Frontier Town Civic Courtyard

[Sinderella]

At some point, Odette could have sworn she heard the low whirring of something. Like, a magnetic field going haywire. Or something vaguely electric. She scrunched her brows, even though her eyes were closed. It was probably a magnemite or something adjacent to that floating by. If she acted like she didn't hear it, whoever it was would likely float away. Hearing her own name was enough to forego all of that.

Her eyes snapped open, and she picked up her head to stare at who was bugging her. She wasn't expecting to see a metang of all things, and she lowered her head in slight confusion. When the hell had she--?

But wait. She recognized its voice. How could she not?

"Oh wow!" she beamed. "Look at you, two arms and ready for a handshake." Now she could actually make that joke and it probably wouldn't be as offensive. Either way, they'd braved Ignoridiot's mansion together, so maybe that gave her slightly more of a pass to rib him.

His response, however, wasn't what she was expecting. She'd wanted a laugh, maybe even a deadpan. But it seemed Steven was feeling a bit more sentimental. She tried to keep a straight face, but the capillaries in her cheeks were constantly out to fuck her over, and she flushed a deep, dark magenta.

"Uh..." she said blinking. "I--"

I wish I was dead, she thought angrily. Get it together, you fucking loser.

She sternly shook her head, hoping to force all the bashfulness out of her brain. "Sure thing. You got it." She rolled her index fingers around one another before pointing at him awkwardly. "Anytime."

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Steven blinked back at Odette. "Oh, I, um."

Well that wasn't exactly the reaction he'd expected. She was flustered. And, was she blushing? Had he come off too forward? Given her the wrong impression?

"Wait, no, I--"

He waved both hands in defense. And then realized the amethyst was still in his hands. Gods, he had, hadn't he.

"Not like that!" he tried to clarify, trying and failing to find a place to hide the gemstone. "I just meant-- You helped me, and... We're on the same team, and--"

Oh great explanation, Stone. Real helpful.

Deep breath. Try again.

"Sorry, I uh, yes, I evolved! And well, you came to mind as someone I should tell. Steel types and all that."

A decent enough recovery, even though he still had no idea how to explain that in the midst of a crisis of the self, she'd been one of the ones to help drag him out of it. Because he thought he tried that, and it did not go well.

 

[Sinderella]

Fuck, wait.

As if her embarrassment couldn't have gotten any worse, she realized how this probably looked. After the way their first meeting had gone, how else could this type of reaction been construed?

"No, wait, I--" she said, also raising her hands. "I know it's not like that, I'm just--" Just what? A fucking moron who gets caught off guard by sudden signs of affection? "I just-- I really struggle with--"

While her own lips continued to fail her, she finally noticed the thing Steven had been clutching onto for dear life. It was a purple stone, one that almost looked precious to her at first glance, but it wasn't quite shiny enough. Was it precious to him? Did it help him evolve? She didn't realize metang needed stones to evolve.

It was a slow-moving revelation, but soon recollections of that night at the mayoral mansion began to flash through her mind--the last time she was with Steven one-on-one--and she recalled their outfits. The matching purples. His tie.

That was the stone from the tie.

Odette blinked at it, unsure of what to do with that realization. She settled for pressing her palm over her face and laughing to herself. Not in a way meant to be offensive to him, more just to settle her own shock.

Had she really made that much of an impression on him?

Raising her head, she waved her arm around, as if trying to erase the past sixty seconds. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she insisted. "I know you didn't mean anything like that. I promise. You just kinda...took me by surprise."

She seemed calmer now, as indicated by the steady breath she released, which appeared to take her flush of cheek color with it. "I'm just...I consider myself bad at this friend thing. My first impressions are typically not very good. I had the same small group of friends for twenty-something years and only recently started branching out, and I've been somewhat paranoid about the connections I've made here, so to hear you say that was just..." She shook her head, but it wasn't enough to shake off the half-smile creeping up her cheeks. "It was new. Sorry to freak you out."

She gave him another look, taking in his new form, and all of his new shapes. Two arms, a clear face, even a nose. Yes, he was a mere beldum no more. She nodded in approval.

"You look good. I mean that purely platonically."

Her gaze cut back to the stone he held, and she pointed to it with a meek intensity. "Can I see that, if you don't mind?"

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

And now Odette was laughing? Was... was that a good thing? He brought his hands together, fidgeting with the stone, when she explained that, in fact, it was a good thing. Or at least not a bad thing. In any case, it seemed like they were on the same page, anyway.

"I'm sorry for startling you," he said, trying to clear the air. "And it's alright. I kind of brought this upon myself. If it helps... I'm not very good at making friends either. Back home, I know a lot of people, and even more know me, but I don't have many who consider me a friend."

His gaze fell to his hands, the realization striking that he could probably count all of them on his current number of claws.

"And, well, I was in a bit of a rough place recently, and I remembered your kindness." He rolled the amethyst in his grasp. "It helped."

She must have noticed his fidgeting, because she asked to see the stone. He hesitated for a brief moment, struck by a sudden possessiveness. But no, he trusted Odette, she was the reason he was even here now, anyway. Caught up in all this. Evolved. With someone he could call a friend. His eyes upturned in a smile.

"O-of course!" he said, holding his hand out a bit too quickly, claws open for Odette to grab the amethyst. "It's not a very rare mineral, and this particular sample isn't the most exciting, but I like it all the same. It doesn't have many impurities, since it's only a light purple color. Pure quartz is clear, normally, so the more iron there is in it, the darker the color-- oh." He was rambling.

He scratched the side of his head with a claw. "Sorry. It's just that I've never had anyone ask me on a not-date before." That was purely platonic, too, right?

 

[Sinderella]

She took the amethyst carefully between her thumb and middle finger, minding how hesitant Steven had initially looked to give it to her. She offered him a silent look, one that said "I promise I won't drop it" before bringing it up to her face to examine it closer. It really was the perfect hue of purple to match the dress she'd worn. The dress that totally got singed in that fire. Unfortunate.

"My kindness..." she repeated in a murmur. It felt almost fake to know someone had thought of her for her kindness. Not that she thought of herself as a mean person, but when harboring raw Wrath, it was hard to consider her own capabilities of being pleasant. She often tried to censor herself to avoid any potential outbursts, and that sometimes included attempts at being open and amicable. But, she had been the one to catch Steven up to speed. And had gotten him into the gala, and had backed him up when needed. She'd also helped Koa settle his anger, and was actively helping him train. And had helped Kimiko get a job.

She hadn't been seeking to do all that. It just happened.

Shit. Maybe she was kind.

Her eyes didn't move off the stone, even as Steven went off on a tangent. She'd begun to listen, rather interested in where he was going with it, and slitted her eyes at him when he stopped.

"No, go on," she urged. "I'm pretty familiar with a few types crystals and stones, since a lot of them make great conduits for magical energies, which is helpful in training my team, but I don't know jack shit about them from a physical standpoint. I just know some are shiny and colorful and some aren't."

Snickering, she rolled the amethyst between her fingers. "And I guess I'm glad to have popped that cheri. Not everyday I meet someone who knows exactly what I'm talking about. Hundreds know you, but you don't know hundreds. It's...strange."

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Odette was surprisingly gentle with the amethyst. Not surprising because he expected her to not be, but there was a special kind of care she held it with, and he appreciated that.

Almost as surprising as when she actually asked him to explain more about the crystal. "Wait, really?" He levitated a bit higher, like he couldn't contain his eagerness. "I don't know what cheris have to do with it, but this might be the first time anyone's asked me to keep talking about rocks, too."

He went on to explain a bit more about amethysts, the kinds crystal structures they could take, and the colors that came from different impurities. He wasn't entirely sure what she meant by magical energies, but he was too enthused to care. It was probably the lightest he'd felt in quite a while.

But something else she said caught his attention, enough to get him off the subject of mineralogy.

"Hundreds of people, you said?"

Odette was right, it was rare to meet someone who knew exactly what you were talking about. It made sense, though. She said she'd had experience with galas before, which wasn't exactly the most common thing. So she was someone exceptional, then.

But then, who was she? He couldn't recall her mentioning much about herself when they first met. Someone famous, no doubt. But for what was she known?

He recalled her fashionable outfits, and that she sang at the Sun Stone.

"Forgive me if I'm being too forward again, but I'm curious. Where you're from, are you some kind of actress? Or a movie star, perhaps?"

Whoever she was, surely she was some kind of philanthropist, to have ended up here.

 

[Sinderella]

Odette couldn’t help but laugh fondly as he levitated. His excitement was practically tangible, and the warmth of it managed to carry over to her. “Oh, you know? Pop the cheri, like—“

She stopped herself at the perfect moment. Her eyes fell to the grass for a quick beat, and she cleared her throat. “Actually. Forget it. Bad joke. Please, keep going. I actually really want to hear this.”

Steven’s small dissertation on amethysts was quit informative, and her attention could not have been any more focused if she tried. She stored the information with her occult science knowledge, wondering if any of it might come in handy in the future. Surely this stuff was at least somewhat relevant to that field of study.

“Noted,” she said, handing the stone back to him. “I’ll keep that in mind the next time I come across any amethysts. Might be useful the next time I’m doing something with my shrine…”

Her mind threatened to sink into that thought, but Steven kept it upright with his sudden subject change.

“Oh,” she said. Her smile that time around was a little more crooked. “Nah. I was a dancer in a pretty renowned hip-hop group. But I was, uh, actually just crowned Champion a couple months back.” She raised an awkward celebratory hand. It looked just barely hesitant. “Alola’s first and all.”

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Steven accepted the amethyst back from Odette with a smile. A little part of him regretted leaving the rest of his collection behind in the ravine. Maybe he could have shared more interesting samples with Odette.

"I'd be happy to appraise any samples you might find," he offered. "They're not uncommon in this kind of biome. Or any other kind of gemstone, for that matter."

It was the least he could do to repay her.

But then she answered his question about her background, and all thought of rocks came to a screeching halt.

"A dancer, ah that explains it-- wait, Champion?" he spluttered.

 

[Sinderella]

Odette jolted at Steven's sudden outburst, tucking her arms in in a half defensive stance. She quickly relaxed, though, but the alarm didn't leave her face.

"Y...yeah," she said. She suddenly looked like she wasn't too keen on elaborating. Something internal was leaving her unsure, but she seemed to fight it off. "It...wasn't exactly a typical crowning, but a crowning no less. I competed, got top five in the region, and, well, the rest is history. I know I probably don't sound Alolan but I lived there for a while before...you know, provided you know what Alola is. If not, well, just forget everything I just said."

Now that she was thinking about it, there was another Champion in the circuit where she was from who was also named Steven. She was pretty sure he headed Northern Hoenn, and had a metagross...

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

"No, ah, I know where Alola is, I just--"

When he'd agreed with Odette, that they understood a lot more about each other than he could have predicted, he didn't think they'd were this similar.

He shook his head quickly, for Odette's sake. (More like his whole body at this point.) He didn't want to give her the wrong impression. Again. "Sorry, I just didn't expect to meet another Champion here."

His gaze fell, almost like he was embarrassed. There was a small click as he fidgeted with the notch on his claw.

"I don't usually make a habit of telling people, but for you... Well, I think the exception makes sense."

He met her gaze once more with a softer sincerity. "Congratulations, by the way. What you've accomplished is not easy. No matter what anyone says."

 

[Sinderella]

Another…?

Her eyes went wide with understanding, her chin raising with the force of the revelation, and maybe her own density.

She’d only meant to vaguely harp on the similarities, not actually be right.

“Is…is your last name Stone by any chance?” she asked with a tilt of her head. “Like Steven Stone of the Hoenn League?”

She seemed to take a second to process his answer, leaning away to scratch her cheek pensively. “Huh…well. Obviously neither did I. I’d have never guessed, but now it makes sense. Metagross and all.”

She still hadn’t had the chance to meet any of the other Champions in the circuit. She hadn’t even been in the position a full year, and there hadn’t been any slated meetups in that time. She’d known of Steven Stone and his preferred type, but all she really knew of him was whatever came up in Pokemon magazine, or any other major League event he was involved in. She didn’t have any expectations in mind, but she somehow wasn’t anticipating him to be so unassuming. Or that she was going to feel so relaxed whenever she was around him.

The smile she gave him was more of a grimace. “Thank you, but…I don’t know. It didn’t feel like an accomplishment. It felt like a fluke of circumstance. I mean, I made it to the top five fair and square but the actual placement of the circle was just…”

Rolling her eyes, she swatted her hands. “It is what it is. I don’t need to double down with the specifics. I appreciate your words, they really do mean a lot.”

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Steven nodded. "The one and the same," he said with a small flourish and perhaps just a bit of bitterness in his tone.

"Well, probably not the same, given that we've come here from different realities," he added. "It still doesn't mean I prefer to go around advertising who I am, even though it's probably obvious." He gestured at himself to emphasize Odette's point about his given species.

"Not that it means anything useful here, anyway," he muttered. There was definitely bitterness in that statement, though it was more directed at himself than anyone else.

But he must have realized how he sounded, and averted his eyes with a hurried apology. "Sorry, I told myself I'd try to stop thinking like that."

When he looked back up at Odette, he was surprised to see a look of uncertainty gracing her delicate features. It struck him how much he didn't like it. (Especially if his poor attitude has been the one to cause it.)

"I can't claim to know how the structure of your League works, but regardless, the position is yours. In Hoenn, any of the Elites can challenge for the position of Champion in a given time frame. If you're able to keep it, then you've earned it."

He chuckled. "I'm not sure how things happened in your world, but in mine, there was a Kanto Champion who held the title for 25 minutes before someone took it from him. So you're doing fine."

The mirth faded from his eyes, leaving behind a look of earnest support. "Sometimes it's not about raw power. It's about respect and rapport with the Elite. You're all top trainers, and it's your combined responsibility to push those who wish to be a part of the League to be their best. I'm sure that's what your League has seen in you."

"I know that's certainly what I've seen from you in the short time I've gotten to know you."

 

[Sinderella]

Right. She guessed she should have figured this wasn’t the Steven from her world. Nonetheless, it gave her moderate hope for how meeting him would go. If it was anything like it was here, with a different version of him, maybe she’d have a veteran ally to lean on soon back home.

“No I understand,” she said. “I think I’ve only told three people so far, mostly because it just came up naturally and I trusted them pretty greatly. Not the type of thing I’d willingly announce to everyone else, though.”

She couldn’t ignore the bitterness behind his words, and didn’t bother dialing back the sympathetic look she gave him. She wasn’t sure of the specifics, but it felt like she might. She wanted to say something, but she wasn’t sure what.

“25 minutes?” she gasped. “I think the shortest reign in my world was about four hours. So that’s just crazy.” It definitely did make her feel a little better, knowing some poor sap hadn’t even made it an hour.

Something aggrieved crossed her eyes as she recalled her Elite 4. It was briefly interrupted by the demure smile she gave Steven in response to his compliment. “You’re sweet,” she said. The frown soon returned as her eyes fell back to the grass.

“Truth be told, I struggle to see what the League sees in me. My run in the tournament wasn’t exactly amicable.”

Realizing how that sounded, she pinned Steven with a reassuring look. “That’s not to say I was a bad sport, or that I cheated, or played dirty, I would never but…some of the Elites and I didn’t get along very well while we were competing. Ratings fucking loved it but the organizers weren’t thrilled.” She smiled tiredly, as if she were remembering something embarrassing, and she pinched the bridge of her nose while she laughed. “Gods, Steven, it was so fucking bad. Like, it’s funny now, because we made up, but at the time? I’d tell you about it some other time, but I really don’t want you to think less of me, if I’m being honest.”

Sighing, her shoulders deflated. “But, we all made it to the top 5. Right before the final match there was a pretty big crisis in the region. I’ll spare the details now; we’d be here all day. Just know it wasn’t good, and we all got involved. By the time it was over, the morale was dead for a while, and the other four forfeited. I couldn’t fucking tell you why I decided not to, I think I was just so rattled, but they pulled me into the office and were like ‘look, the title is yours by default, just say the word,’ and I was like,” she shrugged, feigning disbelief, “‘okay.’”

Another sigh. “It’s fine now. I don’t hate it. I like where we are. I love my Elites—most of the time— and I love how far we’ve come in such a short time. But all of them wanted the title so badly at one point, and I’d say any one of them deserved it more than I ever did. So sometimes, it just feels like a cheap shot, the way everything played out.”

Sending him a tired look, she tucked her hand under her chin. “I’m sorry, I really do talk too much sometimes. I don’t mean to prod, but I can’t help but notice you don’t sound too fond of your standing either?”

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

"Oh. Oh."

Steven listened to Odette's story, expression morphing from skepticism, to surprise, and finally landing on sympathy.

"I'm sorry," he said. "That's an extraordinary set of circumstances you've been through."

He couldn't have imagined his own League going through the Kyogre crisis if they'd been brand new, not having known each other for years; trusted each other. It's very likely he wouldn't even be here at all if that had been the case.

The icy tingle of a shiver crept up his back.

"You're here now though," he began quietly to break the lingering silence. "I don't think that's something an undeserving Champion could say."

"And no, you don't talk too much," he added with a small smile. He was enjoying Odette's company, and it's not like he was the most talkative conversationalist himself.

Which was why he frowned slightly at her question.

"Ah, I hope I haven't given you the wrong impression about being a Champion. I'm glad to hold the title, to be able to help my region and spend time with my partners."

Here his gaze fell. "My standing has always been tied to my name, Champion or not. The things I don't enjoy are the things I cannot escape regardless of what I achieve."

He sighed, unaware that he'd begun to fidget with his claws once more. "I'm not sure if you're aware, but my father owns the largest corporation in Hoenn. And I'm his only child."

He paused, giving Odette a chance to deduce for herself what that meant.

"If anything, becoming Champion was a way to avoid that future. It came with it's own set of challenges, but I realize now... I can't run from my future forever."

"Someday I'll lose, and I'll be right back at Devon with my father. I'm trying to cherish the time I have with my colleagues and my pokemon, but sometimes having that inevitability hanging over my head makes that difficult."

His claws had knitted together, and he finally was aware just how much he'd said. He drew them apart with a soft click and gave Odette a sheepish smile. "Ah, sorry, I guess it was my turn to talk too much."

 

[Sinderella]

Again, she found herself giving Steven her undivided attention. She felt like she'd said too much already, so it only felt fair. It definitely helped that she just enjoyed listening to him speak. Though the nature of this particular conversation had taken more of a somber turn.

"Oh," she said to his reveal, probably louder than she needed to. "I get it." Lone son of a big corporation owner only meant one thing: unwilling heir. I knew someone like that, she thought, her lip twitching.

So it wasn't exactly a sense of inadequacy toward the title, but more using it as a way to prevent the inevitable. She frowned, finding that for a moment, she lacked a response. She'd never been an heiress to a billion dollar corporation, so the extent of her knowledge didn't stretch there.

"It was only fair. Call it a Champion vent session," she said, returning his smile. It faltered for a beat, and her eyes moved up toward the sky as a thought passed behind them.

"I can definitely understand how that would get to be smothering," she said. "I knew someone in a similar boat--eldest son of a big corporation, didn't want to inherit it, the whole nine yards. He gave up a lot for the sake of his father's approval, but in the end, it just ate him up. Difference was, he had three siblings to take his place when he inevitably said 'fuck this.'"

Sighing, she settled her back against the backrest. "I'm only speaking from experience from my own reality, but...if you're as skilled as the Steven from my world, I'd say you don't have anything to worry about for a long time. And even so, you don't know how the future will pan out. I kinda learned the hard way that hyperfocusing on a set outcome never does you any good, because life will always roll up and say 'actually, no.'"

Her smile was sheepish that time around. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure how much that helps ease your head. A couple words out of me probably won't do much in the long run, but, as your friend, I can at least try to tell you that you're best off focusing on the now. Be Steven the Champion with his cool partners and cool Elites and his inevitably record-shattering reign now."

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Steven's eyes widened for a moment before settling into a small smile.

"Thanks," he said. "I appreciate it."

He hadn't expected Odette to truly understand, but she surprised him yet again. Because yet again, they were more alike than he'd ever considered.

"You're right, there's not much to be gained from worrying about it now."

He chuckled slightly. "There's enough to worry about here, anyway."

A silence settled between them, filled only by the trickle of the fountain and the rustle of the breeze. For a moment, things felt peaceful.

Until Steven realized his proximity to Odette had gotten much closer than he originally thought.

"Ah, sorry!" he said with a jolt, scooting away from her in embarrassment. "That's my mistake! New body, kind of forgot how much wider I am now--"

 

[Sinderella]

Some warmth came back to Steven's new face, and that was all she needed to know at least some of what she said had worked. That was good enough for her.

Normally long silences sent her into an internal frenzy, typically fueled by a fear of awkwardness. But this silence swelled with a sense of tranquility she enjoyed. Just two friends sitting in the garden and listening to the fountain run and the leaves brush together overhead. She felt her eyelids get heavy, and they probably would have shut had she not felt cool metal brush her arm. She perked up, eyeing the metang as if expecting him to say something. But no, he just inched closer. And closer. Her breath hitched. "Uh, Ste--?"

He was frantically scooting away before she could finish saying his name, and she watched him wide-eyed for a beat. A part of her was just minutely a startled, but majorly, she didn't mind. Though, she was feeling a hint of...shyness? Probably just because she was worried about any inherent awkwardness. The usual.

But, in the end, she just chuckled. Something mischievous glinted off the reflection in her glasses, and she threw her head back in mock offense. "Mr. Stone, if you wanted to hold my hand with those new claws of yours, you could just ask!"

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

For the second time in the conversation, Steven's brain short circuited.

His first instinct was to deny it, which was true. He'd been lost in his thoughts and hadn't been paying attention, and well, when one floated all the time it was possible to lose track and drift in inadvertent directions. Not to mention he had a new body he was still getting used to.

His second thought was to correct Odette; Mr. Stone was his father, after all. That, and he wasn't particularly keen on having the whole group learn his identity. (Not secondhand, at least.)

But then his brain rebooted, and a third thought hit. Odette had a point. He'd never had the ability to hold her hand before. At the gala, he wasn't able to be a proper gentleman. It was time to correct that.

Dipping forward, he presented an upturned claw to her. "Miss Odette, may I?"

 

[Sinderella]

She'd only meant it as a joke. If anything, maybe calling him "Mr. Stone" had taken it too far. Nonetheless. she was left chuckling into the back of her hand like some secondary school-aged shmuck. She wasn't normally this giggly, but she just felt light for some reason.

However, when he actually asked for her hand, her breath caught in her throat, and she had to stifle a few coughs into the crook of her arm. "I--" she managed at first. When she finally looked up, she felt some heat concentrated on the tip of her beak, and had half a mind to slap her hands over it. But what would be more rude; writing him off or covering her stupid face?

"Uh..." she breathed, mindlessly starting to rub her hands together. Giving her own brain a second to figure out how to proceed.

"O-okay," she said, sounding far more shaky than she wanted to. She decided it didn't matter. Not as she settled her palm into his. It was momentarily shocking to her just how cold he was--and even just how much bigger his claw was compared to her little hand--but she shouldn't have expected anything less from a body made out of straight steel. She got used to it after a few seconds, and it actually grew to be quite comfortable.

Her mouth detached from her brain and started running before she could catch it. "W-well at least now I know if any other galas happen, we've got this covered now," she said quickly.

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

When Odette fumbled for words, Steven almost lost his nerve. But no, he was determined to see this through, as a gentleman.

She laid her hand in his, and he gently clasped it. She might have been a steel type, but she was flesh and blood, unlike him. Her hand was small resting in his, but it radiated such warmth, and a realization struck him. All the things he usually held in his hands-- rock, stone, and steel-- were cold until he gave warmth to them. Having something give warmth back to him was so rare. It was unlike anything he was used to.

In a smooth motion he tipped forward, bringing the back of her hand to where his mouth would have been.

And just as smoothly he tilted back up and opened his claws, allowing Odette to take her hand back if she wanted. (A small part of him hoped she didn't.)

"If we have another gala, I'd be honored to accompany you again," he said, sincere. "Hopefully with fewer corrupt political officials, and slightly less arson."