Yo!

Not a ton to say. Let's just get into it!


Start Chapter 40


The next month was a flurry of activity for Bianca.

For the most part, she was training her Pokémon amongst other people who'd come to Alola for the World Championships. She fought several other trainers who had eight gym badges prepped and ready to enter the competition, and enjoyed a fairly decent seventy-to-eighty percent win ratio.

That was still lower than she was really satisfied with, but it often felt like her losses came down to her Pokémon not quite being strong enough yet, instead of her own faults as a trainer.

And strength was something that was growing better by the day.

As the weeks went by, her Pokémon grew alongside her even more than before. Rampardos was the most obvious, given it had been new to her team, but the others showed their own marked improvements. On the topic of Rampardos, she'd been having Milotic create pools of icy water with a Hydro Pump, alongside then casting Ice Beam on half of the newly-formed body of water. Rampardos could then soak in that for a while to cool back down before returning to training.

And through it all, she and Cynthia continued to dance around one another. Despite the fact that every facet of Bianca's intelligent mind told her that Cynthia almost certainly felt the same way about her as she did – given the fact that they'd all but kissed aboard her private jet – she was still a raging coward, unwilling to speak to Cynthia about the matter.

To be fair to her, it wasn't as if Cynthia herself had attempted to reach out, either.

So, there she was, training, training, and more training in preparation for the World Championships, which were coming up in less than a month at that point. Already, decorations were starting to be put up to celebrate the event, and tv crews had started to interview prospective hopefuls.

Bianca had not been interviewed, but then, she hadn't wanted to be, either, so she was totally cool with that.

She might've been growing more confident in herself, but she was an introvert by heart. Having to do a tv interview was very much not her speed.

And one day, as she was preparing to go out for the day, getting her breakfast and reading some of the recent news, there was a knock on their hotel door.

She looked over to Cynthia to see if she'd been expecting anyone, and the woman shrugged her shoulders. Figuring it to be room service, Bianca made her way over to it to tell them that they were fine.

And who she found instead…

"Surprise!" Barry smirked at her as he held his arms out wide.

"Barry!"

She almost tackled the man in a hug, earning a boisterous laugh from him. Cynthia came over and seemed just about as excited – which made sense, given they were old friends.

"I'd ask what you're doing here," Cynthia had a small smile on her lips. "But I think I have some idea; you're here for the World Championships, correct?"

"Course!" The man chuckled. "I said I would be, didn't I?"

He very much had.

"So, I hear a certain someone managed to get all eight gym badges, no?" Barry turned to her. "Look at you! You did it, Bianca!"

She coughed into her hand sort of awkwardly, red in the face from embarrassment. She'd never been very good at taking compliments. It didn't help that Cynthia was right there beside her with a cheshire smile.

"It certainly is very impressive. I don't know if you heard about the event with Mars?"

"Oh, right, she saved the world, yeah?"

"She did indeed." Cynthia spoke, turning back towards Bianca with a smug expression. "She's a hero; no ifs ands or buts about it."

"Gah, stop it, you guys!" Bianca complained, her face as red as it could possibly be.

The others laughed at her pain.

The bastards.

Still, they migrated outside, and Bianca and Barry decided to spar against one another for a few rounds, just to get an idea as to where they both stood.

And…

"Holy crap, Bianca!" Barry guffawed loudly. "You improved so freaking fast! You couldn't even take out Snorlax just a few months ago!"

It was the truth, even if Bianca was unsatisfied that Barry had beaten her. They'd sparred 3 on 3, with Barry using Snorlax, Heracross, and Torterra, and Bianca using Gallade, Salamence, and Milotic.

They'd been fairly evenly matched in terms of typings, but in the end, Barry had barely scraped her out in a final battle between her Salamence and his Torterra. It had been close, but close wasn't going to cut it in the tournament.

And whether or not it was an actually intelligent thing to think, she couldn't help but want to win.

"Still, I think a lot more people are going to be filtering into town in the next few days." Barry said, and he had a wide smile on his face. "I hear something like 80% of the Gym's around the world are closing down this month to come participate in the tournament!"

Bianca and Cynthia both whistled at that statistic. "Where'd you hear that?" Cynthia asked.

"Oh, I totally made it up, but it's probably true."

Bianca rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but be amused at Barry's antics.

"Now, since we each have another three Pokémon," Barry reached back towards yet another Pokéball, "How about another match, Bianca?"

Bianca felt that competitive spark within her, which was fast becoming a burning flame, billow back into being.

"You're on!"

/

Days passed, and the matches between Barry and Bianca evened out. He won some, and Bianca won others. By the end of that week, Bianca would say that the battles were even starting to favor her, and that she was winning around fifty-five percent of the time.

And then, of course, everyone else started to arrive.

They trickled in at first, like the faucet had been pushed just a bit. The first to arrive was Wallace, bowing dramatically to them all as he too checked into the same hotel that Bianca and Cynthia were staying in.

Bianca talked with him about Milotic, and how they'd been doing so far. He and Cynthia shared one of their private talks that Bianca couldn't be privy to – which she just rolled her eyes at, and ignored – before he announced that he had his own training regime to get to, and that he looked forward to facing them in the tournament.

He must've meant her, as in Bianca singular, and misspoke.

It wasn't a big deal or anything.

The real problem came in when the next person arrived.

That was Elesa.

And Bianca's treacherous brain finally put that whole mess together when Elesa walked over to Cynthia, smiled, and then went in for a hug that was reciprocated.

She added up the circumstances behind their last meeting, or more accurately, their last conversation. The way that Elesa had been so embarrassed, the way that Cynthia had joked around about telling Bianca 'when she was older'

It suddenly clicked.

And it clicked in a way that had Bianca's stomach doing loops inside her chest.

Elesa and Cynthia were involved.

Or at least had been.

And that…

Well, Bianca made her way over quickly, doing her best to not look too desperate whilst also putting a stop to any potential wiles that Elesa might put on.

It was admittedly a bit pathetic for Bianca to almost place herself between the two's conversation, but…

"Hello again, Ms. Elesa." She did her best to appear nonconfrontational as she interrupted their conversation. "It's good to see you."

"Ah, Bianca." Elesa smiled over at her. "Likewise; it's good to see you as well."

Bianca didn't look at Cynthia; couldn't quite bear to. She knew the woman would be able to recognize what Bianca was doing.

She couldn't quite take being seen like she was in that moment; desperate to prevent anyone else from trying to take Cynthia away from her.

They talked of fairly mundane things; the upcoming tournament, what Elesa felt her chances were – "Not terribly high, but I think I can make it into the top thirty-two if I play things right" – and then, eventually, moved onto what Cynthia and Bianca had been up to during their time together in Alola.

"Nothing, really." Cynthia spoke, chuckling a bit. "Bianca's had training to do, and I've been busy with work. We've honestly not gotten to talk with one another nearly as much as I'd like."

Bianca blushed somewhat at that, and Elesa was not blind. She spotted that look, and one of the eyebrow's on forehead rose.

"Oh? I see." Her voice was knowing, and Bianca went a bit red. "Well, perhaps the three of us could go out to dinner one of these nights if you have the time? Hell, I think Blue and Iris are both going to be arriving sometime soon; perhaps we could invite them all."

"I've actually heard a couple of others are on their way as well." Cynthia spoke with a smile. "So maybe we'll make a night of it?"

"That sounds grand." Elesa nodded to the both of them. "I'm going to go check into my hotel. It's been nice seeing the both of you again."

And with that, Elesa departed.

And Bianca was left to stand there awkwardly beside Cynthia, knowing that she must've looked like a total idiot.

"It wasn't what you thought, Bianca."

She looked back with an ashamed expression to see that Cynthia wasn't meeting her eyes. She was gazing down at the ground beneath her, a faint but noticeable blush on her own cheeks.

"Elesa and I… we dated off and on for a while a few years back, but anything since then has been purely casual."

"Oh." Bianca had to pretend like that wasn't a big deal. She didn't think she was doing a good job of that at all, given she looked away, her blush deepened, and she had a dopey smile on her face.

"I uhm…"

"I'm glad to hear it."

Cynthia chuckled behind her, but didn't say anything more.

/

Just as Cynthia and Elesa had been saying, the faucet on people arriving was pushed yet further backwards, and the stream began to grow much more intense.

Blue arrived next, alongside Red, one of the world's original champions, who'd announced he was taking a break from competitive battling a few years back. He hadn't come back, but then, when Bianca saw him, she didn't think he was here to make his return.

If anything, it seemed a lot more likely he was there to enjoy the festivities, and watch the battles as a fan.

Bianca could respect that. She was definitely going to be sticking around for the whole tournament, even if she got eliminated early on.

Though she was definitely not planning on that.

Iris arrived next, and she almost bowled Bianca over with a tackling hug.

"Look at you!" Iris laughed. "You're here! You made it!"

Bianca, for perhaps the thousandth time that week, blushed up a storm. She and compliments did not mix!

Still, Bianca got some training in against Iris, and then against Blue, before sparring with, and being subsequently bested by, Red.

It was a humbling experience, battling against the trainer many considered to be the greatest of all time. She hadn't really stood much of a chance.

But again… she felt like that was down to her own Pokémon lacking strength. Her ideas hadn't been the problem.

She'd been outmuscled.

And that could be fixed.

So back to the grindstone they went.

/

Weeks passed by, and the day of the tournament truly starting was coming closer and closer.

Bianca and her Pokémon had been training almost nonstop for a month and a half at that point, and it had been Cynthia, ultimately, to tell her to take some time off before the tournament.

"It won't due to burn yourself out at this point." Cynthia told her. "Don't ruin the effort you've put in."

"But–"

"No buts." Cynthia countered, raising a finger to Bianca's lips and placing it there. Bianca couldn't help blushing at that. "Now, as for what you can do instead… how about attending the opening ceremony with me on Friday evening?"

Bianca's eyes widened. She'd known, of course, about the opening ceremony, but she'd honestly been planning to watch the thing on TV.

And yet…

"You… have tickets?"

"More than that, I'm a guest of honor." Cynthia smirked. "Being a well-known businesswoman has its perks, Bianca."

Bianca couldn't argue with that.

"So?"

"I…" She swallowed. "I think I'd like to?"

"You and your phrasing things as questions." Cynthia sighed, but it was a fond thing. "Alright. How about we go out and get you an outfit to wear? As my plus one, you'll be expected to look the part."

Bianca chuckled. "Somehow I don't think anyone will be sparing me any glances with you at my side."

Bianca hadn't even realized that she had accidentally delivered a rather smooth line until Cynthia blushed and looked away, a tiny smile on her lips. Internally, her brain fist-bumped her ego.

"Alright then, sweet-talker," Cynthia quipped, even as she retreated to her bedroom. "Throw something on. We'll go out."

Bianca nodded her head, and they did just that.

/

It was Friday evening, and Bianca didn't think she'd ever been quite so nervous.

That was at least partially down to the fact that she was attending an event that was, in many ways, the trainer-version of a red-carpet gala.

Well, she and Cynthia were sneaking in through the back entrance, because Cynthia, as per usual, wanted to avoid being seen by the crowds outside, but still. It was an event, and the throngs of people who were moving about both inside and outside the stadium that would be playing host to the World Championships starting tomorrow – kind of – gave the air a sense of palpable tension and excitement.

On the topic of Bianca's 'kind of', what she meant was that the main event was starting next week. The first week of the competition wouldn't feature in person viewing, instead focusing on a whole slew of festivities in Hau'oli and all over Alola. That first week was for the preliminaries, where those trainers who'd collected eight gym badges, but were in all other ways unremarkable, would be battling it out to decide who would be moving on.

In total, there were nearly ten thousand people competing in that opening day. By the end of the first week of competition, that number would have already been dwindled down to around one hundred and twenty-eight.

From there, the trainers that had earned their place in the main event would be randomly seeded into the 256-person main bracket. From there, any one trainer would need to win a total of eight matches to be crowned champion.

But given that was to be televised, the main stage was set to last a full three weeks.

It was rather daunting, in Bianca's eyes; the thought of facing off against eight trainers to try and claim victory at the end. It must've shown on her face, because she felt something bump against her arm, and she turned to see Cynthia tilting her head at her.

"What's wrong? You've got a look on your face."

"Just… considering the enormity of actually trying to win it all, I guess?"

Cynthia smiled. "That's good. That means you're actually thinking about it."

"Thinking about what?"

"Winning." Cynthia spoke. "Not just competing, but winning outright. You're thinking about the toll that will take on you, but just because you're nervous doesn't mean you're backing down. I like it."

Bianca was glad one of them did.

They walked into the actual stadium itself, and up towards the private seating that celebrities and other stars would be occupying. Strangely, no one stopped to check Cynthia's identification at any point, which must've meant that she was even more famous than she let on.

"Here," Cynthia led her to the very top of the stadium's seating, and then, with a smirk, she kept going, into what Bianca had initially assumed was a restricted sector for the camera crews, or other people who worked on the stadium itself.

They were higher up than Bianca had ever been in her life. She did everything in her power to not look down, but unfortunately, that didn't work, as she did look down, and saw…

Oh, gods, she was going to hurl.

"Easy, easy!" Cynthia urged her, swearing beneath her breath. "Sorry, I didn't… I should've thought about how you'd feel about this."

"You… planned on coming up here?"

"Mm." Cynthia answered, and she held her hand out towards the center of the stadium.

Bianca turned back towards it for the first time – she'd been far too focused on climbing, and not throwing up – and…

Oh.

Well.

That was…

Huh.

It felt like Bianca could see the entirety of Alola from there. She could see the whole of the stadium, and the sixty or so thousand people that said stadium was said to be playing host to tonight. From up there, they didn't really look like people; more an undulating mass of dots that were of all different shapes and colors.

She could see over the other side of the stadium, where lights gleamed in the winter sky. She could see the ocean beyond, where the reflection of the moon shone along the water, causing everything to glow with a brilliant, subtle halo of white.

And then, of course, the fireworks started, and Bianca's rational thoughts all sort of faded away around there.

She was lost in a haze of color, and wonder. For a few minutes, she didn't think much of anything. She enjoyed the show, 'oohing' and 'aahing' along with the rest of the audience.

She found her fear fading away. The fact that they were so high up disappeared from her mind. Without even thinking about it, she leant to one side, so that her head was on Cynthia's shoulder.

It was a far bolder move than she'd normally make, but… well, she couldn't help but be absorbed into the magic of the moment.

Cynthia didn't seem to know what to say or do, and so she allowed her to lay there for a good few minutes, until she finally cleared her throat, and said, "You stopped worrying about the height."

Bianca chuckled. "I guess I did." She placed both of her hands in her lap, and fiddled about with her fingers rather uselessly. "It was… a dumb thing to worry about. Like a lot of the things that I've been worried about recently."

"Why is it dumb?"

The thing that Bianca was about to say… she acknowledged that in terms of cheesy, corny things, it was rather high on the list.

"Because you'd catch me.' She spoke with a blush, and despite the cheesiness and corniness… it was how she felt.

It was the truth; terribly embarrassing to say or not.

Cynthia was blushing madly as she turned to look at her, though, and so perhaps it had done its intended job.

"You've always been there for me. For the entirety of the last year, well, give or take a bit," Cynthia chuckled, but it was a nervous thing. Bianca continued. "But you've been beside me. You've taken my hand, and you've led me on this wonderful adventure, and…"

She swallowed.

"I just want you to know how much that means to me. I want you to know that through thick and thin, when I was at my lowest, it was you I could turn to, and rely on. And…"

She met Cynthia's gaze.

"It's you I've come to… to…"

Gods, but the words caught in her throat, on the very tip of her tongue.

"Bianca…" Cynthia breathed out, her gaze growing somewhat hazy.

"So… uhm… I'm uh… I'm not very good at this," Bianca was flustered. "And… I'm… you probably don't… I–"

"Bianca?"

"H-Huh?"

Cynthia scootched to the side, so that their thighs and sides were touching.

"You don't have to say anything." She told her. "I don't think either of us do.'

"I think we both understand already exactly what it is the other feels."

"I…" Bianca swallowed.

"I suppose we do."

"It's just…" Cynthia looked away from her. "I'm forty-two, Bianca. You have your whole life ahead of you. You shouldn't be tied down to someone like–"

"Don't say that!" Bianca interjected, refusing to allow Cynthia to even consider that. "I… I don't care how old you are, Cynthia. I've…"

She had to. She just had to… say it!

"I've fallen in love with you, even so!"

It felt like the world entirely froze over in that moment; like Bianca's words had caused the temperature of the earth to drop by a good few degrees. Cynthia looked over at her in shock, but gradually, that expression faded into one of… almost gratitude.

"Then… if you're so sure…"

She leaned forward. Bianca did the same.

And then…

Just as a bright, golden firework crested over them, just as it illuminated their faces, Bianca pressed her lips to Cynthia's own.

And in that moment, kissing the woman of her dreams, in a stadium that she would soon be fighting for more of them in, while fireworks went off all around them…

She thought that life had never been quite so beautiful.


End Chapter 40


Alright, that was chapter 40!

Probably only around ten or so chapters left in this story! I will say that I hope you guys continue to enjoy it as it comes to its conclusion. I've really liked writing this story. Not a ton else to say, so I'll see you all next week!

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