AN: This one's less fluffy, and features tsundere Brendan! :P

Fears: A Hoennshipping One-shot

May hated the dark.

She absolutely, most definitely, certainly, hated it. It had been one of her biggest fears since she was a little girl, but she'd always thought it would go away when she grew older. She'd always been paranoid about what kinds of things hid in the darkness, and just the fact that she couldn't see what was around her. Now, as she stood facing the entrance to Granite Cave, her stomach felt queasy. It looked extremely dark inside, and as she stood there, the sound of a Zubat's screech echoed distantly from inside the cave. May shuddered.

And to top it all off, she'd forgotten to bring a flashlight.

May hesitantly stepped forward, looking at the pokeballs on her belt. She felt slightly better, knowing her pokemon were with her, but the darkness seemed to be pulling her into the cave. Of course she was just being silly, but she could believe anything when she was scared.

She took a deep breath, shaking. I've got to go in. I can't let this stupid fear control me.

Her whole purpose for coming to Granite Cave was to find a Mawile. May was very interested in fairy types, knowing that the fairy type had only been discovered recently. Mawile had always seemed like a cool pokemon to her, anyways.

Finally May found the strength to move her feet, one by one. She shuffled into the cave, and after taking only a few steps, the light coming from outside the cave had dimmed so much she could only see about a meter in front of her. She took another deep breath. Stay calm. Stay calm.

The words repeated in her head, over and over, almost like a chant. Stay calm. Stay calm. But it did nothing at all to help her fear.

May felt like the darkness was suffocating her. Everywhere she looked, she could only see a small distance in front of her. How in the name of Arceus was she going to find a Mawile, when she could barely see her own fingers when she held them up in her face?

"I'm dead," she groaned into her hands. "Stupid, stupid fear. Stupid darkness. Stupid caves."

May knew there was no point going back out since she'd already worked up the courage to go in, so she walked on a bit farther. She took her Combusken's pokeball from her belt as she walked. Suddenly, something flew by her head, screeching loudly. The screech echoed around the cave walls, and she turned around quickly, fighting the urge to scream at the sight that greeted her.

A Zubat hung from the ceiling, its head right in front of her eyes. It didn't look threatening - on the contrary, it looked like it was quite happy. But it was still too much for May.

She ran away from it, and crashed right into the cave wall.

"Ouch," she muttered, rubbing her head. "Stupid Zubat."

May couldn't stand it any longer, and she reached for her Combusken's pokeball on her belt, only to realize she didn't have it in her hand anymore, and that she must have dropped it when she ran from the Zubat. As if it couldn't get any worse.

For a moment May felt dizzy, and she slid down onto the ground in a sitting position, burying her head in her arms. Her dread was heavy in her stomach. Her Combusken meant everything to her, and now she'd lost it. The pokeball would be extremely hard to find in the darkness, and she'd probably have to feel everything on the ground with her hands to find it...but she had to try.

May slowly inched her way forward. If she'd dropped it while running from the Zubat, it had to be around here somewhere. Hopefully it didn't roll too far. She swept her hands over the ground randomly, her heart pounding.

May felt something round and smooth on the ground, and with a gasp of relief, picked it up. She could tell in the faint light that it was a pokeball, and tossed it in the air.

"Combusken, come on out!" she managed, almost shaking in relief.

Her Combusken came out of the pokeball in a flash of red light, and immediately ran over to her, evidently confused by why its trainer was so frightened. May hugged her pokemon tightly, and smiled for the first time since entering the cave.

"Let's go find ourselves a Mawile, Combusken."

It took May a very long time to navigate the cave. Eventually she made it to the area where Mawiles were found, thanks to her DexNav app on her PokeNav Plus. Luckily it didn't take her too long, and soon she'd caught a female Mawile. Storing her new pokeball on her belt, she straightened up. Then she realized she had a problem.

May had no idea where she was, and how to get out. The PokeNav! she thought suddenly. Of course, I can just use the DexNav like I did to get here! But when she tried to turn it on, the screen stayed black. Either it had broken, or the battery had run out.

"Just my luck," May muttered to herself, sighing. "Great. I'm lost."

She had no idea what time it was, and how long she'd been in Granite Cave. She had to try and get out, even if she was lost.

After wandering around for a while, May knew that she was hopelessly lost. She had tried to memorize some landmarks (as much as she could see, that was) on the way while following her DexNav, but it had all slipped her mind.

There was a sudden sound of something crashing into the wall nearby. Something sensible in the back of May's mind told her it was probably a wild pokemon (like a Lairon, she knew those lived in Granite Cave), but her fear and surprise took over. She yelped and started running, not evening bothering where she went, and ended up crashing into something.

Something solid, but not hard like a cave wall. Something that felt warm. Something that was unmistakably...alive.

May couldn't help it - she screamed. Through her screaming, she heard the thing she had bumped into speak.

"May?" it said, and she realized that she recognized that voice. Could it be...?

There was a shuffling sound, and a few moments passed. Then a flashlight clicked on, and the person holding it was none other than her annoying neighbour himself, Brendan Birch. He raised an eyebrow at her, frowning.

"May?" he repeated, sounding surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I don't know, getting ready for a beauty contest," May replied sarcastically, getting over her scare. She was extremely embarrassed that he had heard her scream. But she was secretly glad it was him. Thank Latias it wasn't some random stranger or a girl-eating monster!

Brendan rolled his eyes. "I mean, seriously. When I saw you leave Brawly's gym in the morning, I thought you were headed here. I assumed you'd finished your business here ages ago by the time I finished my gym battle. What are you still hanging around here for?"

May glowered at him, but she knew she couldn't get away from this encounter without answering his question. "I'm lost," she stated defiantly, challenging him to laugh. He didn't, which for some reason irritated her, and he held up his hands in a gesture of peace while still frowning.

"Whoa, I didn't mean to insult you. Well...I am heading out myself. You can come along with me if you want," the boy said somewhat reluctantly.

That surprised her. "Really?"

Brendan managed a small smile. "I don't think I have a choice. You'd probably kill me the next time we meet if I left you here, all alone in the dark." Now he smiled smugly at her. "So you're afraid of the dark, huh?"

"Shut up," May muttered, focusing on the wall. Right now she wanted to look at anything but his arrogant eyes!

"Alright, alright. Let's get out of here," Brendan said, pushing past her. "Just follow me, okay?"

May nodded, and the two trainers started walking. Though Brendan's flashlight was helpful, May still couldn't see him too well. Several times she panicked when she thought she'd lost him, only to realize he was still in front of her. One time, a Zubat screeched over their heads, and on instinct May lurched forward and grabbed at Brendan's arm. He turned around, raising an eyebrow. "Everything okay back there?"

"Sorry," she mumbled, stepping back, her cheeks red. Luckily, it was still too dark for him to notice. They continued walking on, and several more times May yelped and panicked because she thought she'd lost Brendan.

"Brendan?" she called out in panic.

"There's no need to yell, I'm right in front of you," replied Brendan. He sounded grumpy. "You do that again, and I'm ditching you."

Finally, after May was scared by another Zubat, Brendan sighed in exasperation.

"Just hold my hand, okay? That way you won't get freaked out and all panicky that you've lost sight of me."

May stuck out her tongue at him, and then the words registered in her brain. "W-what?"

"Just hold my hand," Brendan repeated, holding out his hand. He didn't look too happy about the situation. "It'll be quicker that way."

Now, that definitely took May by surprise. Slowly she reached forward, and took his hand in her own. It was warm, much warmer than her own hand. It felt comforting, like she was safe in this dark, scary cave.

Brendan looked determinedly ahead, and didn't say a word as they continued on. May gripped his hand tightly, afraid to let go. Every time there was the sound a wild pokemon screeching or any sudden sound, May still flinched, but holding onto Brendan made her feel safer. That infuriated her, because he was still her annoying and arrogant neighbour, no matter the good he'd done for her today.

As the entrance (and exit) to the cave approached, relief settled through her body. They walked out together, and as May breathed in the fresh air outside, she realized they were still holding hands. Brendan noticed as well, and dropped her hand like he'd just touched a burning fire.

"You're welcome, Maple," he said abruptly, and walked off before May could say anything.

She straightened up and took another grateful gulp of fresh air. Thankfully Brendan had showed up, or she'd still be stuck in that horrid cave. She looked at his retreating figure, and grinning, called out, "Thanks, Birch!"

He froze and turned around. "Are you up to something?" he questioned suspiciously. "You've never actually thanked me before."

"Nope," she said, beaming. "I'm truly thankful."

"Whatever you say."

Brendan continued walking away, and May smirked at his back.

Now she just needed to find out what his secret fear was.