Disclaimers: Pokemon and its subsequent characters belong to Nintendo. I only own whatever OC I toss into these things, which I will try to keep to a bare minimum.
Turning Point: Contestshipping vs Hoennshipping
It was a quaint little place, cozy and quiet and away from prying eyes and ears. In a booth, three women sat, two had already given their order and were amicably chatting while the third was still studying the menu.
The waiter returned to place a sundae in front of the woman with long, dark hair tucked into a white hat. As she took up her spoon, the waiter lowered an oran sorbet before the woman with short orange hair.
"Have you decided on what you want, miss?" he asked with a friendly smile addressing the brunette.
She all but slammed the menu down and snapped, "No! I haven't! It's a very important decision so stop pressuring me!"
The waiter apologized and half-scurried half-ran away from the table, leaving the brunette's friends to deal with her outburst.
"Is something the matter, May?" the dark-haired woman asked carefully.
"Nothing! Nothing is the matter! Do you think I have a problem, Misty?" May demanded defensively.
"We've been meeting at this café for over fifteen years so Dawn and I know you always get a pecha parfait," the Cerulean Gym Leader answered. "Besides, it's obvious you weren't talking about your dessert being a very important decision."
"Then again, May does love her sweets," Dawn mused, tapping the curve of her spoon lightly against her lip in thought. "But you've been awfully quiet since we got here."
"It's nothing, you two are just reading too much into what I say," May lowered her gaze back to the menu but she was obviously not reading the listed items. Her two friends exchanged looks before Dawn snatched the laminated booklet away and signaled for the waiter to return while Misty held May's arms flat on the table.
Cautiously, the man returned, holding his pad of order slips protectively in front of his face, "R-ready to make your order?"
"She'll have a pecha parfait with extra sprinkles," Dawn supplied.
"And we'd like three glasses of leppa wine," Misty added. She gave a quick glance at May's thunderous expression and amended, "Make that three empty glasses and a whole bottle of leppa wine."
Relieved he wasn't yelled at again or had anything thrown at him, the waiter promised to be back with their order shortly.
"You have until the waiter comes back with our order to come clean, May," Misty stated. "We're all friends here-"
"And friends help each other out with their problems," Dawn finished. "C'mon May, spiiiiiiill~"
The brunette Coordinator sighed in defeat and murmured, "It's Drew and Brendan."
"Did something happen to them?" Misty gasped, leaning in closer.
"N-no! Not to them but..." at this point May's face was cheri red right to the tips of her ears. "You two know how Drew and I date on and off."
"Yeah, usually when it's Contest season. You two always seem to push each other to do your very best when you're together," Dawn sighed dreamily. "There are a ton of great Coordinators, like Robert and Solidad and of course Yours Truly, but you two tend to end up being the darlings of the news and magazines."
May simply laughed, "You can have all the paparazzi that like to hound me, Dawn. I'm sure if they take one look at Paul they won't be able to get far enough away."
"But don't you and Drew go your separate ways as soon as the Grand Festival is done?" Misty frowned.
"Yeah, we do. I mean, we both go back to our hometown to rest a bit. And then it's back to traveling to get better and hone our Coordinating skills. It's just that Drew and I don't often pick the same places we want to go to. And then Brendan always offers to travel with me."
"I guess his research would let him travel all over at his own pace," Dawn supplied.
"I heard he's already had a dissertation published in that magazine for Pokemon professors. He and Gary Oak are causing something of a buzz despite being some of the younger professors," Misty beamed then saw the questioning looks on her friends. "What? Gary may be not be a Trainer anymore but he's still one of Ash's best friends so we do talk sometimes."
"And speaking of Ash, how are you and your hubby doing?" Dawn leered, nudging Misty with an elbow.
"Hey! I am not the one who needs help," Misty pointed out, trying to steer the conversation back to May. She succeeded.
"Okay so during Contest crunch time, you've got Drew for company and when it's down time you got Brendan with you. Sounds like a great system to me!" Dawn giggled, "What's the problem?"
"Well, I've been meaning to go back to Unova for some time now. And it turns out they both were planning to go too. I don't know who to go with and if either of you tells me to go with both of them, they plan on starting out at opposite ends of the region!"
It was perfect timing on the waiter's part to arrive with May's parfait and the requested alcohol, mostly the requested alcohol, which May took a swig of before even touching her parfait.
"I still don't get the problem, May. Why is picking between Drew and Brendan such a big deal?"
The brunette chewed on her lower lip before mumbling, "Because Brendan wants me to go with him as his girlfriend. And I think Drew also said the same thing but you know he doesn't give me straight answers."
"Is that it? That's such an easy choice," Misty laughed.
"I know! You should have just asked us for help sooner," Dawn nodded sagely.
"Well I'm glad it's so easy for you two," May rolled her eyes and scooped a spoonful of her parfait into her mouth, "So who should I pick?"
"Drew," Dawn said at the same time Misty declared, "Brendan."
The two women stared at each other as if the other person had just grown an extra head.
"What? May and Drew have the most amazing chemistry on stage! Do you not watch TV?"
"May and Brendan go way back and have known each other since they were kids! And he's always been there for her whereas Drew is only around during Contests!"
"Uh, guys," May squeaked.
"Drew comes from LaRousse so of course he'd have to go back home now and again!"
"Exactly and Brendan is from Littleroot, which is a lot closer to Petalburg! And you can't beat how he's always willing to go wherever May wants to go!"
"Guys," May repeated with her face buried in her hands.
"You can't disregard the fact that Drew is why May is such a great Coordinator!"
"Hey!" May protested. While she had to agree that Drew certainly kept her on her toes, Dawn just disregarded any conscious decision the brunette ever made regarding her career.
"And you can't disregard that Brendan would fit in with May's family much easier because he's practically family already!"
"Hey!" May groaned. While it was true Norman and Caroline viewed Brendan like a second son, there was something almost incestuous to the way Misty described it.
As the argument between her two friends went on, the brunette Coordinator felt the start of a headache. Maybe a drink will help clear her head. If not one then two or three or six.
"You're just saying that because you and Ash have that known-each-other-for-forever thing!"
"And you're just saying that because you buy into the media hype!"
"Um, will there be anything else?" the waiter timidly asked, wishing he was somewhere out of the blast radius such as the next restaurant over.
"Two more orders of leppa wine," May sighed.
"I do not buy into the media hype! It's not my fault I'm up to date with the latest trends!"
"Trends? Don't you mean fads? The basics are the most important things to master because everything is built on them!"
"Er, glass or bottle?" the waiter clarified.
May stared pointedly at him, "What do you think?"
"Bottles it is."
"Admit it Dawn, you've always had a thing for Ash and that's why you picked Paul over Lucas because Paul's a Trainer!"
"Oh my Arceus, Misty, give it a rest! I admit I had the tiniest crush on Ash but that's in the past! I love Paul!"
Misty seemed to have either the best or worst sense of timing because May was mid-gulp when she asked "So who do you love, May?"
The brunette spat out the mouthful right at the approaching waiter (who was going to get a huge tip as an apology after all's said and done) holding two more bottles of leppa wine. Stiffly, he placed the two bottles on the table and marched away, silently fuming.
"Yeah, May, do you love Drew or Brendan?" Dawn piped in, seemingly immune to topic-whiplash.
"What the hell was all that earlier arguing about?" May coughed.
"Hm? Oh that's just us airing out grievances, it's no big deal!" Misty laughed, slinging an arm around Dawn's shoulder who returned the gesture.
"What really matters is that we figure out who you love."
"You should pick whoever makes you happy and makes you want to be the best you can be."
"And it should be someone who you understand and aren't afraid to be who you truly are with."
"You're describing Brendan, aren't you?" Misty insisted.
"Of course she loves Brendan but like a brother," Dawn smirked. "It's actually Drew, isn't it?"
"Well of course she loves Drew but only in the professional sense," Misty countered.
And arguments once again filled the little café. It wasn't all bad because May did eventually make a choice.
Author's Notes: I have no idea why I see Misty as a Hoennshipper and Dawn as a Contestshipper, I really don't. I also can't be the only one who can't pick between these two ships, can I? Some future chapters will be written as if May picked Brendan over Drew while others will be the other way around. Reviews are loved and thoroughly appreciated!