"It's ready!"
Drew's head perked up at the sound of the chipper voice. "One sec, May," he called to the kitchen. "Just leave it on the counter."
He couldn't see her face, but he had no doubt that she was rolling her eyes. With a sigh, she shouted back, "Are you sure? The whole point of hot cocoa is for it to be… you know, hot!"
"I'll be there in a moment!" he insisted, and then he turned his attention back to the task at hand. He didn't want to rush through his project, but he had not expected May to finish so soon. Red thread danced between knitting needles as his hands moved in a rhythmic pattern. The steady, repetitive motion weaved out a pattern as he toiled away. A curtain of fabric cascaded over the right arm of the chair, an ode to the amount of work that he had already completed. Taking a moment to consider his progress, he concluded that he should finish by nightfall, barring any unusual accidents.
"Drew?"
The coordinator nearly jumped out of his seat as he heard May's voice from behind him. He hunched over so that she couldn't see the material in his hands, and then he carefully tilted his head to look up at her. The brunette was peering over the top of the armchair, curiosity sparkling in her blue gaze. "Sorry, did I interrupt you?"
Fighting to suppress his exasperation and to calm his pounding heartbeat, Drew shook his head. "You're fine," he assured her. "Just… please don't bring your hot cocoa over here."
"What are you working on?" Her curiosity had overcome her need for tact, for she set her cup of cocoa on a side table and seated herself on the left arm of the chair.
Realizing that he could no longer keep this a secret from her, Drew leaned back to reveal the almost-complete red scarf in his lap. He braced himself for some teasing or a snide remark once his girlfriend discovered that he had spent so much time knitting, of all things.
"Did you make this?" Much to his surprise, her tone was full of awe and respect. "When did you learn to knit?"
The LaRousse native tried to change his position so that May couldn't see his flustered face. "Well, I learned years ago Roserade doesn't fare too well in the winter. Harsh, cold weather causes rose petals to freeze and wither. Mittens don't really work for Roserade's hands, so instead I learned how to make scarves." He spoke softly, extremely self-conscious about revealing his secret.
"That's so cool!" May blurted out immediately. Her eyes sparkled in amazement. "I never thought about that before," she admitted rather sheepishly. "That wasn't really a concern for Blaziken, but now that Venusaur is fully evolved, I should do something to protect her petals, too." Leaning forward eagerly, she rested her elbows on his knee, and she propped up her chin on her hands. "Could you teach me how to knit, too? Can we make a huge scarf for my girl?"
How could he refuse? Her request was genuine and sincere, and her intentions were pure. Not only did she not ridicule him for his hidden hobby, but rather she embraced it and wanted to partake in it as well. He leaned in a little closer to the perky brunette, smirking slightly. "It won't be easy," he warned her.
May shuffled her elbows forward so that she could bring her face closer to his. "I'm always up for a challenge," she assured him with a gentle chuckle. A mischievous grin played out across her lips as she added, "If I were too afraid to deal with difficult things, then I never would have started dating you."
Drew scoffed and sat up straight. "Yeah, I'm the difficult one."
Laughing, May lifted herself and began to walk back towards her cocoa. "By the way, I know I'm not an expert, but that scarf seems a little too big for Roserade, don't you think?"
The green-haired coordinator felt the heat rush to his cheeks all over again. "You're right," he murmured in agreement. "You are not the expert here. Trust me on this one, okay?" As nonchalantly as possible, he flicked his bangs out of his face, trying to conceal his embarrassment.
He never said he was only making scarves for Roserade, after all.