"A toast!" Drake roared, thrusting his beer bottle into the air. He slammed one leg onto the table and propped himself up, grinning wildly. His team had just won a decisive victory in a boat race, although it hadn't really been a fair contest: with Drake, Watson, and Wallace, the heavyweight alliance, united together, the other side never stood a chance.
Steven couldn't help but smile ruefully. The League was foisting alcoholism onto its youngest members quite early – as far as he knew, this was May and Brendan's first time drinking. Norman was doing his best to look after his son, as well as Birch's daughter, but Brendan was now faceplanted on the table, completely passed out. May was faring a little better; she'd gotten her arms wrapped around Winona's midsection in a bear hug and didn't seem to want to let go.
Steven cocked an eyebrow at Wallace. Are you letting her steal your girl? his glance asked.
Wallace rolled his eyes at him. The Water Master seemed almost completely sober, like Steven himself. Steven had a flight to catch early in the morning, and had silently accepted the role of designated driver and mother hen for tonight. He didn't mind. It wasn't often the League got together like this, and he preferred to cherish these special moments without being under the influence of incapacitating substances.
The tipsier Trainers – Phoebe, Flannery, Brawly, Sidney, and even Watson, who despite being the heaviest of them all had managed to drink himself silly – took up Drake's cry like a mantra. Toast! Toast!
"Who should we toast to?" Flannery asked. At some point, she, too, was now standing on the table, among the dishes of their evening meal.
"Our new Champion, May," Wallace suggested.
"Excellent idea!" Flannery shot him a winning look. There it is, the Fire-type Gym Leader's heart-melting glance, Steven thought. Too bad Wallace's heart had already been stolen away by a certain other Leader's wings.
"And Steven, our other beloved Champion!" Sidney added.
"I don't know about the 'beloved' part," Phoebe retorted.
"Oh, come on!" Sidney shouted. "We all know you think he's cute." Phoebe turned an even deeper shade of red than she currently was.
Flannery's face suddenly loomed in front of Steven. She held out a hand to him. "C'mon. It's toast time." At some point, she'd grabbed May as well, who was clinging to her other arm.
"I don't know about this one. It seems like the table might collapse soon," Steven said.
"ARE YOU CALLING ME FAT!?" Flannery bellowed. For a moment, it seemed as though her teeth had transformed into fangs, and steam was escaping from the top of her head.
"Now you've done it," Winona said, elbowing Steven in the ribs.
In her crop top and jeans, Flannery's sub-24-inch waist and cutting board flat stomach were clearly visible, and Steven knew she wasn't actually offended. Despite Flannery's reputation for having a hot temper and big mouth, it took a lot to actually set her off. Now, she was just messing with her longtime friend.
"I didn't mean it that way. Gosh, I'm sorry." Steven grinned sheepishly.
"It's okay!" Flannery smiled brightly, helping Steven onto the table. He was actually worried the table might collapse, but kept those thoughts to himself.
Flannery marched them to the head of the table. Steven glanced at May. To his surprise, she seemed mostly aware of what was going on. She smiled at him. May had a special kind of smile, pure and innocent, despite everything that she'd gone through with Team Aqua and Magma. Steven had never met anyone else with that kind of smile.
Now Flannery raised both of their arms. "A toast, to our old Champion, Steven Stone, and our new young, beautiful, talented head of the Pokémon League, May Birch!" A cheer ensued that was so loud that even those who weren't intoxicated were joining in, just as loudly. May was at the center of it all, radiant.
He was watching her, so he noticed immediately when her head lolled and she tipped forward. He caught her, surprised at how little she weighed in his arms.
"May! Are you alright?" Brendan had apparently regained consciousness, his face a mask of worry.
"She's fine," Steven reassured him. "She's just had a bit too much to drink. I'll lie her down upstairs." Brendan's lips pressed into a thin line, but he nodded.
"Aww, look at the two lovebirds!" Flannery's coy voice followed Steven down the hall of his Mossdeep home. As soon as he was out of sight of the partiers, he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. I'll have to hire someone to clean this mess up, since I'll be leaving, he thought. And how many people would he need to drive home tonight?
Steven was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't notice that May's eyes had opened. "I love you," she whispered. Wallace can help with the driving, Steven thought. And what about Norman? He doesn't look too – huh? May's words registered in his mind for the first time.
"I like you too, May," he said absentmindedly. Besides the faint noises coming from the dining room downstairs, the only sound was his feet creaking against the stairs and May's breathing.
"… really? That makes me really happy," she said, her voice barely audible. He opened the door to his guest room, drew back the sheets to the king-size bed, and set her down gently. "Steven?" she asked.
"Hm?" he said, tucking her in.
"Will you hold my hand?"
He froze. She looked at him, squinting her eyes against the darkness. Her chestnut brown hair splayed out over the pillow and curled around her face. Her eyes were a bright, brilliant blue. "What's wrong?" she questioned.
Steven spoke, slowly. He didn't know why, but he was scared all of a sudden. "May… How do you feel about me?"
She closed her eyes, and a small smile came to her face. "Well, you're Steven. You helped me learn a lot about Pokémon battling when I was trying to collect the gym badges. When I found out you were the Champion, I couldn't believe that someone as busy as you would take the time to help a little girl. But I was excited, too, because I knew we would battle some day."
"May," he said quietly. He didn't want to hear the rest. But somehow, it seemed wrong to interrupt her.
She continued.
"I learned a lot about rare stones from you. You were always so excited to talk about your hobby to anyone who would listen…" She chuckled a little, as if he were the naïve, innocent one. "Do you remember when we fought together for the first time, at the Space Center?" Of course he did. She was so strong, even back then. "You were so gentle, even when you battled. I could tell why your Pokemon loved you. I couldn't believe that there was someone who was so kind to both people and Pokemon." He wished she wouldn't say that. Not when he was about to break her heart. "That's when I first started looking at you. And my feelings only grew from there."
May's eyes were open, but she wouldn't look at him. She turned onto her opposite side. With a jolt, Steven realized that she was afraid. The girl in front of him hadn't so much as flinched as she caught the legendary Pokemon Groudon, responsible for the destruction for a third of Hoenn. So why? Why did he feel like he, and he alone, had the power to shatter her into a million pieces?
You don't know what you're saying, May. You've been drinking. Except that was a lie. Alcohol might have been the cause of her confession, but it didn't negate her feelings for him. And Steven knew that the worst way he could possibly hurt her would be to treat her like a child. Although in the end, her feelings stemmed from the fact that she was only sixteen. But she was also May, and, before tonight, he had thought he would never, ever do anything to hurt her.
You've got to twist the knife before it comes out.
How many girls and women had confessed to him over the years? Steven couldn't even begin to remember. Some of them he barely knew, some he knew intimately. Sometimes the relationship could be repaired afterward, sometimes not.
May shouldn't be any different. But she was, because Steven desperately wanted to protect her smile.
"I'm sorry, but I don't return your feelings," he said, finally. May's eyes immediately filled with tears and in that moment, Steven hated himself.
"But… you said…"
He couldn't look at her anymore. "I didn't know what you were asking. What you meant."
"Why? Is there someone else?" she asked. "Is it Flannery?" Steven shook his head. There was no one else. "Am I not good enough, then?" You're beautiful, Steven thought, but there was no way she would believe those words from him anymore.
"You're sixteen," he said instead.
"Age is just a number!" she cried, defiant. "My mom and dad were born ten years apart." It was almost as if she prepared this response, as if she'd had to convince herself that it was alright to love him. He felt his heart breaking more and more.
Suddenly, he noticed a figure standing in the doorway. It was Brendan. He had likely come to check up on May, whom he cared for so dearly, but now an expression of horror was visible on his face. When he saw that Steven had noticed him, he immediately ran down the hall. So Steven had killed the dreams of two young people in one night.
You don't deserve her love, a part of him said. Of course not. She was Hoenn's savior, the gem of a girl that an entire region idolized – no, she was May. And May was strong. Eventually, she would heal and move on.
But not tonight. Tonight, she was just a sixteen-year-old girl, crying into Steven's pillow. He took her hand gently, but she snatched it away.
"Don't pity me," she said. "Please… I'd like to be alone." Without a word, Steven stood and left the room.
His back hit the door he'd just closed and he slid to the ground, legs splayed in front of him. He ran a hand into his hair and let it stay there. From behind the door, he could hear sobs.
The sun was just beginning to peek over Mossdeep's horizon as Steven read over his note one more time. Was he really happy with this? He sighed. It read short, and cold. He wondered if May would perceive the emotions he'd felt while writing it. He wanted to say so much more, but when he wrote it all down, the words felt hollow. So this was his best effort.
Steven had spent all night cleaning up the mess his friends had made of his house. May still slept soundly in his guest bedroom, the only one left. He wanted to leave before she woke up, because it already seemed like he was running away.
He didn't expect to return to Hoenn for at least two years. He never told anyone when he went on these trips. It was simply he how lived his life, and he couldn't change that for anyone. Not even her.
He drew the Pokeball from his belt and set it on the clean, empty table next to the note. Then, without so much as a backwards glance, he headed out the front door, to another place, another adventure.
To May, the note read. I've decided to do a little soul-searching and train on the road. I don't plan to return home for some time. I have a favor to ask of you. I want you to take the Pokeball on the desk. Inside it is a Beldum, my favorite Pokemon. I'm counting on you. May our paths cross again someday.
It was over. Still, a part of him wanted to linger.
A/N: Thanks so much for reading! As you probably realized, I'm not a fan of the Steven x May pairing because of the age difference. This was how I imagined things might go if May decided to confess to Steven one day. It's also the first fic I've ever published, so please let me know what you think and if I could've done anything better.