Work Text:
Gloria expected Route 5 and some parts of the Wild Area to have a few trainers here and there, looking for an Applin to make its appearance and capture it for their loved ones. What she didn't expect was the route and the few sections to be swarmed by everyone else who had the same idea as the other. It didn't help that the Pokemon had a low appearance rate, making everyone stay behind longer and filling up the camping spots.
She cursed herself for not thinking of catching an Applin earlier. Her Flapple could easily be bred for one, but she wasn't going to tell her crush, “Hey Bede! I bred an Applin for you,” when it would sound so much sweeter with, “Hey Bede! I caught an Applin for you!”. Of course, she had to wait until 2 days before Valentine's before looking for one, when breeding would take at least 5 days.
She sighed, prepping to turn her bicycle away from the route. The entrance already surrounded by some police so the wild Pokemon didn't get frightened by the influx of people nearby. She caught of this thing at the last minute, and now she was going to pay for it. The supermarket's at Wyndon didn't help, either. As much as Gloria didn't want to give Bede some store-bought chocolate, she thought of at least melting and molding it into a new shape. But alas, the stores were all out of chocolate.
The Champion thought of her bank account and if it was worth going to a premium, luxury chocolate shop that sold the sweets for hundreds of thousands of Pokedollars. She grimaced at the thought. While she made bank with all the matches and advertisements her position got her, she wanted to use the money for materials and necessities. Not because she wanted to buy some stupid gift for her stupid crush.
Damn, she thought to herself as she started pedaling to Turffield. What am I going to do for Bede? Oh my Arceus, should I just not give him a gift? Wait. No. You're not flaking on yourself, Gloria!
She wanted to calm down and think clearly, and staring the Wooloos in Turffield may help with that. Heck, maybe Milo would even let her cuddle with some. She started peddling faster, the scent of the flowers getting stronger as she approached the small town. The vast fields entered her vision, as well as the Gym Leader herding some of the cute Pokemon with his Yamper.
She rode next to the field where he was in, parking her bike outside the fences. He still didn't seem to have noticed her, and she didn't want to distract him from wrangling Wooloo. She thought of bringing Zacian out, if maybe the Legendary Pokemon could help with Wooloo wrangling...
Gloria heard multiple barks, as well as a shout of her name. “Gloria!” she heard Milo yell, and she squinted in his direction. He was waving at her, walking towards her while the Wooloo bleated before rolling away. The Yamper gave one last bark at the Wooloo before catching up to its trainer, its fur frizzing with some electricity. She stood straighter at the call of her name, waving back.
“Hello, Milo. Sorry to have bothered you, I was just watching the Wooloo,” she apologized. He waved it off before wiping the sweat from his brow with a towel.
“No,it's alright! We've gotten most of the Wooloo in, after all. Just a few more, and we'll be done for today,” Milo said. “I haven't seen you much. Do you want some tea, Gloria? I can pour us some, if you want.”
“I'll help with the wrangling,” Gloria said before she could think. She felt bad about having to make Milo pause for her. She cursed at herself before following it with a, “I mean, I rolled Wooloo for my Gym Challenge. I think I could help.”
The Gym Leader blinked owlishly before giving her a hearty laugh. “Well, now! I wouldn't refuse help from the Champion. It's not much different, we just need to get them out of the pasture. Oh, and if you have any Pokemon that could wrangle, it would be a big help as well!”
Zacian rolled in its Pokeball. Gloria decided against using the Pokemon for herding.
It was hard work, and while it took a few hours out of her day, it still didn't completely distract her from the fact she still didn't have an idea of what to give Bede on Valentine's. Milo and Gloria sat down in one of the garden tables he had out, two teacups placed in front of them as he poured tea. The smoky aroma filled her senses before she reached for the milk and honey.
“Special blend for you, since you helped me today! Thank you,” Milo said. “I'd recommend not using milk with that, though. As you can smell, it smells smoky, and milk might taste a bit weird.”
Gloria immediately retracted her hand from the milk, blushing a little. “Sorry, not much of a tea person,” she said. Milo chuckled before steering the conversation to a topic.
“Is something troubling you? You seemed to be distracted when you came here,” he said, sipping on his tea. However, Gloria's face flushed almost immediately when he brought it up. She opted to stare at the dark liquid of her tea, hoping her voice didn't give too much information.
“Ah, everything is fine! Totally...” she said, bringing the teacup to her lips. Her face slightly contorted with the strong taste of the tea. She hoped Milo didn't notice. “Just a bit worried about the upcoming days! About my upcoming match, for sure! It's an exhibition match that would hopefully raise money for the Wounded Wilderness Rescue Center, haha... I hope a lot would come to watch to raise, you know, money...”
Her voice didn't give away the nervousness, but her rambling certainly did. Milo stared at her after she went quiet, covering her flushed face with her hands. “In a few days, huh? Is this because of Valentine's?”
It seemed like Milo hit the spot, because the blush on Gloria's face darkened. She sighed, uncovering her face even if it was still red. She sipped some more of the tea, ignoring the taste before speaking again. “Okay, fine, it's Valentines,” Milo chuckled, and Gloria sent a half-hearted glare his way. “Applin locations are swarmed, and chocolates are out of stock...”
“Why not give some flowers to Bede? Turffield has a few pretty ones growing...”
“I don't know if Bede will appreciate—wait, did you just say Bede?!” she exclaimed in shock. Milo smiled as he continued to sip on his tea, as if he didn't say anything wrong. “I don't like Bede! Not in that way. I'm not giving him a gift this Valentine's, I wasn't looking for an Applin or chocolates for Bede.”
“Mhm, I think Bede would appreciate tea more. He seems like quite the tea drinker,” Milo suggested. Gloria stopped rambling, pausing at the statement. Milo was right, though. Bede was an avid fan of tea and while Gloria would rather enjoy hot chocolate, she'd accompany Bede for tea time. “Do you know what he likes?”
She felt resignation, and gave up trying to deny her crush. “Yeah, he likes strong teas in cold weather. Light ones are for hotter weathers or when he wants to sleep,” she said before stammering, “U-um, don't tell anyone about this, please. I'd rather shrivel in a hole than have anyone else know.”
The Gym Leader laughed. “Of course. Do you think he'll like the tea we're drinking right now? It's called lapsang souchong, with some cinnamon added to it,” he said. Gloria took one more sip of the strong tea and winced. “Sorry for the strong tea. I didn't know you weren't a fan, I would've opted for chocolate then.”
“It's fine, it's what you offered. It's what I'll take,” she reassured him. “And yeah, I think Bede would like this. Where did you get it? I just might gift this to him, even if it sounds unromantic.”
He pondered for a moment before going inside his house, returning with a small, aromatic pouch. “These are the leaves. Try giving it to him! If you think he'll like it, then why not?”
“Wait! I can't take this from you for free! You said it was a special blend, right?” Gloria said, pushing the pouch back in his direction. “I-I'll just go look for a shop that sells some.”
Milo shook his head. “It's imported. And you need a gift in two days. Take it, Gloria, and maybe tell him how you feel, too,” he teased. Her face flushed again, before taking the pouch hesitantly.
“You're not a tea drinker, so I was quite surprised when you said you had some special leaves for me,” Bede said, opening the door to his flat so Gloria could enter. The Champion had a blush on her face, and she tried to greet him as normally as she could. “What's the matter with you? Windy on the way here? Your cheeks look flush.”
“Um...” she closed the door behind her and hung her coat on the rack before she pulled out a pink pouch tied close with a white ribbon from her bag. She transferred the leaves to a cuter container, even putting a heart-shaped tag on it. Arceus, there really was no turning back now. Bede raised an eyebrow at her nerves before she pushed the pouch into his hands. “Here! Take this! Valentine's gift, or whatever!”
The poor, blushing boy sputtered. The pouch felt light and smelled so heavenly. At first glance, it would look like a pouch of chocolates, but when he opened it, he was greeted by the sight of tea leaves and the scent of their aroma. He couldn't help but smile softly.
“Thank you, Gloria,” he said, before his heart seized control of his mind again and set his nerves on fire. “I-I like your, er, Valentine's gift very much. In fact, I have one for you as well,” he said, excusing himself to retrieve a heart-shaped box. “They're chocolates, since Arceus knows you how much you love those.”
Gloria took it from his trembling hands, her own equally as shaky as well. “Thank you, Bede,” she said. Bede was usually suave and charming, and Gloria was usually confident and cheerful. But both were trembling for nervousness as they tried to look for ways to advance the conversation.
“So, why don't we enjoy these—“
“Let's go eat some—“
The two started at the same time, and paused at the same time as well. They stuttered, trying to find a suitable time to start. Bede cleared his throat. “As I was saying, let's enjoy our tea time together. Or chocolate time for you,” he said, moving to prepare some hot chocolate for her from the stocks he had in his house. For her, Bede thought, but banished the thoughts from his head.
“Right, I'll just prepare the cups for us, then,” she said, smiling at him warmly. Although they were both red, and their hearts were beating at an incredibly rapid pace, it finally felt normal again.
To: Bede
Happy Valentine's Day! I'm not super good with preparing gifts, but I'd hope you'd like this. Enjoy! <3
From: Gloria
To: Gloria
I'm admittedly not good with these kinds of things, but I thought of the things you liked most. I hope you like your gift. Happy Valentine's.
From: Bede