#i wanna talk about the portryal of steven and jaide's silent love towards each other 🥹 it's so... heartwarming

[jils-things]

Wait a While Longer

this fic is written by my friend, sarah! (@throughpatchesofviolet) it was for a trade we exchanged months back. i asked for a lovely stevaide fic and she delivered! she has given me her permission to repost this story and i'm more than happy to share it. also using this opportunity to read it easily hehehe 💚💜 thank you again!

"Here we are …” Jaide mused, smiling as she crouched beside the oven, patting a small, reptilian Pokémon on the head as she pointed at the pie visible through the window. “See? It’s almost ready, Aron—just a few more minutes.”

The steel-type titled his head, studying the pastry before turning to his companion, blinking up at her with his large, blue eyes.

“In the meantime, how about we clean up?” Jaide suggested, standing up and lightly sidestepping Aron so she could reach the sink, where a mound of dirty dishes awaited her. “Can’t leave the house in disarray, after all.”

Aron huffed, but he trotted after her, sitting obediently at her feet as she turned on the faucet, humming softly to herself as she rinsed the first of many bowls.

As she squirted dish soap onto a cloth, beginning to scrub a large mixing bowl, her thoughts turned towards her husband, Steven. Early that morning, the jangling tone of a phone had roused them both—an urgent call from Steven’s father, who requested Steven make an appearance at an upcoming meeting.

Naturally, Steven had agreed, and had promptly dressed, pressed a soft kiss to his wife’s forehead, and departed, all in the span of a few minutes.

I hope he’s doing alright, Jaide thought, frowning at a stain on the dish she was washing. He left so early … and after working so hard, the night before, too. He must be exhausted …

The buzzing of a timer snapped Jaide from her thoughts, and she dropped the rag and bowl into the sink, spinning around to find Aron had moved to stand in front of the oven. The Pokémon sniffed the air as she approached, drawing another smile from his companion.

“It smells pretty good, doesn’t it?” she asked, grabbing a pair of oven mitts before squatting down beside Aron and opening the oven door, a blast of hot, cinnamon-scented air rushing over them.

Leaning forward, Jaide carefully removed the pie, as Aron grunted in irritation, his eyes narrowing as he crouched behind her, trying to avoid the heat.

Jaide laughed as she rose to her feet, setting the pie on a cooling rack. “I tried to warn you, when we started—the oven gets hot!”

Aron snorted, glaring at her before turning away, visibly irritated.

“Aw, Aron … I’m sorry! I wasn’t laughing at you …” Jaide glanced at the pie, the golden crust shimmering beneath a cloud of steam, then back at Aron. “How about I give you the biggest piece to make up for it? Would you like that?”

The steel-type refused to look at her for a moment longer, then slowly sighed, and Jaide smiled as his large eyes drifted back towards her face.

“Alright—Aron gets the largest piece of pie, tonight. Promise.”

The Pokémon beamed up at her, then snapped to alertness, his gaze darting towards the living room: the soft jangling of keys had grabbed his attention—and Jaide’s, as well.

Aron bolted as the front door creaked open, eager to welcome Steven home, and Jaide sighed, smoothing her dress before stepping into the other room, where her husband was trying not to trip over the tiny Pokémon weaving between his legs.

“… I don’t have anything for you, this time, Aron, I’m sorry!” Steven held out his empty hands to the steel-type, who squinted up at him. “I was in a meeting all day, so I didn’t have time to grab any ore … next time, I promise!”

Aron huffed, then spun around and marched back into the kitchen.

“I don’t think he liked your excuse,” Jaide teased, smiling as she approached Steven, already reaching to help him take off his coat. “How was your meeting, dear? You’re not too tired, are you?”

“No, no … I’m perfectly fine. Not tired—” Steven broke off mid-sentence, yawning, but he quickly stifled it, gently waving Jaide aside. “Not tired at all …”

His wife raised an eyebrow, but she decided to play along. “Alright … how about we sit down? We both could use some rest, after today.”

“Oh?” he frowned as she took his arm, quietly guiding him towards the soda. “What did you get up to …?”

“Well,” Jaide began, patting her husband’s arm as they sank onto the couch cushions. “After you left, I managed to fall back asleep for a few more hours … then I was up to make breakfast for me and Ruby … we had pancakes—the ones where we use fruit to make them look like Pokémon. Ruby managed to make his look just like Fofo …”

“Mm … which form?” Steven mumbled, leaning his head against Jaide’s shoulder.

“It was her Sunny Form,” Jaide replied, smiling as she recalled how carefully Ruby had arranged slices of banana around his pancake that morning. “He took a photo, of course—it was quite cute.

“After that, Ruby told me he was going to hang out with some friends at a Secret Base—though, he wouldn’t tell me where it was … I suppose that’s to keep it a “secret” base, isn’t it?

“Then I was on my own, so I did some housework, ran to the store for groceries, and then Aron and I baked a pie … oh, you should have seen his face when I opened the oven—his eyes scrunched up and he huddled behind me … it was adorable! Although, he was upset about it, so now I owe him a huge slice of pie as an apology.

"And now you’re home, so I can start making …” Jaide trailed off as soft snoring tickled her ears, and she glanced over to see Steven dozing against her shoulder.

Smiling, Jaide gently lowered Steven’s head so it was resting in her lap, chuckling quietly as she brushed his hair from his face, admiring his features.

“You’re a terrible liar,” she whispered, pressing a soft kiss to Steven’s forehead.

I suppose dinner can wait a bit longer, Jaide thought, closing her eyes. Steven needs to rest, and Ruby’s not home, yet, either … besides, I can’t possibly move, now—it’d wake him!

She snuggled into the couch cushions, humming a quiet lullaby as she stroked Steven’s hair.

Yes … dinner can wait just a little longer …

—

“What a day …” Ruby muttered, sighing as he stepped into the living room.

“Ar?”

The boy blinked, looking down to find his mother’s Aron gazing up at him. The Pokémon studied him for a moment, then turned his head, nodding towards the sofa.

Following Aron’s gaze, Ruby found his parents lounging on the couch—his father’s head rested in his mother’s lap. Thought she was sitting upright, he could tell Jaide was fast asleep, her fingers still tangled in Steven’s hair.

He glanced at Aron as he slid his backpack off, kneeling on the floor beside the Pokémon as he rummaged through its contents. “Shall we?” he asked, pulling out a camera.

“Aron!” the Pokémon chirped, beaming at him.

“I’ll take that as a yes!”

Powering the camera on, Ruby focused it on his parents, still snoozing on the sofa, and snapped a quick photo before settling down beside Aron, showing him the picture.

“What do you think? The lighting look okay?”

The steel-type stared at the photograph, then nodded

.

“Great! Then let’s leave them alone—we’ll have plenty of time to tease them with this, later.”

Ruby stood up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder as he marched into the kitchen, Aron trotting behind him. He paused when he saw the pie resting on the counter, and the Pokémon grunted, gently headbutting his leg.

“Aroooooon!” he hissed, glaring up at Ruby.

“Ar!”

“Right, right—sorry. Let’s go.”

Aron snorted as he watched the boy run into the other room. Nobody was going to touch that pie—not until Jaide served him his portion, anyway. She’d promised him a huge piece, after all!

The Pokémon cast one more glance up at the counter, then nodded to himself, scampering after Ruby. After all … dinner could wait a while longer.