Archive of Our Own ^beta

1.

Wallace would like to think that Steven was not particularly a materialistic man. 

Of course, his best friend was far from it—Steven was down-to-earth, sweet and humble, and was never afraid of getting himself dirty. He spent much of his free time in those caves he loved so much, looking for beauty where most others would not think of looking, and it made Wallace admire him all the more for it. 

For all the wealth Steven enjoyed since his childhood, Steven was an honest man who was not the type to squander his wealth on things, priding more in his collection of rare stones and his powerful bonds with his Pokémon, rather than his family’s accumulated wealth. It was only ever at his father’s insistence or at Wallace’s behest that Steven would ever splurge on himself, and even then, Steven would ensure that he more than made up for the expense with hard work and success for both the Devon Corporation, and his tenure at the Pokémon League. 

It was one of the reasons why Wallace loved him so much, really—though, of course, Wallace would never admit that, at least, not in the romantic way. It seemed like Steven was uninterested in romantic notions from any gender, even shying away from it at times, and Wallace was unwilling to let go of the closeness he and Steven had grown over the years they had spent together. 

Which was why he tried not to think too much on it—on Steven’s invitation for Wallace to accompany him on a business trip that Steven’s father had insisted he take in his place. Wallace knew that Joseph was training his son to take over the company—regardless of what Steven felt about it, unfortunately—but Steven, ever the filial son, was diligent in that regard, as well.

All Wallace could do was support him, so of course he said yes, as Steven held his hand out to him, asking him if he could whisk him away to Unova for a few days as a companion with him to a land far from home.

Even then, Wallace tried not to remember the exact words Steven used—

“I could use some company to help me decompress.”

—After all, that meant nothing romantic nor anything intimate of the sort, no. Steven just sometimes had a rather poor way with his words, that was all.

The thought of it was making Wallace positively miserable, though, even on their second day in Unova, walking through the streets of Nimbasa City. He couldn’t be thinking that about Steven—that was unfair to him, and absolutely ugly of Wallace to do so. 

A snap caught his attention, and Wallace blinked for a moment, before looking down.

“Ah.” He said flatly, and Steven stopped a step ahead of him, cocking his head. His Bearticone ice cream was halfway to his mouth mid-bite (oh, Wallace loved Steven, but why would he bite soft-serve, the madman). 

“Wallace?” He asked gently, and Wallace gave him a wry little grin as he lifted his foot off his right shoe. The strap had come undone, leaving the shoe on the ground, and Steven’s eyes widened. “Oh.”

“Unfortunately, they’ve given out.” Wallace huffed, reaching forward for Steven, and the other man nodded, stepping forward to let Wallace hold his shoulder. Wallace stood on one leg and bent down easily to pick up his shoe. “Oh, they’ve held on for so long, it was bound to happen, anyway.”

“Let’s get a new pair, then.” Steven said, and Wallace shook his head, beginning to laugh. 

“Oh, no, Steven, I don’t think I could possibly—”

“Don’t worry, I’ll shoulder it.” Steven pressed, and Wallace blinked at him owlishly as Steven gave him a sweet smile, taking Wallace’s hand off his shoulder to wrap his arm around his shoulders. Steven slipped his arm around Wallace’s waist, and Wallace felt his cheeks burn as he pressed their bodies flush together. Steven seemed unmindful of the crowd now looking at them to give Wallace a reassuring grin. “I’ll help you walk. Do you know what brand those are? I’m sure Nimbasa will have a boutique of it.”

“Steven, this—I—I have expensive taste,” Wallace lied—well, not really. The shoes themselves were on the more pricey side, for sure, but Wallace didn’t quite have the taste for luxury. Contest performing only took him so far lately, and a Gym Leader’s salary left much to be desired, especially as someone who only just took the position from Juan about a year or so ago. “I-it’s fine. We’ll get something from the department store.”

Steven cocked his head. 

“It’s okay. I haven’t had the chance to give you anything lately.” He said, and Wallace was at a loss for words again as he adjusted his hold on Wallace’s waist, politely avoiding his bare patch of skin. “C’mon, Wallace, it’s always you telling me to treat myself, and I listen. Won’t you listen to me when I tell you I want to treat you?”

Oh, Steven, when you say things like that, I can’t help but love you a little more, Wallace thought, despaired, and he shook his head. 

“But that’s your money.” Wallace protested. 

“And I can do what I want with my money.” Steven said cheerfully. “And I want to spend it on you.” 

Wallace rarely swore, but fuck.

“Just tell me what you want, Wallace, and it’s yours.”

Steven’s words echoed in Wallace’s head, all while they made their way to a boutique together, and sitting down next to each other on a plush, leather couch. Steven did all the talking, for once, launching into a pleasant conversation with the attendant in the boutique, who had stars in their eyes—probably a fan of Steven’s, no doubt. They moved with frightening speed after Steven asked for a new pair of shoes for Wallace to have, and it spiralled from there.

By the end of it, Wallace was holding three bags for three shoeboxes—one box had his broken pair of shoes (he wanted to get them repaired when they came back to Hoenn), a pair of stilettos that Steven caught him staring at, and a pair of black leather that Steven had offhandedly mentioned would match rather handsomely (handsomely?) with one of Wallace’s admittedly old black suits. 

He stood next to Steven, staring dumbly at the cash register as the attendant quietly punched in their purchases, and he peered at Steven, who was humming pleasantly as he waited for the attendant to finish. They turned to him with a nod, and told him a price that flew right over Wallace’s head. Steven beamed, nodding as he pulled out his wallet.

The wallet was nothing too special—it was a beat-up little black leather thing that Lisia insisted she pick out for her Uncle Steven when she had finally wormed her way into his heart much like she had with Wallace. It had a few soot stains and earthy patches on it, likely from Steven’s time exploring caves, and Wallace felt his cheeks burn when the attendant looked at it a little disapprovingly. 

“Sorry, it’s a bit sentimental.” Steven laughed sheepishly, his own cheeks turning pink, and the attendant seemed to soften up. “My niece gave it to me, so I can’t just let it go.”

Niece, he said. Wallace felt like he was overheating at Steven’s nonchalant little mention of Lisia, and he felt like he was floating with sheer joy.

Steven flipped his wallet open, and Wallace couldn’t help but smile at the photo in the wallet—it was a Polaroid photo of him, Lisia and Steven together after one of their play dates together. Lisia had taken the photo and printed it herself, gleefully presenting it to Steven along with the wallet that one evening they spent with her while her mother returned to the hospital again on her birthday. 

Wallace lightly bit his lip. Steven loved Lisia as much as Wallace did, it seemed, and oh Arceus Wallace could only take so much of each gesture of love (however unintended) Steven showed him before he positively exploded. 

“Right, lemme just—” Steven struggled for a moment, and much to Wallace’s shock, pulled out a black card. “Here you go.”

“Thank you, Champion Steven.” The attendant said coolly, and began to work on their transaction. 

“Thanks.” Steven laughed softly, and the attendant nodded once, huffing fondly. 

The sight of the black card felt like it was seared into the back of Wallace’s mind. 

Steven had a black card? At his age? 

“Here’s your Centurion card, sir.” The attendant said mildly, handing Steven his card back with it delicately perched on their palms, and Steven nodded, taking it back from them with both hands. 

“Thanks,” Steven nodded, and tucked it back into his wallet, which he slid back into his pocket. He looked at Wallace, and gave him a grin. “I hope you like your present.”

“I… yes.” Wallace finally managed, and looked down at his new shoes. They were almost identical to the pair he used to wear, but the previous pair had been something Wallace had picked out himself, all those years ago, blowing out a month’s worth of savings for something durable, but beautiful.

Now, he had three pairs, and had not spent a single Pokédollar on it. 

He felt his flush creep down his neck, and he squirmed uncomfortably. 

In all the years he’d known Steven, this was the first time he’d ever seen the black card. 

Wallace would like to think he wasn’t materialistic, but seeing Steven so casually wield that powerful little black rectangle was definitely enough to send a tingly little sensation shooting down his spine. 

Oh, he was in trouble, wasn’t he? 

The hotel Steven’s father had booked for them was a beautiful, gilded five-star right in the heart of Nimbasa, not too far away from the renowned model Elesa’s Gym. The backdrop of Nimbasa’s glitz and glamour wasn’t lost on Wallace when they made their way back to the hotel, and the rose-scented bubble bath he sank into that night was nothing short of spectacular. 

It then occurred to Wallace that he wasn’t paying a cent for this—at least, Steven hadn’t told him to. 

Well, it was only polite to split the bill, at least. Wallace was here on vacation, and Steven was working. The least he could do was be helpful, one way or another. 

If Steven insisted on paying for this, then Wallace can pay for the shoes, at least. 

He practiced his speech—well, demands—in his head as he got out of the bath and dried himself off. Wallace finished off his evening ablutions with a sort of glare pointed at himself in the mirror, a toothbrush in his mouth, and he pointed at himself through the mirror. 

Pay for something, he thought firmly. You’re the older friend—don’t rely too much on Steven!

With a huff and a nod, Wallace wrapped a bathrobe around himself, and strode confidently out of the bathroom. 

“Steven—” he began, but he quickly silenced himself when he saw Steven on the phone with someone as he stood by the window. “Oh.”

“Yeah, that’s right.” Steven sighed. “Sorry. Would it—no, of course it’s a bother! That loss was on me.”

Wallace deflated, rubbing his arm awkwardly as he shuffled towards his bed, sitting down on the luxuriously smooth sheets with a sigh. 

It must be rough, being a board member of Devon. Wallace knew it was only a matter of time before Steven was promoted to Vice President, and then CEO, when Joseph retired. He felt bad for Steven—he knew Steven would rather be out in the world, exploring it and seeking hidden depths of beautiful caves with precious stones, but he still chose to do this, for his father’s sake. Now, on a business trip, it seems Steven was still dealing with problems after office hours. 

“Yeah. In Nimbasa. Uh huh.” Steven paced back and forth across the window, and Wallace could only watch him in pity. “Okay, I’ll wait for you here. Tomorrow, okay, business hours. Does…” Steven checked his watch. “Nine sound good? Nine-thirty? Nine. Okay.” He stopped for a moment, and chuckled fondly. “No, I don’t have a meeting then. Get yourself something nice too, I’ll foot the bill.”

At that, Wallace raised an eyebrow. He’ll foot the bill?

“Aw, I’m not allowed to? That’s not fair.” Steven pouted. “Okay, well… I mean… yeah, I know it’s your job, but…”

He turned around to see Wallace, and he lit up. 

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow at the lobby. By the way, could you pick up… the thing I asked you to? Yeah, send it over to Hoenn along the way.” There was an impish little spark in Steven’s eyes as he asked that, looking right at Wallace, and his throat went tight.

What did that mean?

“Thank you so much! See you. Have a good night, Diane.”

Diane?

Steven hung up, sighing tiredly as he dropped himself down on his bed. 

“Sorry, Wallace, I had to take a call.” Steven smiled sheepishly at Wallace, and the older man huffed fondly. 

“It’s fine. After all, you’re on a business trip. I’m just here on holiday.”

“You deserve it, you know.” Steven pouted. “I know you’ve worked really hard to qualify for your Gym Leader appointment. Mr. Juan said you were running yourself ragged.”

Wallace blinked at him as Steven gave him a sweet smile. “It must be rough. You’ve been working hard for Contests, too, and you’ve got a Grand Festival on the horizon. A Grand Festival!” He said excitedly, and he reached out to hold Wallace’s hands. “Wallace, that’s amazing! And you’re battling, too, and—”

“Steven, you’re the Champion of the League.” Wallace shook his head, and Steven stopped. “Nothing can beat that.”

“Who’s to say you won’t?” Steven asked, cocking his head, and Wallace looked at him exasperatedly. “Just relax, Wallace, c’mon.” He chuckled, patting his hands. “Okay, how about this—let’s have a round or two in the hotel’s battlefield up on one of the leisure decks. After breakfast. Deal?”

“I—” Wallace shook his head. “What about your meeting with, the, um… Diane?”

“Oh, my Centurion concierge in Unova?” Steven blinked, and Wallace looked back at him, wide-eyed. 

Centurion concierge?

“Guess I should tell you what that is, huh?” Steven chuckled fondly at Wallace’s blank expression at him. “A Centurion concierge is someone that works for that card company—um, the black card I have. She helps me sort out stuff I purchase with my Centurion card here in Unova—she’s not my usual concierge, I have another personal one in Hoenn, but he’s currently on holiday, and, well, we’re out here, so.”

“Wait…” Wallace stammered, “Your card comes with a concierge?”

“Yeah.” Steven nodded brightly. “I’d actually lost my personal card last week in Granite Cave so I was sent this black one as a placeholder for the time being while they sorted out my usual design. It’s a bit of a pain in the ass to come up with, which was why I was apologising to Diane over the phone…”

“I…” Wallace took a deep breath. “That wasn’t work.”

“Nope.” Steven chuckled, and he gave Wallace a knowing little grin that made his heart skip a beat. “Were you worried?” 

“Of course I was!” Wallace huffed, and Steven laughed fondly. “You sounded like you were in trouble, Steven, and that worried me!”

“Aw, I’m glad you worry about me.” Steven sighed, and Wallace scoffed. 

“Enough for the both of us, really.” He mumbled, and Steven beamed at him. 

“And that’s why I like you so much.” He said warmly, and Wallace had to forcibly remind himself that this was just something Steven told everyone, not just Wallace—get a grip! 

“Yeah, thanks…” Wallace mumbled, tearing his gaze away from Steven, who pouted slightly as he cocked his head. “Hey, listen, about our room…”

“Oh, that’s right!” Steven lit up. “Did you enjoy the rose bath I rang in for you?”

“You—what?” Wallace stammered. “That—that was you?”

“Well, yeah!” Steven nodded. “I saw it in the spa listing, and I figured you’d wanna try it. You seemed really tired today, so think of it as my treat.”

“S-Steven, this is too much!” Wallace protested, and Steven blinked at him owlishly. “You can’t just—I—I have to pay for something, too! I can’t keep relying on you, that’s not fair!” He shook his head. “I’ll split the accommodations with you, at least.”

“Um…” Steven laughed nervously. “It’s already paid for in full.”

Wallace sighed deeply. “My shoes, then.”

“No! Those are my presents to you!” Steven huffed, and for a moment, Wallace almost laughed—he looked just like that scruffy boy who strode proudly into Sootopolis Gym to gain his final Gym Badge from Juan—but now was not the time to be laughing. 

“Steven,” he mumbled. “I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

Steven deflated. “But you’re not.”

“But I’m older than you, I shouldn’t be relying on you this much—”

“All this because of some weird age complex thing?” Steven gasped, and Wallace shut his mouth in shock as the younger man stood up. “C’mon, Wallace, you’re better than that!”

“What do you mean age complex—”

“It doesn’t matter if I’m only 19!” Steven continued, and Wallace was too flustered at his words to realise he was grinning knowingly. “We’re friends, Wallace! Equals!”

“Well, yes, of course!”

“So treat me that way! Rely on me!”

“Fine, fine!” Wallace huffed, and Steven cheered. Wallace watched him witheringly, and wondered why he felt like he lost something. “But at least let me buy you something too.”

“Another Bearticone.” Steven grinned, and Wallace gave him a weak smile in response. 

“Really?”

“Really.” Steven nodded. “Listen, you don’t have to be too independent with me, you know. I like treating you with nice things.”

“Steven, it’s not good to spoil people.” Wallace laughed wryly. 

“It’s not good to spoil children,” Steven huffed. “But hard-working adults and my best friend are alright.”

“Oh, you.” Wallace shook his head. 

“And I like your company. Just being with you is enough to make me happy. No amount of cash is gonna buy that.”

At that, Wallace blinked at him, his heart involuntarily fluttering, and he wanted to kick himself for getting his hopes up. Steven was just like that, he knew—unintentionally charming, an accidental Casanova of a young man who captured hearts with his genuine sweetness, his kindness, and his rather unfortunate way with words. It wasn’t Steven’s fault—it was Wallace’s for ever taking his words wrong. He’d seen first-hand the dozens of suitors of varying genders that have fallen for Steven’s charms, and all of them had been turned away rather painfully. 

Wallace would rather die than ever experience that himself. 

“So you’ll buy me gifts to keep me around, then?” Wallace huffed, crossing his arms. “Steven, who taught you to be a sugar daddy?” 

Much to Wallace’s surprise, Steven’s cheeks turned bright pink, and the younger man turned away, spluttering in embarrassment, and it made Wallace laugh out loud. At that, Steven sobered up, and his expression softened at Wallace as he lost himself in his laughter. Wallace dropped down onto his bed with a happy sigh as he shook his head. 

“Oh, Steven. You should see your face.”

“You should see your smile.” Steven murmured, and at that, Wallace stopped, looking up at him. Steven seemed to catch himself, and he laughed sheepishly. “It’s nice to see you loosening up. You’re always so tense and uptight these days, I worry about you.”

Wallace smiled at that, and he sighed, sitting back up. “Well, I appreciate your concern.” He nodded. “Fine. I’ll get you all the Bearticone ice cream you could ever want.”

“You’re the one that’s too sweet on me.” Steven huffed, and he got up to head to the bathroom. “I’m taking a shower.” 

“Call me if you can’t reach the towel rack.” Wallace called as he settled down on his bed, and Steven burst out laughing, disappearing behind the bathroom door. Wallace shook his head, and picked up a book on the nightstand with a sigh. 

That was close.

At least he’d convinced Steven to let him buy something—even if it was a cheap little streetside ice cream.

Wallace spied the boxes of shoes he’d left on the coffee table, and he felt his cheeks burn, that strange, pleasurable tingle returning to the base of his spine. 

He couldn’t get used to this, or there’d be hell to go through.

2.

He’d done it.

Wallace stood there, wide-eyed and panting heavily as Eurydice clenched around him, her own breaths shallow with exertion and exhaustion. The crowd around him had risen to their feet, and the raucous cheers washed over him like roars of strength. The heat of the floodlights surrounded him with the same intensity, and the crowd was a shimmering haze of shadows that told him all he needed to know.

He’d done it. 

“And now, let’s see the scores of the judges…”

The crowd was deafening. Eurydice’s cool scales did little to calm Wallace down, as the world came to a slow halt. A number appeared on the giant screen behind him, slowly rising for dramatic effect, and his heart lodged itself into his throat as one digit changed to two, to three.

The crowd’s cheering grew even louder, as the number came to a stop, and tears rolled down Wallace’s cheeks.

“What a stunning result, folks, and a new regional record—no, possibly even a new world record!” The announcer cheered as Wallace took a sharp gasp of breath as the reality of his situation sank into him, and Eurydice rushed her face into his chest, cooing happily as she coiled around him in a tight embrace. He clung onto her as they sank onto the ground together, unable to stop the tears flowing from his eyes—but he wasn’t sobbing or anything, he was simply blank-faced, staring up at the number that smashed records emblazoned on the screen above his head.  

“Eurydice, I’m—I’m not dreaming, am I?” He asked dazedly, and she shook her head, kissing his tears away. 

“Hoenn, welcome your brand-new Top Coordinator, Wallace of Sootopolis!”

“Oh, wow.” He breathed, laughing incredulously as Eurydice nodded at him. “We made it.”

The awarding ceremony was nothing short of spectacular, and Wallace could still hardly believe it was real, not even as he sat numbly in his own dressing room, looking at his reflection on the trophy that was handed to him in front of a massive crowd. Eurydice was already in her Pokéball, taking the much-needed rest she deserved, leaving Wallace all alone to sit there and marinate in the sensation of their success. 

A knock on his door caught his attention, and he jumped, whirling around to look at it, wide-eyed. 

“C-come in.” He called, and he lit up when Steven peered into the room, a wide grin on his face. “Steven!”

“Wallace, I saw the whole thing!” Steven cheered, hurrying into the room, and Wallace’s eyes widened when he saw that Steven was carrying a massive bouquet of flowers. “Oh! These are for you, by the way!”

“Steven, they’re—they’re beautiful!” Wallace laughed, getting up to take the bouquet from Steven, who beamed at him. “I’m surprised you managed to find your way around anywhere with this thing in your way.”

“Hey!” Steven huffed, but he shook his head. “Oh, fine, I’ll let you tease me about being short just this once, because you won.” His expression softened up quickly after that, and he patted Wallace’s shoulder. “But really—I mean it, congratulations. I’m really, really happy for you. I know this was a long-time dream of yours, and now, you’re finally here.”

“Thanks.” Wallace smiled warmly, and he lit up. “By the way, there’s a gala for this Grand Festival this weekend. Would you like to come with me?” 

“Oh, would I!” Steven nodded eagerly, but then he sobered up. “Hang on. Do you even have an outfit for that?”

“Well…” Wallace deflated, setting the bouquet down (with some difficulty, Steven had to help), and he hummed. “I was just going to, well, have my suit dry cl—”

“No way!” Steven cut him off, and Wallace blinked at him blankly. “Absolutely no way are you going to show up in an old suit, Wallace, you’re a Top Coordinator now! And a record breaker!”

“But Steven, it’s not like I can come up with something in two or three days…” Wallace mumbled, but Steven gave him an impish grin. Wallace knew that grin—he’d seen it many a time back when Steven was a young teen, who thought that pranks were the best way to get Wallace’s attention. “Steven!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you out.” Steven said, “I’ll see you tomorrow at your house. Deal?”

“I—” Wallace sighed exasperatedly, nodding. “Fine. Deal.”

“You won’t regret it!” Steven cheered, and hurried out of the room, already pulling his phone out of his pocket. 

“Steven, you promised we’d have dinner together with Juan.” Wallace called, just before the door shut, and the younger man wedged his foot in the door.

“I’ll be just a minute! Gotta place a call first.” Steven waved his hand at Wallace from outside, and Wallace sighed, rolling his eyes as he shook his head. “I’ll see you in a minute!”

“Another phone call.” Wallace sighed. “I think I know where this is going…”

“I think, Wallace, that Steven loves you quite dearly.” 

Wallace spluttered, resisting the urge to spit out his espresso while Juan raised an eyebrow at him. The morning air was crisp and still beyond Wallace’s balcony, overlooking Sootopolis gorgeously sprawled out into the crater below them. He swallowed down his coffee with a dirty glance at his teacher, and he shook his head, taking a prim sip of orange juice to calm himself down.

“Is it so farfetched, my dear?” Juan asked, and Wallace sighed exasperatedly. “What, can a man not fall for your charms now? Or perhaps young Steven has always loved you?”

“Juan, I am by far quite unlovable.” Wallace grumbled, and Juan tutted, jabbing his finger at Wallace’s spine to make him reluctantly sit upright. “Least of all, by Steven himself.”

“Oh, come now, do you trust my skills in teaching you so little?” Juan chuckled, and Wallace jumped in alarm. “Look at you, Wallace—you’ve grown so strong and beautiful. You’re far from the darling little ugly duckling of your family now, surpassing even your very own mother and sister. Honed into a fine point of grace, beauty, and strength.”

“You flatter me too much.” Wallace sighed, and Juan laughed. 

“It’s flattering of myself, too, you know.” He replied, and Wallace huffed softly in amusement. “I brought you here. You, the most beautiful man in all of Hoenn.”

“Okay, now that’s too much,” Wallace laughed, but Juan shook his head. “What.” He deadpanned, and Juan held up the newspaper he had been reading. Wallace took it from him, and his eyes widened.

“After you smashed the region and world record for Contest Performance scoring, the media has taken to calling you a Contest Master. They’re also saying that you’re the most beautiful man in all of Hoenn.” Juan said, inspecting his nails casually. “Anyone who’ll manage to charm you and catch your heart is truly a lucky person—and I’m sure Steven’s plenty lucky himself.”

“Juan!” Wallace spluttered, and his teacher laughed.

“Oh, come now, Wallace, you know as well as I do that you’re in love with him.” Juan sighed fondly, shaking his head, and Wallace deflated. “I know you, my dear—and I know how you love. Steven is truly very lucky to have someone who loves him so deeply.”

“Juan, I just… I just don’t think he feels the same way as I do.” Wallace said, and Juan cocked his head. “Yes, he loves me—but it’s because we’ve been friends since we were very young. I’ve seen first-hand how he’s rejected suitors left and right, I don’t—I don’t want that for me. For us—I don’t want to ruin our friendship.”

“Is that so.” Juan murmured, and Wallace looked at him wryly—

Only for the doorbell to ring. Juan looked up as Wallace shot to his feet, and he raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Sorry, that’s…” Wallace deflated, and Juan slowly smirked at him. “Steven.”

“Interesting.” He replied. “And what’s our dear friend Steven Stone doing at your house at…” He glanced at the clock in Wallace’s living room. “Eight in the morning?”

“He’s…” Wallace struggled to admit, “He’s taking me out… today.” 

“Oh?” Juan grinned. 

“Just—just drop it,” He said, shaking his head, and Juan laughed fondly. “He’s actually pretty early, so I’ll just let him in for now.”

“I’ll make him a cup of coffee.” Juan volunteered, and Wallace nodded his thanks at him as he hurried to the door. Juan watched as Wallace greeted a brightly-smiling Steven at the door, and he grinned slightly when he saw that Steven was dressed quite fashionably for the occasion—a little more formal than he was used to seeing the young man in, and he had a sneaking suspicion as to why. Wallace gestured for Steven to sit down on the couch in the living room, before hurrying off to his room, leaving Steven to stand there awkwardly for a long moment before he noticed Juan sitting at the balcony.

“Oh!” Steven jumped. “Mr. Juan!”

“Hello, Steven.” Juan greeted mildly, “How’s Joseph?”

“He’s doing great.” Steven smiled, giving him a polite little nod as he made his way over to him. “How about you? Congratulations for Wallace’s win yesterday, by the way.”

“Thank you.” Juan chuckled, getting up, and Steven cocked his head at him. He gestured at the chair Wallace used to occupy. “I’m doing fine. Would you like a coffee?” 

“Oh, um!” Steven peered at where Wallace disappeared to, and Juan couldn’t help but grin. “S-sure.”

The older man nodded, and turned to the coffee press on a small table off to the side of the balcony. Gently, he tapped out the grounds left in the press into the potted plants hanging from the balcony, and got to work making a new batch. 

“So, what brings you here today?” He asked. 

“Um,” Steven stammered, “I was gonna surprise Wallace today for his win yesterday.”

“Where will you be taking him?” Juan turned to see that Steven was pink, and he leaned forward, his hand cupped next to his mouth secretively. “Oh?”

“I’m buying him a new suit.” Steven said in a stage whisper, and Juan laughed fondly. 

“That’s wonderful.” He nodded. “Well, I’ll be off after your coffee, then.”

“Wait—what about—um… what about you?” Steven asked. “What are you… um… doing here?”

“I stay over sometimes.” Juan explained simply, and Steven blinked at him owlishly. “As you know, Wallace has a guest bedroom. Remnants of his father’s penchant for home renovations.”

“U-uh, right! Yeah, I… I knew that.”

He clearly didn’t. 

“Have you stayed over before?” Juan asked, and Steven looked up at him like a kicked puppy.

“No…” he mumbled. 

Ah, that explains it. 

“The last time I stayed over was, um… when Wallace still lived near the Palace of the Sky Dragon.” Steven said. “With… with his mom.”

“I see. That was a long time ago.”

Juan set down a cup of coffee in front of Steven, and smiled at him encouragingly. 

“Why don’t you insist on tonight?” He asked, and Steven blinked up at him. “You look like you miss it. I know the eyes of a jealous man, young Steven Stone.”

“Jealous—I’m not—I’m not jealous!” Steven stammered, but Juan laughed, shaking his head fondly as he gave Steven’s head a fond pat. 

“I’ll see you later, Steven. And… do try a bit harder. Just a little more show of love and Wallace will break. You can do it.”

“Break?” Steven echoed fearfully. 

Juan gave him a little wave, and strode out of Wallace’s house. Steven sighed, pressing a hand to his heart as he looked out at the gorgeous view of Sootopolis from Wallace’s balcony. 

“Mr. Juan… are you telling me Wallace has caught on?” He murmured. 

Wallace tried not to gape as he and Steven stepped out of the Stone family SUV in front of a fancy boutique for suits. Steven grinned as he took Wallace’s hand delicately, and gestured at the door, giving Wallace a little bow. 

“We’ve arrived, Contest Master.” He said, grinning as he straightened up, and Wallace huffed at him. 

“What’s this all about?” He asked, but he was reluctant to let Steven’s hand go. Steven didn’t seem too keen on letting go, either, as he led Wallace into the store. 

“This is my surprise for your win yesterday!” He beamed, and he let himself and Wallace into the store. “Miss Karolina! We’re here!”

“Oh, my darling little Stevie!” A round, sweet-faced woman hurried forward to meet them, and Steven beamed at her, letting her pull him into a warm hug. “How have you been? Oh, look—you’re wearing one of mine!” She cupped his cheeks in her hands, squeezing gently, and Steven laughed fondly as she then pinched his cheeks. “I haven’t seen you in forever! It’s always Mr. Stone placing an order for you!” 

“I know, I know,” Steven replied, and she finally let him go to notice Wallace standing next to him. “Miss Karolina, I’d like you to meet my best friend, Wa—”

“Contest Master Wallace?” The woman gasped, and Wallace’s eyes widened as she hurried to him, grasping his hands, stars in her eyes. “Oh, you were amazing yesterday! I saw the whole thing, and I’ve been dying to dress you! I’ve sketched up a whole plethora of ideas ever since I saw your winning routine; I haven’t been so inspired like this!”

“I…” Wallace looked at Steven, who stood back, slipping his hands into his pockets, and he gave Wallace a soft smile. He laughed softly, and turned pink. “Thank you, Miss Karolina.”

“It took all it had in me not to start cutting out fabric,” She sighed dramatically, patting her cheek, “And now that you’re here, oh, I’m really fired up! You’re really beautiful, even more so in person!”

“Oh, my!” Wallace laughed, as she ushered him further into the boutique, and she excitedly sat him and Steven down at a glass table with plush leather ottomans surrounding it. Steven smiled at him as she hurried away, and one of her assistants came forward with two glasses of water. “Thank you.” Wallace smiled at her, and she, too, looked eager. 

“Um, I’m a big fan, too.” She admitted, “I hope Miss Karolina won’t get mad, but… would you please sign an autograph for me?”

“Why, of course.” Wallace smiled generously, and the assistant eagerly pulled out a small notebook from her suit coat’s inner breast pocket, holding it out to Wallace with both of her hands. “Do you have a pen I could…”

“Here.” Steven spoke up, and he held up a pen to Wallace. Wallace gave him a nod, and he signed a page of her notebook.

“Thank you so much!” The assistant looked down at his autograph, and they could tell it took all she had not to start squealing. “I—I’d better be off!” She gave them both a hasty bow, and hurried away. 

“Everyone is really falling head over heels for you, huh?” Steven hummed, and Wallace’s blush deepened as he shook his head. “Come on, Wallace, look at that. They adore you.”

“Well, I’m sure they like you a lot too.” Wallace replied, and Steven shook his head.

“I’m just a customer.” He said, and Wallace blinked at him. “I mean, yes, they know I’m a Champion, but they’ve never been big on the Pokémon battling thing. If anything, Contest Spectaculars are becoming more mainstream—easier to relate to for everyone. Battling’s a different story.”

“But…” Wallace began, but he stopped when Steven gave him a wink. 

(Yes, his heart skipped a beat. Yes, it drove Wallace insane realising this.)

Steven leaned closer to Wallace, and he stiffened up involuntarily. “For starters, no one’s asked me for my autograph before.”

“What?” Wallace asked, but Karolina returned, humming happily as she hurried towards them with a folder in her hands. 

“Thank you for waiting!” She cooed, setting the folder down on the table, and she sat down eagerly, flipping it open. “Please, have a look!”

Wallace’s eyes widened at the collection of gorgeous, varied outfits—different combinations of three-piece suits, jumpsuits, and gowns that all bore a common theme of blue—water, Wallace’s preferred Pokémon type. 

“These are beautiful,” Wallace breathed, and Karolina nodded, beaming brightly. “I… thank you for these beautiful designs.”

“I should be thanking you,” Karolina sighed happily. “I couldn’t get you and your gorgeous Milotic out of my head, you were like a dream!” 

“I don’t even know where to start,” Wallace laughed faintly, and he looked at Steven. “What do you think?”

Steven hummed, tapping his chin as he looked the designs over. “The gala’s a suit and tie event, so we’ll start off with the suits. We can get the other outfits later.”

“Of course.” Karolina replied, and she tucked away the other designs that weren’t suits. Wallace was still reeling over what Steven said—

Get the other outfits later?

“There we go.” Steven smiled, looking over the suits, and then he peered at Wallace. “See anything you like?”

“Well…” Wallace looked down at the designs, but he couldn’t quite focus. 

We’ll get the other outfits later?

“I—I don’t know, they’re all beautiful.”

“Hm.” Steven hummed, and pointed at a white suit. “How about that one?”

It was, of course, lovely—a mostly white three-piece suit, with the waistcoat a gorgeous emerald green. There was beautiful water drop designs on the lapels, and the cuffs of the coat were bordered with what looked like metal detailing—if Wallace looked closer, he realised it looked very similar to one of Steven’s suits, one he was particularly fond of. 

“Oh, that’s a particular favourite of mine, too.” Karolina nodded. “Though I have to say, the similarity to Stevie’s favourite suit was a bit unintended.”

“The metal detailing, I think, is a bit too heavy.” Steven nodded, and Karolina picked a pencil up to write some notes down. “Something more delicate—but powerful. Maybe gold, something that suits the white.”

“Certainly. I was thinking it was too heavy, too…” Karolina hummed, and she quickly launched into a conversation with Steven. Wallace watched them talk in hushed tones together, and awkwardly sat there, gingerly thumbing at the glass of water. They ended up agreeing on something, at least, and Karolina turned to Wallace. “Come, come! Please, this way. I’ll have your measurements and the suit ready in no time!” 

“I—right, okay.” Wallace got up, and Karolina took his hands to usher him onwards. 

“Of course, there will be other fittings, and you’ll have to be here for that—”

“I’ll take care of it!” Steven called cheerfully, and Wallace looked at him pleadingly as he beamed at him brightly. “Let me know if you need him—I’ll bring him over.”

“Thank you, Stevie!” Karolina smiled, and ushered Wallace into the other room. Steven sighed, and looked down at the design he’d picked out for Wallace.

“Maybe I was a bit too heavy-handed with this?” He mumbled, caressing the suit that he had immediately noticed looked like his own. He knew what this was going to do, if Wallace wore it to the gala, but…

He felt his cheeks burn, and he couldn’t help but grin goofily. 

Well, that was the plan, wasn’t it?

The night of the gala came, and Wallace stared at himself in the mirror in awe. He looked like a completely different man—the suit brought out the colour of his eyes, and Juan had to admit that Wallace had definitely outdone himself this time with his hair and makeup. His deep black eyeliner was sharp, and his lips were red, and earlier that afternoon, he’d finished painting his nails a lovely shade of aqua green. 

“Truly living up to the name of ‘most beautiful man in Hoenn’, are we?” Juan chuckled, and Wallace gave him a sheepish little smile. “Steven’s suit looks beautiful on you.”

“It’s not his, technically,” Wallace replied, holding still obediently as Juan helped him fasten the metal finishing at the cuffs—a pair of thin, golden bands that were shaped to emulate a Milotic’s scales—around his wrists. “Though I could see why you’d make that assumption.”

“He bought it for you, didn’t he?” Juan grinned, and Wallace looked off to the side, embarrassed. “Well, no matter. I wish you had more jewellery, but I suppose this will do. Here, you may borrow this for the night.”

Juan gently took Wallace’s wrist, and the younger man lit up when he fastened his wristwatch onto it. The watch had a beautiful aquamarine face, and each number was marked by a little glittering stone. 

“Your watch.” Wallace breathed. “I’ll be careful.”

“Of course.” Juan smiled, and the doorbell rang. “Ah, and there’s your charming date.”

“Juan,” Wallace huffed, getting up, and he headed to the door, opening it to see Steven dressed as formally as he was, grinning brightly. “Hey.”

“Hi.” Steven greeted cheerfully, and Wallace let him into his living room. He spotted Juan, and he gave the man a wave. “Mr. Juan, hello.”

“Hello.” Juan gave him a little salute. “Do take care of my Wallace tonight, will you, Steven? Man of the hour he is, he’ll get swept up by many a Sharpedo at that gala, and I cannot protect him there.”

Steven grinned at him. “You got it, sir.”

“You two, I swear.” Wallace huffed, shaking his head, and Steven laughed fondly. “Come on, let’s just go.”

“Have a good evening, you two.” Juan gave them a little wave, and Steven and Wallace strode to the Devon Corporation’s limousine parked outside his door, which was currently surrounded by curious onlookers. Steven opened the door for Wallace, gesturing grandly for him to step in, and Wallace gave him a wry little grin, stepping inside, before Steven followed suit. When they were alone, both of them heaved fond sighs, and Steven grinned at him.

“I’ve got one more thing.” He said, and Wallace laughed exasperatedly.

“Steven, you’ve gone above and beyond for this, I swear.” He said, and Steven laughed softly as he pulled a small, flat box from his suit’s inner breast pocket. At that, Wallace’s smile slid off his face, and Steven held it out to him. “What… is that?”

“Take a look.” Steven replied, and Wallace took the box tentatively. Slowly, Wallace opened the box, and he gasped softly when he realised it was an ear cuff—a Milotic winding around a beautiful scale made of malachite. “I found the malachite while we were in Unova. I had a jeweller there make the ear cuff for me and I had it sent home so I could give it to you at a later time as a present.”

Wallace jumped—he remembered the conversation Steven had with his Unovan Centurion concierge.

“Was this… was this what you meant when you asked Diane to send something here?” He asked, and Steven nodded, picking up the ear cuff gently, and he gestured for Wallace to come closer. Wallace nodded, scooting closer, and Steven gently put it on the shell of his right ear, running his fingers over the delicate gold metalwork of the Milotic, and Wallace took a shaky breath. 

“Yeah.” Steven mumbled, though he had yet to let go of Wallace, and all they could do was look at each other. 

“Steven, this is… too much.” Wallace said faintly, and Steven’s hand cupped his cheek. He couldn’t help but lean into it, and something seemed to spark in Steven’s eyes as they began to lean in closer to each other. “You really… can’t keep… doing this.”

“Yeah?” Steven said again, and Wallace swallowed nervously. 

“There’s got to be… some other way…” Wallace could feel Steven’s soft breaths on his lips, and—

“Sirs, we’re here.” The driver said, and they shot apart, panting heavily. Steven met Wallace’s gaze as the driver looked at them over his shoulder, cocking his head, but Steven shook his head.

“Th-thanks.” He mumbled, and got out of the car. Wallace blinked at him blankly, before Steven offered him his hand to take. “C’mon, Wallace, everyone’s waiting for you.”

Wallace nodded, and he took Steven’s hand, letting him help Wallace out of the car, and he almost flinched at the lights and the flashing cameras that immediately bombarded him as he stepped out of the car.

“Grin and bear it.” Steven murmured to him as he ushered Wallace to walk onwards with a hand to the small of his back, and Wallace nodded dazedly. “That’s it. The spotlight’s on you now. They love you.”

It was only then did Wallace realise why Steven had him wear white—all of the other guests—Steven included—were in dark colours, or black. Only Wallace was in white, and it made him stand out from the crowd. The dazzling lights on them made the delicate appliqué of his coat, the gold around his wrist, and the Milotic coiled around the shell of his ear sparkle, and for a moment, Wallace thought he was glowing.

“I… suppose so.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you.” Steven said, and together, they strode towards the ballroom where the gala was being held. Wallace simply let him, and only then did he realise that Steven’s words meant more than their situation right now—

Everything he was wearing—except, of course, Juan’s sentimentally loaned watch—was from Steven. His shoes, his clothes—hell, even his jewellery. Steven really provided everything.

And with the way the crowd seemed to cheer even for Steven, it seems they knew it too.

Wallace knew what this is—Steven essentially branded Wallace as his—but why?

What did Steven get out of this?

“By the way, Wallace,” Steven said, as they were about to enter the ballroom, “I was wondering if I could… stay over tonight?”

Wallace blinked at him, and Steven didn’t quite meet his gaze. 

“Sure.” He replied without thinking, and Steven’s smile was positively radiant.

In the end, Steven didn’t get to stay the night—he received a call from his father about an emergency he needed to address the next morning in Rustboro, so Steven had to stay in his Rustboro apartment that night to make it to the early-morning meeting with a Kalos collaborator the next day. Still, Steven dropped Wallace off at his house, and they stood across each other on Wallace’s porch, awkward silence between them. 

Wallace didn’t know if Steven wanted to talk about… whatever just happened earlier. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to talk about what happened.

“Um.” Steven began, but he seemed to lose his nerve. “Goodnight, Wallace.”

“Goodnight, Steven.” He replied, and they both shuffled on their feet nervously. “Um… get home safe.”

“I will.” Steven gave him a little smile, and turned to leave—

“And thank you.” Wallace said, and Steven looked at him over his shoulder, bewildered. “Thank you for the gifts. I love them, I really do.” 

“I…”

“I’m sorry I keep denying them. I’m sorry I insist that you shouldn’t, even if you want to. I’m grateful for them, I truly am, but I still want to return the favour.” Wallace continued, and Steven’s expression softened on him. “Now that I’ve come this far, Steven, I want to meet you halfway. I’ll do everything I can to meet you halfway.”

“I know you will.” Steven smiled. “But only if you’ll still let me spoil you.”

“Well, I am trying to spoil you, too, aren’t I?” Wallace grinned, and Steven laughed fondly, nodding.

“I won’t lose to you.” Steven replied, and Wallace nodded.

“I won’t lose to you either, rival.” He said, and Steven beamed at him as he went back to the limousine. With one last longing look at Wallace, he gave him a wave, and Wallace waved back, all the way until the limousine drove off into the distance. Wallace sighed, and wrapped his arms around himself. 

That night was one of the best nights of Wallace’s life—it almost felt like Steven loved him too.

3.

Wallace had taken to the Top Coordinator life surprisingly well—after his victory, his Gym skyrocketed in popularity, he was getting invited to more and more shows, and soon he was on ads, modelling, and so much more, that almost every day of his week was packed to the brim with something—frankly, it was a surprise he could still manage to train his Pokémon for both battling and contest performances, and, at least for the past few months, Wallace was so busy that he had very little time for even his little niece, Lisia, who had delightedly proclaimed she would also be a Contest Performer, just like her Uncle Wallace was. 

Except, of course, that one weekend, where, by some miracle, Wallace’s schedule was devoid of any commitment—so he immediately made one with his family. 

“Uncle Wall! Uncle Wall!” Little Lisia squealed as she hopped out of her family’s car, and Wallace lit up, squatting down to catch her in his arms as she leapt into them. 

“Sorry she’s a bit hyperactive,” His sister said from where she sat in the car, and Wallace gave her a kind smile as he let Lisia go to stand by herself, and strode over to help her out of the car. “Ah, thank you, Wallace.” 

“Have you given her something sweet this morning, Rhea?” He chuckled fondly, and his sister scoffed. 

“She has given herself something sweet this morning.” She replied, and Lisia giggled brightly as she clung onto Wallace’s leg. “Lisia helped herself to a small jar of cookies on the table this morning—Mother made some, and she just had to have some.”

“Oh, you!” Wallace ruffled the little girl’s hair, and she giggled delightedly. “I’ll keep a close eye on her this weekend, I promise.”

“Thank you.” Rhea sighed, and Wallace gently helped her into his house. “Oh, it’s as beautiful as I remember it.”

“I’ve tried my best to keep it pristine.” Wallace chuckled, slowly lowering Rhea onto one of his couches, as behind him, Lisia zoomed right to the tank that held Eurydice and her other teammates. “Of course, I was never the carpenter that Dad was, but I tried.”

“It looks great.” Rhea smiled tiredly as Wallace sat down across from her in an armchair. “I see you’ve been really busy lately. Congratulations, by the way.”

“Thanks.” Wallace smiled fondly. “It’s been hectic, but it’s been totally fulfilling. Not a dull day in my life, that’s for sure.”

“I’m sure.” Rhea nodded, and Wallace picked up an envelope from the table. “Oh?”

“This is for you and the sect.” He said, and Rhea’s eyes widened as he held the thick envelope out at her. “I know we’ve had our differences, Rhea, you and I—Mother and Dad, but I hope, after everything, we can work together again. For everyone’s sake.”

“Wallace, I…” Rhea breathed, gingerly taking the envelope. “But this is your…”

“Yes,” Wallace smiled fondly, and thought of Steven. “And I can do what I want with my money. I know the Palace of the Sky Dragon needs renovations, and I want to contribute. I may not be actively serving like you are, but I still am a servant of Rayquaza myself. It’s in our blood to serve it.”

“Thank you so much.” Rhea said shakily, her eyes growing misty, and Wallace reached forward to hold his sister’s hand. “I’m sorry to burden you with this, but recently, you’ve seen them too, right? The Rainbow Happy Resort group of companies. They’ve been building nuisance buildings all over Sootopolis, and they’ve been harassing us to let tourists come in even during rituals.”

Wallace’s expression darkened. “I’ve seen them around.” He grumbled, thinking back to a particularly rude agent that had tried to get him to endorse a condo that was going to rise right next to the Palace of the Sky Dragon. “They even tried to get me to endorse them, like as if I wasn’t a viable heir for our sect.”

“They’re tactless.” Rhea agreed. “They were also trying to build a restaurant or something near the Cave of Origin and the surrounding grotto.”

“The fools!” Wallace gasped, “What if they anger the sleeping beasts?”

“Exactly,” Rhea sighed exasperatedly. “Day in and out, Mother is praying to Rayquaza for guidance, and so far, at least, the Mayor has rejected their proposal to build there… but it won’t last long.” 

Wallace looked down at their hands, and Rhea squeezed his hand. 

“For now, all we can do is hold out.” She murmured. “None of us are powerful enough to stand up against them.” 

“Unfortunately.” Wallace muttered, looking down. “If I’d become Champion…”

“Wallace, you can’t aim too high,” Rhea said softly, and he looked at her pleadingly. “Grandfather is only tolerating your Top Coordinator status, but Champion… the League will take you away from the sect. From Sootopolis.”

“Rhea—” Wallace said exasperatedly.

“And it would tear you apart.” She whispered, and Wallace’s expression fell. “Wallace, you can’t choose both. You’ll stretch yourself out and devote yourself completely to both, until you lose yourself entirely. I would know.”

Wallace stayed silent, as Rhea took a deep breath.

“Believe me, I want you to achieve whatever you put your mind to. But I also know what reality is like. Between the Palace and Lisia, I’ve… I’ve been stretching myself thin.” She laughed tiredly. “When you choose both, Wallace, you’ll fall apart. I love her with all my heart, don’t get me wrong, but ever since I had Lisia by myself, it’s been… rough. Grandfather disapproves of it, but with you so out of reach, he’s had to make do with me.”

“I’m sorry.” Wallace murmured, but Rhea shook her head.

“No, Lisia is my pride and joy. I don’t care if her father left me.” She said, and Wallace blinked at her. “And I’m happy you love her so much, too. I just want you to take care of yourself—to thrive, where I likely cannot. This is all I could ever ask Rayquaza for.” 

“I’ll take care of her, and myself.” Wallace smiled, and Rhea nodded, sniffling softly. “Do you mind staying a little longer? Before you head off to Lavaridge?”

They peered at Lisia making little faces at Wallace’s Luvdisc, Lizzie, and Rhea laughed softly. 

“Of course.” Rhea replied, “I’d love to.”

“Done!” 

The heavy file full of papers slammed down onto Steven’s desk, and the staff that were with him in the room and the corridor outside all jumped as Steven hurriedly packed his things away, slamming drawers shut in a panic that began to spread across the room like wildfire.

“Oh! Master Steven, whatever is the matter?” One butler asked, and Steven gave him a sheepish grin as he hurried to the coat hanger next to his door. 

“I gotta hurry!” He said, and the staff could only watch on as he sprinted out of the door. Steven’s eyes widened when he saw his father in his line of way, and he waved at him. “Hi, Dad!”

“Oh, Steven!” Joseph greeted cheerfully, and he caught hold of Steven by the scruff of his neck, yanking his son to a complete halt and earning him a petulant look from Steven. “Where are you going, young man? Have you finished reading the case files I sent you?”

“Yes, Dad,” Steven huffed, straightening up when Joseph let him go. “I finished everything, annotated all the interesting bits, et cetera, et cetera. Can I go now?”

“Where are you going?” The man frowned worriedly. “And in such a rush? Steven, what’s wrong?”

“I just—” Steven winced, and he deflated. “I pulled a bunch of strings recently to get Wallace’s schedule to loosen just enough so he was free this weekend.” He admitted, and Joseph lit up, laughing delightedly as his son turned an interesting shade of red. “I know he’s gonna take this chance to just rest up at home, so I was gonna swing by to surprise him.”

“Oh ho, Steven!” Joseph laughed, patting his son’s back, and Steven grinned at him witheringly. “I didn’t know you had it in you! Look at you, my little rascal, chasing after that beauty!”

“Dad, don’t be weird about it.” Steven grumbled, but he was definitely getting redder. 

“Why, not at all! You’ve got my full support for this, Steven!” Joseph beamed, and Steven gave him an awkward little smile. “Go on, go on! Charm him with these little surprises! That brings me one step closer to a grandchild!”

“Dad…” Steven shook his head exasperatedly, but he patted his father’s shoulder. “Right, I’m off.” He huffed, and hurried away, Joseph cheerfully waving at him as he went.

“Oh?”

Steven was surprised to see a car parked outside of Wallace’s house, and his driver looked at him from over his shoulder.

“Yikes, sir, looks like we were a bit too late.” He said, and Steven deflated. “Do you still wanna pop in?”

“Well, yeah.” Steven sighed, looking down at the box of sweets he’d picked up in Mossdeep before heading over. “Who knows, maybe his guest won’t be here for long.”

“Alright then. I’ll come back later?”

Steven looked at the overnight bag he’d packed, and grinned. 

“Nah. Come back tomorrow.”

His driver gave him a wolf whistle, and Steven laughed as he stepped out of the car, his bag slung over his shoulder. 

“Easy, easy.” He said. “Thanks for the lift. See you tomorrow!”

“Seeya, sir!” 

Steven shut the door behind him, and the car drove off. He sighed to himself, and strode towards the door to ring the doorbell. 

He stood back, waiting patiently—

When suddenly the door opened, but he couldn’t see anyone ahead of him. 

“Huh?” Steven blinked, and he looked down to see Lisia blinking up at him with wide eyes. “Oh hello, Lisia! Is your uncle home?”

“Uncle Wall!” Lisia shouted—rather loudly, ouch—into the house, and she opened the door wider to let Steven in. “Uncle Steven ran away from home!”

“Hey—wait—” Steven dissolved into laughter at the little girl’s rather frank statement, and much to his delight, Wallace came rushing over, his eyes wide. “Hi, Wallace!”

“Steven!” Wallace gasped, and only then did Steven realise he was wearing an apron. “Oh, you came at just the right time.” He laughed, running his hand through his hair—which, Steven noted, he was growing out; it was currently down to about just past his shoulders. “Rhea and I were just deciding on how much to cook.”

“Oh?” Steven blinked. “Your sister’s here?” 

“Yes,” Wallace chuckled, ushering Steven into his home, before tying his hair up in a ponytail. “Guess we’ll be cooking for four.”

“I…” Steven flushed. “Sorry, should I go?”

“No, it’s alright.” Wallace shook his head, “Rhea was about to leave after lunch, anyway, so it’s fine for you to stay.” He paused for a moment, and looked at Steven again. “And… you seem keen on staying for a while.”

Steven laughed sheepishly, patting the overnight bag he’d packed. 

“Well, Lisia did say I ran away from home.”

“Did you, really?” Wallace hummed fondly, “You’re turning 20 in a few days, this doesn’t quite qualify as juvenile enough to run away from home, does it?”

“I didn’t run away, I was making good on a promise.” Steven huffed, “Remember? Back at the gala? I asked if I could stay, and I never got to.”

“You did.” Wallace nodded. “Well, make yourself at home. The guest room is down the corridor, past the team’s tank. Have you brought anyone with you?”

“Just Orpheus and Mercury.” Steven replied, and Wallace hummed. 

“Orpheus might be a bit too big for the house, I’m afraid.” He sighed. “He’ll have to wait for Rhea to leave. Mercury can come out to say hello, though.”

“Yeah, I figured.” Steven nodded, and ushered Wallace on. “I’ll be fine—go help your sister out.”

“Right, of course.” Wallace said, and hurried away. Steven sighed happily, watching him go, but he jumped when he felt a tug on his jeans. He looked down to see Lisia looking up at him, and he gave her a kind smile, squatting down to meet her gaze. 

“Hi, Lisia.” He greeted, “How’re you doing? How’s Ali?” 

“I’m fine.” She mumbled, but she was smiling. “And Ali’s okay. He’s with me right now, actually, do you want to see him?”

“Let’s see him!” Steven beamed, and he straightened up, shrugging off his overnight bag to put it down on the floor next to the couch as Lisia eagerly pulled off her own cute little backpack to pull out the Premier Ball he and Wallace had bought for her. 

“Ali, come on out!” Lisia cheered, releasing her little Swablu into the house, and Steven cheered for her, clapping his hands delightedly, and the little girl beamed at him. 

“He looks great!” He said, as Ali cuddled with Lisia, chirruping happily. “You’ve been raising him well.”

“Mommy helps!” Lisia nodded eagerly, and the two of them launched into an animated conversation about her newest friend. 

In the kitchen, Rhea watched them, a fond smile on her lips as she crossed her arms, and Wallace bumped their shoulders together. 

“You know, despite the earful you and Steven got after catching that Swablu for her, I have to say, I’m glad you did.” Rhea said, and Wallace smiled warmly at that. “She’s been so much happier with it around, and I’m reassured that she won’t be lonely, even when I’m not around.”

“Someday, she may go on her own journey with it, though, like I had with Eurydice.” Wallace said, and Rhea shrugged. “You don’t mind that?”

“I believe that a deeper understanding of the bond between Pokémon and humans is important in order to serve Rayquaza.” She replied, and Wallace smiled warmly at that. “I could see the way you and your team have bonded—how they serve you obediently the way you care for them with all your heart. I think our relationship with Rayquaza should be like that, too.” 

“You’re right.” Wallace murmured, and Rhea smiled.

“I sometimes catch myself wishing I had the same strength as you had, siding with Dad when he and Mother separated.” Rhea admitted, and Wallace’s expression softened on her. “The way he let you go on your own journey, meeting Mr. Juan and Steven, you’ve experienced so many things in our world, and I know so very little.”

She sighed, rubbing her arm. “I can only wish that Lisia would come to know the world as you have, so someday, if she chooses to follow in my footsteps, too, she can be a better leader of the sect than any of us ever will.”

“That’s a wonderful dream.” Wallace smiled, and Rhea laughed softly. 

“I’m just making up for lost time, I guess.” She replied, “Oh, Wallace, you may burn the egg.”

“Oh!”

Soon, it was time for Rhea to leave, and Steven stood with Lisia and Wallace in the living room while she got herself ready. She pulled out a beautiful, golden tube of lipstick from her purse, and Wallace lit up at the sight of it. 

“Oh, Rhea, is that…”

“Yes.” She smiled, uncapping the lipstick to twist it, showing him an almost-depleted tube of lipstick. “It’s actually almost out, I’m kind of sad I can’t find it anywhere anymore…”

“Hm?” Steven perked up, cocking his head, and Wallace looked at him witheringly, but Rhea didn’t seem to mind. “What’s that, Rhea?”

“This is from a cosmetics brand, um… what was it, Besame? Something like that.” She smiled fondly. “I remember our grandmother had told us that Grandfather had bought it in Unova a while back, but now we can’t get our hands on it—it’s like the brand disappeared completely!”

“That’s true,” Wallace nodded. “We never had much chance looking it up here, and it’s not like we can fly to Unova just to see if it’s still around.”

“I don’t think it is,” Steven said, and they turned to see him on his PokéNav, frowning slightly as he scrolled through a webpage he was reading. “News articles say that the district that had the shop that sold these was converted to a tourist spot, and they’d never returned there since.”

“What a shame.” Rhea sighed, as Wallace internally sighed in relief.

Well, even Steven Stone’s Centurion card won’t help him here. 

“Wallace really loved this lipstick, too.” Rhea smiled fondly, and Wallace laughed sheepishly as Steven blinked at her. “For the longest time, we’d bickered over it, but one day, he decided that I should have it. I’ve been using it ever since.” 

“It looks better on you than it does with me.” Wallace chuckled, and Rhea hummed, nodding. “Juan taught me that. It would be a shame to waste such a gorgeous lipstick when it does not fit its user, hm?”

“Oh, knowing you, you’d look good in anything.” Rhea giggled, elbowing him lightly. “Like that beautiful bright red you wore at the Grand Festival gala! I know Besame carried that shade once!”

“Well, it’s too late for that.” Wallace chuckled, and Rhea sighed, nodding. “And it may be too late for you, Rhea, if you don’t get going.”

“Right!” Rhea nodded, and she smiled at Steven. “It’s nice to see you again, Steven.” She said kindly, and Steven gave her a sweet smile. Rhea turned back to Wallace, and held his arms gently. “Please take care of my little girl, Wallace.”

“Of course.” Wallace nodded, and she smiled at him, before pulling him into a hug. He hugged her back with a fond sigh, and they pulled apart. “Have a good time in Lavaridge.”

“I will.” She smiled, and Wallace helped her out of his house. Steven hummed as the door shut behind them, and Lisia looked up at him curiously.

“Lisia,” He said, grinning, “Let’s give your Uncle Wallace that lipstick he likes so much, what do you say?”

“But you said it’s not around anymore?” Lisia cocked her head, holding his hand, and Steven grinned at her as he squatted down to meet her gaze.

“What if I told you I didn’t tell them the whole story?” He said, and Lisia lit up, stars in her eyes. “We can still get the lipstick, Lisia, but you have to promise me you’ll keep it a secret, okay?”

“Can—can we get Mommy a stick, too?” She asked, and Steven’s expression softened on her. “P-please?” She looked up at him pleadingly, and Ali did his best to look pleadingly at Steven too. “She’s—she’s been working really hard, and I know she likes it a lot, so…”

“Of course we will.” Steven chuckled, ruffling her hair and making her giggle, “You’ll have to help me, though, is that okay?”

“More than okay!” Lisia squealed, as Wallace stepped back into his house, raising an eyebrow at the two of them. “Uncle Wall!” She beamed, and Steven grinned as he straightened up. “Can Uncle Steven stay?”

“He will.” Wallace smiled, and Steven beamed at him. “He’ll be here for the weekend.”

“Can he stay forever?” Lisia asked, and Wallace and Steven burst out laughing. 

“Oh, Lisia!” Wallace huffed, picking her up to rub their cheeks together, and the little girl giggled brightly. Steven watched them with a soft expression on his face, and his resolution only grew.

Wallace, I’m gonna do my absolute best to make you the happiest man I know.

“Huh?” Steven looked at his phone, panicked, as it began to ring. “Damn it, not now!”

Ahead of him, Wallace and Lisia walked hand in hand along the streets of Sootopolis’s shopping district. They didn’t seem to notice him panicking behind them, so he quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket, answering it.

“Hello?” He hissed.

“Mr. Stone, I’ve found the store. Luckily, it’s in my childhood neighbourhood.” Diane’s voice on the other side said fondly, and Steven lit up. “I just wanted to let you know, since when you first asked, I said I wasn’t sure if I could find it. You seem to be a very lucky man, sir.”

“Oh, thank goodness.” Steven sighed happily. “Is it open?”

“Yes, sir. I’ll be picking up the two shades you mentioned and have it shipped to you ASAP.” Diane reported. “Will that be all for Besame?”

Steven hesitated, and looked at Wallace and Lisia. He smiled softly. 

“Actually, if the bright red one can come in a full set, could you get it?”

“Got it. I’ll let you know later.”

“Could you, um, email me instead? I’m… a bit busy right now.”

“Of course.” Diane replied. “Thank you, sir.”

“Thanks!” Steven sighed, and he hung up. He looked at uncle and niece, and sighed in relief when he saw that they hadn’t noticed anything. He jogged forward to catch up with them just in time to hear Lisia asking Wallace for ice cream.

“Oh! Wasn’t there an ice cream parlour we used to go to together with Mr. Juan, Wallace?” Steven asked, beaming brightly, and Wallace lit up. “I missed that place! Let’s go!”

“Let’s go, let’s go!” Lisia cooed, and Wallace nodded, laughing fondly as he led them onwards—only to come to an abrupt stop. Lisia bumped against his side with a small ‘oof!’, and she looked up at her uncle worriedly. “Uncle Wall?”

“What?” Wallace breathed softly, and Steven came to a stop next to him, his grin disappearing into a deep frown as they looked up at a metal fence surrounding a plot of land. There was a sign on it, and Wallace felt anger bubble in his chest at the sight of it.

ON THIS SITE WILL RISE THE LUMINA RESIDENCES

by

RAINBOW HAPPY RESORTS INC.

“Rainbow Happy Resorts.” He growled deeply, as Steven turned to look at him. “Sorry, they’re—they’ve been building nuisance buildings all over Sootopolis.”

“I heard as much from Dad.” Steven nodded gravely. “They’re known for their uncanny ability to get what they want, and harass the hell out of the locals.”

“Steven, language.” Wallace halfheartedly scolded as Lisia tugged on his hand.

“Uncle Wall, where’s the ice cream?”

Wallace looked longingly at the plot of land.

“It isn’t here anymore.” He murmured, and Lisia deflated. 

“Aw.”

Steven frowned at the fence, and he shook his head, plastering a smile on his face for Lisia’s sake. 

“We’ll just have to try elsewhere. C’mon, Lisia, let’s go to the promenade, I bet we’ll find something there.” 

“Okay!” Lisia lit up, and she skipped ahead of them as Wallace and Steven lagged behind. 

“How are you feeling, Wallace?” Steven murmured, and Wallace shook his head, laughing wryly. 

“I don’t know how to feel, really. I don’t know what I can do about Sootopolis getting gentrified.”

They fell quiet, forlornly passing the lot where the ice cream parlour used to be, and Wallace sighed.

“I’m sorry, Steven.” he said, and Steven smiled at him sympathetically, leaning on his side reassuringly. “I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

“I’m all ears, Wallace.” He murmured, and Wallace smiled tiredly. “Let’s talk about this later.”

“Right.” Wallace nodded, and Steven took his hand to squeeze it reassuringly. “Thanks for being here.”

Steven’s answering smile was positively radiant, and it made Wallace feel like everything was going to be alright, after all.

In the end, Steven and Wallace never found the time to talk, as Lisia insisted they played together for the rest of the night, tiring all three of them out. When morning came, Wallace made sure that Lisia was still fast asleep, smiling fondly at his niece before he made his way out of his room. He was surprised to see Steven already up and sipping coffee at the balcony—he’d been expecting Steven to sleep in, considering it was the weekend, but he realised the younger man had already made coffee. He smiled at that, and shrugged, making his way over to the balcony to sit next to him.

Steven jumped as Wallace sat down, and much to Wallace’s surprise, he saw a large box on the table next to the coffee press.

“Hey.” Steven grumbled, and Wallace realised he was frowning. 

“Are you alright?” He asked, and Steven shrugged, pouting into the rim of his mug. “May I have what you’re having?”

“Sure,” Steven replied, pouring Wallace a cup of coffee. “Don’t laugh if it tastes weird, I’m not used to it yet, I literally just searched how to use a coffee press online.”

“I’ll have it anyway.” Wallace smiled, mixing in two sugars in his drink, but unfortunately, Steven’s frown deepened. The younger man sat up straight as Wallace raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Sorry, I can’t get into a cheerful mood.” He admitted, and Wallace nodded sympathetically. “I’m still thinking about Rainbow Happy Resorts.”

“Me too.” Wallace replied. “I want to speak up about it, but I’m just a celebrity. I don’t have the influence—even if I was a Contest Master, would anyone listen to my opinions about something societal as this?”

“You have to aim even higher.” Steven murmured, and Wallace nodded exasperatedly. “Like Champion.”

“Yes.” Wallace hummed, and then stopped. “Wait—but that means I have to beat you.” 

“Yeah.” Steven nodded simply, and turned to him. “And I just want to tell you, Wallace, whatever you choose, I’ll support you.”

Wallace looked down at his coffee, and sighed. 

“To tell you the truth, I want to. I want to pursue this. I still want to become Champion, and to be the best Coordinator I can be. I want to choose both.”

“Then do it.” Steven said, “I know you can do it.” 

“I…” Wallace looked off to the side, and spotted the box. “By the way, what’s that?”

“Oh, this?” Steven finally grinned, and shit, Wallace knew that grin. “So I stayed up pretty late last night to receive a package at around, like, 2 in the morning.” 

“Steven!” Wallace gasped, “You need to sleep!”

“Yeah, yeah, in a minute.” Steven laughed, and he picked up the box. “But I really needed to get this.”

“What—what even is that?”

“It’s for you.”

Wallace gaped at him as Steven handed him the box. Warily, Wallace set his mug down—he hadn’t even tasted it yet, jeez—to receive the box, and his eyes widened at the name on top of it.

“Besame?” He read incredulously, and he quickly opened the box to find a complete set of makeup—two (two!) sticks of bright red lipstick, a few eyeliner pencils, blush and eyeshadow, and even a beautiful golden compact powder case. “Steven—this is—” He stammered, taking out one of the lipsticks to twist it up, and Wallace could feel his heart swell at the sight of a gorgeous red colour that he knew would suit him well.

“Before you ask, yes, Lisia asked me to get Rhea a stick, too.” Steven said, and he took out a pair of smaller boxes—significantly smaller than Wallace’s, holding only two lipsticks—from his jacket’s pocket. “I’m gonna give these to Lisia when she wakes up so she can give them to Rhea.”

“Steven—you—” Wallace stammered, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away from the lipstick. “I…”

“You said you’d let me spoil you!” Steven said in a sing-song manner, and Wallace laughed incredulously.

“I’ve… always wanted a Besame.” He admitted, “Do you… can I try it on?”

“Sure!” Steven beamed, and Wallace felt a little silly, wearing lipstick on a Sunday morning on his balcony without even washing his face yet, but Steven held up the compact powder case for him to use its mirror, and Wallace applied his lipstick.

“Oh, it’s beautiful.” He breathed, and Steven’s gaze on him was soft. “Steven, I can’t even begin to imagine how you got your hands on this one. I was sure that you wouldn’t…”

“Hey, there’s very little things I wouldn’t do for you.” Steven laughed, and Wallace felt his cheeks burn. “But I just want you to know—this, I give to you willingly.”

His grin sharpened into that familiar, powerful smirk of a Champion, and Wallace felt a thrilling tingle go up his spine. 

“But my Champion title, I’m going to fight tooth and nail to keep—even if I want you to have it.”

“That’s fine by me, Steven.” Wallace replied, feeling the urge to battle rise in him. “I’ll just have to take it from you.”

“Now you’re spoiling me.” Steven smirked.

“Uncle Wall? Uncle Steven?” 

They flew apart, jerking in surprise at how close their faces got, and they turned to see a sleepy little Lisia standing in the living room, rubbing her eyes. 

“L-Lisia!” Steven stammered, “Hey there, you’re already up?”

“Uh huh.” The girl nodded. “What’s for breakfast?”

“Head into the kitchen, Lisia, and let me know what you like.” Wallace said, and she nodded sleepily, plodding into the kitchen. Steven sighed in relief, and he jumped when Wallace grabbed him, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“Uh?” Steven said intelligently, his lips curling up into a goofy grin as he gingerly reached up to the red kiss mark on his cheek. 

“That’s my thank you.” Wallace chuckled, getting up to follow Lisia into the kitchen. “Don’t touch anything, Lisia! I’ll prepare breakfast for you.”

Steven was left on the balcony, staring at Wallace’s retreating back, and his grin widened even more. 

“Yes!” He hissed, pumping his fist into the air. “He kissed me!”

4.

“Wallace, you don’t have to do this.” Rhea said faintly as Wallace tucked his hair under his beret with a determined look ahead. “I’m sure with enough pressure, you can get your point across, just keep—”

“Rhea, Rainbow Happy Resorts is taking more and more of our city with every day that passes by. It’s killed family businesses. How long do I have to wait? Until we can’t get rid of it anymore?” Wallace asked, and Rhea stopped, her eyes going wide as he turned to her with a wry grin. “I wish I could’ve challenged Steven under better circumstances. I wish, Rhea, that I didn’t need to do this—I wish I could’ve done this because I want to, not because I need to.”

“But…” 

“But my decision is final. I know I can do this, because I have chosen both.” Wallace took her hand, and pulled her into a warm hug. “Just like you have.”

“Oh, Wallace…” Rhea sighed. “I’ll… I’ll be cheering you on.”

“Don’t exert yourself.” Wallace smiled as he pulled away from her. “I’ll be back.”

Rhea nodded wordlessly, and Wallace turned to stride into the hall of the first member of the Elite Four. Rhea bit her lip, pressing her hand into her heart, and she shut her eyes.

Exalted Rayquaza, I, your servant, approach you with reverence. May you hear my fervent plea.

“Salamence is unable to battle! Milotic wins!” 

Eurydice hissed triumphantly as she towered over Drake’s Salamence, and the man huffed fondly, putting his Pokémon back into its Pokéball as Wallace smiled at Eurydice fondly.

“You kicked my ass, Leader Wallace,” Drake said warmly, and Wallace chuckled. “Just as soundly as young Steven did. You’ve got a shot, I say!”

“Thank you for your kind words.” Wallace chuckled, and headed onwards past Drake, swallowing thickly as he faced down the long staircase that led up to Steven’s room. He shut his eyes, taking a deep breath, and nodded to himself. “This is it.”

This wasn’t the first time Wallace faced great pressure, and he knew it won’t be the last. Still, knowing it was Steven beyond that doorway brought him a strange sense of relief—like everything was going to be alright in the end. 

His feet carried him to Steven’s hall, and they met gazes. Steven’s bright eyes felt like beacons Wallace was drawn to, and he couldn’t help but smile. 

“You’ve done well to make it this far.” Steven said, and Wallace nodded as he came to a stop where challengers stood. “I knew you had it in you—but here is where I stop your journey. I don’t want to give this spot up, Wallace, and I hope you won’t hold that against me.”

“Of course not.” Wallace replied. “You worked hard to get there. It should only be right that I, too, work just as hard to take that title from you.”

Steven’s lips curled up into that familiar, confident smirk of a Champion.

“You can try.”

It was now or never.

“Champion Steven, I challenge you for the right to become Champion!” Wallace declared, and Steven nodded, pulling out his first Pokéball from his harness.

“I accept!” He replied, and the battle began.

“Oh, hello there!”

“Mommy?” Lisia mumbled, sniffling slightly, and she looked up to see one of the League’s Elite Four, Phoebe, leaning over her. Her eyes widened, and she deflated, sinking back in her seat. 

“My Sableye told me you’ve been all alone here for a long while now. How come?” Phoebe asked, sitting down next to Lisia, and the little girl sniffled gingerly.

“Mommy had to go somewhere.” She said, and Phoebe blinked at her. Wallace’s sister, right. “She… she looked really sad. I’m really worried about her. She’s been gone for a long time.”

“Huh…” Phoebe deflated, and much to her surprise, her Banette popped out of its Pokéball. “Oh!”

It tugged on her hand, and she cocked her head. 

“What’s wrong?” She asked, and Lisia looked up at it, too, worry clear on her face. “Hm?” 

Follow me! She whispered in Phoebe’s head, and the young woman gasped softly. 

“Oh! Okay!” She nodded, and took Lisia’s hand. “Come this way, dear. This seems important.”

“O-okay!”

Rhea knew this was a bad idea. Ever Grande was gorgeous, of course, but she was not only surrounded by allergens from the pollen in the flowers of Victory Road’s exit, but the sea breeze that came in, cold and crisp, no matter the weather. Sootopolis never posed this problem to her—it was nestled in a crater that protected its citizens from the elements, leaving the Cave of Origin and the Palace of the Sky Dragon mostly untouched by nature. 

That meant that Rhea was left with a rather poor constitution—aside from her already present chronic illness, and that could only spell disaster the moment she stepped somewhere she wasn’t used to.

For instance, one of the rolling hills outside the Pokémon League, where the ocean breeze was strong, and the wisteria tree near the entrance of the League danced along it. 

“Exalted Rayquaza, I beg thee—” Rhea shuddered, and she dropped to the ground. 

Ah, I hate this. 

She squeezed her eyes shut. She hated this, being so weak—Rayquaza’s blessing had yet to touch either her or her brother, and she didn’t know how long she would survive before she even had the chance to see it in action. 

Rhea knew begging Rayquaza for favours that did not benefit it was foolish—what could Rayquaza gain from Wallace becoming Champion, she didn’t know, but Rhea knew one thing. 

Wallace deserved happiness. He told her he wished this battle had been under better circumstances, and as his older sister, all she could do was support him. 

Perhaps, if Wallace carried Rayquaza’s blessing, things would already be for the better by now. 

Rhea shivered as another gust of wind came in, and she curled up feebly on her side. 

Oh, Wallace. Lisia. I’m sorry I’m so weak. 

Indeed, she was weak, but her love was strong. 

High above the clouds, in the layer of the sky that shielded the earth, a godlike dragon roared into the heavens to its creator. 

I have made my decision. 

All that was left was for the child to prove its decision was not for naught. 

“End it, Caesar!” Wallace felt his throat strain as his shout came out louder than he’d anticipated, caught by the rush of adrenaline that spiked in him when Orpheus began to fall. “Earthquake!”

Steven’s eyes widened as he took a sharp breath, and the ground shuddered violently as his Metagross fell, and he could only watch in shock as Orpheus sank down to the ground, twitching slightly. 

“Orpheus?” He called. “Orpheus!”

The Metagross made a small, weak sound, and fell limp. 

“Metagross is unable to battle!” A League staff member called over the loudspeaker. “Gyarados wins! The winner of this match is Wallace of Sootopolis!” 

He’d made it.

Wallace’s eyes were wide in shock, dropping to his knees as Caesar lit up, spinning in the air in a beautiful infinity-loop that would have made crowds gasp in awe, but right now, alone with Steven in the Champion’s Hall, only Wallace could see his joy. The Gyarados landed elegantly on the ground, coiling around Wallace with happy rumble, and Wallace laughed disbelievingly as he touched Caesar’s frontal fins, the Gyarados cuddling close to him. 

“We made it.” He breathed, and he looked down at his Pokéball harness—at his team of fainted Pokémon, even Eurydice. He laughed, shaking his head as he pressed his forehead against Caesar’s. “Thank you, Caesar. You’ve worked hard.”

The Gyarados rumbled quietly in thanks, and Wallace put him back into his Pokéball, turning to see that Steven had approached him, having put Orpheus into his Pokéball.

“Steven.” Wallace smiled slowly, and Steven laughed, shaking his head as he held his hand out for Wallace to take. 

“You did it.” He said, as Wallace took his hand, and pulled him up onto his feet with ease. “I’m really proud of you, Wallace.” Steven smiled, and pulled him into a tight hug. Wallace hugged him back, sighing happily as they melted into each other’s embrace, and Steven laughed softly.

“But I’ll be back.” He chuckled, and Wallace laughed, too, pulling away from him to see the determined little smirk on Steven’s face. “Oh, I’ll be back.”

“I don’t doubt that for a moment.” Wallace murmured, and Steven’s eyes dropped down to his lips. He felt his cheeks burn at that, and Steven lit up.

“You’re wearing the Besame.” He said, and Wallace nodded.

“I am.” He chuckled, and Steven hummed.

“It suits you.” 

Wallace realised they haven’t quite parted yet—they were still standing very close, actually, and if Wallace could just lean forward a little bit, he could…

“Steven,” He said quietly, and Steven hummed. “I’ve… been thinking.”

“Yeah?” Steven asked—

“Champion, there’s an emergency!”

Steven and Wallace flew apart, panting heavily as they turned to see a League staff member panting in the doorway. Steven coughed awkwardly as he gestured at Wallace, who turned pink when the staff member looked at him incredulously.

“That’s you, Champion.” Steven muttered, and the staff member gaped. 

“Now you’re a Champion, too?” He gasped, but Wallace shook his head.

“What’s the matter? What happened?” 

“W-well,” The man stammered, “Your—um, your sister, Champion, she’s…”

Wallace’s eyes widened, and he and Steven shared bewildered looks.

“The Hall of Fame can wait.” Steven said, and Wallace nodded. “Let’s see Rhea.”

“Thankfully, she’s stable. She just caught a chill, but otherwise, she’s fine.” Glacia said placatingly, and Steven sighed deeply, looking at Wallace cuddled with Lisia as they sat together next to Rhea, who was unconscious on a bed in the League’s in-house clinic. “It seems she headed outside to perform a prayer to Rayquaza, as customary by Sootopolitans’ religious affairs.” 

“Oh, she was praying for Wallace to win, did she?” Steven sighed, and Glacia nodded. 

“And it seems he did, I heard.” She said, and he nodded. “Well, well. Her prayers were not for naught.” Steven laughed wryly at that, and Glacia smiled. “He’s come very far. I doubt you’ll let yourself get left behind?”

“Of course not.” Steven huffed, and Glacia laughed demurely behind her hand. “He did this to amplify his voice… his hometown’s getting gentrified, and he wants to stop it.”

“I’ve heard of this, the Rainbow Happy Resorts group of companies…” Glacia frowned. “I know they have been gentrifying Alola for years now. Unfortunate that they’ve set their sights on Hoenn this time.”

“And in Sootopolis, of all places.” Steven grumbled, and Glacia nodded, pressing a hand to her cheek.

“If only there was some way for the Sootopolitans to fight back, beat them at their own game.” She murmured, and gave Steven a meaningful look. Steven’s eyes widened in realisation as Glacia continued, “Perhaps this closing door has opened another one—not just for Wallace, but for others who love him very much.”

“I’m freer now, too.” Steven’s lips began to slowly curl up into a grin, and Glacia nodded encouragingly. “Thanks, Glacia, you’re a big help.”

“Me?” She chuckled, “I didn’t say anything.” She poked his nose, and Steven blinked at her. “You thought of this all by yourself, loverboy.”

“H-hey!”

“Yo, is someone up to some shit?” Sidney called, striding over to them, and Glacia turned to give him a graceful little curtsy. “Aw, you don’t have to do that for me, Glacia.” He grinned, and turned to Steven. “Heard you’re not our boss anymore. Bummer.”

“I’ll be back.” Steven grinned, and Sidney nodded. 

“I sure hope you’ll be!” He huffed. “I was actually surprised you lost. Sure you didn’t just throw the game for your Mr. Pretty Man, or something?” 

Glacia dissolved into giggles at that, and Steven jumped, spluttering. 

“Why, you—!” he yelled, but he was grinning. “I’ll be back!”

“Sure you will be, kid.” Sidney grinned, ruffling his hair, and Steven laughed brightly. “And get a few more inches on you before you get back, would ya? I hate having to slouch when I talk to you.”

“Get off my case!” Steven huffed, and the older man laughed. “Fine, I will! I won’t lose, even in height!”

Glacia rolled her eyes, and tapped Sidney’s arm lightly. 

“Don’t tease him.” She said, and he laughed, backing off.

“Sad to see you go, but I’ll be waiting for you to come back, Steven.” Sidney nodded at Wallace, “But you’ve got a handful in that boyfriend of yours—he’s gonna be tough to bring down.”

“Yeah, but for now, I’ll let him have this.” Steven sighed happily, looking back at Wallace to see that Rhea had woken up, and the siblings were hugging each other tightly. “He needs it more than I do right now.”

Glacia and Sidney shared a knowing look, and Sidney’s grin widened.

“Don’t.” Glacia said sternly, and he nodded, raising his hands defensively. “We can tease them later.”

“Fine, fine.” Sidney laughed. “But I’ll be waiting!”

The news of Rhea catching a chill, somehow, was bigger news than Wallace making it to Champion in their household near the Palace of the Sky Dragon, and while he was more than a little disgruntled to get overshadowed like this, Wallace knew that worry for family always superseded anything else. He, too, forgot about his championship for that brief moment when he heard about Rhea, so he couldn’t really blame his grandfather and his mother for their momentary fit of rage when Wallace brought Rhea and Lisia home.

Less than 24 hours into his tenure as Champion, and Wallace already hated it.

“I’m sorry,” Rhea said quietly as he sat on the side of her bed, and he shook his head, holding her hand. “I just… I wanted you to… succeed.”

“I know. I understand your feelings, and I’m grateful for them.” Wallace sighed, and she smiled up at him tiredly. “Of course, us choosing both of the things that make us happy would never sit right with Grandfather, but that doesn’t matter to us.”

“No, not anymore.” Rhea smiled, suddenly developing a coughing fit. Wallace hurriedly reached for a glass of water on the bedside table, and he helped her sit upright so she could take a drink of water. She sighed deeply, and he set her back down. “Oh, I hate being this weak.” She said, and he squeezed her hand, shaking his head. “No, Wallace, I know—I just wish I could do more for you and Lisia.”

“This is already enough.” Wallace said, and she looked at him pleadingly. “For now, you rest up. I’ll take over your duties in the sect while you recover.”

“But Wallace, you have your Champion duties—” Rhea said, but he shook his head.

“Steven’s volunteered to do them for me.” He laughed wryly, and Rhea smiled at that. 

“He loves you very much.” She said, and he shook his head. “No, really—his gifts, his grand gestures… Wallace, how can that be anything but love?”

“We’re friends, Rhea, it’s only natural of him to be this kind to me.” Wallace said, and Rhea raised an eyebrow at him. “Th-the gifts, the gestures, he’s just being kind. That’s just how Steven is.”

“Then why is it, when he bought the both of us presents, he gave you a full Besame set, while I received only two sticks of lipstick?” She asked, and Wallace pursed his lips. “Or that he went out of his way to have this makeup tracked down?” 

“Rhea,” Wallace began, but she shook her head.

“He bought your suit at the Grand Festival gala! Supplied you with jewellery that he dug up himself!” She smiled, “I don’t know what other gifts he’s gotten you, but I’m sure it’s a lot! It’s been years!” 

“I…” Wallace looked off to the side. 

“Have you ever thought about the others he gives gifts to? Has it only ever been you?”

Wallace’s eyes widened. Come to think of it…

“I know what it’s like to be in love, even just for a short while.” Rhea smiled, squeezing Wallace’s hands. “As your big sister, I want you to be happy—and I know Steven will make you happy.”

“Rhea,” Wallace began, but he shook his head. “Look, not now. We can’t think about Steven right now—we have to deal with Rainbow Happy Resorts first.”

“Right.” Rhea smiled, and he sighed. “Why don’t you ask Steven for help?”

“I can’t keep relying on him!” Wallace huffed, “And this is our problem. We can’t bother him with it.”

“Are you insane, Steven?” Joseph held up the papers Steven handed to him confidently, and he gaped at his son. “These are—these are unnecessarily aggressive! There’s no reason to be this ruthless to this single company, I—it feels wrong to allow this strategy!”

“But Dad, think of the opportunities this will get us!” Steven pressed, “The reach we’ll get, collaborating with Sootopolis Town Hall with this. We could even open up a commuting route between Sootopolis and Mossdeep, so people don’t have to fly in and out or take a Dive!”

“I…” Joseph ran his hand through his hair, sighing exasperatedly. “If this goes badly, you’ll end up undoing the months of progress on Sootopolis—are you—are you—” His eyes widened, and he shot up to his feet. “Stevie, do you hate Wallace now?” He whispered desperately. 

Shit, he pulled the Stevie card again—Steven knew that his father only called him that when he was being particularly tender and affectionate. 

“Huh?” Steven blinked, leaning back in surprise as his father dropped back down on his seat with an anguished cry.

“No! Years of planning and scheming with Juan, ruined!” He groaned, and Steven’s eyes widened. 

“Excuse me?” He gasped, and Joseph draped himself on his table, looking sadly up at his son.

“That must be it. You hate him now, the poor thing… is it because he took your Champion title? Oh, Juan should have just taught him to pay attention to Contests only…”

“Dad,” Steven sighed exasperatedly. “No, I don’t hate Wallace. In fact, I’m happy for him to have made it this far—becoming Champion will help him in what he wants to achieve right now.”

“Huh?” Joseph blinked, sitting upright, and Steven met his father’s gaze evenly.

“I know it’s risky, Dad, and it could put us in a very bad light if we mess up, but.” He bit his lip, and he took a deep breath. “Listen. Sootopolis is in bad shape right now. With the developments done by Rainbow Happy Resorts in the area, local businesses are getting outcompeted. The cost of living is rising. People are being driven from their homes to make way for hotels, for malls. Wallace doesn’t want that to happen to his hometown.”

Joseph’s eyes widened at him, and it urged him to continue.

“That’s why he became Champion. So people would listen. So people would look at Sootopolis, and see what’s wrong.” He smiled slightly. “So he can save his hometown—and I can’t help but love him even more for that.”

“Oh, Stevie!” Joseph gasped, getting up to grasp his son’s shoulders. “So you…”

“I love him, Dad,” Steven laughed, turning pink, “And that’s why I want to help him out in any way I can.” 

“When you say things like that, Steven, you remind me of myself when I was young!” Joseph beamed, settling back down with a happy sigh. “Oh, this is risky, but you’re right. We stand to gain so much more by outcompeting Rainbow Happy Resorts. If this does become successful, Steven, why, you’re more than capable of launching Devon even further onward.” 

Steven lit up, and Joseph nodded. 

“Very well. This is a bit skeevy, in my opinion, but with the context of Wallace’s home in danger—and, by extension, my future grandchild in danger—” At that, Steven rolled his eyes, “Then you have my full support.” He concluded, and Steven grinned. “Go, I’m sure you’re eager to get started.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Steven bowed deeply, and Joseph laughed fondly as he straightened up, before hurrying away eagerly. 

“Oh, Wallace.” He sighed. “Make my son happy, will you?”

“Wow, you look authentic.” The agent said, and Wallace resisted the urge to wince as he strode alongside him into the construction site. In the end, the Mayor was pressured into allowing the restaurant near the Cave of Origin to be built, under one condition: that it received the blessing of the Sky Dragon, lest the ruckus they were about to cause would result in significant damage to Sootopolis. Wallace, as promised, had taken Rhea’s place for the blessing ritual—Rhea was still bedridden for some time, and there was no one else beyond the Palace of the Sky Dragon who could perform such a sacred rite: only a child of Ancient Sootopolis could do so successfully, and only Wallace fit the description.

(Well, there was Lisia, too, but she didn’t have the ritual quite down yet.)

He opted to say nothing, instead, focusing on the fact that he was very much barefoot in a construction site (though, to be fair, nothing had started yet; only metal fencing had been set up), and trying not to bang the old ceremonial staff he was carrying against the ground. The old antique was an ancient relic used in conducting blessing rituals like this, and it had streams of delicately decorated paper talismans that trailed after Wallace like fluttering petals. Wallace himself was in a white, delicate Old Hoenn-style robe, with ribbons of blue threaded through the hem of his sleeves that trailed prettily after him, too. 

“Wait, aren’t you the Contest Master everyone had been talking about?” Another representative from the Rainbow Happy Resorts company said, and Wallace pointedly ignored him as other people continued to gawk at him. 

“Yeah, you’re right! Whoa, he’s really pretty…”

That, Wallace had to admit, was because of his and Rhea’s work on him. Traditional style makeup with Wallace’s Besame gifts from Steven, from his red lips, to the beautiful dark lines around his eyes brought out his beauty, Juan had offhandedly commented while he helped Wallace prepare for today, and Rhea was, indeed, a skilled makeup artist herself. 

“Dude, do you really buy this, though? Are we really gonna piss off some Legendary, do you think?”

“Eh, the boss says let it happen. Can’t hurt. Got a nice view, too.”

There were snickers around Wallace, and he felt his skin crawl as he settled at a spot with the Cave of Origin in view. He looked at it longingly, and he sighed, releasing Eurydice from her Pokéball. 

“Let’s go, Eurydice.” He murmured, as the crowd of construction workers, brokers, and company representatives gaped in awe at the beautiful Pokémon—and her equally beautiful trainer. She glowered at the people staring at them, but Wallace tutted, patting her gently to get her to stand down. “Behave.”

Eurydice scoffed, but lowered her head obediently. Wallace stroked her gently before he settled into a stance with the staff in front of him, framing the Cave of Origin with the ring mounted on top of it. 

Rayquaza, I am sorry I cannot be strong enough to protect your land. 

He shut his eyes, and took a deep breath. Behind him, some wardens from the Palace of the Sky Dragon began to beat drums, and another began to play a flute. Wallace began to dance, Eurydice snaking around him, and he could feel it—Rayquaza’s power flowing into him. 

“Exalted Rayquaza, I, your servant, approach you with reverence. May you hear my fervent plea.” He sang in Old Hoenn, and his audience looked on, rapt with awe as he shook the staff, the bells on it ringing a delicate little tune. “Bless this land, bless thine people.”

Oh, here’s a thought, A little voice in Wallace’s head thought. They can’t understand Old Hoenn. What if…

“Whoa, he’s legit.” He heard someone say in the crowd, and the ground beneath Wallace’s feet, traced wet by Eurydice’s movements, began to glow softly. 

Yes, Rayquaza was listening.

“Chase away those who besmirch your servants, and destroy our home.” He continued, and some of the wardens—the older ones, those who learned Old Hoenn at the shrine—jerked in surprise, looking at Wallace in alarm. “Punish those who dare lay a hand on this cradle of life.”

You.

Wallace felt the air around him go still, and a tightness wrapped around his thigh, his arm, and his throat. It was like what Eurydice or Caesar did, sometimes, coiling around him affectionately, but this was cold and harsh. 

Powerful.

“E-Exalted?” He choked.

I have heard your entreatment. 

Wallace’s eyes widened. Rayquaza.

Vow to me that you will serve me, protect my land, and my servants.

He felt Rayquaza’s grip on him tighten, and he winced, feeling air escape his lungs, but it wasn’t at all unfamiliar—it was just like going underwater, really, and Wallace grinned despite the pain.

“I do.”

Then I shall bestow on you my blessing, Child of Mew. 

“I humbly… accept!” He gasped, and Rayquaza’s laughter rendered the sky in two in a frightening crash. Wallace jerked in surprise at the sound of Eurydice’s cry, and he collapsed against her, panting heavily as he held onto the staff for dear life. Around him, the construction site burst into panicked activity, and Wallace looked around to realise it was raining. 

Not just raining—it was storming, and thunderclouds had rolled in overhead. Eurydice shrieked as a bolt of lightning came crashing down on the construction site, and Wallace hushed her gently, putting her back into her Pokéball for safekeeping. Wide-eyed, he watched the storm destroy the building materials onsite, and the lightning and wind tear apart the equipment, and he couldn’t help but grin to himself. Unmindful of the growing bruises where Rayquaza had squeezed him, he strode through the burning construction site, until he came to the exit, where the storm had suddenly stopped, seemingly satisfied with the destruction it caused.

“Mr. Wallace, Mr. Wallace!” The wardens hurried to him, one of them taking the staff from him gently as they helped him walk away from the destroyed construction site. One of them leaned close to him and whispered, “Did you ask the Exalted to do that?”

“Yes.” Wallace panted, and they gaped at him. “I will not allow this company to tear this city apart.”

“Then that means…” The oldest warden—around Wallace’s age—breathed, “Mr. Wallace, you carry Rayquaza’s blessing.”

“It seems I do.” Wallace smirked wryly. “Who knew that all I needed was this?”

“Freak accidents?” Steven lit up. “Then that means…”

“Yes, sir. The restaurant near the Cave of Origin is discontinued until further notice.” The secretary looked at his notes. “It seems Champion Wallace bought us more time.”

“Good.” Steven nodded. “Let’s keep up with him—Quincy, let’s hurry up to the waterfront!”

“Right away, sir.”

More and more “accidents” happened after that at Rainbow Happy Resorts sites, amounting to losses they couldn’t recover, as Devon Corporation had taken up a vast majority of the supplies needed for recovery. Joseph could hardly believe his son’s luck, snatching up properties for those that had lost them, redistributing the plots of land to those that gave it up. Mom-and-pops were returning to Sootopolis, and in no time, the place looked like its old self again—but with a few modifications here and there.

No returned property came without an exchange of benefits, after all, and if selling Devon products alongside their own was the token of exchange, then Sootopolitans were more than happy to do so. 

Meanwhile, the Palace of the Sky Dragon was thriving—the miracle that was Rayquaza’s rage on those that encroached on its home spread far and wide across Hoenn, and both the curious and the faithful gathered to witness the miracle of a man that inspired it all.

Top Coordinator, Champion, Blessed—Wallace of Sootopolis skyrocketed in fame, and Steven couldn’t be prouder of him.

It was a rare, blessedly peaceful Sunday morning with Wallace alone at home, finally free from all his obligations, if momentarily. Rhea had recovered from her cold spell recently and was feeling much, much better herself—perhaps some of Rayquaza’s blessing had rubbed off on her too, with how much time Wallace spent with her as she recovered. Lisia was utterly inspired by her uncle, and was determined to set off on her own Contest-focused journey (with Wallace as her guide, of course) the moment she turned twelve, a compromise her mother had asked for her to take, worried as she was to let her daughter travel the world at the tender age of ten. 

Steven had decided to come over for that day, finally free from his own obligations at Devon, to finally relax and wind down with Wallace to reflect on what had happened recently.

Wallace was in the kitchen, making lunch, when Steven turned his TV on, flipping it to the news with a bored sort of grace as he lay eagle-spread, one foot hooked on the backrest of Wallace’s couch. His Aggron Damascus had a new hatchling recently—a clingy, sweet little Aron—that slept soundly next to him on the couch, and Steven absentmindedly stroked its back. 

“—Stocks from the Devon Corporation are still on the rise following a dramatic turn of events this past week—”

Steven heard Wallace snort from the kitchen, and he grinned widely. 

“Yeah, yeah, get over it!” He called, “Or I’ll buy you something expensive again, you hear?”

“Oh, I’m so scared.” Wallace rolled his eyes, stepping out of the kitchen with two plates of pasta in his hands. “Here. Scoot over.”

“Ooh, feeling lazy today?” Steven grinned, gently setting Damascus’s Aron down onto the ground, gently waking it. It scuttled away as Steven sat up to take one of the plates from Wallace, and he huffed fondly, shrugging as he sat down next to Steven. “That’s not very refined of you to do.”

“I’d rather not play the fancy man 24/7, that’s exhausting.” Wallace replied, and Steven shrugged, tucking into his meal. They stayed quiet for a moment, the news fading into background noise, and Wallace sighed. “I… I have to admit, Steven, I… I missed you.”

“Me too.” Steven smiled past a mouthful of pasta, and Wallace burst out laughing, leaning on Steven’s side with a happy sigh. “You’ve been busy, haven’t you?”

“Well, I’m not only a celebrity, but I’m also helping with the sect.” Wallace shrugged, but Steven shook his head. 

“The ‘freak accidents’ in Rainbow Happy Resorts properties.” Steven said, and Wallace jumped. “I know that was you.” 

“I can’t summon storms, Steven.” Wallace smiled knowingly, and Steven snickered. 

“No, but you do have Rayquaza on speed dial. For some reason.” He said, and Wallace’s eyes widened. “I heard from Rhea. Seems it finally chose a favourite, huh?”

“Don’t say it like that.” Wallace grumbled, and Steven laughed, “And besides, that’s all Rayquaza, not exactly me. Power of prayer, et cetera, et cetera.”

“Sure.” Steven hummed, and Wallace rolled his eyes. 

“The skyrocket in Devon Corporation popularity following the crash of the Rainbow Happy Resorts stock value is of something to note.” The economist on TV said, and Wallace and Steven turned to look at the TV in surprise. “While it’s not definitive that the Legendary Pokémon Rayquaza is responsible for the destruction of their numerous startup properties, it is notable that Devon has swooped in to pick up the pieces, risking losses by buying out the ruined properties, and selling them for lower to the previous owners.”

“What?” Wallace breathed, and Steven winced, inching his hand towards the remote—

When Eurydice slapped his hand with her tail, hissing cheekily at him. Steven glowered at the Milotic halfheartedly as Orpheus reluctantly lifted her back into her tank with a very gentle Psychic.

“Of course, in the end, the gambit paid off—collaborations with local businesses to sell noncompetitive Devon products alongside their own products was a resounding success. Wins across the table for both the Devon Corporation, but most importantly, the city of Sootopolis.”

“Steven.” Wallace breathed, and Steven laughed weakly as he turned to him. “Steven.”

“Also, this isn’t economic in the slightest,” One of the news anchors giggled, “But it’s also notable that Sootopolis is Champion Wallace’s hometown. While Devon is still being run by its founder, Joseph Stone, it’s not hard to imagine that his son and directorial board member, Steven, former Champion and known friend of Champion Wallace, had a hand in this very elegant swoop to save the beautiful crater town.”

“I, uh… heh,” Steven grinned awkwardly, setting his plate down on the coffee table. “Um… surprise? I, uh? Took the time you freed up from me? To… uh, maybe… buy out… Rainbow Happy Resorts… from… Sootopolis?” 

“For me?” Wallace breathed, and Steven turned pink. “Steven, you risked Devon… for me?”

“I—I mean! Not just you!” Steven laughed awkwardly, refusing to meet Wallace’s gaze, “I-it’s for the b-betterment of everyone! It’d be bad for business! I-I-I mean, you saw what it did for Devon, I—”

Steven cut himself off when Wallace pulled him into a tight hug, and Steven’s eyes widened. He pulled away slightly to see that there were tears rolling down Wallace’s face.

“Steven, I don’t know what I did to deserve this,” He whispered, as Steven softened up, and hugged Wallace back. “But thank you. Thank you so much. You didn’t have to do this, but… I’m glad you did.”

“I wanted to do this.” Steven said softly, rubbing Wallace’s back. “And besides, I wouldn’t have been able to do all that if you and Rayquaza hadn’t messed things up for them.”

If Steven and Wallace hadn’t met halfway, things would have been very different.

Steven buried his pink cheeks into the crook of Wallace’s neck.

“And, yeah, I did it for you.”

Wallace laughed dryly. “You are insane, Steven Stone.” He murmured, and Steven laughed fondly. 

“Just as insane as you are, Wallace of Sootopolis, for choosing to succeed in everything you put your mind to.”

5.

“Milotic is unable to battle! Mega Metagross wins!” 

“My, my.” Wallace shook his head, huffing fondly as Orpheus caught Eurydice as she fell, fainted, and he gently set her down before reverting to his normal form.

“The winner of this match is Steven of Rustboro!” 

“Back at it again!” Steven beamed, and Wallace nodded, sighing as he put Eurydice back into her Pokéball. He pressed a kiss to it, murmuring his thanks as Steven strode up to his Metagross, beaming brightly despite the admittedly severe scratches on Orpheus’s metal coat. “Thanks, bud. We’re champions again.”

“Indeed you are.” Wallace hummed, crossing his arms, and Steven grinned, putting Orpheus back into his Pokéball. “Well, off to the Hall of Fame again.”

“I suppose so.” Steven said cheerfully, and Wallace laughed as he took Wallace by the arm. “C’mon, let’s get this over with so we can grab lunch before the lunch rush.”

“Right, right, this way.” Wallace huffed, and together, they headed into the Hall of Fame to reinstate Steven’s Championship. It was over relatively quickly—hilariously, Steven kept the same winning team he’d used years ago, so the photo generated was mostly the same—but with two major differences.

The first photo was of a young Steven Stone, with youthful roundness in his cheeks, and Orpheus standing by his side as his ace.

In the second photo, 20-year-old Steven Stone stood proudly next to Orpheus, Mega Evolved, and Wallace looked up at it fondly. 

“Mega Evolution. What a mysterious phenomenon.” He murmured, and Steven nodded, standing next to him as they looked up at the two photos of Steven sandwiching Wallace’s. “I’m honestly amazed by it—I didn’t think Hoenn would share this connection with Kalos.”

“Neither did I.” Steven hummed. “Maybe someday, we’ll have a better understanding of it.” He unpinned the Mega Stickpin from his lapel, and held it up for Wallace to see. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” He asked, and Wallace nodded, taking the stickpin from Steven when he handed it to him. “I’m really glad Orpheus and I found our pair of stones. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to surpass you.”

“You’re just saying that.” Wallace chuckled, handing the stone back to Steven. “It really is beautiful. There’s an opalescent lustre to it that makes it look incredibly rare.”

Steven huffed, bumping their shoulders together.

“I mean it when I said you were tough, you know!” He grumbled, and Wallace nodded, smiling fondly. “But yeah, this stone’s really beautiful, even without its added benefit. The spiral fracture in the middle’s definitely my favourite part of it.”

“Me too.” Wallace nodded, and they fell quiet. Steven looked down at the ground, shuffling awkwardly, and Wallace ruffled his hair. Steven jumped, looking up at Wallace in surprise. “It’s fine.” He murmured, and Steven cocked his head at him. “It’s fine that I lost. I’m just glad to know that I can make it this far, and I already have.”

“You’re right.” Steven laughed, and Wallace’s smile at him was warm. “And hey, leave some for the rest of us! You can’t be the best at everything!”

“Fine!” Wallace laughed, too, and together, they headed back outside.

“You know what, maybe I should stay as a Gym Leader.”

“Huh?” Steven blinked at Wallace, his hand stopping halfway from putting his fork into his mouth. 

“I said,” Wallace repeated, “I think I should stay as a Gym Leader. The Championship’s yours.”

“What?” Steven gasped, sitting up straight, and Wallace raised an eyebrow at him. “B-b-but—but—but Wallace!”

“But what?” Wallace asked, turning away from him to look off to the side, and Steven sighed exasperatedly, sinking back down onto his seat. 

“Why?” 

“Why not?” Wallace smiled, and Steven huffed, crossing his arms.

“But I like battling you…” He mumbled.

“We can still battle, you know.”

“With something at stake!” Steven pouted, and Wallace tutted, tapping Steven’s nose. “And I’m not a kid anymore, Wallace, I thought we were past this.”

“You are definitely reminding me of the way you were when you were a bit of a bratty teen.” Wallace chuckled, and Steven scoffed. “If you want to gamble for something so badly, we can just set some arbitrary prize, then.” 

Steven deflated, and Wallace hummed, cocking his head at him. “Do you have something to share, Steven?”

“It’s just…” He struggled to find the words to say, “I thought… well… as Champions, we would be equals.”

“But we are, aren’t we?” 

“You treat me like a kid sometimes.” Steven frowned, and Wallace shook his head, laughing softly. 

“Only when it doesn’t matter.” He said, and Steven blinked at him. They stayed quiet for a long moment, Steven processing what he said, but he couldn’t quite understand. 

A trainer and her Roserade passed them by, and the both of them sighed deeply as its elegant fragrance wafted over to them. 

“Oh, wow.” Steven sighed dreamily, and Wallace nodded. “That’s a well-raised Roserade.”

“They’re sometimes raised for a particular purpose.” Wallace hummed. “Their flower petals are distilled to make tea or flower water, you know.”

“Whoa, really?” Steven blinked. “But aren’t they poisonous?”

“There’s a particular variant that is less poisonous than other Roserades. They’re very popular among Pokémon Performers, but they’re a common garden companion, too.”

“Wow.” Steven hummed. 

“Of course, wild Roserade petals can also be used for rose water, but it’s more processed, to get rid of the toxins.” Wallace sighed. “More potent, though.”

“Huh. What do you use it for?” Steven asked. 

“A variety of things, beauty, skin care, even flavouring. The possibilities are endless.” Wallace waved his hand. “Of course, all that depends on the quality of the rose water.”

“That’s true.” Steven hummed. 

There were other things Wallace would’ve said—Roserade rose water had been his mother’s favourite, so many years ago. The scent of it brought him back to a time when a home was happy, when Rhea wasn’t as sick as she was now, when his mother and father were still very much in love. 

Of course, Roserade rose water was terribly expensive, too. While Wallace didn’t doubt that Steven could get his hands on a bottle, he didn’t want to give Steven the idea of getting one for him. No, that would be too much, even for Steven—

Because Steven himself knew what Roserade rose water meant to him. 

The rose water would have been too much for his parents to buy themselves, but his father had been a grass-type Pokémon user. His very own Roserade had supplied the petals, sometimes, and his mother prepared the water herself. A gift born out of love and collaboration. 

A gift where two hearts meet halfway.

They fell quiet again, and Steven could hear a pair of women at the next table giggling together about next week—Valentine’s Day, in particular. “Oh, it’s Valentine’s Day soon.” Steven scowled, and Wallace chuckled, poking the middle of his forehead. 

“Don’t frown like that. It scares away the suitors.” Wallace said, “Gives you premature wrinkles, too.”

“Eh, I can handle it. You can be the pretty one out of the two of us.” Steven hummed, and Wallace raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Oh, do we come as a set now?” He asked, and Steven grinned. 

“Maybe.” He said, and got up. “I better get going. I’ve got a meeting with boardroom execs in about,” he checked his watch. “Ten minutes.” 

“Sounds like a bore.” Wallace chuckled, giving him a wave. “I’ll see you later.”

“Sleepover again? Your place?” Steven lit up, and Wallace grinned. 

“You’re getting too old for sleepovers, Steven.” 

Steven shrugged, and he strode off, waving him goodbye. Wallace sighed fondly, resting his chin on his hand, and smiled out at the charmingly beautiful cobblestone road beyond Lilycove’s market area. The wind blew gently past him, and he looked out at the distance, watching Steven bring out his Skarmory to Fly back to Rustboro. 

“After everything we’ve been through,” he murmured, “I wonder if anything’s changed?”

Valentine’s Day, ever since Wallace became Gym Leader of Sootopolis Gym, was a bit of a hectic day. Flowers and chocolates and presents came in through the front doors from admirers of different genders, and Wallace gracefully accepted them all with a beautiful smile. 

Steven had dropped by—only to also get ambushed with gifts and affection from fans that happened to be in the area. He and Wallace escaped to Wallace’s house in the afternoon, laughing together as they brought in Wallace’s numerous bouquets of roses, Pokémon sweets, chocolates, and small trinkets. Orpheus helped out with his psychic powers, and Eurydice and the rest of her team watched on in amusement from their tank. Later, the Metagross settled down in front of the tank to chat with Eurydice as Steven and Wallace finished off bringing in everything. 

“Jeez, it’s tough being popular, huh?” Steven sighed, watching Wallace taking stock of his gifts, before getting to work on sorting them, separating the flowers from the trinkets and the edible gifts. “Here, I’ll help you out.”

“Thanks.” Wallace sighed, and Steven focused on the sweets. Soon, they’d sorted everything out, Steven shrugging his jacket off with a huff while Wallace began picking out roses from the pile of flowers he’d been given. Steven watched him curiously as he ended up with a handful, and tailed after Wallace to the balcony to watch him clip off the ends of the stems, humming faintly. 

“Steven,” he laughed softly, as Steven cocked his head at him. “Any reason you’re following me like a Growlithe?” 

“Was just curious.” Steven mumbled, still following Wallace back into his living room to watch him replace the slightly wilted flowers in a vase he kept by the door. 

“Well, this is what I do with my Valentine’s Day presents,” Wallace shrugged, “Boring, I know.”

“It’s making the most out of them.” Steven grinned, and Wallace hummed, getting back to work on picking out roses again.

“I suppose.” Wallace replied, “It’s just such a shame they die and wither away so quickly, you know? No matter how well you take care of them.”

“Yeah?” Steven asked, and Wallace stopped. 

By now, he knew that strange, nervous little upturn of Steven’s voice, that little word he absently says before he and Wallace end up far closer than they had ever been.

“This won’t.”

“Steven,” Wallace began, and he whirled around to see Steven holding a small red bottle, his cheeks an equal shade of red. “Wh-what is that?”

“It’s, um… Roserade rose water.” Steven mumbled, and Wallace gaped at him as he stepped closer to take Wallace’s hands, cradling the bottle between them. “You were talking about it the other day, right?”

“Steven,” Wallace breathed, his hands shaking, “Roserade rose water is…”

“Expensive, I know.” Steven smiled slowly, “But you should know that means nothing to me.” He squeezed Wallace’s hands gently. “But… this means the world to you.”

“I…”

“I know that today, the memories tied to this are painful to you, but I want to try and stop the hurt. I want to make new ones for you—with you.”

Steven took a deep breath.

“Wallace, I love you.” He said, and Wallace’s heart lodged itself in his throat as his eyes widened. “I can’t possibly know what else is in store for us in the future, or even if you like me back, but I want to believe that we can be better. We are better, because we know better.”

“Steven…”

“The attendant at the store told me that Roserade rose water also symbolizes eternity. A rose’s beauty, preserved in water, meant to last far longer than the rose itself ever could.” Steven continued to say, and Wallace could feel his palpitating heartbeat against his skin. “I want us to be like that, because we keep meeting each other halfway.” 

Steven finally stopped, pursing his lips as he stared at Wallace desperately. 

A long moment of stunned silence lapsed between them, and he bit his lip.

“Please don’t tell me I just ruined our friendship.” Steven whispered, and he jumped when Wallace leaned forward to kiss him. His eyes widened, and he sighed in relief, clumsily kissing Wallace back, and Wallace laughed against his lips, pulling Steven into a warm hug. 

“I don’t think you have,” Wallace murmured as they parted, cupping Steven’s cheek in his hand, “But this is definitely not friendship anymore.”

“Yeah?” Steven grinned. “So do you like me back?”

“Kiss me again without headbutting me and we’ll find out.” Wallace winked. 

Steven lit up, and jumped up to kiss Wallace again, their laughter echoing in Wallace’s house. Their second kiss had a bit more finesse than the one before it, at least, and they sighed contentedly as they parted. 

“I love you too, Steven.” Wallace murmured, “I have loved you for a very, very long time.”

“Me too.” Steven sighed happily, leaning into Wallace’s chest. “So, does that mean I can spoil you even more, now that you’re my boyfriend?”

“Let’s… take it easy, shall we?” Wallace laughed fondly, patting Steven to stand up straight. “For starters, you’re helping me finish all of this chocolate off.”

“Yes!” Steven hissed, and Wallace watched fondly as he eagerly picked up a box to begin eating. “By the way, Dad accidentally let it slip to me a while back that he’d been scheming with Mr. Juan for like, ages to get us together.”

“I figured,” Wallace rolled his eyes, “Juan was so eager for me to pursue you, you know.”

“And Dad said if we drifted apart, his future grandchild would be in danger.” Steven said past a mouthful of chocolate, and Wallace spluttered, flustered. “I mean, yeah, we could adopt, or have a surrogate, but like—”

“Steven.” Wallace strode up to him to kiss him into silence, and when they pulled apart, Steven grinned up at him. “Too fast. Too fast.”

“Okay, I’ll ask again in three to five business years to start a new venture.” Steven replied, and Wallace grinned at him wryly. “I’ll draft a contract in the meantime.”

“Oh, I love you so much, I don’t know why.” Wallace sighed, and Steven laughed as Wallace hugged him petulantly. “Stop being adorable.”

“Maybe I won’t, actually!”

Temporarily forgotten by their trainers, Orpheus and Eurydice shared a look.

I’m so happy for them. Orpheus sighed telepathically to Eurydice and her teammates. 

“Fucking finally.” She scoffed, as the rest of her teammates in the tank gasped.

“That is an ugly word, Eurydice!” Lizzie scolded, and the Milotic leered at her as Caesar sighed exasperatedly. 

“Keep it down, don’t ruin their moment.”

Caesar’s right. Orpheus nodded sagely, and Eurydice and Lizzie quickly quieted down as Wallace and Steven settled into a comfortable, warm embrace, swaying together slowly in contentment, and the Pokémon smiled at each other. 

Orpheus settled down onto a little cushion—far too small for him, bought when he was a Beldum, but he couldn’t quite let it go—with a content little buzz as he watched his trainer hold Wallace close with another happy sigh.

I hope their happy ending lasts forever. 

+1.

The world’s first Legendary Lockdown happened after the rage of Groudon and Kyogre was finally quelled. Hoenn was on the brink of destruction, with its many islands either half-drowned or half-burned. Rayquaza’s eminence, clearing the air, made the wind feel crisp and clean as the skies cleared and the temperature drop back to normal, and at the end of it all, after Rayquaza and their new little Champion destroyed the meteor that threatened to end the world, Steven had decided he definitely had enough of the legendary life. 

“How do you do it?” He mumbled, tapping his fingers on the glass of Wallace’s tables out on his balcony, and Wallace laughed softly, turning to look at him as he carefully put his Wailmer-shaped watering can (a gift from Lisia a while back) down. Beside him, the roses he’d planted on the pots hanging from his balcony sparkled with delicate little water droplets, and Wallace gently thumbed at the petals of one of them. “Like, how in the world do you contend with the legendaries?”

“Shouldn’t you be asking our little Champion?” Wallace asked, and Steven shrugged, pouting as he took a petulant sip of his drink—milk tea with pearls, recommended to them by the twins in Lilycove when the Legendary Lockdown began.

“Don’t wanna bother them right now.” Steven mumbled, and Wallace hummed, sitting down next to him. He plucked the plastic cup out from under Steven’s mouth, and took a sip. “Hey, that’s full of sugar. Aren’t you on a diet?”

“Just a sip,” Wallace said, returning it to Steven with a wince. “Bit too sweet for my taste, though.”

“Figures.” Steven sighed, and looked out at Sootopolis, almost fully recovered now, after being almost decimated in the wake of the Cave of Origin’s disturbance. “This lockdown’s been hard, hasn’t it?”

“Well, yes.” Wallace hummed. “It was a miracle that the Palace of the Sky Dragon was mostly unscathed, despite its great age.”

“I think Rhea and Lisia were perfectly safe there.” Steven smiled. “That place is protected by Rayquaza, after all. Legendaries serve themselves; it wouldn’t allow anything to happen to that place.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Wallace nodded, and they fell silent for a moment, basking in the cool, crisp air of the weekend morning. Steven looked at his boyfriend for a long moment, and took a deep breath.

“Wallace,” He said, and Wallace turned to look at him. “Do you wanna go abroad?” 

“Oh?” Wallace blinked. 

“When the lockdown’s over.” Steven clarified, “Do you wanna travel?”

Wallace lit up. “I’d love to.”

Steven thought about an old flier about Johto that his father left rather unsubtly on the coffee table in his house in Mossdeep, and he grinned.

“Great,” He nodded, “I know just the place that I know you’ll love.”

Hoenn’s Legendary Lockdown ended on a Tuesday morning, and Steven and Wallace caught the first flight out of the region. Steven’s father had encouraged them to go, to take a break for all their hard work that past year of lockdown, and the two men were inclined to agree. Norman and Birch’s kids could handle themselves and the League, they knew—and with one last push from their new little Champion, Steven and Wallace set off to Alto Mare, Johto.

It was about an hour’s flight from Hoenn to Johto, and then about two or three hours from Goldenrod City to Cherrygrove on land travel, before a thirty minute boat ride from Cherrygrove to Alto Mare. It had been enjoyable and relaxing—Steven had them flown in First Class, and then hired a driver that would take them to Cherrygrove while he and Wallace slept off the drowsiness of an early-morning flight. The ferry to Alto Mare was also fun, with Eurydice delightedly popping out of her Pokéball to swim in the pristine waters alongside other wild Pokémon. Steven watched Wallace’s beautiful smile as he commanded Eurydice to make her swim through the water, a beautiful, dazzling showcase of elegance and grace, attracting a large crowd that burst into applause when they reached the harbour of Alto Mare.

Oh, he wished the PokéNav had a camera feature, so he could save that smile on Wallace’s face that made him fall in love with him all over again.

When they arrived at Alto Mare, he could see stars in Wallace’s eyes as they stood together at a large, grand plaza that was flanked with a statue each of a Latios and a Latias. 

“Welcome to the City of Water,” He grinned, taking Wallace’s hand to kiss it. “Do you like it?”

“Steven, this place is beautiful.” Wallace breathed, turning to his boyfriend with an utterly radiant smile on his face. “You’ve really outdone yourself—how’d you find out about this place?”

“Dad, per usual.” Steven laughed, and Wallace laughed with him as they began to walk, pulling their bags along with them. “C’mon, we have to take a gondola to get to our hotel.”

“A gondola?” Wallace lit up, and he followed Steven to where a gondolier was waiting for them with Steven’s name on a small whiteboard he was holding. “Oh!” 

“Ah, Signore Stone!” The gondolier waved at them cheerfully as they approached. “Over here, sir!”

“Hey!” Steven smiled, waving back, and he and Wallace approached his gondola. “We’d like to go to our hotel first, please.”

“Of course.” The gondolier smiled, taking their luggage first, before helping Wallace onto the gondola. Wallace turned to look at Steven, who hesitated as he looked down at the water. “Signore?”

“Steven, c’mon.” Wallace chuckled, and he took Steven’s hand. Steven blinked at him, and let Wallace help him onto the boat. “I know you’re a little scared of water. You know that, too, so why did we come here?”

“Because I thought you’d enjoy it here.” Steven mumbled, and Wallace smiled fondly. 

“Don’t push yourself, okay?”

“Yeah.” Steven nodded, and he looked up at the gondolier. “Sorry about that. We can go on now.”

“Alright.” The gondolier smiled, and pushed off the dock to begin piloting the gondola through the canals of Alto Mare. It was in the middle of the day, right before lunch, and the sun shone in pretty little slivers that sparkled in the water, and off the scales of the water-type Pokémon underneath. Steven could only watch Wallace as he looked around, utterly besotted with Alto Mare. The flier had said that it was a Sootopolis far from home, and Steven couldn’t agree more—water flowed through both Sootopolis and Alto Mare like its lifeblood, and while Sootopolis was bathed in white and in the blessed warmth of the sun, and Alto Mare in comforting shadow, there was something undeniably familiar between the two. 

There was also the warmth in Wallace’s smile as he reached down into the water, laughing softly as little Luvdiscs and Woopers came up to him curiously. 

Like this, Wallace was lost in Alto Mare’s beauty, and Steven had to admit he was lost in Wallace’s beauty.

He thumbed at a little box in his coat’s pocket, and the gondolier lit up.

“Oh, signore, I see what this is!” He whispered to Steven, and Steven jumped, turning red as he whirled around to look at the gondolier. “Don’t worry, I’ll be quiet about it, so you can have your romantic way with your bell’uomo, eh?” 

Steven felt his cheeks burn. 

“Th-thanks.” 

Shit, am I really that transparent? 

He looked back at Wallace, and much to his surprise, a Wooper was sitting on his hand, cooing delightedly as he tickled its belly. Wallace turned to look at him, and smiled at Steven brightly.

“Look, Steven, even the wild Pokémon are so affectionate!”

“Yeah?” Steven sighed happily, and Wallace turned back to the Wooper to play with it some more.

Oh, he can’t back out now. 

Their day had gone on pretty well—shopping, more gondola tours, a gorgeous lunch out at a beautiful little pizza and pasta place near a secret garden not too far from their hotel—and soon, it was back to the bed and breakfast they had checked into, laughing together as the wine they had made their heads and hearts light, their hands automatically finding each other’s to hold at any given moment. 

The crowd was sparse as they went out to explore the place—it was, after all, a Tuesday—so the afternoon was perfect. It was like Steven and Wallace had Alto Mare all to themselves, and Steven knew the timing was just right.

Wallace stepped out of the bathroom with a content sigh, and Steven was reminded of that one day he and Wallace spent together in Unova—that day when he first learned he could spoil Wallace as much as he liked. He didn’t miss the way Wallace looked completely flabbergasted at his Centurion card, the way he flushed prettily, protesting weakly while Steven showered him with gifts—it was utterly charming, though this Wallace who was used to Steven’s grand gestures was quite charming himself. 

“Hi.” Steven greeted from where he sat in bed—now a queen-sized bed for the both of them, and Wallace gave him a little smile as he strode over, leaning down to peck his lips. “You sobered up from the bath?”

“I have.” Wallace nodded, running a hand through his hair, which had grown rather long, now, draped beautifully over his shoulder. Steven reached up to pull Wallace close again, and he laughed softly as he stumbled forward, leaning over Steven as they kissed more deeply. “Mm. Affectionate tonight, are we?”

“Am I not allowed to be?” Steven grinned, as Wallace pulled away with a laugh. 

“Don’t get testy.” He hummed, and suddenly music began playing from beyond the window. Wallace raised an eyebrow as Steven perked up, and the both hurried to the window to see a string quartet playing in the secret garden across from where they were staying—a brunette girl sat across them with an easel lit with a clip-on lamp, and next to him, a portly old man lounged on a rocking chair, a bottle of cheap beer between his fingers. 

“Oh, wow. They must be practicing.” Steven breathed, and Wallace nodded, taking his hand. “Wallace?”

“Dance with me.” He murmured, and Steven smiled, nodding as they stepped back into their room. They held each other close, and slowly swayed together to the sound of music beyond their window, and the rhythm of their heartbeats. 

“This is nice.” Wallace sighed, and he laughed softly when Steven leaned up to kiss him. He smiled against Steven’s smiling lips as they slowed down, kissing each other unhurriedly as they could hear bug Pokémon chirping a calming night-time serenade outside. 

“I love you.” Steven whispered as they parted, and Wallace hummed, kissing him again, swallowing Steven’s little laugh as he dipped him. His eyes widened, and he clung onto Wallace’s shoulders. “Oh! Okay, this is new.”

“I knew you’d like it.” Wallace replied, lifting Steven again, and he cupped Steven’s cheek in his hand, stroking his cheekbone with his thumb. Steven leaned into his touch, and Wallace’s eyes softened on him. “I love you too.”

Steven reached up to hold his hand, squeezing it gently. 

“Hey, Wallace?” He murmured, and Wallace hummed. “I don’t think we ever got to talk about what happened back in Hoenn.”

“We didn’t.” Wallace shook his head, pulling away from Steven, but their hands remained connected. “I do know you were deeply touched by what happened, though. Talk to me?”

“I just…” Steven took a deep breath. “I was thinking about what happened back then, beginning at the Cave of Origin.” 

He squeezed Wallace’s hand. 

“I let a child walk in there. Alone.” He shut his eyes. “I chose to stay outside, instead of coming with them.”

Wallace looked at him pityingly as Steven shook his head.

“In the end, I wasn’t the strongest trainer in Hoenn, and it wasn’t because I became Champion twice.” He said, “It was because, when it came down to it, and I thought the world was going to end, I decided to watch it end with you.”

“Steven, being in love isn’t a weakness.” 

“I know it isn’t.” Steven laughed sadly, “But that decision’s stayed with me for the past year. It’s haunted my thoughts every time I see Brendan and May, and I think to myself that I’ve failed them. I’ve failed them by choosing to be selfish, by choosing death over fighting for what little life we had left.” 

“Was there anything you could’ve done?” Wallace asked, and Steven blinked at him. “If you had been down there, would there have been anything you could have done? Would you have been the one to calm Groudon and Kyogre? Would you have been the one to call Rayquaza to destroy the meteor?”

“I could have.” Steven said, but Wallace shook his head.

“You did what you had to. Brendan and May understood that—and they did what they had to, as well.” Wallace took both of Steven’s hands, and squeezed them reassuringly. “I’ve spent some time with them, during the crisis of the meteor. They still look up to you. They admire you so much.”

“I…”

“They understand why things turned out the way they did. And they’re grateful for your help, regardless.” Wallace leaned forward to kiss his forehead. “Please don’t hate yourself, Steven. None of us could have known how everything would have turned out. Life is uncertain.”

“You’re right.” Steven mumbled, and he looked up at Wallace. “The world’s full of uncertainties. Right now, it’s the first day of freedom for Hoenn, and a regular Tuesday for the rest of the world.” 

Steven let Wallace go, and his boyfriend blinked at him confusedly as he fished around his trousers, before pulling out a small black box.

Wallace’s eyes widened. 

“Steven—is that—”

“I don’t think I can ever go back to living with no certainty in my life.” Steven smiled sadly, and he opened the box to reveal a beautiful silver ring that had a glittering sea-green stone set on top of it. Steven had found it himself after he’d accidentally sunk to the bottom of a small lake in a cave he’d been exploring (no worries; his Cradily Vanadis fished him out), and he’d kept it specifically for this, because it reminded him of Wallace’s eyes. 

“So I… whenever I come back home, Wallace, you are the one I look for. You’re… the only constant in my life, and I think that—whatever happens, in the future, I’ll always know where you are.”

“I…” 

“A heart, to come home to.” Steven said, his vision blurring as scattering rainbows in the wetness of his eyes obscured Wallace before him. He got down on one knee, and held up the ring box to Wallace. “Wallace, will you marry me?”

“Yes.” Wallace breathed shakily, and Steven lit up, his joy spilling from his eyes as he quickly took the ring from the box to slip it onto Wallace’s finger. “I—” He laughed dazedly as Steven shakily got up onto his feet, holding Wallace’s hand up to look at the ring with him. “I had no idea you had this up your sleeve. How—how did you…”

“I just remembered.” Steven laughed softly, and Wallace could fall in love with him all over again. “I’ve held your hand so many times, I could figure it out.” 

“Oh, I love you so much.” Wallace sighed, and he pulled Steven into a hug, kissing him deeply. Steven laughed against his lips as Wallace blindly manoeuvred him towards their bed, bumping against it to make them both tumble into bed in a tangle of limbs. The both of them burst out laughing as they sank into the bed’s warm softness, and they had to take a moment to untangle themselves from each other until Wallace managed to straddle Steven. 

“That was a bit much, sorry.” Wallace said, but he was smiling from ear to ear, and Steven couldn’t help but mirror his smile. 

“Keep going.” He said, and Wallace blinked at him. “Yes, I’m asking you to have sex with me.”

“Romantic.” Wallace rolled his eyes, but he leaned down to kiss him, muffling Steven’s fond laughter as he pressed close. Steven shivered pleasantly as Wallace ran his hand down his side, and he took a sharp breath when Wallace’s hand slid between his legs, gently pushing his thigh open so he could settle down between them. They parted for air, panting softly, and Wallace leaned down to kiss down the column of Steven’s throat, slowly unbuttoning his shirt with deft fingers. 

“U-um—nngh—should I… help you?”

“No.” Wallace murmured against the tendon of Steven’s neck, and he shuddered in pleasure. 

“But…” Steven managed past his breaths, growing shallower as Wallace finished unbuttoning his shirt, moving slowly down to the fly of his trousers. “I’m… I’m not sure what I should be doing.”

“You like spoiling me, right?” Wallace smirked up at him, and Steven swallowed thickly as his eyes focused on him intently. “Then let me unwrap my present, Steven.”

“Oh, wow.” Steven gasped faintly, throwing his head back as he squeezed his eyes shut, and he could feel Wallace’s lips curling up into a smirk against his skin. He jumped when Wallace suddenly pulled away, and Steven opened his eyes to see that Wallace had straightened up to shrug his bathrobe off.

His eyes widened as Wallace’s naked body came into view, and his gaze immediately shot down to see his fiancé’s arousal completely on display.

“Unsubtle, Steven.” Wallace laughed softly, and Steven realised his cheeks were pink. Wallace gently set his bathrobe down on the armchair near the bed, and he looked at Steven, who was still glued to the bed, staring at him wide-eyed and half-upright. His shirt slid off his shoulder in a distracting whisper of fabric, and Wallace could feel arousal begin to spike. “Lie back in bed?”

“R-right.” Steven stammered, shuffling backwards up the bed to hear Wallace digging around their things. He looked over to him—and also blushed when he saw Wallace pulling out a bottle of lube from their bags. “Oh, we’re having sex.”

“Steven,” Wallace dissolved into laughter. “Are you—are you okay? Do you want to stop?”

“No!” Steven gasped, getting up, but Wallace shook his head, gently pressing him back down. “No, I… I guess I’m just in awe. It’s—it’s not like this is the first time we’ve had… sex.”

“Yes, we’ve had it more than a few times before, once while I was dressed in the shifts that go under my ceremonial robes.” Wallace smirked, and Steven’s pink cheeks now turned red. “And you were very enthusiastic about that.” He leaned down to kiss Steven softly, brushing away his shirt to reveal his chest, and Steven shivered pleasantly. Wallace moved down again to begin pressing love bites in the crook of Steven’s neck, and he shuddered as Wallace deftly undid Steven’s fly. “Why so shy now?” Wallace murmured, his hands curling around Steven’s trousers’ waistline, and Steven took a shaky breath.

“Can’t help… thinking.” Steven mumbled, and Wallace tutted. 

“I’ll make sure you stop thinking, then.”

“Can’t stop thinking about how we’ll be getting married.” 

At that, Wallace stopped, straightening up to look at Steven, bewildered. His hands faltered on Steven’s pants, but Steven reached down to help him hold on. 

“I can’t stop thinking about how I’m having sex with my husband.” Steven smiled sheepishly. “It just… feels different, you know?”

“Steven, I love you so much.” Wallace breathed, and Steven’s smile widened into a grin as Wallace pulled his pants down, releasing Steven’s half-hard cock from his briefs. He tossed Steven’s trousers and underwear somewhere behind him as Steven sat up to kiss him again, letting Wallace shrug off his shirt, leaving Steven as naked as Wallace was. Wallace crawled into the bed to straddle him, slipping his tongue into Steven’s mouth, making him shudder in pleasure. Wallace smiled against Steven’s lips as his tongue mapped out a familiar mouth, while his hands wandered over Steven’s skin, feeling healing scratches on his arms and his sides. 

“Please,” Steven gasped as they parted for air, and Wallace nodded, gently lowering Steven down to lie back as he began to kiss down his abdomen, lower and lower, as his hands parted Steven’s thighs. “Ffffuck.” He groaned as Wallace pressed a kiss on the head of his now fully erect cock, and Wallace grinned as he settled down between Steven’s legs. 

“You don’t swear that often.” Wallace hummed as Steven looked down at him desperately. “I have to admit, such ugly words coming from you is very arousing.”

“Glad you like that.” Steven grinned through the waves of pleasure that tore through his body, and he gasped softly when Wallace pressed slick fingers against his entrance. “Oh, oh—yes, please.”

“Sweet boy.” Wallace hummed, and took Steven’s arousal into his mouth as he slipped two fingers into him. Steven gasped, arching his back as his hands clenched in the bedsheets desperately. His thighs squeezed around Wallace’s head as Wallace swallowed him down with maddening ease, and his fingers slid in and out of him with a warm, wet slide. Wallace hummed around Steven’s cock as he spread his fingers, tearing a moan from Steven’s lips as he slid his fingers even deeper into him, crooking them slightly to find that sweet little bump—

“Wallace!” Steven gasped, and he could feel Wallace smirk around his cock. 

Wallace began to slowly pump his fingers in and out of Steven, increasing two fingers to three, to four, all while quite happily sucking him off. Steven was shivering in pleasure, holding desperately onto the sheets, until he could feel his orgasm approaching.

“Wallace—Wallace, please—” He gasped, “I’m ready. Please.”

Wallace pulled off his cock to nod, and Steven realised he, too, was slightly unfocused. Their gazes met, and Steven realised that Wallace, too, was getting desperate. He smiled fondly, and reached for him.

“Come here, Wallace.” He said warmly, and Wallace leaned in to kiss him deeply. Steven could taste himself on Wallace’s tongue as they rubbed their tongues together, and he shivered pleasantly as he felt Wallace shift, lifting his thighs with a firm grip, and he spread his legs eagerly. “Yes, please…” He mumbled against Wallace’s lips, and Wallace nodded, slicking himself up before pressing the head of his cock against Steven’s entrance. 

“I love you.” He murmured, and Steven’s smile dissolved into a breathless gasp as Wallace pushed into him. Wallace moved down to continue pressing distracting hickeys into Steven’s chest, sheathing his cock fully into him in a slow, maddening push. Steven shuddered, clinging onto Wallace’s shoulders and wrapping his legs around Wallace’s waist as he waited for himself to adjust. 

“Love… you.” Steven gasped, and pulled Wallace up to kiss him again. Wave upon wave of pleasure washed over him as he felt the burning stretch give way to a desperate, primal need, and Steven weakly rutted his hips against Wallace’s. “I’m—I’m ready. Please, just…”

“I will.” Wallace murmured against his lips, and kissed him again as he pulled out of Steven until just the tip of his cock remained. Steven shivered, nodding, and when Wallace thrust into him, he gasped, throwing back his head as he felt pleasure flood his senses. Wallace’s thrusts started off slow, maddening with a delicious, pleasurable burn, but soon desperation kicked in, and his thrusts grew harder and faster. 

Steven’s legs fell limp and his toes curled as Wallace rolled his hips into his harder and harder, and suddenly Wallace shifted slightly, thrusting right into Steven’s prostate. 

“Wallace!” He gasped, and Wallace grinned slightly. He shifted his hold on Steven’s thighs, spreading them just a little wider, wide enough that it was still comfortable for Steven, and it helped him thrust deeper into him. “Yes—oh—that’s—right there—”

Wallace reached down between them to jerk him off, and Steven shuddered, feeling his climax slam into him, spilling wet warmth between them. Wallace winced, rutting a few more times into Steven, and Steven smiled, panting heavily as he wrapped his arms around the back of Wallace’s neck, while his legs locked around Wallace’s hips to keep him in place.

“Your turn.” He murmured, and Wallace moaned softly, his own orgasm slamming into him. Wet warmth spilled inside Steven, and he shivered pleasantly as Wallace’s hips rode out the last few waves of his orgasm, unable to pull out with how tightly Steven’s legs held him in place.

“You…” Wallace laughed softly as he settled down. “You sneaky thing.”

“Yeah?” He asked, and Wallace kissed him again, making him laugh between their lips.

“Every time you say ‘yeah’ like that, I feel like you’re about to drop a bomb on me.” Wallace huffed, and gently, he pulled out of Steven, making him wince slightly. “Remember? Every time we nearly kissed, you would say that, and it’s been ingrained to me that you’re about to say something that’ll make me fall even more in love with you when you say that.”

Steven grinned. 

“Your ring’s stone, I found it myself.” He said, and Wallace hummed.

“You’ll have to try harder than that, Steven.” 

“The ring, too. Forged it myself.”

“You—” Wallace laughed, and kissed him again. “You and your grand gestures, I swear.” They dissolved into laughter, cuddling together, with Steven pressed up and face-to-face with Wallace, so close their noses touched. 

“Wallace,” Steven said, and Wallace hummed. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Wallace smiled warmly, and his eyes widened when Steven quite powerfully rolled him onto his back, straddling him. “Oh?”

“My turn.” He said, reaching behind him for Wallace’s cock, earning him a hiss of pleasure from the older man as he moved back with shaky thighs, rubbing his leaking entrance against Wallace’s half-hard cock. “Keep up, Wallace—we’re at this all night.”

“Yes! Yes, yes!” Joseph Stone’s delighted cheering echoed through his office as Wallace and Steven stood next to each other in front of his desk, Steven shaking his head exasperatedly at his father while Wallace was laughing behind his hand, giving Joseph a clear view of his engagement ring. “Oh, Stevie, you did it!” 

He hurried out from behind his desk to pull his son into a hug, and then pulled Wallace into a hug. 

“Oh, I’m so happy for you!” He sighed happily, pulling away from them, holding their arms firmly as he gave them a wide, proud smile. “What’d Juan say? Does he already know?”

“Juan’s already planned a party for us at the Sootopolis Gym with my trainers and the Elite Four.” Wallace laughed fondly, and Joseph nodded approvingly.

“We’ll throw a gala!” He declared, and Steven spluttered. “Oh, don’t you get all embarrassed now, Stevie! The world will know you’re no longer available, and that I’m damn proud that you aren’t! Whoo!” Joseph pulled away from the two to jump in excitement, and Wallace and Steven shared fond smiles with each other. “Wait, what about your sister, Wallace? Does she know?”

“Rhea’s delighted, Mr. Stone.” Wallace smiled warmly. “Lisia wants to be part of the entourage.” 

“We’ll let her! I’ll have the cutest little dress for my beloved grand-niece!” Joseph huffed, and grinned widely at them. “But now, the next question—when am I getting a grandchild?”

“Dad!” Steven huffed, and Joseph burst out laughing.

“In time, in time!” He said, and turned to his phone. “Excuse me, boys, I’ve got to get my hold on my Centurion concierge—let the planning begin!”

Steven and Wallace shared exasperated, but fond smiles together, and Steven took Wallace’s hand. 

“Guess we’re here for the long run.” He sighed, shrugging, and Wallace chuckled, squeezing his hand back.

“I’ll meet you halfway.” He said, and Steven beamed at him. “I’ve always got your back.”