His thin fingers grasp the wooden stir delicately. With his touch, the cream has already begun to integrate into the coffee, the dark blend giving way to white pigment. Riley never was a huge coffee drinker – never could stand the taste. But there are few people he makes exceptions for, and Cynthia Bardsley was always at the top of his list.
And how could she not be?
But despite their close relationship, their meetings were far and few in between. Cynthia always had her Champion duties to attend to, and Riley always had his modeling and… other commitments. Riley’s heart had practically leapt when Cynthia had pitched the idea of the two meeting at a nearby coffee shop. Catch up on old times. Their interactions in the beach house were brief, but sometimes, it was nice to just sit down (the two of them), and just talk…
Riley smiles.
❝ This sure is a nice place… quiet, low lit… vacant. You picked the perfect place to catch up – so tell me. How have you been? How are you and Harley doing? ❞
It’s been about three months since he entered in a relationship with Cynthia, so it’s about time he acts like a proper boyfriend and treat her out to a nice dinner date. While this won’t be his first date, it is his first with the woman that had captured his heart so quickly and thoroughly, so he’s understandably a little nervous. Harley just wants the evening to be the best that she’s ever had for she deserves that much from him.
Their date will be at this restaurant in Castelia City, where it’s been blowing up the scene with its unique setting. When Harley heard all about it, he knew that it’ll be the perfect place to bring her out for a nice dinner and something extra. Now he’s on his way to pick her up at her hotel on his souped up bike. It’s totally embarrassing, considering he’s wearing one of his nicer suits but this had been her decision so...
Thankfully, there’s only minimal staring. Harley himself forgets about his embarrassment once he laid his eyes on her stunning dress, too busy in scraping his jaw off the floor.
“You look... beautiful,” he breathes out before he grasps one of her hands to place a soft kiss on the back of her palm. Then he moves into gently kiss her lips before escorting her to his bike. It took a bit of maneuvering, but it didn’t take long before they’re off to the restaurant.
Soon, they’re seated at one of the more private tables. There’s a candlelight to set the mood with light jazz music playing in the background. Harley waits until they’ve placed their order before grabbing her hands once more.
“I said that this would be a restaurant you’d enjoy,” he begins, rubbing her hands with his thumbs. “And this is why.”
The lights suddenly dimmed as a voice boomed out, “It’s time for the Double Battle Rumble, ladies and gentleman! Nothing like a good battle to build an appetite, right? So while you wait for the food to come, you can step right on up and participate in battles with other patrons.”
Harley beams at her. “Shall we?”
Of course all eyes are on her when they stepped onto the arena. Harley might have felt jealous at the attention, had he not fully trust his girlfriend. Instead, he simply grins, thinking that’s my girlfriend before his attention shifts to their opponents. Looks like a middle aged husband and wife duo, who quickly releases an Aegislash and a Beartic, respectively.
Upon seeing Gloriana being released, Harley knows just who to choose from his team. Jet quickly joins the roster, and they made an impressive looking pair.
“You take the Aegislash, I take on the Beartic,” Harley simply says, sounding more like it’s for his own benefit than Cynthia’s. She looks like she’s in the zone, and he thinks the patrons tonight are lucky for they get to see a Champion in action. With a call from the referee, the double battle begins.
Jet covers for Gloriana by keeping the Beartic’s attention on him, sparing the Garchomp from nasty Ice-type moves. Together, they battled quite magnificently, so much so that even he gets swept in by the flurry of activity. Harley doesn’t let Jet down in his commands, but he must admit, his attention did shift to his wonderful girlfriend more than once. She’s emitting such a presence that he can’t help but stare on like a lovestruck fool.
Arceus, I love the type of woman that can kick ass, he thinks before he orders Jet to finish off the Beartic with a barrage of Aura Spheres. Gloriana also finishes off her opponent, and the audience erupts in cheers.
Harley resists the urge to plant a big ol’ smooch, still running on adrenaline and good feelings himself, but he manages to remain composed. He flashes her a wide smile and a thumbs up, then goes to shake hands with their opponents. It had been a very enjoyable battle, one that he knows would be a part of this wonderful memory tonight.
The teacher grabs Cyn’s hand once they were done, and together the return to their table. As soon as they’re mostly away from curious eyes, he brings her hand to his lips so he could gently kiss her knuckles.
“Wow Cyn, just. Wow,” he murmurs, looking up with soft adoration in his eyes. “I know you’re awesome at battling but when I’m battling alongside you? We need to do this more often.”
Harley didn’t think he could fall deeper in love, but seeing her dazzling smile makes him rethink his stance. Not for the first time, he feels so so lucky to have met, befriend and eventually fallen for Cynthia Adeline Bardsley.
Platonic requests for affection (still accepting!)
Lance has mixed feelings with meetings with the other Champions. On one hand, he could get to see his friends and they’re able to discuss more about the troubles that plague each region. On the other hand, it opens up room for outside parties – namely those with money and power – to muscle their way in unannounced. It rarely happens, for no one is stupid enough to get in on a meeting between Champions but it does happen.
This latest bout leaves him with a wired body, coiled with tension. If it had gone on for any longer, Lance might have driven a fist into someone’s face. As it was, he’s able to leave, get some time to himself to just walk in order to cool down. But even then, it’s not enough. He needed something more, and before he could think of a hard drink, his eyes just so happens to catch the color of the sky.
Without another word, Lance turns around and heads to the ballroom. It’s big and spacious, perfect to hold League parties but most importantly, it has a balcony on the side of the house that faces the sunset. He quickly heads there, only to fall short upon seeing its occupied. It seems like Cynthia too had the same idea. Well, so much for that idea. He’d hate to disturb her, for she too had a rough day. Lance is about to turn back when her voice comes through.
“It’s okay to stay, you know?” Cynthia says softly, turning out to look up at him with soft eyes. Lance pauses momentarily. He meets her gaze with his own steely one, seemingly searching for something. Once satisfied, he closes his eyes, expression losing the dangerous edge. Honestly, when it comes to his fellow Champion, there’s just something about her eyes that he can’t say no too.
Silently, he takes a seat next to her on the balcony, just watching the sun that slowly dips into the horizon. Just watching the natural beauty is enough to wash away the tension from his shoulders. Lance likes to see the sunset. From his office, if he doesn’t close the curtains, he could see the shadow of the sun moving down in his office. If he’s able to spare the time, he would make the effort of going out on his balcony and watches.
“Being a Champion is… tough sometimes,” he lowly admits, gaze remaining on the slowly disappearing sun. “But… ultimately it’s for the people, and regardless of your position, you’re not… really alone.” Here, he offers a rare half smile that looks tiring but genuine at Cynthia. “I guess what I’m trying to say is… thank you.” For what, there are a lot of things it could mean. He’s just hoping that Cynthia would understand regardless.
From the way she softly smiles at him, and the way she leans in enough that their shoulders are brushing, Lance is confident that she did.
send me a word/topic and i’ll write a headcanon about my muse that relates to it!
Hau has become pretty good at making his own Malasadas at home! He’s been experimenting with all kinds of different fillings, though not all of them worked out well. Ketchup filling, albeit seemingly brilliant at first, didn’t taste good at all. But hey, you won’t find out until you try!
Hi! I'd like 7 dozen chocolate macarons, 2 lemon chiffon pies, and 4 dozen chocolate cookies please. Thank you!
Dexio hears the chime of his phone indicating a request from his cafe and unlocks the screen to open up the email app. He quirks a brow at the order before reading the name listed and grinned. The champion of Sinnoh was making a bulk order from his cafe. Quickly typing back he confirmed the order.Of course! Your order will be ready by tomorrow morning, come pick it up at your convenience.Sincerely, Dexio.
