I'm going to try to finish this story before starting on any others. I have too many fics going on at once... D:

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

May heaved a small sigh of relief as she set her suitcase down on the bed, flopping onto the mattress tiredly. The trip from Hoenn to Kanto had exhausted her, enough so that the young brunette had nearly fainted from happiness when she had finally reached her destination: Vermillion City.

Or, to be more specific, the famous luxury cruiser, the S.S. Anne.

Despite the weariness taxing her body, the girl felt an energetic thrill of excitement replacing the aching tiredness in her bones. Finally, a relaxing vacation! Swimming, gourmet food, Wailord-watching, and fruit smoothies! No more worrying about contests, or responsibilities, or—

Crash!

May sat up, eye twitching. Whoever was in the room next to hers was making a terrible racket. Normally, this wouldn't have bothered her so much... However, after the long journey from Hoenn, the girl was feeling rather grumpy towards anything that might spoil her vacation.

The crashing sounds continued, prompting the coordinator to bury her head under a pillow to stifle the noise. After five agonizing minutes of this, May grabbed the nearest object, a television remote, and chucked it violently at the wall.

"Shut up over there!" she hollered, feeling a bit childish. The person next door was silent for a moment, before responding incredulously:

"May? Is that you, hon?"

May froze, body stiffening in horror. Was that who she thought it was? Oh Arceus, no…

The sound of someone banging a fist against her door snapped the girl out of her thoughts and, with a resigned sigh, she slowly made her way to the door. Taking a deep breath, she turned the handle and found herself face to face with a familiar fellow coordinator. Long purple hair streamed down his back and one fist was raised in mid-knock. May stared.

Not only was it Harley, but it was Harley who, for reasons unknown, was wearing Soledad's exact ensemble. May blinked, vaguely wondering if she was having some kind of bizarre dream. After blinking a few more times and furiously rubbing her eyes, the girl reluctantly confirmed that this was reality. She sighed inwardly. So much for having a relaxing vacation.

Harley didn't seem to mind his rival's lack of enthusiasm. On the contrary, his face lit up and he lunged forward, pulling the girl into a bone-crushing hug. May squeaked in protest as the effeminate male twirled her around, happily singing—

"—It is you! My little gingerbread cookie, I've missed you!"

May tried hard not to cry.

After Harley set her back down and halfheartedly apologized for his overenthusiastic greeting, May was surprised to find herself having a more-or-less civil conversation with her hated competitor. Harley, the brunette learned, often visited Vermillion City, due to its similarity to his hometown of Slateport, though this was his first time on the S.S. Anne.

"What about you, honey? What are you doing here?" the purple-haired man asked, absently rubbing a metal file across his manicured nails. "I'm surprised you didn't bring any of your boy-toys along."

May rolled her eyes, ignoring that last statement. "I needed a vacation," she said simply. She opened her mouth to continue, but a dull growling noise suddenly erupted from her stomach. Blushing, the girl smiled sheepishly.

"Um… Sorry, but do you have any food?" she asked hopefully. Her expression quickly changed into one of alarm as Harley seemed to produce a basket of cookies out of nowhere. With an air of delight, he pulled out two cookies, human shaped, frosted to look like—

May and Drew.

The young girl's eyes softened, which did not go unnoticed by her older rival.

"Ahh, you miss your boyfriend, don't you?" he exclaimed, grinning widely.

"W-what? He's not my b-boyfriend!" May protested, flushing. She reached up to grab the cookies, but the older coordinator held them out of her reach.

"May and Drew, sitting in a tree!" he sang, laughing cheerily. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then—Hey!"

With a stupendous effort, May suddenly leapt up and snatched one cookie, stuffing it into her mouth victoriously. Harley looked stricken.

"May! You just ate Drew!" he gasped. Holding up the remaining cookie, he began talking in a disturbingly passable imitation of May's voice:

"Oh no! How dare you eat my Drew, you monster! My one true love is gone forever! Nooooooooooo—"

The charade abruptly ended as May grabbed the other cookie from Harley and devoured it smugly. The purple-haired coordinator seemed to deflate slightly, pouting.

"You know," he said, sounding somewhat sad, "it took me a long time to frost those."

Harley wanted to spare the rest of his precious pastries from May's hunger, so he hopefully suggested that they might get something to eat at one of the S.S. Anne's restaurants. While the trip to the ship's dining area was initially uneventful, May was struck by surprise when a familiar redheaded woman walked by.

"Soledad?" the girl asked in amazement. The redhead did a double-take, her face brightening as recognition graced her features.

"May! You're here too, huh?" she exclaimed warmly. Her gaze shifted over to Harley and a nonplussed expression spread across her face.

"…Harley, why are you dressed like me?" Soledad asked finally. The male coordinator grinned, striking a dramatic pose.

"Call me Harledad, honey," he laughed cheerfully. He rushed forward again, but this time Soledad was the victim of his bear-hug. A small blush involuntarily spread across the woman's face as the purple-haired coordinator pulled her close, pressing his cheek against hers.

"We could be twins, don't you think, sweetheart? Aren't we cute together?" Harley declared, grinning impishly at May, who was unsuccessfully attempting to stifle her laughter. Soledad, unable to escape, quickly sought for a diversion.

"Harley," she suggested in a strained voice, "don't you think that Drew should know that May is here too? Why don't you go tell him?"

May felt her eyes widen in shock. Drew was here as well?

"Great idea, hon!" Harley agreed cheerfully. "After all, our two lovebirds shouldn't be without each other, right?"

Ignoring May's embarrassed sputtering, the purple-haired man finally released a relieved Soledad, dashing away with a cheery wave. The redheaded woman heaved a grateful sigh, before turning to May playfully.

"So, you and Drew, huh?" she said teasingly. May's head jerked up and the girl fixed Soledad with a withering look.

"Don't you get started on that too! Harley is bad enough, Soledad. The last thing I need is for you to help his matchmaking schemes," the young girl growled. Her eyebrows furrowed and her gaze fell to the ground.

"I… I didn't even know that Drew was here," May said quietly. The older woman smiled sympathetically at her friend, though she couldn't resist poking fun one more time:

"You and Drew should go to the ball together, don't you think?" Soledad teased.

May nearly fell on her face.

"T-there's a ball?" she stammered. "I d-didn't know that there was going to be a ball! What am I going to do? I didn't even bring a dress—"

"May, don't worry," Soledad soothed, calming the brunette as best she could. "I brought an extra dress along. It'll be a little long, but it should fit you reasonably well."

The young girl flashed a relieved, grateful smile. "You're a lifesaver, Soledad," she admitted. "How can I ever pay you back for this?"

Soledad opened her mouth to reassure her companion that friends were supposed to help each other… when a truly devious idea struck her. The red-haired woman put up one finger.

"There's only one condition, May," she said, smirking. "You have to go to the ball with Drew."

"But—"

"No buts!" Soledad said sternly. "You have to go with Drew, or else there's no deal."

May stomped her foot. "That's not an even trade," she protested, huffing. "I'll go with Drew… but only if you go with Harley."

Soledad gaped. The two coordinators shared a heated glare, before clasping hands and smiling grimly at each other.

"Deal."

"…And then, she ate the cookies! And she didn't even compliment them!" Harley cried, fake tears streaming from his eyes as a disinterested Drew looked on. "Luckily, however, I made plenty of extras! See?"

The green-haired boy looked up just in time to step back in alarm as two frosted cookies were shoved under his nose. He stared at the left cookie.

"…Is that supposed to be me?" he asked, dreading the answer. Harley nodded happily.

"Of course, hon! This one is you and this one is May!" he chirped. The purple-haired coordinator then mashed the two cookies together, making obnoxious kissing sounds.

Drew rolled his eyes and walked away, flipping back his green hair. As he passed by a decorative vase of flowers, he swiftly plucked out a rose.

A red rose.