A/N: Written for Contestshipping Week on tumblr. I hope you enjoy these six one-shots.
Six Days and Six Minutes
~ Day One ~
It's for Beautifly
"Let's do this!"
"Right!"
The crowd cheered as the two of them made their way onto the stage. It was unprecedented. Two long-time rivals teaming up for a cooperative appeal. Rumours spun all around about how their rivalry might've been something more, which was why Drew was initially skeptical of how he and May had been matched-up as teammates in this exhibition appeal in Kalos. It smelled of news-bait, and yet, he couldn't say he didn't find the idea of teaming up with her unappealing.
Drew and May uniformly unleashed their pokeballs into the air, revealing their two partners for this dual-appeal. Beautifly and Roserade.
"Beautifly! Into the air and use stun spore!" May commanded, her voice ringing out to the crowd as they were delighted at the sight of the two pokemon and the famous two coordinators on stage at last.
Beautifly soared gracefully into the open air of the contest hall, flapping its wings with grace and poise, with sparkles of pollen and yellow spores falling from it with every motion, draping the stage in a sparkling shroud of powder that glimmered in the light.
"Roserade! Petal dance!" Drew shouted, the stun spore drifted lazily towards Roserade, and would have adverse effects on her if it hit, but this is what May and Drew had rehearsed. With both flowered arms raised, Roserade unleashed a torrent of wind and petals towards the wafting yellowed dust and it billowed upwards until it coalesced into a fine sheet far above both pokemon.
"Silver-Wind!" May cried out, preparing for the crescendo of their joint appeal.
Beautifly maneuvered beneath the wavering layer of stun spore and interspersed petals and unleashed the crescent-shaped bug-type attack into it. The waves of wind energy poured into the sheet, curving throughout until it achieved a rotation, forming what seemed to be the beginnings of an amber-coloured hurricane laced with pink petals. Beautifly persisted, pushing the attack longer than it had ever done before.
Drew knew the moment was now. He thrust his hand up and vigorously shouted his last order to Roserade, "Solar beam!"
Already knowing what was coming, Roserade had taken the liberty of beginning to charge the attack prior to the verbal command, so that only moments passed before the light at the tips of the bouquets reached critical mass. The searing beam of solar energy lit the stage and fired upwards, striking the center of the cloud and exploding in a dazzling display which parted the clouds of spores and petals, like the rays of the sun pouring through a dispersing storm.
With a few errant petals and stray clusters of powder falling around them, May, Drew, Roserade and Beautifly all took to center stage and bowed to their frantically cheering audience. They exited soon after, May heaving a sigh of relief as she finally realized they had succeeded, though her eyes had told her the same story minutes earlier.
"Afraid it wouldn't work?"
May looked up to the green-haired coordinator who had addressed her and smiled, "I was nervous… it's the first time I've done a team appeal."
Drew nodded, flicking a strand of hair out of his eyes and continuing, "Understandable. But remember, you were teamed up with me."
May glowered at Drew, "Are you saying I wouldn't have succeed if I were teamed up with someone else?"
Drew let out a light laugh, "Of course not. It just wouldn't have been as easy for you and beautifly. Speaking of…"
The two pokemon had accompanied them off stage, and beautifly flittered forward upon being addressed by Drew.
"Here, you earned this one," Drew told the pokemon, who eagerly took the rose with its proboscis and cheered happily.
"At least you had the courtesy to give the rose to Beautifly this time around," May scoffed.
"Oh… don't worry," Drew added, getting May's attention again. He hid his hand behind him and approached May, smoothly drawing out another rose as he came close to her.
May's heart skipped a beat and he held it out gently towards her. It was only after a few moments of stunned silence that she realized she had yet to actually take it. With a slightly trembling hand, she reached forward to receive the gift. Drew gently took her hand with his other, laid the stem into her palm delicately, and closed her hand around it. He gave her a soft smile and told her, "I suppose I had one to spare for you today. After all, you trained Beautifly."
Drew's hand lingered on hers and she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks and her heart pace quickening in her chest. The sweet look on his face was one that she had seen very rarely, but cherished every time she managed to glimpse it. And the fact was, she'd never seen it when he had looked at anyone else. It made her feel special in a way the rose never could. But, when combined, the gift, the look and the touch all seemed to make the world around her vanish.
The roses may have been for Beautifly before then, but now, it and everything else, was for her.