hey! ive become obsessed with hardenshipping, and the thought of brenden and may messing around with them is really cute to me. so, heres a short (probably 3 chapters?) story with the four of them. :^) Enjoy!

"You know, May..."

May perked up, upon hearing Brendan's voice. The two had been travelling around Hoenn in their spare time, just to enjoy time together. The two had come so far in their journey, from choosing their first pokemon together, to the spontaneous battles whenever running into each other, to beating the elite four. Not to mention saving the world and working against two villainous team leaders, their gangs in rivalry with eachother as they worked against both the young trainers, and each others team to try and contain the ancient pokemon, Groudon and Kyogre.

Those days were over.

It was a more peaceful time now. Thoughts still lingered from the intense rays of sun an angered Groudon gave off, or the following of heavy rain threatening to over wash the city. Brenden and May worked to overcome both Team Aqua and Team Magma, managing to defeat them, gain the red and blue orbs back, essentially, putting the ancient pokemon back to rest, and back to peace, where they couldn't harm each other-least of all the citizens of Hoenn.

"I... sometimes wonder how Archie and Maxie are doing." Brenden confessed. "What they're up to, now a days. What are they thinking. You know?"

It had been a few weeks since the two young trainers defeated them. Since then, it seemed neither teams were up to any sort of nonsense. That was good though. May furrowed her brows slightly. "Well, it's none of our concern anymore. At least they aren't up to no good anymore." May paused-she knew Brenden was right, though. Sometimes she caught herself thinking of what they must be up to now. "I think that after they realized they can't control Groudon and Kyogre... they just backed off. I mean, what is there to do for them now? They're main objective is finished. The orbs got smashed. Groudon and Kyogre aren't fighting each other anymore. They can no longer try to control them."

Brenden nodded. "You're right, but..." his words trailed off.

May tilted her head slightly. "Is something wrong? This is supposed to be good, right?"

"Well, yes. However... I've seen Maxie around lately." Brenden said.

May was shocked. "Really? You have? Well... what's up with him, then? Do you know?" Questions spilled from her lips, and Brenden chuckled slightly.

He shrugged. "To tell you the truth, May, I'm not even completely sure. I mean... before, it was fairly easy to read his into him. But most recently... when I've seen him, he just seems... worn out. He used to have so much energy..."

"That was because he was so hungry for power, though. It literally drove him." May stepped in.

Brenden nodded. "Yes, you are right. Still... it just seems... strange."

"Well, why would you care? If he's worn out, that's fine. We've done out job. He deserves to feel worn out, after everything he's done. He's a villain, Brenden."

Brenden glanced away. "That's not all, though. Maxie isn't the only one I've seen around. He doesn't concern me. In fact, he doesn't even try to talk to me-he's seen me once, and since then, he hasn't tried to do anything. He won't even look at me. That's fine, though. But... I've seen Archie around, too."

May raised a brow. "That's... odd."

"What's even odder is, he seems sad. And whenever we run into each other, he's always trying to talk to me. He's always apologizing for what he did, for putting us in danger."

That was odd, for May to hear. Archie and Maxie were polar opposites, but in this situation, they seemed so alike. They were both very greedy for power, they were both ruthless in their mission, and yet... now that May thought about it, at one point in time, perhaps it was possible to say that in a way, they redeemed themselves. Only slightly. May remembered the drought with sunny skies, and how Archie tried to help and stop Maxie. The drought could burn up the whole city. Yet the next minute, once the heavy rain hit, it was Maxie who was the one who tried to stop Archie. They were always working against each other. And after Brenden and May had defeated the ancient pokemon, they backed off completely. The young trainers hadn't heard from them since.

In all actuality, after realizing the damage they had done to both the trainers, to eachother, to the pokemon, and to everyone else residing in Hoenn, they called it a truce. Even still, though they were now no longer needing to fight against each other, they haven't spoken to each other since the incident, either. It was the pokemon, and the greed, and the power, the rivalry that had brought them together. Once all of that was over, there was just... nothing.

Brenden paused, sighing to himself. The thought of the two had been on his mind a lot recently. The young trainer took a seat on the ground, feeling his mind felt too heavy with this. In the end, they did manage to save everyone, including himself and May. That had to be worth something. The fact that Archie kept apologizing, the fact that Maxie kept his distance... Brenden knew that deep down, there was some good in both of them.

"Is everything okay, Brenden...?" May wondered, crouching down beside him.

He shrugged. "I'm just worried about them, is all. I know that they must be good, somehow... some way. It's just kinda weird to see both of them so... torn, so bored. Maybe even sad?" He rambled. May smiled slightly-Brenden had always had a big heart. He wore his heart on his sleep.

She sat next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He grabbed at her hand in his own, and they were quiet for a moment, lending each other silent support. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I cannot be the only one who thought they might've been friends at one point." Brenden said after a moment, pulling his hand away.

May tilted her head slightly, thinking about it. Well... one thing was for certain, the way they interacted, it sure seemed like they were a little more than just team mates. They talked as if they had known each other before, the aura they gave off around each other was that of a lost friendship. They certainly seemed familiar with each other. Not just because of their rivalry.

"You're right..." May nodded slowly, before a thought came to her head, making her gasp. "And what if they were even more than just friends?"

"What like... super best friends?" Brenden suggested.

May chuckled. "No, like... well... they sort of fight like a married couple. Have you ever noticed?"

Brenden glanced away for a moment to think about it. Then his eyes grew wide. He looked back over to May, who's eyes were shining-she knew that Brenden had just caught on. "No. You don't think...?" May nodded, a smile growing. His mouth dropped. "I mean... well... you're not wrong to think so, but..." He was literally speechless. 'You really think so?" May nodded estatictly.

Brenden chuckled, leaning back slightly. "Whoa. Well, they'd certainly be an interesting pair, that's for sure." He sighed. They were just so different! Yet alike at the same time. The thought was so odd for Brenden to hear. But he felt the same. He had witnessed the way the two leaders acted around each other. Archie always teased Maxie. Like, in a way that friends would. He nuggied him. Maxie would say sarcastic comments towards him, and Archie would play it off right back, only more aggressively.

The thought was starting to make more sense, now. Brenden's eyes sparkled with the thought. Had they talked, recently? Brenden thought back to all those times Archie would pitifully follow him around, moping about, apologizing, and... somewhere along those lines, Brenden recalled Archie wondering what his arch nemisis would be up to right now. He remembered the first time running into Maxie after their fued had been settled, the only time he talked to him before he started to avoid Brenden. He had spoken about how he should be happy to have soiled his and Team Aqua's plans. Brenden recalled Archie talking about Maxie, telling him tales of the battles they had, recounting in displeasure that those days seemed to have come to an end now that the orbs had been smashed. They had no purpose left to try and fight.

Brenden's mouth dropped. His eyes shimmered with hope. May's smile brightened. "What are you thinking about?" She asked.

Brenden turned to her. "I've told you they're sad, so... what if... we do something to cheer them up?" He suggested.

May seemed to be taken aback. "Well... the intention is good, Brenden, but why would we want to get involved with them again? I mean, like... are you really sure you want to do this? And how?'

Brenden laughed. "It'll be okay. I think they're too tired to try and pull anything funny. But... I was thinking. We could set them up on a blind date."

May tilted her head. "With whom?"

Brenden just grinned, wiggling his eyebrows.

May gasped. "Brenden..." A mischevious smile came to her face. His smile simply got bigger. "Are you serious about this? You want to set them up on a blind date with each other?"

"Yeah! Why not? Hey, you're the one who suggested they could be more than friends. And if they haven't spoken to each other in a while, maybe this could cheer them up."

May could only smile along. This could go either really horribly... or really well.