#trainer steven

“Aw, Stevie, I know it always brightens your day to get a visit from me,” she said, shooting him a saccharine smile.

Steven rolled his eyes and unlocked the door. He wouldn’t put it like that, but Zinnia’s spontaneous visits to his house had been happening more and more frequently, and he had found that he didn’t mind it at all. After spending all day forcing courtesy to Devon Corp employees and the Pokémon League board, it was kind of refreshing to get some sarcastic banter with Zinnia.

She followed him inside and glanced around the room. “Hey, did you redecorate recently?”

“No,” Steven said, slipping his shoes off by the front door.

“Thought so. It looks as drab and impersonal as always,” Zinnia said, starting to step out of the entryway. Steven snapped his fingers, and with a sigh, she slipped her sandals off beside his shoes before stepping onto the mats that covered the floor in the rest of the house. “You really need to do something to brighten up the place. It looks like a museum in here,” she said, glancing at the display cases on the opposite side of the room.

“I’m not putting away my rocks,” he said sternly.

“I know, I know!” she said, holding up her hands in a “stop” gesture. “I’m just saying, a little bit of decoration would really do wonders to spruce up the place. Repaint the walls and the cabinets, swap out the curtains for something colorful or patterned…ooh, and add a beanbag chair! That’d be fun!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

“Those sound like wonderful ideas…for your own house,” Steven said, dropping his bag on a chair in the living room.

Zinnia pouted and flopped down on the couch, throwing a hand dramatically across her forehead. “I can’t afford a house.”

“You don’t want a house.”

“Details, schmetails,” she said. “I don’t have to live there to decorate it.”

“Well, I do own a villa in Sinnoh,” he said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “If you’re that eager to decorate a house, I could let you decorate that.”

“Too far away,” she said, waving a hand vaguely. “And you don’t–”

She cut herself off, and Steven tilted his head. “I don’t what?”

“Never mind,” she mumbled, rolling onto her side to face the back of the couch.

What was she going to say?

Pushing his curiosity aside, Steven turned away from her and headed to his bedroom to change into something more comfortable. But as he closed the door behind him, the thought occurred to him that Zinnia might have done that whole performance just to get him to let his guard down. He quickly reopened the door, but to his surprise, Zinnia was still lying on the couch exactly where he left her, not taking advantage of the opportunity to steal his food or mess with his rock collection.

How curious.

He took off his suit and put on a casual shirt and shorts instead. Then he headed back to the living room. Zinnia was still lying exactly where he left her, uncharacteristically quiet. He cleared his throat to make sure she knew he had come back. “Would you like some water? Or a snack?”

She let out a long sigh, so he knew she had heard him. After a few more moments of silence, she finally said, “Nah, I’m good.”

“Suit yourself,” he said with a shrug.

He headed over to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. As he took a sip, he turned back towards the living room and saw that she had rolled onto her back and was watching him. As soon as she realized he’d seen her, though, she turned her head back to look at the ceiling.

“Have you ever dated anyone?”

The sudden question startled him and almost made him choke on his water. “I…a couple, when I was a teenager,” he said. “Since I became Champion, I haven’t really had time for it. Why do you ask?”

“Just wondering,” she said quickly.

Steven picked up his glass and walked back into the living room. As he sat down in an armchair, Zinnia finally sat up and looked at him, then cast her gaze to the coffee table.

“Did you ask them out, or did they ask you?”

Steven blinked, blanking for a moment on what she was talking about. “Oh – they asked me,” he said. “We went on a couple of dates, and I decided I wasn’t really feeling anything, so I broke up with them.”

“Ah.” Zinnia let out a heavy sigh and stood up. “Never mind, then.”

She darted towards the door.

“Wait!” Steven called, dropping his glass of water on the side table to chase after her. He grabbed her hand just before she could grab the doorknob, and she glanced up at him. “Were you…hoping you could get some advice on how to ask someone out?”

Zinnia stared at his hand around hers, and he quickly dropped it, afraid he was making her feel uncomfortable. She lowered her hand, but still avoided looking at him. “Maybe.”

Steven chuckled, shaking his head. “You could’ve just said that from the start,” he said.

“Whatever,” she mumbled, glancing to the side. “Look, if you – if someone was going to ask you out, how would you want them to do it? I don’t… I’m not…”

“You’re not used to this sort of thing,” Steven guessed.

“I want to do it right,” she said. “This guy… I think he’d appreciate that.”

Steven nodded appreciatively. “That’s a good attitude to have,” he said. “Beyond that…I don’t think there’s one right way to ask someone out. I can tell you a couple of things not to do, though.”

“Which are…?”

“Don’t be sarcastic or insult him,” Steven said. “If you do, he’s not going to take you seriously.”

She grimaced. “I’m no good at that.”

“You’re doing it right now, aren’t you?” he said with a smile.

She looked flustered at that, turning away and opening the door. “I-I should get going,” she said. “Thanks.”

“Wait, one more thing,” Steven said. “Who is this guy that you wanna ask out, anyways?”

“None of your business,” she retorted.

“It’s just…you’re not a very social person,” he said. “How many guys do you even know besides me?”

“Oh, I know loads of guys,” she scoffed. “There’s Brendan…”

“A child.”

“Wallace…”

“He doesn’t swing that way.”

“Uh, there were a bunch of guys in that team I joined…”

“And you don’t even remember any of their names,” Steven chuckled, shaking his head.

“Who’s to say I remember yours, Rockman?”

“You just said it when you arrived.” he said smugly. “Face it, there’s no other guy you know well enough…”

He trailed off as the pieces finally clicked into place. He’d gotten so caught up in the urge to prove Zinnia wrong that he hadn’t fully considered the implications of him being right.

Zinnia chuckled, dipping her head. “I should’ve known you’d be sharp enough to figure it out,” she said. “It’s one of the things I like about you, after all.”

Before he could finish processing the implications of that statement, Zinnia spun on her heel and darted out the door. She was long gone before he could do anything more than call out her name.

Zinnia…likes me? Enough that she wants to ask me out?

Maybe it was for the best that she had given him time to think about it. If she’d asked right then and there, Steven didn’t know what he would have said. He’d grown fond of Zinnia, sure, but was that enough to want to date her? For as many attractive qualities as she had, she had just as many flaws. And, like he said at first, he didn’t know if he would have the time to commit to a relationship with all the other responsibilities he had.

And yet… Dating Zinnia…

Steven smiled to himself and headed back inside, closing the door behind him. He didn’t lock it this time, though. When Zinnia came back, he would have an answer for her, and he suspected that that’d happen sooner rather than later.