me?" When he nodded in response, Cynthia offered a slight smile at another thought. "Come to think of it, I did get the sense that I had seen you somewhere before. So I guess I didn't forget completely?"
He didn't reply, but instead seemed to have a glazed over, contemplative expression. Thinking he was still feeling hurt about the matter, she continued with an apology. "I'm sorry I never tried to go visit you. My grandmother says I was always very... distracted as a child."
"No need to apologize," Steven replied with an easy smile and a shrug. "We were just kids, after all."
Cynthia nodded, thinking. So he wasn't upset about it? What was on his mind then? She pondered for a moment before her thoughts began to rapidly fall into place like an elaborate puzzle. Wait... she thought, eyes widening with a sudden epiphany as some of his unusual behaviors finally began to make sense. Is he actually... in love with me?
It was then that she realized that their marriage pretense had veiled all the obvious signs from her mind and she felt her ears starting to heat up in response. She would admit to feeling a strong attraction towards him, but anything more than that was just too complicated to think about or even consider at the moment.
She desperately wanted to clear the air about the matter, but there wasn't really any good way to broach the subject. She really just needed to take some time and put her thoughts into order before she chose to address the issue.
In an attempt to find something else to focus on, she noticed the dream mist still hanging in the air.
She looked over at Garchomp, who was wide awake with her broad head raised, her gaze watchful. The three Munnas were all sound asleep, one on either side of her dorsal fin and one behind it. They seemed to have fed on the shared dream without realizing it. "We must have shared our dream because of the Munnas?"
Steven nodded thoughtfully, seemingly unaware of her mental struggles. "That would make sense I guess. They probably can't control their powers yet."
Grateful for the successful distraction, Cynthia felt a warm smile tug at her lips as she watched the Munnas sleep, contentedly curled up on Garchomp's back. "Thank you for looking after them Gar."
Garchomp let out a soft chirp in return, reminding Cynthia of the sounds she used to make as a Gible. The sudden chain reaction of thoughts made her frown and pin her ace with a pointed look. "Wait a second... If that memory was real, then you and Aggron were friends as babies!" She spun around to regard Steven. "Unless that was a different Aron you had with you?"
"No, that was him..." He blinked back at her blankly for a moment, then fixed Aggron with a frown of his own. "You know, she's right. How did evolving shift your friendly rivalry into something so... bitter?"
The big metal beast was also awake and listening intently, making Cynthia wonder if both Pokémon in question had been dreaming along with them, since Skarmory and Togekiss both seemed completely disinterested. Aggron released a low grumble in reply and hung his head a bit, as if he were being admonished.
Cynthia turned back to Garchomp to see her in a similar pout. The dragon whined under her master's demanding stare and turned away to go back to sleep in an attempt to avoid any further probing.
Sighing tiredly, Cynthia glanced back to Steven, idly noting how Aggron followed Garchomp's example by turning his head away to feign sleep. "I guess we're still just not meant to understand their issue."
"Hmm," Steven hummed thoughtfully. "Well, it's common knowledge that a Pokémon's personality changes when it evolves. And since certain personalities between people don't always get along, it stands to reason that the same would happen between Pokémon."
"Yes, I have seen personality discrepancies like this in the past," she said, nodding in agreement as a certain Piplup and Oshawott came to mind. "Just, none at this severe level, or that involved my Pokémon personally."
"Well, at the very least, they seem to be putting up with one another lately." Steven shrugged and gave Aggron's flank an encouraging pat before turning a lighthearted smile her way. "That's progress, right?"
With her heart skipping in response, not entirely unpleasantly, Cynthia had to glance away as she felt an unbidden heat crawl up her neck. For whatever reason, his smile was eliciting memories of the day's events that her addled mind was still trying to process. From the feel of his lips on her knuckles, his extensively cheesy attempt at poetry, to his gentle touch when he made to steady her during her freak dizzy spell.
Frowning at the memory, she turned back to him, no longer caring how warm her face felt. "Steven, my memory during dinner is a bit foggy and I had assumed I was just very tired at the time. But then you mentioned that you'd explain later." She tipped her head, genuinely curious. "Did something happen?"
"Oh, that," the man replied with a wince as he rubbed his neck in what was probably an uncomfortable mannerism. "I think the tea was spiked with saké... I assume that in this era, providing alcohol to guests is commonplace. Even so, unknowingly drinking it, along with already being tired..."
Oh, alcohol, the woman thought bitterly, her frown deepening as more events began to make sense. "So that's why you pulled the kettle away from me."
"Yes..." Steven spoke with a tentative tone. "I was afraid you didn't realize it. I wanted to tell you, but the Lord's discussion took precedence."
"I... Thank you," Cynthia murmured, feeling her thoughts darken. "I usually try to avoid alcohol due to... bad memories as a child." She hesitated in explaining further but ultimately decided she didn't want him getting the wrong idea. "My father's drunken temper is just another memory of him I wish I didn't have."
Steven blinked at her with a surprised expression, seemingly at a loss for words. He looked conflicted, as if he wanted to know more about the matter but also didn't want to pry.
Eventually he nodded with either sympathy or understanding, or perhaps both, choosing to provide his own stance. "I... usually only indulge in a drink if I'm having trouble sleeping." He offered up a sheepish grin, attempting to lighten her mood. "My parents were able to teach me moderation in that, at least."
Finding his expression absolutely infectious, she couldn't resist responding with a slight smile and quip. "Are you referring to your treasure hunting obsession?"
His grin faltered comically. "That's a very childish term for it, but I suppose it fits."
Feeling a bit better at his expense, Cynthia relaxed and failed to stifle a yawn at the invisible tug of her pillow. "I don't know what time it is, but I need more sleep."
"Well, Aaron did say we would be allowed to rest until sometime tomorrow," Steven replied, nodding in agreement before lying back down on his mat. "I just hope the Munnas don't keep giving us crazy dreams!"
Cynthia followed his example and settled down with her blankets again, a big white mound that was Togekiss blocked her view of the man on the other side. "Steven?"
"Hmm?" His response was instantaneous and she imagined him raising his head slightly.
"Thank you... for looking out for me today." She felt her mind drifting back to his unlikely infatuation and made a silent vow to be more mindful of her interactions with him moving forward.
"Of course," he replied softly after a pause, as if not expecting such gratitude for his deeds. "Sleep well."
Either the residual dream mist in the air was affecting her, or the events of the day had caught up with her again. Cynthia was already asleep by the time he added belatedly in a murmur, "and... thank you, for being there."
AN: Flashback (partially) inspired by "I Found Love" by Owl City. ^-^ That song is so beautiful but equally sad. T-T
/o/o/o/ Bonus scene:
Cynthia: What happened? You two were friends!
Garchomp: (obstinate sniff) I remember no such occurrence.
Aggron: (grumble) Right, that never happened.
Garchomp: (nods) Exactly, it was just a dream.
Skarmory: (sighs in frustration) Well some of us would like to be dreaming right now!