Free Fall

Contestshipping

Drew remembers first meeting May by a cliff edge years ago. This isn't something always on his mind, he is not particularly attached to the memory. But he remembers this fact the same way he remembers running with his sister through the garden behind their estate home in LaRousse when he sees roses, his sister's favorite flower –– his too now, it's funny how association is remarkably intertwined with affection. The cliffs which border the city of his hometown are not big, a short walk up a hill and then a short fall into the ocean. As he sits on the edge he thinks back to that meeting and finds it lacking in the crispness which he could recall it in those first few years, when May was always around, her face fresh in his memory.

"Drew? Mother and father are calling for us…"

Margo is five years Drew's junior. At seventeen she is one of the youngest trainers to hold the title of pokemon champion, and is also one of Drew's most admiring fans.

"I'll be home soon," says Drew, flashing her a grin. "I'm in no great hurry to meet our esteemed guests." Margo laughs and comes to his side, sitting, for a moment they're silent listening to the waves crash.

"You were never much of a fan of it as a kid either." Margo smiles.

"Yeah, well I didn't have to deal with it for very long either," says Drew, "unlike some late bloomers I started my journey at ten." He smirks down at his little sister but she's pouting anyway and has folded her arms over her chest.

"Who's fault is that?" If you'd bothered to write home every once in awhile mother might have been more willing to let me leave sooner."

This breaks the conversation. After a moment Margo speaks again:

"What were you thinking about up here all on your own?" she asks, her brother is staring across the bay to some similar cliffs. There's a figure atop them, arms opened, floating on the upward drafts. It's likely the person will fall into the ocean if they do not time their retreat well enough but Drew's been watching them for about fifteen minutes and the figure has caught itself every time.

"I was thinking about an old friend," Drew says finally. "A girl I met early in my journey."

"Oh!" Grins Margo, who has heard very little of Drew's friends over the years. "Tell me more?" Drew smirks, leaning back. The figure across the way has just stepped back, probably waiting for the next upward air current.

"I haven't seen her in forever nor have I thought about her in awhile. But these cliffs always remind me of her. We met in a similar place."

"Sounds romantic~" says Margo, raising an eyebrow. Drew snorts.

"Hardly, the first time we met I mocked her and many of our subsequent meetings ended in squabbles. We were rivals before we were friends. She was my motivator in many ways. It was always an honor to lose to her."

"What happened to her?" Asks Margo, she has never heard any of this before. Drew shrugs and stands.

"I don't know. We travelled together for a bit in the Johto region, until we were about fifteen, and then we promised to meet in Kanto. But when contest season started she never showed up." Drew reaches down to help Margo up, she dusts off her pants and follows her brother down the hill. It looks as though it will snow tonight as the clouds are rolling in.

"Didn't you ever go looking for her?" Margo asks, dissatisfied with the ending. "You can't tell me you just continued on with contests without even knowing what happened to her!" Drew chuckles, bumps her lightly with his shoulder and shrugs. His hands are in his pockets and he is maybe getting cold. It's hard for Margo to tell. Drew has travelled a great deal and much longer than she has. He's much better with the elements.

"She sent me a few letters over the course of that year. She'd gone on an adventure with a mutual friend, Ash, but she never told me what they had been up to. The letters got fewer and further between. I never got a response to the last couple I sent." Drew saw that Margo seemed unhappy with this. "Sometimes life gets in the way," he says, by way of explanation.

"But you had a crush on her… I was hoping their would be more!" She frowns.

"I never said that!" Drew exclaims.

"You didn't have to!"

"Lets just get home, mother and father will be wandering." Drew sighs. Margo nods, but turns suddenly to the cliff across the way and the figure there.

"I'll meet you there, I'm going to go tell that person snow is on its way. The ocean will be very cold if they fall!" Drew nods and the two separated. Margo jogs across the cove to the other cliff just in time to see the figure, a young woman fall back as the upward draft stops.

"Hey!" She yells up. The young woman turns to her, waving.

"Yes?" She calls.

"It's going to snow," Margo says, "the water will be cold if you fall!" The woman stops and is walking down the hill by the time Margo has stopped talking. She is a pretty woman, maybe in her early twenties. When she is in front of Margo she smiles and laughs a little.

"I was having so much, I almost forgot it was winter!" She says lamely. Her hair is brunette her shoulders are back and she is white as a ghost.

"You're so pale you must be freezing, how could you forget the season?" Margo asks, already convinced this woman is crazy.

"Well … I don't know, I guess I just got caught up in the fun! Thanks for checking on me, though." She smiles, holding out her hand. "My name's May."

"Margo," says Margo, shaking the woman's hand - she looks familiar somehow and Margo says as much. "Do we know each other?" she asks.

"Possibly," May smiles. "Are you a trainer? I'm the gym leader of Petalburg city."

And it hits Margo, May Maple is the leader of the small Petalburg city gym, an infamously tough gym to beat but also an out of the way one. Margo has never personally challenged the Petalburg gym, but she remembers an article on the leader which ran in The Elite Four, a magazine dedicated to champion-bound trainers. Margo's face brightens.

"Oh!" She exclaims, "I read an article about you a year or so ago!" May laughs, and blushes.

"There aren't many of those out there," she says.

"I know!" Says Margo, "I don't see Petalburg gym mentioned very often… still, I was very impressed with what I read!" May blushes and the two women stand awkwardly for a moment. "I'm–– I'm actually a trainer," Margo explains, "if you're in town for a bit, I'd love to have a battle?"

"As a leader," May winks, "I'm told I'm not allowed to deny a challenger."


I was just very much in the writing mood. I haven't written anything in several years. Please understand that, and also that I don't really remember how to write Contestshipping anymore. This story may be a little rough and OOC but I promise it will also be very fun and fluffy. So stick around. :)