December 24th, 2008
Slateport City, Hoenn
The port where people and Pokemon cross paths
Two young coordinators made their way towards the center of Slateport City, one of the fanciest city to visit when the year is nearing its end. People wish each other the best for the new year, while they walk around with Christmas' hats on their head and singing festive carols. Children stop to look in awe at the huge decorated tree in the middle of the square, while their parents desperately try to get them moving, hoping they can go home and continue working on their dinner for family and friends.
Both of them walked through the streets covered in the cold, winter weather of December. They passed tons of shops, their windows filled with the latest Christmas trends, deals and items. The girl's eyes were popping out while looking at all of those limited edition offers. Her eyes darted from one shop to another, making sure she didn't miss any of them. The boy, however, buried his hands deep in the pockets of his jeans, shivering with cold. He didn't mind the, in his opinion exaggerated, holiday season, but he wasn't too keen on the terrible weather.
"Mom? Why is our tree not as big as this one?" One of the kids asked, pointing at the famous Slateport City Christmas tree. Her mother kneeled down and whispered something in the little girl's ear; those words must've been so good for her to hear, that her sad expression immediately faded and turned into a smile of joy.
"Don't you just love Christmas?" The brunette girl asked her chartreuse haired rival, whom she dragged into the busy town after their contest. She was smiling widely while she looked at the happy children and their busy parents.
"Hmhm." He merely grunted and mumbled something under his breath.
"Come on, Drew!" She whined. "I know you'd rather have won that contest, but you didn't." He quickly shot her glare after hearing those words. "And neither did I. We'll just have to practice to become better!"
"Right."
May furrowed her brows and crossed her arms as she stopped walking. "We have to lift your mood, you're just being a whiny boy right now. How about we get a drink in the nearest coffee shop?"
He sighed, a little cloud of air formed by his breath escaping his mouth as he sighed. He knew she would never stop asking if he continued being grumpy. "Fine, May. Fine."
"Good enough." She said in a happy tone, satisfied with his reply.
After all, it was quite an achievement to get Drew to agree with you after losing a contest.
«×»
"I'll order a mocha for myself," Drew stated. "And you want a hot chocolate with whipped cream, am I right?"
Her eyes widened at his words. "How do you remember? Didn't I tell you that a year ago or so?"
"I-" He began, but stopped quickly. He happened to remember from last time they went to get themselves a coffee after a contest. She always ordered a hot chocolate with whipped cream, but no sprinkles. And when she sat down, she'd complain about how hot the hot chocolate was and how it almost burned her mouth.
He couldn't tell her that, of course. She'd be creeped out and look for a deeper meaning behind his words, or she'd try to hide useless information about herself in the future. He just happened to see and remember all the little details about her, and it made his stomach turn when he thought about how many of them he actually knew. He'd have to learn how he could do a better job at hiding them from her.
He mentally cursed himself and stammered. "Ehh..."
Think quickly Drew, or she might get suspicious of your behavior.
"I usually remember what people like to drink."
Liar.
She furrowed her brows and eyed him, but decided not to ask any further when she heard her stomach grumble. The brunette let out a small chuckle and covered her tummy.
"Gee, I'm really hungry as well! Can you order me a brownie while you're at it?" She pleaded and hastily added when she saw the questioning look on his face: "I'll pay you back, don't worry!"
"You don't have to pay me back, airhead." He said while standing up from his seat, knowing that May always forgot to pay back for everything. "It's Christmas, the time of giving, after all."
"Oh!" She let out a small squeal and clasped her hands together in joy. "Thanks Drew, I love you!''
He smirked at her and flicked his hair. "Who doesn't?" He replied and turned on his heel.
«×»
After a few minutes, Drew arrived at their table with their ordered drinks and one brownie. He placed the hot chocolate and brownie neatly in front of May, whose eyes had lit up significantly at the sight of the food in front of her. He placed the mocha on the table and sat down. May looked at the lonely drink Drew had ordered.
"Aren't you eating something with that?" She inquired curiously. "A cupcake? Or a piece of cake?" When Drew shook his head, she added sarcastically: "Of course, you have to remain in shape as a top coordinator."
Drew grinned at her words. "Yeah, everyone would kill for this figure."
"I would not." May grinned back at him and took a sip of her hot chocolate, followed by a little shriek. "Ouch! Too hot!"
As predicted, Drew thought and looked at the brunette who tried to cool her mouth, amused. She pouted slightly when she saw the smile he tried to hide.
"So," May continued their conversation as if nothing just happened. "Are you going to see the Christmas show in Petalburg city? I heard that there will be a lot of pretty Pokemon, like Delcatty and Milotic, and most of them have even done contests before! Or maybe I will go to-"
"Actually," Drew cut her off with a serious look on his face, startling May. He took a sip of his mocha and placed it back on the table. "I won't be spending Christmas in Hoenn. My mom thought it would be a good idea to organize the family dinner and all that jazz in Kalos, since our whole family came to Hoenn last year. I will have to catch a plane in," He cocked his head and looked at his watch. "About two hours from now."
May's jaw dropped at his words. She started fiddling with his thumbs and looked him in the eye.
"Why didn't you tell me before?"
"I only heard the news a few days ago." Drew calmly explained to her. "And we were both quite busy with the preparation of our appeals."
The brunette girl swallowed. It was true. But she hadn't spent a Christmas without him since, heck, forever. She grabbed her hot chocolate and gulped it down entirely. Proudly, she placed the mug down on the table with a loud thud.
"We have a lot to do if you have to leave in about an hour and a half." May declared while she grabbed her black, soft coat and brown leather bag.
Drew shrugged and agreed with her. "I suppose you are right. We can't really miss the Slateport spectacle, right?"
«×»
May had been dragging her chartreuse haired rival into several shops, varying from clothes to souvenirs. She had bought quite a few things, as opposed to Drew, who had only bought some candies and a little Roselia plushie. He didn't even buy the plushie himself, but May insisted he got it and she decided to pay for it, earning a sigh from Drew, who denied her offer multiple times.
Her legs were starting to hurt quite a bit, and it kept getting colder outside. Drew was trying to warm his hands by cupping them over his mouth and breathing against them, but to no avail. They had been walking for about an hour and twenty minutes, and May realized that Drew had to leave soon, or else he would miss his flight. They both stopped in front of the huge tree and admired all the lights and decorations, as well as the baubles decorated with various Pokemons.
"Also," Drew began, as if he was reading her mind while fiddling in his pockets. "I got something for you," May's eyes widened in shock and he hastily explained: "For Christmas."
May chuckled softly and watched him carefully as he diligently tried to find his present. May felt hers thoughts drifting off, thinking about what he could've bought her. Knowing Drew, though, would mean that he probably bought her one of these mocking books, like Coordinating for Dummies or How to win your first contest in a heartbeat!. But he had hid it in his pockets, wouldn't that mean it was a small present? Her ideas were starting to run out; thankfully, Drew let out a cry of achievement, which woke her from her daydreams.
"Gotcha!" He exclaimed proudly and showed her little, grey, velvet box. It was square shaped and fitted perfectly in the palm of his hand. A little mark of the brand was printed on the top of the box. The sides were decorated with little diamonds, and May couldn't tell if these were real, or if they were just really good fake ones, or if she was just terrible at distinguishing them.
This certainly didn't look like a copy of Coordinating for Dummies.
She saw Drew grin at her flustered reaction, the shocked expression still on her face. He twirled the box in his hands and inspected it. The boy frowned while checking if any of the dust in his pockets had ended up on the box. He neatly readjusted the top of the box and handed it to May. She extended her arms to accept the box, but when she almost had her hands on it, Drew pulled it back to him.
"Don't open it here," He warned her sternly. "May, you know you're kind of a klutz." May pouted at his word and faked a hurt expression. "I don't want it drop on the ground. Now take it, my hands are freezing."
She looked at his red hands, which had been suffering a lot from the cold. Maybe he should take other people's advice next time and actually put on a pair of mittens, but he was just stubborn like that.
"Thank you." She softly breathed. Her fingers ran over the box and she admired it, before putting it away carefully. "Oh!" She exclaimed while rummaging through her bag. "I got you something as well," But her face slightly fell when she added. "It's not much, but I didn't expect you to leave just yet."
Contrary to what she expected, he didn't seem to mind it at all. He gave her a sincere smile and looked at the neatly wrapped green box in front of him. There was a big red bow tied around it and on a little label she had written: 'For Drew'.
"These are a few of my handmade cupcakes." May told him with a soft smile. "They are bit like, May's Purple Surprise, but then in a cupcake edition."
"Did you put poison in them?" Drew demanded with a raised eyebrow and a serious tone.
May smacked his arm and replied: "I should have done that because you just asked for it."
Drew laughed and raised his hands in a surrender position before accepting the box.
"Thanks, May. I appreciate it." He quickly glanced at his watch. "It's about time I leave though, or else the plane will depart without me."
"I understand." May said with a hint of disappointment in her voice. She hesitated for a moment when he turned around to leave. He had been strolling through the city and talking with May for ages, and now he had to hurry to arrive on time.
"Drew, hold up!" She yelled after him. He immediately stopped and turned around, giving her a questioning look. She ran up to him and quickly pecked him on the cheek, her strawberry lip gloss leaving a small, pink trail on his face.
"Merry Christmas." She whispered in a barely audible voice.
"Merry Christmas." He whispered back, smiling.
He locked his eyes with her for one more moment, before ruffling her hair and making his way towards the train he was supposed to catch. He raised his hand and she slowly waved back, even though he had already turned away and couldn't see her anymore. She rolled her eyes at the gesture he always did.
She stared after him until she couldn't see his silhouette anymore. She took the little box out of her bag again and held it contently against her chest. The brunette sighed and smiled slightly. While she was moving her fingers around the box, she felt something that was far from velvet. She held the box up and saw a little piece of paper on the outside. She took it off and saw Drew's neat handwriting on it.
Maple, I know you are checking this while you're still outside, even though I told you not to. Next time, take my advice if you want to learn something. Maybe you can even become a top coordinator.
P.s. Curiosity killed the cat, little May
She grinned at the message and neatly folded it. She placed the box with the paper piece back in her bag and made her way home, giggling to herself.
Merry Christmas to you too, Drew.
A/N: It's 11:30 PM on December 25th as I am writing this note to you all! I really wanted to have this oneshot done by this time, since everyone is still in the holiday spirit now. But I made it, and here it is. A bit of Contestshipping fluff should brighten up everyone's day, right?
Sorry about any grammar or spelling mistakes, English is my not my mother tongue and no matter how many times I will read through it, I probably still won't notice the mistakes. Heh.
Anyway, let me know what you think of the story. I hope you all enjoyed it and thanks for reading; happy holidays and much love~!
