Sapphire and Emerald

I'm just kind of cursing myself right now for not working more on "Revelation", because I only have about 2200 words on there, but I'm just kind of too lazy to use any more brain juice in order to churn out new ideas, so I'm just going to work on this little contestshippy fic right now, because I don't need much brain cells for this one. Going to be a one-shot, Contesthipping, slight mentions of Ikarishipping and Pokeshipping.

Disclaimer: I do not own the contestshipping fandom (who does, anyway?), I do not own any of the characters in this story, I don't own Pokemon…wow, there are so many things I don't own. T_T

"Hmm…what should I get?" May asked herself, standing indecisively in front of the ice cream cart. I'm starting to turn into Cynthia…she thought to herself, sweatdropping. "I know! I'll just take the daily surprise!" May said. The daily surprise was something that only this ice cream cart offered: a surprise ice cream flavour every day…and out of all the visits May had made there, the surprise was always different, never repeating the same flavour. Naturally, this feature attracted a flock of customers every day, and May was one of their most frequent customers.

"Right you are, Miss Maple," the vendor said enthusiastically. May had won the Johto Grand Festival three years ago, at the age of fourteen. Now, she lived by herself in Olivine City, having fallen in love with it when she first came to Johto. Being the Top Coordinator, she had a lot of fans, and the ice cream vendor was one of them, always greeting her with a sunny smile. Once, he had even asked her for her autograph. Now, the vendor, who was named John, gave her the daily surprise.

"What's it called?" May asked curiously, for the surprise always had a special name, too. Today, it was swirling with shades of peacock blue and chartreuse, with a little turquoise candy on top.

"Sapphire and Emerald," John told her. "The blue matches your eyes perfectly, Miss," he added. It's true, May thought, after she thanked John and paid, sitting down on a nearby bench: the azure of the blue was the exact same shade as May's own sparkling blue eyes. And the green…..

The chartreuse green was the exact same shade as the eyes and hair of someone she hadn't thought about in two years, after she had beaten him in the final stage of the Grand Festival and won the Ribbon Cup.

Drew.

She could almost see him, standing there with his cocky smile, along with his Roserade. She smiled inwardly as she recalled her nickname for him: Mr. Rose. All the roses he had given her had died and faded long ago, so May had dried them and used them as scents throughout the house: there was a vase filled with the petals on the kitchen table, a collection of them that she sometimes used when she took a bath in the Jacuzzi, a bowl of them by her bedside…they were everywhere. And somewhere along the way, roses had become her favourite flower.

She started eating the ice cream. It was just the way she liked it: sweet, but not to sweet, cold and refreshing and creamy all at the same time. The candy was hard and tasted like the way the sea breeze sometimes felt: cool and tangy, crisp but not overly brisk. When she had finished, she stood up and, suddenly craving the sea, walked down to an area of the beach that was almost never crowded: the south side of Olivine City, the short stretch of beach to the right of the lighthouse. There was a small cove there, where she could wash her hands in the clean, blue salt water and relax.

As May walked, she thought about Drew. She hadn't heard about him in years; she wondered how he was doing. It was a commonly known fact that she lived alone in Olivine City and had a job at the local Pokemon Daycare centre, taking care of the Pokemon for children. She was well paid, and anyway, the money she got from exhibition contest battles or appeals at Grand Festivals or just regular contests—once, even at the Wallace Cup, battling Wallace, was more than enough to sustain her.

However, she had no clue where he lived, or if he was still contesting. Drew was one year older than her; she was seventeen now, and he was eighteen. She had won the Ribbon Cup at fifteen, having spent almost two years in the Johto region by herself. After winning, she had gone to visit all her friends and family, and then just wandered around for a bit, revisiting all her favourite spots: the place just outside of Snowpoint City where Eevee had evolved into Glaceon, Terracotta Town, where she and Ash had won the ribbon in a tie, and even Mirage Island, to visit Rodrick and the Wynaut, among others, before finally settling down a year later in Olivine City.

May rounded the corner past the cliffs of the lighthouse with her Wartortle beside her—he loved playing in the surf—and stopped dead in her tracks. She blinked several times, as if to make sure that she wasn't seeing things. The green hair, the familiar figure, even the Masquerain that flew in circles over his head. It can't be! But it was...there was no mistaking who was now standing on the beach, overlooking the sea.

"Dr-Drew?" May asked in astonishment. His eyes widened, and he turned around and stared at her, shock written all over his face.

"May?"

Drew never would've thought that he would see May again. After losing to her in the Grand Festival, he had become a wanderer, occasionally participating in contests, just to relive some of the old nostagia, before settling down in Lacunosa Town in Unova. He had come to Olivine City on vacation—and even though he wouldn't admit it, a part of him still wanted to see May again, just to see how she was doing, and it was common knowledge that she lived in Olivine.

May stared at Drew; his hair and eyes were just the same as ever, but he was now a good few inches taller than her. He was leaner and more muscular than before, but still with the same aura of casual confidence.

Drew, on the other hand, thought May had changed rather a lot since they had last met. She was definitely taller than before, though not quite as tall as him; her brown hair was still in those pigtails, but they were longer and a darker shade of brown, hanging down to her waist at a less…poppy angle than before. Her blue eyes remained the same, the same sapphire colour as the sea. She was slimmer, willowy, and the bright halo of cheerfulness that had radiated around her was more subdued and thoughtful now.

She's really getting pretty, he thought to himself, then, as he realized what he had just thought about May, almost gasped in shock. Did I just call her pretty? Holy crap…now May was staring at him, bemused.

"Drew? Drew? What's gotten into you? Why do you almost look like there's a carvanha on your head? D-Drew? Earth to Drew…" she asked, waving her hand in front of his face to snap him out of it.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sorry, May," Drew said sheepishly, only to be surprised when May tackled him in a hug.

"Drew! I'm so happy to see you!" May shouted happily, before pulling back. "Now you really do look like there's a carvanha on your head…" she muttered.

"So, tell me Drew, how long are you going to be staying in Olivine?" May asked him curiously, as they settled down on the edge of the sand, waves lapping at their feet.

"Oh, about three months," Drew replied, offhand. "I'll be staying until fall comes, so not for a while yet.

"Good," said May, satisfied. "I want to catch up on so much with you!

They talked for the rest of the day, watching their pokemon play in the sea and on the beach. They talked about their jobs, about their pokemon, old friends and memories, until, out of the blue, Drew touched on moving away from Lacunosa Town. But why? May had asked. What's wrong with Unova? I hear Ash says it's great—he lives in Viridian City now, you know… May didn't notice the brief flash of jealousy in Drew's eyes as she talked animatedly about Ash, who was dating Misty…I'm pretty sure they're going to get engaged soon, you know...and Brock still doesn't have a girlfriend…

Drew had never liked Ash. He was too…close to May, and then there was even that time when they had battled over an argument. He didn't remember the exact details, but he knew there was something to do with May in it.

Before long, Drew and May were becoming very close. Drew had rented a small cabana on the beach, and May would often visit him there. In the beginning of July, Dawn visited along with Paul—they were dating now, too—and left after three weeks. Drew and Paul became friends very quickly. Because they're both cocky and weird…with strange hair colours…May and Dawn had joked together over dinner one night in May's apartment.

A few days after Dawn and Paul had left, May walked to the ice cream place, and when she had bought her ice cream, she found Drew waiting for her, and as he walked her home—May thought that was awfully nice and gentlemanly of him, but unnecessary all the same—he told her of his plans to move to Olivine permanently.

When it was time for Drew to leave for the ferry to Lacunosa Town, he pulled May into a hug. Don't worry, he had said. I'll be back and moved in soon. But the next day, May saw the headlines in the daily newspaper, and her legs gave out under her as she crumpled in a heap on the floor.

Ferry Bound For Lacunosa Town From Olivine City Sinks

Drew will be alright, May repeated to herself over and over. He's got his pokemon to protect him; they wouldn't let him drown.

Days passed, then turned into weeks; weeks passed, then turned into months. Nobody could figure out who survived and who didn't: the waters between Johto and Unova were treacherous, and it was unlikely that a lifeboat would've survived in the harsh waters. And when the weather grew colder, and Christmas came and went, the people were forced to believe that there were no survivors. The news hit May like a bludgeon to the chest. She fell deathly ill almost immediately, and was taken to the hospital.

May had been hospitalized for a month now, and was rapidly losing hope. The doctors are wrong. It's not my body that's broken; it's my soul. No amount of medicine will ever help me heal, she thought sadly. Suddenly, a Masquerain fluttered in through the open window, carrying a basket of roses and a card, before flying out again. Masquerain…May hardly dared to believe it. Reaching over to the card, she opened it. In Drew's familiar handwriting, it said:

Dear May,

I'm in Olivine City. I was taked to a Whirl Island by a huge whirlpool, where I figured out a way to navigate around the whirlpools that surround the islands and get to Johto.

May...I'm so sorry for causing you trouble. I understand you've been terribly sick for a month now since Christmas, and I know it's because of me. I'll go see you as soon as I can.

Love from,

Drew

May pressed the letter to her chest in relief, and just then, a knock sounded on the door.

"Come in," she called out, and the door opened to reveal none other than Drew standing there. As he smiled at her, May was taken back to the scene of June last year by the sea, where she had seen Drew for the first time in three years.

"D-d-Drew!" she gasped, and in a flash, Drew was at her bedside, smoothing her brown hair and holding her in his arms.

"I'm so sorry…" he murmured into her ear. "Look at you, you're so pale," he said. May's hands were shaking as he took them in his own, and as May reassured herself with the knowledge that he was real and solid and not a dream, she finally let loose the tears that she had been holding in for months. And as Drew wiped away her tears gently and pulled her up to meet him in a soft, deep kiss, May could almost feel her broken soul healing.

Yeah. Fluffy one-shots help everyone relax, right? Erm…Right? Review and stuff, no flames please, though you can critique away. Sorry for any overly angsty or OOC stuff. Oh, and I have no idea about the "Drew being stranded on the Whirl Islands" stuff...so...excuse the horribly unrealistic material.