author's note: did a little backtracking on the games and found out that i was still completely, utterly in love with pokemon and its storylines. and a few hours ago i caught myself watching the series again like i was seven, then questioning myself: okay, alex. what the fuck. but simply put, i love these two, and or/as is a gem.

—

After fifteen and a half years of her life, May Maple came up with the just conclusion: that Brendan Birch, for what he's worth, could be considered boyfriend material.

Okay, so he was cute. She'd give him that. She definitely did not adore the way his hair was brushed loosely over the sides, or the way his face squinched when he was determined. But it would just be lying if she said he wasn't -that. Boy definitely had some spunk to him, just like any sixteen or so pubescent male that had all the other girls flocking. And May, whether she'd admit it or not, understood why.

He was cool. He had the power to talk to people and make them fall in love with him as soon as word escapes his mouth. She probably hated it the most, but he did have a snarky comeback to everything and anything.

And if she noticed something since he turned sixteen, the boy knew how to communicate. Some sort of subtle charm to his actions, the way he adjusted his hat when he talks. When did he get so good? May tries not to think about the other girls who might have noticed that about him too.

She also definitely did not miss their little moments of discomfort (May, your foot is on my crotch) or endless cycles of banter (I will literally give you a million dollars if you stop talking. Yeah, I said what I said. Shut up, Birch!) but that was enough to make her conclude that she found herself just a wee bit attracted to his smile. Just a little.

And most of all, even though she'll never admit it, he clings to her like a lifeline; a strong, maturing image of a boy who really could have gone places but chose to stick with her. She considers herself lucky of all people, and really missed all that time she could've spent with him while she was away.

Yeah. So she was kinda into him. Just kinda.

It didn't help knowing that he was going to be training with Flannery for a few months alone.

Hell, May knew Flannery. She took in her gym and got her badge from her. Flannery was fine and awesome and really pretty and it was totally cool for Brendan to train with her, right?

It didn't bother her, really, but things like that can really blow a person's self esteem off when their supposed partner chooses another girl to train with.

Because the true moral of this story, if there was meant to be one, is that it took one girl to make May realise that she was in like with Brendan Birch.

And really, from that point, there was no turning back now.

"Seriously, Brendan. I don't understand why we need to go all the way back to Fallarbor Town just so you can work on techniques you already know. I mean, don't you give Flannery a hard enough time already?"

As she suspected, a sigh from him, rolling of eyes she was all too familiar with.

Ugh.

"May, I already told you," he drawls, making May feel like she shouldn't be asking questions. She doesn't feel foolish.

"if I'm gonna go to Kanto then I need to work on Grovyle. Barely any grass types there. And if I wanted to do that, then it can't be you 'cause everybody in the world knows Blaziken will obliterate his ass."

"But isn't Flannery a fire type trainer? Won't she 'obliterate his ass' too?"

"I know," he grovels, like she was the one not making sense. "But she trains her pokemon levels that are still far below Grovyle. That way I can train him against super effectives without killing him."

Well good. So that technically meant that she was stronger than Flannery, in a way, and Brendan acknowledges that.

Still.

It wasn't like he was gone forever. She doesn't understand why she's being so mean. She has nothing at all against Flannery, and actually thinks that the girl was freaking cool.

Or maybe that was the problem. Maybe Flannery was a little too cool, in ways that could belittle her. She always thought she had the capability to exceed even the toughest gym leaders, rise above the ranks. And that alone frightened her for reasons she didn't want to acknowledge.

She huffs.

"Hear that, Tor? Stupid Brendan doesn't wanna train with us," she says, caressing her Pokeball. Brendan just rolls his eyes.

"What now?"

"Come on. You're going to be gone for all these months, and I don't know what I'm gonna do with myself without anyone to make fun of."

That's enough to make him laugh.

Suddenly he is already moving, and before she knows it, he's right in front of her, and she stumbles a little so she doesn't bump into him.

It doesn't help at all either that from the past year that she has been travelling with Ash she comes home to the not pleasant at all image of a growing Brendan, with widened shoulders and more defined (cuter) features, and she doesn't know what to do with it.

Come on, she thinks, when she feels herself starting to blush, something she caught herself doing lately. Because it wasn't like he liked her- in that way. That was tedious, even for Brendan.

But that doesn't stop her from huffing.

And that was partly it until Brendan started spouting words and it became tedious.

"What? Are you jealous or something?"

This erupts something delicate in May enough to make her recoil. She was pretty sure her blush was full on now, which sucked, because Keep it together May Maple.

"What? No. Jealous of wh- What are you talking about?"

"Nothing. I just thought you wanted to say something. No need to get so defensive," he replies, looking ahead, as if his query was nothing important. "Besides, there's an Aggronite somewhere here and I want it."

Side note.

"And next time you wanna get riled up because of your unspoken girl reasons I can't understand, then there's Wally for that."

He catches her off guard, more than any legendary could, and she hates that about him. He says something smooth and May turns shades darker.

"No," she says, poignantly. Brendan looks more amused than convinced. "I hate you. I- Brendan, why can't you just-"

Frustration. Flurrying, untainted frustration. "Ugh."

She slaps him on the chest like customary and pushes him to tall grass.

"I just hope Flannery can put up with your shit."

—

He never really knew what her deal was with Steven mother-flippin' Stone.

I mean, he was just the champion. Someday, Brendan was going to be that too, and he knew that May knew and it would make sense that she would idolise someone so strong and-

He doesn't understand. That was it. That was the main problem. The reason behind every queasy groan whenever she was too excited whenever said champion was brought up. Like that time by the fishing posts.

(Then after he gave me the mega bracelet, we flew all the way back like nothing even happened. Like, how do you even do something like that? Is it like, part of being champion or something? Or are people like Steven just born that way?)

"You talk too much," he says, even though in this situation she has been uncannily silent. It doesn't suit her.

"Did I ask?" Is her intelligent reply.

They are walking down Slateport, above the late afternoon sun. How she convinced him to get her her third snow cone of the day, he doesn't know.

"No, but, you should know. It bothers people," he says, poignantly. She doesn't answer, and ironically that bothers him even more than when she retorts.

And stops walking.

They are at the docks, and the sky is a pretty palette of pinks and teals. It is especially windy out, and he can't hear the seagulls over the frantic whipping of the wind. He takes this chance to look over her tanned features.

And that really gives him a chance to think. Because, wow, since when did May get an ass?

But on second thought, when did she get so pretty?

"You know, Brendan, remember that time you suddenly became all confident and nerdy about becoming champion on me?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't know what it is, but that's really hot.

"May," he stutters for a bit, in fear that he loses sense of his words, or worse, chokes on his own saliva. It's difficult to try not to falter especially after the compliment to his masculinity, but he hides it. "Well, at least we know what you look for in a guy."

"Shut up," she says, and punches him on the arm. He knows she's half-joking, but he still can't get the thought out of his head. "I don't know. I just thought I should tell you. Like, I know that you know that I think that Steven is the greatest person alive, but you're pretty cool."

"Thanks."

"No. I mean- You're determined, and- whenever I see you train I can't help but wonder where you get that type of motivation. It's amazing."

Wow. That's really all he can think of. Before he knows it, his gag reflex starts acting up again and he's afraid if he doesn't say anything soon he will start choking.

"Did I ask?" He attempts, to spare time for her reaction. Like he predicts, she reacts with some form of semi-violent poking and raspberries all while maintaining a perfectly ticked expression.

Then, for a second, a smile.

Because if there's one thing that Brendan realised after all of this, it's that it took just one conversation to make him realise that he was in like with May.

For reasons that he would like to look into.

He feels so, so lucky that this girl whom he earlier would have wanted to be a guy cheers for him like there's no motivation left in the world. Because she knows that he will do things, and he will go places, and he is willing to bring her along every step of the way.

He ignores her when her face turns angry and laughs when she collects herself again, folding her arms over her chest. He considers himself lucky to have a companion like her who can be pretty and determined that way, and the thought of other boys thinking the same sickens him a little bit.

But the look on her face at that moment, he can tell, is reserved for times like this. When it's just the two of them. Sometimes Brendan can't tell when he's extremely fortunate.

He amuses himself by tugging on her hair, hoping she doesn't mind, but she does (she really, really does) and responds with more aggressive yelling.

And, after a while, he finally finds a way to face her to him and say absolutely nothing. For his amusement, or maybe something else entirely.

"Birch," she immediately chokes, "you're looking at me weird."

"Right."

For a second he debates whether he should respond or not, but results to a smile. May, of course, shrugs it off as him being weird as usual.

He feels so much for this chatterbox female, and he tells himself that maybe, just maybe, he was kind of really into her.

—

So there continued their journeying.

Hoenn really was vast when it came to water, so having shared rides on Marshtomp it was (May often found herself amazingly skittish after letting go of Brendan's shoulders). It seemed like the more time they spent together after that the more giddy they've become.

At last, they are standing in front of the Sky Triangle, Brendan having made champion and May having won the Wallace Cup, neither knowing whether they were truly alive or not.

"So, this is it, Birch," she says, almost breathlessly.

He nods, face focused on the pillar; or something else entirely.

"Umm," she hums, rummaging through her bag, furrows her brows when she meets his questioning gaze.

"I'm rechecking your supplies before you kill yourself, dum-dum."

"You don't have to."

"I want to."

"Binoculars?"

"Check."

"Eighteen Hyper Potions?"

"Check."

"Max Revives? Max Ethers? Dumb hat?"

"My hat is not dumb," he says, adamantly, adjusting it for additional flair. May wants to roll her eyes.

"Whatever, Breadboy. Just… make sure to know where they are when you're up… there."

There was a certain tenor in the way she spoke, like she was choking back her words, even a little. For once, the girl's mouth is malfunctioning.

The building in front of them towered over the trees and it served in a way of mocking them of how far up they still need to go.

To be honest, he really doesn't know what he's going to do. What the hell is this giant pillar in front of him anyway?

What he doesn't expect is how she turns to him.

"Hey, I…" he almost flinches when she takes his Mega Bracelet into her hands. Sure enough, he doesn't miss the way her cheeks redden, in an almost breathless sort of way. "I'm sure you got this. You took down the Elite Four and you took down Steven and you made it. I believe in you."

It dawns on him that she is trying to be brave for him. He understands that she is trying to find the right words, maybe to make him feel like they won't die, and flushes a little. It's amusing how it contrasts to everything she is used to.

"I know," he answers, squinting enough so the sunlight doesn't blind him. His mouth opens a little by accident and he coughs when a large gust of wind leaves his tongue dry. "I just hope I don't die on you up there."

She lets go of his hand and suddenly her grip around his arm is feral. And her tone depeens.

"Brendan Birch, if you die on me up there I am going to be so extremely, amazingly angry at you."

"What are you talking about? I'll be dead by then."

"That's different," she sighs, before she turns away. She is so close he can hear her grumble. "You are so annoying."

"I heard," he answers, still struggling to ignore the turbulent grumbling in his tummy.

It's a few moments before she decides to turn to him again (like he expects.) May is so close he can hear her breathing, and he takes this chance to look up into her eyes. He hopes she doesn't notice how much he's staring at her.

"I dunno," she continues. "I just, you're going to be up there and I'll be stuck down here and I don't know if you're going to be okay or not because you're gonna be so far up and- oh."

Before May can understand what's going on, a strong pair of arms screw themselves shut around her waist.

The force of the grip takes her back, and she stumbles a little before her mouth goes dry and she fears he will lift her up.

Brendan never really was the affectionate type. She looks back on all the times she held onto him on Flygon or whenever she hugged him after a contest.

It was… new. She knew Brendan and if she knew him she knew he was never scared, and it was some unearthly force even stronger than anything they ever faced that compelled him to do this.

A change was good every once in a while.

So she hugs him back, forearms around his shoulders, with as much vigor and anxiety he tugs her with, and it pulls on her heartstrings.

"Wow," she stutters, backing away as soon as it ended. "Okay," sputtering now, she brings her fingers to her lips and scowls at him when he starts to laugh.

He looks right back at the Pillar in front of him, and suddenly everything appears just a little bit smaller.

"I think I got this now."

Doesn't matter that they're just 15-year-old kids running around trying to save the world.

Doesn't matter that they're just kids trying to summon eon-aged monsters five thousand feet above the earth's surface.

Because even if they were dying or alone or falling from a thousand feet up, they had each other.

Cause no matter what happens, you know we're in it together, Babe.

a/n: thank you for reading! i hope you love these two as much as i do. thank god gamefreak caught on :