Champion's Sword, Galar's Shield (Leon x OC)

04 - Talks

AN: You know what? This is technically a romance fic and since this chapter helps bring 'em closer... so I'm late, but: Happy Valentine's Day ;) Also check out the chapter title image! I plan to add them now, including previous chapters. Maybe. We'll see xD I'm pretty busy lol They have something to do with the chapter. Sometimes serious, sometimes not. Definitely not this time around.

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The hours of fishing passed faster than either of them expected, turning daylight into evening with the time taken up by reeling in enough fish to keep full for days, and endless talk of anything and everything that came to mind. Jokes and laughs filled the in-between and Leon was proud when he finally got her to fluster at a tease of his own. He was determined to do so again, if only to match her wins against him. Most of all, though, he just enjoyed sharing the laughs. He hadn't done so much in so long, even when he was home. At least, not like this; not so openly. In truth, he probably shouldn't be candid with a stranger he barely knew, yet she didn't hold back, and neither did he—expect for the one secret he kept close; the one to keep her safe.

If she had caught on, she didn't seem to mind, and for that he was grateful. Perhaps it was because she understood the burden of it, although that was probably a good reason to tell her, but he couldn't. He wouldn't. How could he call himself even a former Champion if he had to rely on someone from a foreign land to deal with their problems here? So he kept it to himself, and was glad when they rode back—there was no more time to let something slip, and their return kept them busy as she worked to prep the fish and have her Lapras seal them with an ice beam in the back of the cave. With that done, though, there was only time to sit around the fire once more, or at least he did. Cassandra busied herself with rummaging through the tent, until, at last, she let out an "eureka".

"Here, try this on," she smirked proudly, holding out a rather large, bulky jacket. He was skeptical, but it actually fit, albeit a little too snugly. It was warmer than just the blanket, though, and he relished in the comfort of it. She sat, quite happy with herself, "I thought I had that in there buried somewhere. I don't have the pants to go with, but at least your torso is warm?"

He chuckled, "I'll survive. Why do you even have one this big—it must be huge on you."

"I 'borrowed' it from my uncle and forgot to give it back. He hasn't seemed to notice... for five years," she shrugged, earning a laugh.

"Well, send him my thanks next you see him."

She snickered, "Might be a while."

"You're staying here?"

"Maybe? To be honest, I'm not sure what my plans are beyond this. Or, well, I'll be heading back to Hammerlocke at some point soon for resupply since it's closest, but..."

"You don't want to go home?"

"I mean—no, that's not exactly it or..." she began, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. He could see she struggled with the answer. "I'm just... not ready to go back yet, I guess? Still have a lot to see and do."

The answer sounded half-true—if only because he was used to giving those kinds of answers all the time. He decided not to pry.

Instead, he grinned, "Any other regions you want to conquer?"

"Kalos, probably. I haven't checked out any others much," she shrugged, then waved. "Anyways, what about you? You're running the Battle Tower, right? What do you want it to end up being?"

"Well, it's about what I wanted it to be now. My dream when I was Champion hasn't really changed, just my method to make it happen, I guess you could say. I do want to see everyone in Galar become strong trainers and people in general; I want to see them overcome every obstacle, and form deep bonds with their Pokémon. Battling has always been one of the best ways, and, well, I've been battling my whole life so I don't know how to do much else. Not that it's helped much lately."