Disclaimer: I am afraid that I do not own Pokémon or ORAS (Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire). I do, however, own this oneshot.
This story is one part of a series of NewRivalShipping fanfictions that all go together to create one cohesive storyline. Technically, this story is somewhat in the middle (as the two are already in a relationship), but I thought that it fit really well, seeing as it's winter at the time of this post. I also think it will be interesting to read the stories somewhat out of order so that when you read a story set earlier in the timeline, you can remember a later story and think "So that's why a certain character had this reaction!" Or something like that, anyway!
On the last story to be posted for the main storyline, I will establish the official order in the Author's Notes, as well as on my profile page. I may be adding to the main storyline with little side stories here and there, and I will write their place in the Author's Notes and profile page accordingly. I will also post ages of the characters in each story so that the sleuths among you can try to piece together the storyline before I post the official timeline.
May: 21
Wally: 19
I hope that you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!
The title is based off of the Robert Frost poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening because someone that I know really loves that poem, and it fits the story, so why not? I don't own the poem either.
A Snowy Evening:
It was the middle of winter, but it was warm.
Though Fortree City was not known for its harsh winter snows, Arceus had obviously not received the message.
Wally glanced outside the window to see that the howling snow storm was still raging. The earlier weather report had said that this storm was not record-setting, but that it was somewhat unusual in its intensity. It had not snowed this hard in Fortree City for the past couple of years, apparently. Wally sighed when he remembered that it was supposed to keep snowing throughout the night and into tomorrow morning, altogether bringing about a little less than a foot of snow.
But then he smiled when he remembered why he was warm in the first place. Looking back into the one-room house, he rested his gaze on the fire that was currently blazing. Normally, he would be worried about setting a fire in a tree, and he had voiced his concerns, but his girlfriend had assured him that she knew what she was doing. After all, she had said, she had had many fires in her house before. There had been much laughter after that sentence once Wally had pointed out that what she had said sounded much more dangerous and less comforting than she had planned.
Currently, the fire was blazing and, because there was only one room, the heat was contained and intensified.
But that was not the only reason that Wally was warm.
Looking over to his right, he could see the side of May's face, watching the fire intensely. She was wearing a small smile, and he found himself slowly copying it, almost unconsciously. The two were currently sitting on a small, comfortable couch that was somewhat worn. Being one of the only pieces of furniture in the entire house, it was used quite frequently and thus explained the somewhat rag-tag appearance. The two had talked several times about replacing it, but May always won out, saying that it was just the right amount of worn out to be comfortable.
"And there's no argument there," Wally thought. "I could fall asleep on this couch." Realizing something, he blushed. "Which I'm actually going to have to do tonight anyway."
He thought back to earlier that day. He remembered agreeing to come to May's house to hang out as the two usually did a few times a week. Though they had already been dating for around a year, Wally still blushed whenever Brendan would wink at the two of them and say something suggestive about the fact that they would be all alone in a house together.
May would usually blush as well, but she would also retort with something witty that would cause Brendan to leave them alone. Besides, Wally would always return home before night fell.
However, the two had neglected to watch the weather report until it was too late. After a few hours, May and Wally had had to abandon their peaceful stroll through town in order to duck into May's house once the snowfall became heavy. It was then that the two turned on May's DexNav and saw how much snow was to come.
An awkward conversation had followed. May pointed out that there was no way that Wally could get home without freezing, and he reluctantly agreed. There had been a silence before May had nervously proposed that Wally stay at her house for the night. The two had blushed heavily and had looked anywhere except at each other, but Wally had eventually agreed. He remembered how, despite the shared embarrassment, May had smiled warmly at him. As always, Wally could feel the butterflies in his stomach when he had looked at her caring expression. She then said that she could take the couch, and that he could have her bed seeing as he was a guest. Wally had vehemently denied the request, saying that as a guest that was imposing, he should sleep on the couch. The two had debated for a little while before May eventually caved.
Because it was still early, the two of them had settled down on the couch to relax. Or Wally had at least. As soon as the pair sat down, May had instantly jumped back up when she realized that she had to close up the house and start the fire. Wally offered to help, but May smiled and said that she would take care of it. Seeing as he had won the sleeping arrangement argument, Wally nodded and let her continue, waiting patiently for her to settle back down again and calling his parents to inform them of the situation.
Once everything had been settled and taken care of, May had plopped herself down on the couch next to Wally, sighing lightly. Noticing that she had put a polite distance between them, Wally had swallowed nervously before he had scooted over, touching her shoulder slightly. It was funny, he realized, that the two of them had usually been in constant contact before they were together, but now that they were dating, he felt like touching was a bit more meaningful and had to have more of a context.
May had looked over at him and blushed slightly, but she had grinned nonetheless. Slowly lifting her arm, she had rested it against his shoulders, squeezing gently. It had been Wally's turn to blush then, but he still smiled back at her and settled into the couch, watching the fire burn to life.
All of this had brought them to the present. The two of them had been sitting like this for about half an hour, and Wally had become more and more relaxed until his previous thought. However, after a few moments, the earlier serenity had enveloped him once again.
"This is… nice," he thought to himself. "I mean… we have had quiet moments like these before, but sitting here with the fire and the snow outside…" He looked at May again, seeing that her expression and her gaze had not changed except for a slight softening that probably indicated contentment as well.
Sighing slightly, Wally carefully laid his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes. He concentrated on the heat radiating from the blazing fire as well as the natural body heat coming off of May. It was so comfortable and serene that he might have fallen asleep right then and there if he had not felt the slight shift of May's shoulder. He then realized that the heat that was coming off of May had intensified. Wondering what was amiss, he opened his eyes and tilted his head slightly to see May no longer looking at the fire but at him, her eyes wide and her face slightly red. Feeling self-conscious, Wally started to lift his head back up, muttering apologies.
But before he could lift his head up fully, May had squeezed his shoulders again, which made him pause. He looked into May's eyes and saw how soft her gaze had become. Then, without warning, she quickly pecked his lips with hers before pressing her forehead against his, her eyes still showing the same gentleness that he had come to love.
Feeling embarrassed yet more relaxed than he had been just moments before, Wally contented himself with staring into May's eyes, hoping that his expression would make her feel as warm and as loved as he did now.
This went on for a few minutes, almost as if the two were having an intense staring contest. However, May eventually pulled away with a chuckle, giving Wally a kiss on the nose before returning to her original position, arm even snugger around his shoulders.
Feeling a bit braver now than he had before, Wally moved his head again to rest it on her shoulder, sighing in contentment. This time however, he kept his eyes open and trained on the fire, watching the flames twist around the logs and listening to the crackles and pops that accompanied them.
He then felt May's free hand slide into the one that he had on his lap, hers a bit warmer than his. Almost unconsciously, he maneuvered his hand so that their fingers intertwined, and he gave a slight squeeze. He felt May give a squeeze in response.
The two sat like this for some time, enjoying the warm atmosphere. The rich, glowing colors of the fire dyed everything in the room a deep orange, almost like the color of the setting sun. Only a slight sound of howling wind could be heard sneaking through from the outside.
It was with this setting that Wally felt himself start to doze off. As he entered a pre-dream state, he thought about how he would be content to stay like this forever. Feeling warm and comfortable with the girl of his dreams beside him… he really couldn't ask for anything more. How she accepted him unconditionally and with open arms. How her eyes would always light up whenever they met his. How she would always show a gentleness towards him that no one else ever had the privilege of seeing. He would be eternally grateful, and he hoped that he could show her every day how much she truly meant to him.
But for now, Wally could feel his eyelids begin to drop, and realized that he was fighting sleep for no real reason. Before surrendering at last, he felt the weight of May's head coming to rest gently on top of his. He snuggled closer and closed his eyes.
& A Few Hours Later &
Wally awoke slowly, not wanting to leave the comfortable dreamland behind. A lingering sense of cuddling with May had woken him up with a smile, and he held onto that sensation for as long as he could. As he became more conscious, he realized that, while the room was still warm, the only sounds that he heard were of the muted howling winds from outside. Concentrating harder, he realized that there was no warm orange glow, but that everything was dark.
Whipping open his eyes, he saw that the fire had been extinguished, and there was not even a trace of a glowing ember. Because it was still so dark, Wally figured that he had woken up in the middle of the night. It was a habit of his. Before he had started his Pokémon journey that had essentially saved his life, he had often woken up during the night, coughing and wheezing. Though those incidents had thankfully long passed, Wally still seemed to wake up randomly throughout the night without a real reason. Perhaps he was a light sleeper. Whatever the case, he was awake now.
With the only light source now gone, Wally had trouble distinguishing anything else in the room. Because he could not focus on anything visual, and auditory sounds were already accounted for, he focused more on his body positioning, and he realized that he was lying down.
Sitting up slowly, he felt something slide off of him. He looked down and grasped the object with his hand, seeing and feeling that it was a knitted blanket that was surprisingly warm. It was then that he realized something else.
"Oh no," he thought to himself, "I must have fallen asleep on May while we were sitting together. This is… very embarrassing."
Even though he had known himself that he had started to fall asleep and had done nothing to prevent it, he could not help feeling slightly guilty and ashamed for falling asleep on his girlfriend while they had been cuddling.
"And she even draped the blanket over me and put out the fire. All without waking me up." Though he thought that he could not appreciate May any more than he already did, she would always do little things like this that would make him even more fond of her.
He looked over to where he could just make out May's bed now that his eyes were adjusting to the darkness. He saw what he believed was her form, which appeared to be a lump that was slightly rising and lowering with the motions of breathing.
Struck by some brainwave of curiosity, Wally pushed the blanket off of himself and quietly made his way over to May's bed. Once he arrived, he looked down at her face, which was as serene as it had been when they were sitting together. He smiled gently, finding her beauty even in sleep endearing. Slowly, he reached his hand over and tucked some hair behind her ear, using the opportunity to gently stroke her cheek as well.
He had almost lost himself in his movements before May shifted slightly and mumbled something incoherent. Not wanting to wake her, he lifted his hand up and dropped it down to his side. He then carefully bent down and pressed a long kiss to her cheek. He smiled slightly when he saw May's mouth curve into a grin. After a few seconds, he shook his head slightly and muttered a soft goodnight, then quietly made his way over to the couch. As he settled himself back down to return to his dreamland, Wally had one last thought:
"Not a bad way to spend our first night together."
And that's it! I hope you enjoyed this peaceful little story. Happy New Year!
