Island Wolf: Another foolish little installment to this - well whatever it is, in which there is fine dining, compliments and plenty of snark. Sorry it's a bit on the short side.
Disclaimer: I own nothingggg
"So, do you have any suggestions for tonight?"
May studied her reflection in the bathroom mirror, still debating on whether she should let her hair flow freely, or pin the mousy brown locks up. Huffing, she finally grabbed a few bobby pins, holding two between her teeth while she she started to pin the mass of hair up and out of her face. Castelia, beautiful city though it was, was deucedly windy with all of its skyscrapers funnelling the sea breezes and onshore winds down the streets. She was rather tired of getting a mouthful of hair every time she opened her mouth to speak.
"There's a small restaurant just off of the city centre, Kalosian cuisine if I'm not mistaken. I think you'd enjoy it."
May smiled at the sound of her travelling companion's voice, muffled by the closed door between them. She took another bobby pin out of her mouth and started working on the next part of hair. "Sounds good," she mumbled around the pin still between her teeth. "I'll be done soon, just give me a few more minutes to deal my goddamn hair."
"I'm sure it looks fine."
"Easy for you to say, bit of wind makes you look charmingly rakish – I don't look quite so attractive with my entire face covered in frizzy hair."
"Charmingly rakish? Careful, you're complimenting me again."
Laughing, she put the last bobby pin in place and opened the door. Maxie was leaning against the far wall waiting for her. He was dressed in his usual evening wear, charcoal slacks and pinstriped waistcoat over one of his many button-down shirts with his long overcoat, cut in typical Unovan style, already around her shoulders. May resisted the urge to roll her eyes, debonair as always. It made her wonder if he was always this alluring and she'd just never noticed, or if he was simply trying harder on her behalf.
The latter was an admittedly titillating thought.
It had been two days since he'd found her on the Castelian docks, but they were in no rush to leave the city – May had never seen such a bustling urban hub before and Maxie was perfectly content to be stationary on dry land for a change. She was very glad that he'd at least been here before, briefly some years ago. The maze of streets and the skyscrapers rearing up to pierce the sky made her dizzy at first sight. Still acting the perfect gentleman he'd offered her his arm and guided her through the crowds to a hotel where they could at least settle themselves for a night or so. That had led to a rather amusing conversation with the desk clerk who had immediately assumed that the pair of foreigners were a couple. The poor girl had flushed a rather impressive shade of pink when they had corrected her and ordered a room with two separate beds. The kiss on that stormy night aside they weren't really sure where they stood with one another yet and May was grateful Maxie seemed to be of like mind in that regard.
Still, the way his eyes softened ever so slightly at the sight of her made her smile.
"Now who is the charming one?" he laughed and motioned for her to turn so that he could help with her own coat. May's smile grew broader at that – the life of the travelling trainer was a rough and tumble one and she'd never really been shown such gallantry aside from Steven, but she'd never been so fond of it as she was now. Aside from their gentlemanly conduct the two men couldn't have been more different from each other. "You do look so fetching in red."
May barked another laugh at that. "You're a bit too fond of that colour you know. Those uniforms were absolutely garish."
"I prefer intimidating."
"Try ridiculous."
He huffed, feigning offence, but offered his arm to her nonetheless. She accepted, flashing him a smug smile as they left their room and headed towards the elevator. The hapless desk clerk must have been still feeling guilty about her assumption because she'd given them a rather splendid room on the upper floors of the hotel that had a grand view of the city from the large window beside the bed she had decided to occupy. May spied their reflection in the burnished brass-plated doors of the lift and found it hard to hold her own gaze. It really wasn't a wild conclusion to make.
May was rather glad that Maxie had advised her to purchase a good coat upon their arrival. Autumn wasn't far off and Unova's turn of season had proven to be quite a great deal colder than the one in Hoenn. She supposed that's what she was going to use as an excuse if he asked why she'd drawn herself so close to him. In all fairness the man radiated warmth and she was tempted to make some sort of quip regarding volcanoes that probably would have made him scowl. Instead she tried to hide her smirk behind the upturned collar of her coat, though she suspected he would notice anyway.
"You really do look prettier when you smile."
Ah, so he had noticed.
"It's hard not to around you."
That seemed to throw him off a little, but when he turned away from her to look back at the road she saw his expression of shock turn into a small smile. No more words were exchanged between them as they walked, but the silence wasn't awkward – far from it, it was comfortable and put her at ease in this strange metropolis so far from home. They came to the city centre and May smiled. This was her favourite part of Castelia, its little park a splash of greenery in amongst the spires of ebony and glass. The little sphere of nature that existed at the heart of the city reminded her of Hoenn, where the towns were more intermingled with the surrounding wilds. Buskers were preforming in the light of the streetlamps, some playing music, others dancing and preforming acts of acrobatics and magic. It was so delightfully strange to her, so new, she felt like a little girl again, striking out from Littleroot for the very first time.
The restaurant was at the far end of the park. It's decor, brick and dark wine reds with paisley accents speaking of a culture distinct from what she had seen of Unova thus far. She could smell the food, the spice pallet also completely foreign to her and smiled in anticipation. She'd heard that Kalosian food was divine and was eager to put the rumours to the test. Maxie led her inside where the maitre d' greeted them and showed them to a small table in a cozy corner of the building, leaving them to ponder over their menus.
"This place is stunning," May said as Maxie proceeded to order them a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. She scanned the menu as their waiter returned with the bottle and opened it, setting it on the table to allow it to breathe while they ordered. The dishes, however, were largely unfamiliar to her and she looked at Maxie with a sheepish smile. "Any recommendations? I'm afraid I'm a bit at a loss."
"Hmm permit me?"
"By all means."
He looked at her for a few moments and May nearly blushed under his keen gaze before he finally turned to their waiter. "Alright we will start with an order of salmon tartare, for my main course I will have the Blanquette de Veau and the lady will have Magret de Canard."
"Very good, Sir," the young man said, flashing them both a smile as he collected the menus. May rested her chin on the heel of her hand as Maxie took the liberty of pouring them both a glass of wine. She took up her glass, giving the dark red liquid a gentle swirl before taking a small sip and nodding appreciatively at the rich vintage.
"So – what on earth are they about to put in front of me?"
"Relax, I've started you off gently," he chuckled, taking a swallow of his own wine. "It's duck breast."
"And here I was expecting something wildly strange. How did you get so familiar with Kalosian cuisine?"
"After I was discharged from the military I did a lot of travelling," he replied with a shrug. "Kalos was the region I spent the most time in away from Hoenn."
"I had no idea you were so well-travelled. Is there anywhere you haven't been?"
"Castelia is the only place I've ever been to in Unova, it was just a quick stop over," he said thoughtfully. "I've never been to Sinnoh before either."
"Well maybe that should be our next stop after Unova," she suggested, tracing the rim of her glass with one finger. He seemed surprised at the prospect and for a moment she was afraid she'd over stepped her boundaries by looking so far into the future and implying that he would be in it. His surprise, however, quickly vanished, replaced by an oddly pleased look.
"A bit presumptuous on your part, but I'm flattered that you think you'd want to keep me around for so long."
"Why wouldn't I?"
He looked like he wanted to say something and then thought better of it and looked away from her, but she noticed his hand move a little close to her own. After another beat of silence he managed to look at her fully again. "May, might I be so bold as to ask you a few questions?"
"Only if you permit me the same courtesy."
"Of course," he said, nodding. "Why didn't Mr. Stone or young Mr. Birch try to stop you from leaving Hoenn?"
"Oh they did, believe me. It was a hard go to convince them and even then...well I never told them when exactly I was catching the ferry. I just – I knew they'd try to get me to stay and it took all I had to get onto that boat. If they'd have been there I think I would have lost my nerve."
"Well, I for one am glad you didn't. I am surprised though, that their company wasn't enough to get you to stay."
"And just what are you implying Maximilian?"
"Oh, I think you know."
His smile was smug and May felt her face heat up. She figured this would be brought up sooner or later...she'd been hoping for later though. "If you must know Steven and I were, ah shall we say, intimate at one point. We both agreed, however, that it wasn't going to work and put an end to it. We're still friends though."
"And Brendan Birch?"
"Far too much like a brother," she laughed, pulling a face at the prospect. Deciding that her companion looked far too pleased with himself she turned the tables. "And what about you Mr. Asher? Surely a man of your experiences has had more than a few paramours?"
"Hmm you wouldn't be wrong there," he said, his dark eyes gleaming with amusement at her boldness. "But none of them were terribly serious."
"You know it's very easy to see why that girl thought we were...together," May laughed. "This is starting to stray into date-like territory."
"I apologize."
She smiled at him and took another sip of her wine. "Don't."
Dinner was perfectly pleasant affair, even after their conversation had strayed into rather personal territory. The food had been delicious and she had to admit Maxie had read her tastes very well. The wine he'd selected had also complemented the dish nicely. She really had to give it to that man – he had exquisite taste. That thought made her smile. Yet another facet of the apparent enigma that was Maximilian Asher.
They'd taken a short walk after dinner before heading back to the hotel where she'd shed her finery for her pyjamas and had flopped into bed next to her Mightyena much to her travelling partner's amusement. Said companion was currently in the shower completing what she was beginning to assume was his nightly ritual, though she had fallen asleep before he'd gotten out last time. She heard the water shut off and rolled over in time to see the bathroom door open, lighting light slice into the room. She was not expecting, however, to see him walking out in nothing but a towel.
It certainly was pleasing to the eye.
She'd always suspected Maxie kept himself rather fit and now she had conformation of her hunch. He wasn't overly muscled, but his frame was athletically built, tall and sinewy. Letting her thoughts drift to more crude territory she was quite amused to note that the carpet apparently matched the drapes judging by the coarse smattering of hair across his chest and the rusty red line that led down from his navel, disappearing beneath the towel.
He slicked back his wet hair with one hand, resting the other on his hip. He must have caught her staring because he suddenly flashed her a fiendish smirk. "Do you see something you like Miss Maple?"
"You're such an ass," she huffed and turned over onto her back to hide her blush, but she heard him laugh as he went to fetch the loose trousers she knew he liked to sleep in. She scratched Gabriel behind the ears and smiled at the contented growl he let out at her ministrations. The canine had been none too pleased when he'd been let free in the room only to find a former enemy, for lack of a better word, shacking up with his Mistress though he'd slowly but surely started to get used to Maxie's presence – once he was certain the man had no ill intentions of course. She heard said man climb into the other bed, but she remained on her back, determined not to look at him – she was afraid of how much redder her face might turn from the plethora of naughty thoughts running through her head. Bad May, bad, bad, bad.
"Did you enjoy dinner?"
"Oh very much so. You were right, I'm definitely a fan of Kalosian cuisine."
"Then we'll have to go there after Sinnoh."
"Now who's being presumptuous?"
"Tell me I'm wrong then."
"Ass," she huffed again, but she was smiling as she rolled over to look at him. He was already facing her, she could see the sliver of moonlight coming through the gap in the drapes reflected in his dark eyes. "Of course I want to go with you."
He didn't reply, but May could tell he was smiling in the darkness. She rolled onto her back again and Gabriel crawled up to lay his head on the pillow next to her as he always did. May curled into her pokémon's side and he huffed, flicking his tongue out to lick her nose before he settled himself down further. Comfortable laying next to her pokémon and knowing that Maxie was sleeping not far away she soon drifted off into a deep, dreamless slumber.
May awoke the next morning to the sound of rain and thunder.
The sound of water pattering against the glass was soothing at first, but a bright flash and a deep growl of thunder made her flinch and Gabriel abruptly sat upright with his ears flat and a whine in his throat. A groan came from her right and she saw Maxie stirring out of the corner of her eye. May sat up and gave him an apologetic smile as she rubbed Gabriel's back, trying to soothe the canine. "Sorry, he really doesn't like thunder, freaks him out something fierce."
"It's alright, mine gets the same way," he mumbled, voice still thick with sleep. Another flash and a rumble of thunder, louder and sharper this time seemed to wake him up a little more. He threw the covers off and got out of bed, walking to the window so that he could pull back one of the curtains. It was hard to see beyond the pane of glass with the amount of water running down its face, changing the Castelian skyline into a blur of black shapes and flickering lights against a dark grey sky. "I didn't think the weather was supposed to be so foul today."
"It's pretty dreadful – oof, Gabe watch it," she said as another clap of thunder had the canine jumping up into her lap and smacking a heavy paw against her chest as he whined.
"Why not just put him into his ball?"
"That just stresses him out more. He's too used to being out with me," she sighed, holding the shaking Mightyena close so she could hold him still. "So, we've got crappy weather and a frightened puppy. How should we pass the day away?"
"Might I suggest breakfast?"
"How? I can't leave Gabe here, the poor bugger will have a fit."
"Well there's this wonderful little thing called room service..."
"Okay, okay easy on the snark," May huffed, rolling her eyes. "Fine, order something and watch this big baby while I have a shower."
"I still think you should just put him in his pokéball -"
"Tough," May said as she hefted the whinging canine into her arms and abruptly deposited him onto Maxie's bed. It was very hard on her part not to laugh – it was difficult to tell who seemed more displeased by her actions, Gabriel or Maxie. The Mightyena alternated between growling and whining as the storm continued to rage outside until eventually his fear won out and he buried his head under Maxie's pillow. May grinned triumphantly. "Now you two boys get along, I'll just be a tick."
Before he could protest further May grabbed a towel from the rack by the door and slipped into the bathroom. Once she got into the shower she hummed appreciatively as the warm water sluiced over her skin. She had to remember to turn up the heat when she got out – the room had gotten a little chilly over the course of the night and she didn't fancy sitting in the cold with wet hair. She took her time on the last rinse, not wanting to leave the cocoon of warmth. When she finally stepped out she immediately wrapped the towel around her torso, trying to fend off the chill that seemed determined to worm its way into her bones.
"Now where is that – shit," she groaned, realizing that she'd forgotten her hairbrush out in the room. Sighing she dried herself off as best she cold and pulled her pyjamas back on, hoping to keep herself a little bit warmer. She opened the bathroom door and cringed at the rush of chilled air that came in, washing over her bare arms and wet hair. "Cold, cold oh that's cold!"
"Yes, that's ah very obvious."
May grabbed her brush and looked at Maxie with a raised an eyebrow, but he seemed quite determined not to look directly at her. "What are you – oh goddammit!"
She folded her arms over her chest and felt her face heat up to an alarming degree. Ah, female physiology could be a bitch sometimes. To be fair she had failed grab a bra before heading in to shower. She fled back into the bathroom with a shriek and peered around the door at him, making sure that he couldn't see her from the neck down. Maxie was trying very hard, and failing rather spectacularly, not to laugh at her as she glared at him. "Stop laughing you ass – and turn up the damn heat!"
"Your wish is my command."
"I hate you."
"Keep telling yourself that, pointy."
"Oh come on, now you're just being rude."
"May, come here."
She hesitated for a moment before cautiously stepping out of the bathroom, arms still tightly folded over her chest as she edged closer towards him. Maxie rolled his eyes and hooked an arm around her waist, swiftly pulling her down onto the bed in one fluid motion. May was hard pressed not to lean into him, but considering their current states of undress she decided it would be a little too inappropriate. "You know you weren't nearly this embarrassed when you kissed me."
"I was really drunk."
"My point is, foolish girl, is that you don't have to be so uncomfortable around me. If we're going to be travelling together I can guarantee there will be far more awkward moments than this."
"I suppose," May sighed. "Sorry, I'm just so used to being on my own."
"That's alright. Now, let me turn up the heat...I can tell you're still cold."
"Maxie!"