There he was. Sitting directly across from her, green head and all. He was taking a small sip from his mug of hot chocolate, and his eyes were cast down at the table. In front of him was a plate with the last crumbs of a small sandwich scattered on it, and a gently used napkin to the left.
It was so terribly normal looking that May felt her stomach churn a little bit.
They didn't talk much for the first minute. The waitress came by, and May ordered a glass of soda and a cookie, and then added a slice of chocolate cake as an afterthought. One thing that hadn't changed after three years of coordinating was her appetite.
Then, when the waiter left, Drew finally spoke.
"You're late," he said, the hint of a smirk playing at his lips. "But I sort of expected you to be, so I guess it's okay."
May smiled, relieved that he was finally making an attempt to break the ice. After all, he was the one who had arranged all of this. "Sorry," May replied. "It isn't every day I wake up to a message on the PC that says you happen to be in the same city and want to meet up for a snack." She paused, smiled, and then continued, "Actually, I was so surprised I made the effort to roll out of bed and come."
"Are you sure it wasn't just the food?" Drew teased, referring to May's choice of "snack."
"Never," she giggled. "No, really, it's good to see you. I thought you were busy trying to win some contest in Godenrod City, and I wouldn't meet up with you for another month." She glanced down at Drew's attire, which was very casual, not at all what she was used to seeing at the contest halls. "Speaking of which, what inspired this whole meet up?"
Drew shrugged. "Oh, you know, I just wanted to brag to you about how I only have two more ribbons to go until the Grand Festival." He pulled out his ribbon case and opened the blue lid. The light caught the three golden crests of the ribbons perfectly: they glinted like tiny little stars, and May felt a small tinge of jealousy when she saw the beautiful red one they had both competed for in Olivine.
Fiery instincts kicking in, May immediately pulled out her own case and replied, "Yeah? Well, I just won my third ribbon yesterday." With a push of a button, her own case popped open, revealing three just-as-shiny ribbons. Her confidence returned just by looking at those ribbons, and she smiled hugely. "Eevee was a real help. She pulled off some fantastic combinations. We had to practice this whole month to get them right."
"I know, I was there," Drew chuckled.
This caught May by surprise, but before she could answer the waitress was back with her food. As the tall blond woman set down the plate of delicious cake before her, May found it difficult to focus on the conversation again until she remembered the reason for the lingering surprise in her mind.
"You were at the contest yesterday?" she questioned, and then allowed herself the luxury of stuffing a large piece of cake in her mouth. Though not the best she had ever had (Soledad's main hobby other than coordinating was baking the occasional pastry), the chocolate did melt rather nicely on her tongue. It would pass.
"I was, believe it or not," Drew replied, smirking a bit at May's eating habits. She barely remembered to wipe the corner of her mouth with her napkin as he continued, "We're rivals; I figure it's best I know your strategies for when we happen to battle again."
May pouted in that childish way she always did, and whined, "For once I thought you actually cared about how I was doing, and then you turn it into a battle tactic. Thanks, Drew."
Said grass head smirked again, and then took another sip of hot chocolate, leaving the brunette across from him to revel in her disappointment. Then, in order to make up for it, he pulled a rose out from under the table and gave it to her. He watched with hidden pleasure when her eyes lit up a little bit and she took it from him, stroking the pretty red petals gently.
"I couldn't catch you after the contest yesterday," he explained, "which is another reason I decided to call you up this morning. I figured you could pass it on to Beautifly." It was an old excuse for the real reason he gave May the roses, but she smiled knowingly and set it down next to her cake.
"Thanks, Drew," May smiled. "That's sweet of you."
They were quiet once again after that, and May felt like there was still something missing, something important. There was another reason Drew was here, something he wasn't saying, or something he wasn't doing. Though she was fine with just sitting there stuffing her belly (it was, after all, one of her favorite past times, and she wasn't even ashamed to admit it), she also wanted to know just exactly what the itching sensation was. It was like a gravitational pull, the moon's effect on the earth's tides, just enough to make a small difference.
Finally, he spoke again. "Lately I've been thinking..."
"You do that a lot," May said. She smiled at his annoyed expression due to her interruption.
"Anyway, I've been thinking, we're rivals and everything, and we have been for what, three years now? Right, so, I think it's interesting, well, maybe not even interesting, more like weird-"
"Gee, Drew, I don't think I've ever heard you use the word 'weird' before," May giggled. "It's so unprofessional of you."
Drew couldn't help but smirk a bit at that comment. Nonetheless, he started yet again, "I just think it's weird that I could describe in great detail to someone, anyone, your battle tactics and your pokemon's strength, but I don't even know what your favorite color is."
May was caught slightly off guard. Part of her was filled with pleasure at the fact that Drew wanted to know more about her, maybe even wanted to be friends. (Can you imagine?) It was something she had been hoping for for quite a while now. The roses were a sign of somethingmore than rival or even comradeship, and she knew it would someday take its course and lead them further toward a kinder relationship. But the strange part was that she had always expected it would be her. She would be the one to bring up the topic of their friendship, or lack thereof. And here Drew was, confessing what she had been wanting for quite some time: a chance to know the other better.
That was when it really opened up to her. They had changed since they were ten, of course. But she hadn't noticed it until now. Drew's face had changed, it was more angular, less baby-ish like it used to be. He had grown a few inches, she had stayed the same height, but they both looked a little older. And then there were the personality modifications. He got a little less arrogant (well, only a little), she got a little more mature (again, only a little), and they both got a little bit...better. Kinder. Wiser.
There had been some moments of friendship despite the rivalry, of course. That one time on Mirage Island when she had saved his life and he had saved her from Team Rocket. And then there was their meeting before they both decided to travel through Johto, during which he helped her get her coordinating muse back. And when he had revealed Harely's plots to make her lose back at her first Grand Festival. But other than that, it was a lot of bantering (not quite arguing), playful insults, and, of course, roses.
And here they were, smack dab in the middle of a cafe, talking about something that had been absent long enough, and now needed to be explored. What a strange, odd thing.
May, realizing she had been staring blankly into space for at least thirty seconds, answered, "Red. But it's kind of transitioning toward blue lately." Drew raised an eyebrow, so she continued, "You implicitly asked me my favorite color, so I answered. What's yours?"
Drew smiled, catching on quickly to her game. "I don't really have a favorite."
"Really? I thought you'd love green, since, you know." She glanced, not at all discreetly, at his hair.
Drew made a face, and replied, "I hate green, actually. I wake up in the morning, look in the mirror, and tell myself I'll get it dyed some other weird color, like purple. But it doesn't ever happen."
May nearly choked on her cookie with laughter. "Gosh, Drew, I didn't know you had feelings under all that arrogance, let alone a sense of humor."
"Oh, you wouldn't believe what I have under all this arrogance." He took another sip of hot chocolate. "Anyway, my turn. If you had to have one really random, really outrageous job, what would it be? You can't be a coordinator or a trainer or anything."
May scrunched her eyebrows in concentration. "Such a deep and philosophical question," she teased. "Um...oh, I know! I would be a waitress at a noodle shop. That way I could get discounts on the food and eat all the time. Except when I would be working, of course."
"Which would be never, considering your work ethic," Drew chuckled.
"Hey! I spent all month training Eevee for that contest! If that isn't work ethic, I don't know what is!" May cried.
Many pairs of eyes turned to look at the brunette, who was leaning slightly toward Drew. May felt her cheeks turn a little red, and she waved shyly at the mass of people. They turned back around again, and the embarrassing tension broke. May slouched down, feeling very horribly awkward.
Drew, on the other hand, was chuckling profusely. "This is why we don't travel together," he teased. "You're too dramatic."
"Am not," May mumbled non-at-all defiantly. She lowered her shoulders and crossed her arms in defeat.
They settled into a comfortable silence again, and May got over the episode quickly enough that she started scarfing down food again. As it was obvious that she wasn't going to speak, Drew began talking about certain coordinators that had done well over the past month, as well as festivals to look out for. At some point in the one-way conversation he transitioned toward his own Pokemon, and then, surprisingly, himself. When he suddenly mentioned that he was thinking about going home for a bit after he won his five ribbons to see his family before the Grand Festival, May paused in her voracious eating.
"You..." she trailed off, looking for the words. It surprised her that Drew had a family. Of course he did, it would be stupid for her to think he didn't, but he had simply never mentioned them before. "You've never talked about your family until now. I was under the impression that..."
"I don't have any?"
"No, no," May said, covering up her mistake. "More that you aren't particularly fond of them."
Drew smirked a little, and then explained, "I like my family, I really do. Love them, maybe, because they are, after all, my family. It's just that I've always been a little independent. I rely on my friends," he glanced at May, and added, "and rivals, more. They're the ones who are actually here for me during this journey. My family just kind of stays at home."
"I guess I've never thought about it that way before," May said. "I feel like my family is always here for me. But, now that you say that, I haven't seen them in a really long time. Maybe I'll go home after I get my five ribbons, too. Just for a while though."
Drew's eyes flashed. "And then it's you and me at the Grand Festival. Assuming you get your other two ribbons, of course."
"Oh, you bet I will! And don't forget, Soledad and Harley ought to be there, too. It will be like our own little family reunion!"
The words triggered some feelings in the bottom of Drew's stomach, and reminded him of the reason he originally called May here. He glanced at the rose on the table, and smiled.
"You're a tough cookie, May," he commented. "But I think maybe I could tolerate you in my presence a little more often."
May giggled, and then said, "The invitation is accepted, and the feeling is mutual. As long as you give me all the food you don't eat in between battles."
"Whatever you say, May."
• • •
A/N: OH MY GOSH AGH:SLDKFJ:LSDKJF. Sorry had to get that out there. I was like "I'm gonna write a romantic one-shot between May and Drew!" And then this happened. It's okay. I'll probably do another one later. Or something. Maybe just a full-length story. Who knows.
Drew is so hard to write because you only ever see one side of him, and that's the side at the festivals, which is really arrogant and also devilishly awesome. And then trying to take that side and expand it without destroying the original character is really flippin' difficult. Anyway, in case you couldn't figure out, this takes place before the Wallace Cup, and after May leaves Ash and Co, which is why Eevee is not a Glaceon yet. SO, anyway, I hope you liked it, and please leave a review if you feel so obliged. :)