Christmas Eve in Slateport City
A Contestshipping Fanfiction for Winter CS Night
by Cascadena
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It was evening, and the sky was covered in the gray fog of snow clouds. Snowfall was not incredibly unusual in the warm region of Hoenn yet it always provided much excitement for the citizens during the winter months. Yet the snow covered landscape seemed especially magical that day because it also just happened to be Christmas Eve.
A light breeze caused a trail of snow flurries to swirl past the masts of docked ships and over the weathered roofs of the buildings of Slateport City. The fountains were turned off and the central marketplace's street vendors were all gone for the season. No tourists were around this time of year, so most of the people wandering the streets were locals. While the city was most notable for its beautiful beach in the summer months, it still experienced the inevitable chill of winter, so it was much less crowded during December. Nevertheless, it was decorated with Christmas wreaths and garland on every lamppost. Most of the buildings—including the shipyard, Pokemon Center, Mart, and Contest Hall—were covered with festive strings of lights. These decorations allowed the otherwise gray and dreary seaside city to feel a bit cozier during the Holiday season.
A lone couple strolled along the sidewalk on the south end of the city. They had just exited a small waterside restaurant known for its local seafood and fancy sodapop. The empty beach was to their right and the city's lighthouse was towering ahead of them. The light layer of snow crunched satisfyingly under their boots as they approached the guardrail overlooking the gray-blue ocean. The waves rhythmically crashed against the silent beach. A few wingull flew overhead and every so often a tentacool would surface in the water.
After a moment, the girl spoke. "This is where we first met, isn't it?" She smiled sweetly as she looked over at the silhouette of her boyfriend who stood, leaning on the guardrail, beside her. Their private overlook was only illuminated by a few streetlamps, but she could still see him fairly well in the evening light.
The rotating light of the lighthouse behind the couple glinted off his emerald green eyes. "Yea…" He trailed off and then cleared his throat. "I can't believe that was thirteen years ago. We're so old, May!" He looked at his wrist and checked the time on his poketch watch. May had given it to him earlier in the evening as a Christmas gift.
The girl giggled at his comment. "Just think how far we've come since then, Drew. We've both won at least one Grand Festival now. We've traveled through Johto and Sinnoh. And we've been officially dating for…" She silently counted on her fingers. "What, at least five years now?"
Drew chuckled. "Five years". Smirking, he added, "Plus nine months, ten days"
May rolled her eyes. "Always so precise. I stopped counting individual days after our first year." She zipped up her green jacket more as a chilly wind blew past.
Drew took the initiative to place an arm around her shoulders in an effort to keep her warm. She snuggled into his side as they silently looked over the ocean waves that lapped the beach. It was surreal to see a layer of snow on the usually sandy beach, and every so often the lighthouse's rotating beacon would illuminate a stretch of ocean. The light reflected off the falling snow flurries, ocean waves, and snow covered beach. That, combined with the dimming light of the sun setting over the sea in the distance beyond the cloud cover created a dreamlike sparkling effect.
After a few minutes of standing in secluded peace together, Drew once again cleared his throat and began rummaging through his coat pocket with his free hand. "So, I bet you're wondering why I asked you to come all the way out here from Petalburg on this Christmas evening," he said coolly.
May smiled, turning to look up at him. He had grown to be a few inches taller than her during his teen years. "You know it isn't that far. There's a shortcut between Route 103 and 110 that is easy to navigate." She absently flicked a snowflake from his red scarf. "That dinner at the seafood restaurant was delicious! Thank you for that, it was a really nice Christmas gift. I'm glad I made the trip out here for that food!" She brushed a stray hair away from her face. "And to see you before Christmas, of course."
Drew smirked. "After all these years, I kind of realized that the quickest way to your heart is through your stomach, May." When she opened her mouth to object he quickly stole a kiss on her rosy cheek. It was cold from the light touch of snow flurries.
"Hmph," May pouted and shifted away from her boyfriend slightly. "Well, if I'm a glutton, that must mean you're vain, and the quickest way to your heart must be through your hair care products, Mr. 'Viewer's Pick for Hottest Male Coordinator, Three Years in a Row'" she teased, making air quotations with her fingers.
If there was one thing that hadn't changed in thirteen years, it was their love of teasing each other.
Drew smirked back, running a hand through his perfectly styled green hair. "No need to be jealous, Ms. 'Princess of Hoenn'". He said, mocking the pokemon coordinator television programs that had given each of them their esteemed titles. When she lightly punched his shoulder, he added, "You're still beautiful to me, glutton or not, Princess."
May grinned and shifted back towards Drew to embrace him fully. "What would I do without you? We're insane!" May pulled herself close to him and wrapped her arms around his torso. She kissed his jawline before softly saying into his ear, "I'm glad I got to spend Christmas Eve with you. I love you so much."
Drew stroked the ends of brown hair that emerged from her red beanie hat. "I love you too, May." He then gently pushed her shoulders back, allowing a bit of space to open up between them.
"And… I have another present for you," he said smoothly.
May raised an eyebrow. "What? But you already…" Her words trailed away as she saw Drew's expression soften incredibly. She watched as he took a deep breath and scratched the back of his head with one hand as if he was nervous.
"May… we met on that beach down there," He finally said, pointing sideways at the sand below the overlook. "So I thought that this would be the best place…" He gently placed a gloved hand on her cheek, stared into her sapphire eyes for a moment, and then reached into his pocket once more.
"Drew, what are you-?"
Before May knew what was happening, Drew was already kneeling down on one knee. She clasped her mitten covered hands over her mouth, not believing what was happening.
"May…" he spoke softly, smiling. "My Princess," he added, using her pet name that he knew irked her a little bit.
"I knew from the moment I met you on that beach that you were special. I knew from the first contest we were in together that you were full of surprises. I knew in Kanto that I loved you. I think we both know how we felt in Johto. The rest, well, you know…" He paused, gathering his next words, and May's eyes were beginning to tear up. She felt warmth returning to her cheeks. Her heart was pounding in her chest.
"This Christmas Eve has been magical and I would love to spend more Christmases together with you. In fact, I want to spend every Christmas for the rest of my life with you," Drew said. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion to May. Drew brought out, from his jacket pocket, a small red box in his right hand. It was velvet covered and had a small rose design embroidered into the lid. He opened the box with his other hand and inside the white lining laid a ring. The ring had a pair of small sculpted metal wings that were reminiscent of the wings of a beautifly. Between the wings was a small, sparkly diamond.
It was beautiful.
He grinned, looking up. "You are the love of my life. May, would you please marry me?"
May could not contain her tears of joy as she enthusiastically nodded. She squealed and then finally replied with a short, "Yes, Drew. Yes!" before tackling him with a squeeze as he stood from the pavement. They tightly hugged, laughing, for a moment before May pulled his coat collar so his face would be at her level. She placed her lips against his and Drew placed his hands on her cheeks, deepening the kiss to a more passionate level.
After a minute, Drew finally pulled away and motioned to May's hand. He slid the ring on her finger, delighted to see that it was a perfect fit. He held his own palm underneath hers as she examined the ring.
"I…I don't know what to say…It's beautiful," May said breathlessly. She looked up at Drew, and suddenly realization struck her face. "Oh my gosh…you're my fiancé now!"
He smirked and clasped his hands around hers. "Just wait until the paparazzi gets ahold of this information. They're going to have a field day!"
She giggled and looked down again at the ring and the box in Drew's hand. "So, a beautifly ring, huh? With a rose box?"
Drew rolled his eyes. "Well I couldn't just give you another rose to show my love. It had to be different."
May beamed. "You mean, you couldn't give beautifly another rose, right?"
Drew pulled her into tightly another hug and sighed. "Yeah, yeah, Beautifly, sure." He closed his eyes, taking in all the sensations of the moment with his new fiancé. "They were always for you. It's always been you. Nothing else."
May smiled into Drew's shoulder. "Merry Christmas, Mr. Rose," she whispered.
"Merry Christmas, May."
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A/N: Hello! I hope you enjoyed that little one-shot! :) I had fun writing it. I really like writing Contestshipping because they are SO CLOSE TO BEING CANON so there are so many things to go off from the anime.
Anyways, enjoy! And Merry Christmas!
-Cascadena