The inauguration of the Midspring festival took place in Jubilife city, Sinnoh's capital. And then there would be a second moment of inauguration at the battle frontier. Palmer, the battle tower legend, would join her for that. She wasn't sure which inauguration she would see Steven at but had a feeling he meant the battle frontier one.
The whole region was in festival mode, everywhere she walked she saw flowers and ribbons and Pokémon decorations on every building and fountain and lamppost. Even tiny Twinleaf town was decked out in festival décor. She had decided to walk to Jubilife city. It was about an hour on foot, and she would be able to see if there were already people in Sandgem town visiting the silky soft beaches there, or perhaps people on their way to the Ramanas park.
Sure enough, when she got there she spotted Bertha of the elite four on a walk with a bunch of children at her side. She caught her eye, and Luna jogged over to her.
"Ah champion. Good morning. These are my grandchildren, Rocco and Keith." Bertha said, patting the kids on their shoulders.
"Wow! So you're the champion! One day I'm going to beat you, you know! Better get ready!" Keith said, challenging her. Luna chuckled and kneeled beside the kid.
"Don't worry. I'll be ready when you are!" Luna said confidently. She stood up again to face Bertha.
"You're on your way to Jubilife's inaugural ceremony? How are you feeling?" Bertha asked. Bertha was so sweet, always caring for Luna and helping her adjust into her champion title. She had helped so much during the festival preparations, despite her age.
"I'm feeling…good. It will be good." Luna sighed, hyping herself up. She had to be perfect. She had worked so hard for this.
"You'll be amazing dear." She patted Luna on her cheek affectionately. "Take deep breaths and show everyone what you're made of."
Luna said her goodbyes to Bertha and continued on towards Jubilife city. She was so wrapped up in nerves and thoughts and anxiety. She couldn't help thinking about how she had left Steven to eat dinner alone last night. Was that…a date? Surely not, Steven was a colleague, and was merely here to support her and enjoy his time during Battle frontier season. Why was she still thinking about him? Why was he so damn attractive too? It just made everything worse. Luna admitted it to herself. Steven was attractive, she knew it. He was Hoenn's golden boy after all. Luna shook her thoughts away. There was no time to think about that now.
Jubilife appeared in her sights, as the route turned in to the outskirts of the city. Music played in the streets, and children ran around playing with each other. It was truly a lovely Sunday morning. Crowds had already gathered near the main square in front of the town hall, and some cheers arose as she approached. People greeted her as she passed, and Pokémon yipped happily. She entered the town hall and was greeted by the mayor.
"Champion! You're early, wonderful." She said, Byron and Roark were there too, they waved. "Is everything ready?"
"Yes, everything should proceed as planned." The mayor clapped in excitement.
"Wonderful!"
The inaugural speech in Jubilife had gone well. The massive crowd celebrated the beginning of the festival. She called out her Driftblim and set out for the battle frontier on battle island. She hadn't seen Steven in the crowd, but there were so many people so she couldn't really tell if he had been there or not.
Battle island was positively buzzing. In the resort area, people swarmed the stalls for food and gadgets and trinkets, the stage was gorgeous, and people awaited the first performer of the day. Meanwhile at the battle frontier, the plaza was full of strong trainers from all over the world. Luna didn't recognize anyone, even some Pokémon were completely foreign to her. There was a small pedestal in the middle of the plaza where Luna finally took the small stage, security Machamp surrounding her. She tapped the mic for everyone's attention.
"Hello! Welcome to Sinnoh! And welcome to the Battle frontier!" people turned and clapped and cheered. "My name is Luna, Champion of Sinnoh, and I'm so excited to see so many people here today! I wanted a few moments of your time to explain how the battle frontier will work for newcomers and also give a warm invitation to the rest of the events during the Midspring Festival here in Sinnoh!"
"The battle frontier is composed of 5 main facilities, The battle Tower, the battle factory, the battle arcade, the battle castle and the battle hall!" Luna quickly ran through the explanation of each facility, capturing every eager trainer's attention.
"This is not all! I'd like to draw your attention to the resort area here on Battle Island. We have contest competitions on stage every day from five to seven pm and then musical performances from eight to eleven pm on weekdays. Then next Saturday and Sunday, the musical performances will go on till one am! We have local food and artisans waiting for you to show you their wares. Battle frontier staff is currently handing out a map of Sinnoh with all the attractions present, where, and when they take place. Some are by payment, and some are free, some also have limited spaces available so hurry and check them out!"
"And Finally! A reminder of article 16 of Sinnoh law, unaccompanied visits to mount Coronet during this time are strictly prohibited if unarmed of a licence. Thank you everyone! Please enjoy your time at the Battle Frontier, and in Sinnoh! Good luck trainers!" a roar of applause and chatter erupted from the crowd. They were absolutely hyped!
Luna hopped down from the small pedestal at the centre of the plaza, and immediately was faced with a crowd of people and reporters shooting her questions left and right. The Machamp did their best to surround Luna, creating a barrier between them. Luna spoke into the mic once more. "A reminder that all staff located on battle island and the battle frontier are available for further information!" she yelled out over the commotion, she then switched off the mic and tried to make her way out of the crowd, but it seemed endless.
That was when she caught sight of Steven. Her skitty moved faster than she did, weaving in and out of people's feet and launching herself at the man. He stumbled backwards, not expecting the Pokémon.
"Steven!" She called out.
"Luna!" when the crowds seem to dissipate towards the various facilities, Luna nodded to the machamp, who dispersed towards their respective positions. "Hello." Steven greeted.
"Hi." She breathed out, smiling at him.
"The set up looks amazing. You really did do a great job." He said, looking around the place.
"There are so many people! I didn't expect such a crowd." She looked around as well, still in awe of it all.
"I told you, this festival is kind of a big deal internationally. You're marketing team did an amazing job." The older man said.
"Cynthia did most of that actually. She had more contacts with other regions so, really, this is her merit too." Steven scoffed jokingly.
"Marketing is only a small part of the work. I visited Hearthome this morning. It's incredible." Luna eagerly nodded, Hearthome was, well, the heart of Sinnoh, and Fanny went extra-over-the-top with all the attractions there.
Steven picked up a leaflet from some Battle frontier staff nearby and inspected it, from cliff jumping on route 213 to grand underground expeditions, to skiing in Snowpoint city to Creative pottery in Celestic town. There was certainly plenty to do in Sinnoh. Steven was surely going to keep himself busy during the week. "What is there to do today?" Steven asked curiously. Luna checked her poketch, she had the whole list, day by day, saved on there.
"Hm well, the grand underground has visits every day, Pastoria's marsh has a treasure hunt, but it's mostly for kids, Amity square has a poffin decorating competition. Canalave's library has a couple of book presentations….hm…Oh! Iron island has a tour going on." Luna listed off the things that could perhaps interest Steven. He had never been to Iron Island.
"Iron island?" He asked.
"Yeah, it's an island off the coast of Eterna, ships depart from Canalave every day. It used to be an old mine but works stopped ages ago, it's now a home to wild Pokémon, people go there to train. I reckon you'll be able to find some cool stones there." Luna explained. Steven's face perked up, he wanted to go. Luna frowned, she couldn't go with him. "I…I can show you how to get there, Canalave is west of Jubilife…"
"You're not coming?" Steven sounded disappointed. Luna sighed deeply.
"I've got work to do. The festival is a perfect time to keep the shop open and we just stocked some hand-dyed wool for spring. It's a perfect time to maximise our sales." Luna's frown lessened. "We've also got some knitting workshops that are available though, it's one of Jublife's attractions. It's going to be great." Luna said. She was disappointed to not spend time with Steven but, work called her. Plus Julia would kill her if she kept the store closed any longer.
Steven frowned. A pang of guilt hit Luna. "I'm sorry." Steven wasn't aware that Luna had a secondary job or commitment. It seemed they were more alike than they thought. He shook his head.
"Nothing to apologise for. Perhaps we'll see each other some other time." His eyes closed and lifted his head as a cold breeze flew through the battle Frontier. "Let me accompany you to Jubilife then." He said.
The pair stepped outside the battle frontier and released their flying Pokémon. Steven's skarmony screeched with a dazzling silver light. It was a beautiful Pokémon, light reflecting off of it's razor sharp wings. Luna sent out her Driftblim, the capsule stickers exploding in purple smoke and black ribbons. Steven stood admiring, Luna smiled.
"Do you have capsules in Hoenn?" She asked before Blimp's arms linked like a swing and Luna sat on them.
"I'm sure we do, but I've never used them. They're quite spectacular." He said, climbing onto his skarmony. The pair were off into the sky. Skarmony was much faster than Driftblim, and he danced around it elegantly in the vast blue sky.
"You should go to Sunnyshore! They have a bazaar there where they sell really cool stickers!" Luna shouted over the wind overhead. Skarmony spun in the air. "Show off!" She yelled at him. Steven only laughed.
Soon enough, the two were in Jubilife. They walked down the main avenue until Luna took a right, turning into a small pedestrian street. It was busy, but not crowded, a chilly spring day in the city. Steven smiled to himself.
"Here we are." Luna spoke after a while of walking down the street. Steven looked up and saw a small shop, balls of yarn and various tools in the window. Knitted garlands with ribbons and pokemon decorated the outside of the shop. It looked cosy. Luna took out a pair of keys and unlocked the door, Skitty rushing into the store. She flicked on the lights and welcomed Steven inside. Blankets and scarfs and sweaters were on racks around the shop, baskets and shelves of yarn were everywhere, assortments of colours and textures filled his sight. Luna observed him observing, he seemed bewildered.
"This is where you work?" He asked, enchanted.
"Yep! My sort-of Aunt and I own a mareep farm south of here. All the yarns you see are mostly all ours, hand spun and dyed." She said proudly, from the back room, taking out a massive box into the main room.
"I see." He said touching a white yarn nearby. It was incredibly soft. "I ought to go." Luna dusted herself off and faced him.
"Right."
"See you around, Luna." He smiled.
"Bye, Steven."
Steven inspected the pamphlet, as the boat set sail. His eyes laid on the title on the last page.
'RESORT AREA: MAIN STAGE. Friday 6th April performances 20:00-01:00
PVRIS
Renée
POTSU
Roxie and the velens.
CHAMPION LUNA RENN'
He flipped the pages, searching for Jubilife city events, and then he spotted it.
'JUBILIFE ATTRACTIONS:
Sunday 1st april: OPENING CEREMONY BY CHAMPION LUNA RENN, Global trading event….
Monday 2nd april: Jubilife art gallery Pokémon paint workshop….
Tuesday 3rd april: JubiTV gameshow free entry….
Wednesday 4th april: Knitting workshop at Twinleaf Yarns….
Thursday 5th april: Poffin making and berry fresh market….
Friday 6th april: Jubilife High school sports day….'
Luna locked the door behind her, it was 18:30 and she had just closed shop. She was so exhausted. These days had been an absolute rush of customers left and right. She was drained, dehydrated and starving. These days she tried to go to events on her lunch breaks and contests and music performances in the evenings, but she simply couldn't keep up. She was grateful for Cynthia and Julia helping out occasionally at the yarn shop, but it simply wasn't enough. Tomorrow, she had the workshop, and the spots were all fully booked. Thursday, she had to judge competitions in the Hearthome arena all day and Friday was her performance in the resort area. She had barely practised.
She was a hot mess.
She huffed, tired and released Blimp.
"Let's go home buddy." The Pokémon was silent as it linked its arms together.
The next day, Luna arrived at Jubilife at 7am. She and Cynthia were mounting tables outside in the pedestrian street in front of the shop.
"So, have you seen Steven? I heard he was in Sinnoh." Cynthia asked.
"Yeah, I saw him Sunday. He was at the inaugural ceremony at the battle frontier." Luna replied, unfolding some chairs, and passing them over to the older woman. "Haven't heard from him though. Must be busy with the events." Cynthia smirked.
"What about Saturday?"
"What about it?" Luna avoided the comment.
"Aren't you going to reschedule dinner with him?"
"No." Luna said hotly.
"Why not?"
"It wasn't dinner. We just ate together. It's different." Luna justified weakly.
"Yeah. In his home. With a dinner he cooked for you." Cynthia laughed.
"What exactly is your point?" She said, practically throwing a chair at her.
"My point is you should contact him." Luna scoffed. She was not going to contact Steven Stone. She most certainly was not going to reschedule a dinner with him. Besides, she was far too tired and busy for that. Cynthia dropped the subject though, and they finished setting up for the workshop. Luna went inside to print the names of everyone who'd signed up for the workshop, the site statistics had noticed a sizable demand in this event. The workshop was supposed to start at 10am. And what Luna did not expect to see was a particular name on the festival sign up sheet that she had printed from the Jubilife city website form.
'Steven Stone. Level: beginner'
Luna blinked as the information registered in her brain. Steven Stone had signed up to the workshop.
A couple of hours later, Luna spotted Steven Stone outside the shop from the window. She was dealing with some customers before the workshop was to start but waved him inside. He walked in, the bell ringing as the door closed.
"Hey." He said, casually
"Hi." She replied. "How was iron island?" She asked, putting away some things on the cashier desk.
"It was great! I found some interesting Stones, and I met a curious trainer as well." Riley. Must've been. Luna knew him, they were actually close friends, and Luna's first crush actually. Guess she had a thing for steel type trainers.
"Oh good, that's great." Luna closed her laptop on the desk. "I didn't know you know how to knit." Steven grinned.
"I don't."
"Then why did you sign up for a knitting workshop?" Luna asked, dumbfounded. The man shrugged.
"I wanted to learn." He said simply. A group of women entered the shop, asking about the workshop. They had signed up.
"Alright everyone! Since we're all here I think we should get started! My name is Luna, I'll be your instructor today. I'd like you all to pick your favourite colour from this basket here," She pointed to a huge basket of yarn balls. "And pick whether you'd like to learn to knit or crochet, I will give you your needles or hooks, respectively." She announced.
Steven grabbed a bluish Mint colour and took a seat outside. the women stared at him, apparently, they weren't expecting him either.
"Steven, would you like to knit or crochet?" Steven hadn't the slightest clue of the difference.
"Which do you prefer?" He asked.
"Well, I prefer knitting, but I personally think it's slightly harder in the beginning to learn." She said, holding a bunch of tools in her hand.
"Knitting then." Steven said, confident in his abilities. Besides, how hard could it be?
An hour and a half later, Steven still hadn't the slightest clue as to what he was doing. He followed Luna's instructions to the letter, and she even showed him exactly how to do it, but the yarn kept falling off the needle, and was too loose. He sighed in frustration. Even the other women signed up to the workshop were confused as to what in the world he was making and why he was even here. But there was no judgement, Luna had been perfectly patient with him, not giving up on showing him how to knit.
The workshop was nearly over and Steven had gotten nowhere. He was utterly disappointed in himself. Luna noticed a frown on his face.
"Hey! It's ok! The point is for it to be fun and relaxing. You don't have to work yourself up about it." She said calmly. Steven didn't reply. He had wanted to impress her. instead, he remained impressed himself, on how wonderfully Luna could knit and the skill it took to do so.
The workshop ended soon enough, and some of the ladies had gotten the hang of it, taking their work home. Steven hung around glumly in the shop.
"That was a disaster." Luna laughed.
"Steven, really. I'm not sure why you wanted to try it out so bad, but it's really fine, you'll get the hang of it if you keep practising. Really!" She said, encouraging him. He shook his head.
"Maybe knitting just isn't for me."
"You're right. You haven't even tried crochet yet." Luna said with a grin. It was Luna's lunch break, and she suggested a café downtown that had good brunches.
"So what are you're plans for the rest of the week?" Steven asked, sipping his coffee.
"Well, tomorrow I'm a judge at the Hearthome arena all day. I'll be pretty busy with that. Then, Friday I'm in my own rehearsals, then I'm working the weekend." She said, sipping her orange juice.
"Sounds busy." Steven said, putting down his mug.
"This festival period has just been absolutely crazy. I've never had so many responsibilities in my life, it's just I'm needed everywhere at once." She sighed. "I suppose you know what that's like. Is being champion always this crazy?" Steven chuckled.
"Not when you organize the biggest festival of the year." He said. Their food arrived, the two happily ate lunch together. Catching up on stories from the week and all the events Steven had partaken in.
It wasn't long until Luna had to get back to work. Steven accompanied her back to the shop and Steven bid her a final goodbye.
"Good luck for tomorrow and Friday." He said with a wink.
"Thanks, Bye Steven!"
It was Friday. Rehearsals had gone super well in the morning. Luna was getting fitted out for the evening. It was around 21:00. She was the last performer and then the stage would turn to a sort of open-air club for the rest of the night. The stylist had chosen a short black silky dress, which complimented her figure perfectly. It was sort of fairy-like, and Julia had crocheted her some black lotuses to wrap around her legs as an accessory. She truly looked amazing.
"You look hot, moon girl." Roxie, one of her closest friends said. She was in the fitting room backstage with her.
"You think? It's not too much?" Luna asked, self-conscious of how much skin she was showing. "Hand me those gloves over there." She said to Roxie, but the stylist stopped her.
"No no no! velvet and silk don't go together, you look perfect, Luna, trust me." She said. Roxie nodded her head eagerly.
"True, she's right. You look amazing." Luna blushed.
Roxie was performing right before her, it would be hard to impress the crowds after her. She felt anxiety spill over her. What if they didn't like her voice?
"Hey, relax. Trust me, if you go out there and sing like you sang this morning, you'll do perfect." Roxie reassured her. But Luna knew that she was nervous for one person in particular. Steven Stone. She had to do this, she couldn't embarrass herself on stage, especially not if there were so many people out there.
The moment had come, the staff member had signalled her it was alright for her to go on stage.
She anxiously climbed the steps in her heels and immediately was faced with an eruption of cheers and whistles and claps. There were so many people She couldn't believe it.
"Hi everyone!" Cheers and cheers went on. "I have some songs prepared for tonight! Shall we get started?"
[A/N: Cruel summer live from the eras tour.
Mastermind – taylor swift.
The archer (live from paris) – taylor swift.]
Combat…. I'm ready for combat.
The last note echoed across the crowd and people cried and shouted in joy. The performance was over. The claps didn't stop even after she had gotten off stage.
Luna didn't bother getting changed after her performance. She was too high on the cheers to even care. She rushed off stage and leaped into Roxie's arms.
"That was incredible Moonie!" Luna laughed at the stupid nickname Roxie had always given her. Steven stone seemed to appear from in the crowd. "Oh! I completely forgot there's something I need to do backstage. I'll catch you later?" Roxie rushed off with a wink and nudge, much to Luna's disappointment.
"Luna." Steven shouted over the crowd.
"Steven! Hi!"
"You were insane. I had no idea you could dance and sing like that." Luna blushed and grabbed him by the elbow.
"Come on, let's go get a drink."
[A/N: Drunk-dazed by enhypen plays in the background]
The music pulsed through the whole area as Luna and Steven clinked their cups. It was probably a terrible idea to get drunk, but Luna had been so tense for the past four months that she simply wanted to let go. It was Steven's third, and Luna's fifth drink. Steven couldn't stop gushing about her performance, and she couldn't stop talking about how stressed she had been over it. She was beyond tipsy. Steven, it seemed, knew how to handle his alcohol though. Luna didn't speak though, she only wanted to dance. Without thinking she left Steven behind and weaved her way into the dancefloor beneath the stage.
Steven watched her, swaying her hips and moving her arms, hair flowing all around her. it was magical, and Steven felt desire pool in his stomach. He wanted her. He wanted every inch of her.
Luna caught his eye, and smiled drunkenly, it was as if she simply couldn't control herself. The music pouring itself all over her. She was the star; she was the moment. All eyes rested on her as she danced between the bodies on the floor. Steven moved towards the crowd. He wasn't a dancer, but he certainly wasn't going to let this moment slip away. Her voice rang out across the area, singing every note in perfect pitch. He sneaked past people until he was face to face with the dancing woman. He did not dance.
Luna grabbed his hands and placed them on her hips. She didn't know what she was doing. Steven moved slowly and almost unnoticeably, but he danced, grabbing her closer and closer to him. And they danced like that. They danced and danced and danced. The night seemed to never end. The two champions body to body on the dancefloor.
But the longer it went on, the less people there were, the crowd started to empty, and the music slowed. Steven leaned in close to whisper in her ear.
"Let's get out of here."
Luna nodded, breathless, as Steven grabbed her wrist and led her out of the stage area. Luna had no clue where they were going as she watched the bright coloured lights fade away in the distance. Until she saw it. the villa.
Luna's legs wobbled and stumbled as she rose the steps to Steven's house. He pulled her impatiently. He swiftly unlocked the door and opened it. Luna stepped inside, and that's when everything happened at once.
Steven's lips crashed on hers as she slammed against the closed door of the villa. Her dress was hot and tight, and suddenly felt far to small for her body. Luna's arms went around his neck and his hands grabbed her waist. They kissed and Luna felt like she was in heaven, like it was all a dream. Steven's lips were soft and luscious, lipstick staining them. Steven's hands played with the hem of Luna's short dress. He dragged her forward and carefully accompanied her up the steps. Luna barely registered the fact that he was leading her to his room.
Steven kissed her leaning against the door to open it. Luna moaned softly and Steven bit her lip, tongue forcing its way into her mouth. Luna's hands ran up and down his chest, playing with his tie, fingers slipping inside the folds of his suit jacket. He immediately took it off, and Luna's fingers went to unbutton his shirt. He loosened his tie and briefly broke the kiss to pull it up over his head. The back of Luna's legs touched the foot of the Queen-sized bed and she sat down, kicking off her shoes. Steven leaned over her, mouth moving from her lips to jaw, to neck.
It was hot, Luna whined and finished unbuttoning his shirt, tearing it off him. His skin was hot to the touch. Steven stopped kissing her and looked into her eyes, longing, wanting everything. Luna was drunk, but was sobering up quickly, lucidity coming to her while she gazed into Steven's eyes.
"Steven…" She breathed out. This only turned Steven on further, as he lifted Luna's dress up to her waist. "Wait!" She said. Luna wasn't stupid. She knew what Steven wanted, but she had never done any of this before. She'd never even had a boyfriend. Luna laid down and stared at the ceiling of the villa. "I've never…" She didn't bother finishing. Steven came into her vision and kissed her hard. He felt her hands and fingers running their way through his hair and pulling him closer.
He took that as a green light.
He pulled down her stocking and touched the spot between her legs, slowly, carefully at first, testing the waters. She squirmed in pleasure. "M-more…" She moaned out. His fingers worked away, deeper each time.
Luna woke up in a bed she didn't recognize. Actually, a room she didn't recognize. Until she really looked around and noticed the glass cases of rocks and stones all neatly decorating the room. She looked at the floor, her clothes all scattered across it. She flipped the sheets over. She was naked, blood on the sheets.
And then she remembered.
She remembered it all. Steven. The night before. And then she looked at the other side of the bed.
There was no one there.
She was alone.
Her hands moved to feel the mattress. It was cold. Steven had left a while ago.
Or maybe he had never been there at all.