The clear blue sky was perfect to fly through as Brendan's Salamence whipped through the air. Brendan looked downward and watched the tiny buildings and trees from above. Finally they reached what appeared to be a large port city. Brendan pointed down at the view.
"Salamence, land on the beach, will you?" The Salamence let out a cry and dove downward, landing on the pristine, white looking sand that connected land from sea. Brendan climbed off the dragon type Pokemon and returned him to his Pokeball, taking a deep breath of fresh ocean air afterward. Brendan then turned on his heel and headed toward the town. It was a typical day in Lilycove, there were several patrons at the shopping mall and museum, people were going from place to place, just doing their normal routine. Brendan sighed happily and looked around. He faced one problem, he didn't pick a meeting spot with Wally, so Wally could've been anywhere in the town. He looked around, considering that he might be at the contest hall already. Brendan was about to take his first steps towards the contest hall until he heard a voice.
"Brendan! Over here!" Brendan quickly turned his head around and noticed Wally standing near the Cove Lily Motel. "Hey there! I'm lucky I found you, we didn't exactly pick a meeting spot." Brendan walked over to Wally and eyed him up and down. "So! Should we set up camp before the contest?" Wally laughed and shook his head.
"Actually, I sort of have a surprise. I got some money together and rented out a suite at the Cove Lily Motel. They did some renovations a few years ago, they have a pool now, an arcade, a salon and spa for Pokemon. I figured we could change things up." Brendan smiled "Wow.. that's quite a surprise, thanks Wally. We could hang out here and then when you're ready to sleep, I can sleep on the couch or fly home. Suites have couches right?"
Wally let out a chuckle, but at the same time he sounded a little disappointed. Why was he disappointed? "Yeah, actually I think they have hideabeds." Brendan grinned "Neat! Let's get up to the room then, shall we?" Wally smiled weakly and nodded "Sure thing, captain." The two trainers made their way into the hotel. Brendan followed behind Wally as they went up two flights of stairs, and then down to the end of a hallway. They both stopped at a door labeled room '325'. Wally looked down at himself and dug into his pocket until he pulled out two room keys, handing one over to Brendan. "This one's for you." Wally then used his room key to open the door. The key made the lock click right before Wally pulled the handle.
Brendan's eyes widened in awe as he took in the beauty of the room. The furniture was fresh and modern, and the view through the wide, open windows was a magnificent view of the beach, along with a boardwalk leading to it. He smiled and stretched his arms as he explored the suite, which had a living room, a small kitchen, and then a master bedroom with a bathroom. Once Brendan made it to the bedroom, he fell face first onto the bed as he took in the fresh scents of the white bedsheets.
"I guess luxury every once in awhile, is pretty sweet." Brendan sighed and laid sideways on the bed. He relaxed until the sore muscles in his back started to act up, he squinted his eyes as he gripped one of the pillows. "I guess my back isn't used to such comfort.." Brendan let out a chuckle as Wally set his bag at the end of the bed.
"Y.. you um.. want me to give you a massage?" Wally asked as he looked down at the soft brown carpet. Brendan looked up at Wally as he sensed his nervousness.
"Sure.. um.. I've never been given a massage before." Wally made a small circling motion with his hand before asking Brendan to lay on his stomach. Brendan's mind was racing, what he agreed to was totally gay. Was he indeed gay? Was he attracted to Wally? Do friends give each other massages? He then remembered what May said, should he just talk to him about his feelings now? His eyes widened as he felt Wally lift his shirt up.
"Wally.. you want to pull off my entire shirt so it's easier?" Wally shrugged "Sure." Brendan lifted up his upper body so that Wally was able to pull his red shirt and black undershirt off from over his head. Brendan then plopped his upper body back down on the bed as Wally began to straddle him. Brendan then squinted his eyes in surprise as he felt Wally's warm hands begin to rub his upper back, kneading every knot that Brendan had. Brendan couldn't help but let out a groan as his entire body and mind was feeling things that he never felt before. At an attempt at being normal, Brendan cleared his throat and tried to start a normal conversation.
"Wally, how did you learn how to do this? This massage is amazing.." Brendan muffled into his pillow but Wally still understood what he was saying.
"Well... when I was really sick, my cousin Wanda always gave me massages, and then she taught me how to do them." Wally smiled as he thought about his cousin. "Oh, did I tell you that her and her husband Derek are expecting?" Brendan lifted his head at the news. He remembered the day fresh in his mind when his Blaziken, back then a Combusken, rock smashed the remaining rock in the tunnel connecting Rustboro to Verdanturf and made it possible so that Wanda was able to see her boyfriend Derek. Now the couple was married and having a child.
"No! You didn't tell me, that's awesome. So would that make you a second uncle then?" Wally smiled and shrugged "Hell would I know, that doesn't matter though, I'm still going to help take care of the baby." Brendan let out a soft moan as Wally started to work down to his lower back.
"Do you like babies Wally? I honestly haven't been around that many babies." Wally looked up at the ceiling in thought.
"Of course I do. I loved the idea of being a dad, but for the longest time I didn't think that was an option for me. When I was born, my life expectancy was 10-12 years. Plus, I've always figured no one would want to have kids with me. No one wants a partner who's frail and weak, whether they're a man or a woman." Brendan squinted his eyebrows and gently pulled Wally off of him as he flipped himself over onto his back so that he was looking up at Wally. Brendan stared into Wally's soft gray eyes as his arm crept over Wally's shoulder and neck.
"You're not weak or frail. Sure, you're a little smaller than most and you were extremely sick when I met you, but you overcame that sickness and you became one of the best Pokemon masters I know. That's true strength, and that's why I like having you around, as a rival and friend." Wally blushed profusely at his words.
"Th.. thank you Brendan.. I.." before Brendan could let Wally finish his words he pushed Wally's head downward and pressed his lips against his for a passionate kiss. Brendan's mind was racing even faster now. He had no idea what he was doing or why he was doing it, but it just felt right. He aggressively wrestled his tongue with Wally's while Wally was still in complete shock at Brendan's reaction. Wally managed to kiss back in the best way he could, gripping a handful of Brendan's hair as he worked his tongue with his.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Brendan's Pokenav started to go off. He'd groan at the Pokenav which was on the nightstand and ignored it as he continued to kiss Wally. Wally opened his eyes, muffling into his mouth.
"Ben'an it mig' be somefing importan' mmff.." Wally reached over and grabbed the Pokenav from the nightstand as he pulled away from the kiss. He looked at the Pokenav's screen with his eyes widened. "Shit! The Pokemon Contest. It's in thirty minutes." Wally quickly climbed off Brendan and furiously dug into his bag for his contest outfit. He rushed into the bathroom to put it on as if the kiss never happened.
Brendan sighed, he enjoyed Wally's soft thin lips but unfortunately that moment came to an end and he had to focus on Wally and Gallade's contest. At this point, something was very clear to him, he needed to talk to Wally, he needed to figure out his feelings with him. Brendan was indeed attracted to Wally, but did Wally like him in return? He then replayed their first kiss in their head. He smiled and sighed as he started to daydream on the bed. All of a sudden Wally walked out of the bathroom with a black suit on and a green tie. Wally waved his arms around frantically.
"Brendan! Come on, focus!" Brendan blinked out of the daydream as he looked at Wally in his formal suit.
"You're right, you're looking good! Um..." Brendan then went through his new backpack and pulled out a white button downed shirt, putting it on quickly while he still wore the same jeans. Wally let out a small laugh.
"Your shirt isn't buttoned right." Wally walked in front of him and started to button his shirt for him until it was straightened up. The two stared into eachother's eyes, still feeling the after effects of their kiss. Brendan scratched his deep brown hair as he checked the time on his Pokenav.
"Let's go." Both boys took their Pokemon and headed outside of the hotel, running as fast as they could to the contest hall. When they got there they rushed inside and saw a very irritated looking receptionist.
"... Can I help you?" Brendan panted before looking up at the lady. "Yes... contestant number 4 is here for the next contest." Wally looked up at the receptionist with a hopeful look on his face, he hoped that he wasn't too late.
"Great, glad you're finally here. Just make your way up the stairs. Contestant 4, Wally, get to back stage." she'd then glance at Brendan "And sir, the ushers will assist you in getting a seat, though most likely you're going to have to stand in the mosh pit since most of the seats are full." Brendan nodded and followed Wally up the stairs. Before they entered the performance hall, Brendan looked at Wally and patted him on the shoulder.
"Remember our training, okay? You're both going to do very well." Wally took out Gallade's Pokeball and released him. Gallade let out a cry of excitement as he stood by both trainers.
"Oh! One more thing." Brendan pulled out his pokeblock case and took out a small yellow pokeblock. He'd wave it at Gallade "I have a treat for you!" The Gallade grinned and happily ate the yellow squared treat. Wally smiled weakly and nervously took Brendan's hand and squeezed it.
"W.. we'll talk after the contest right?" Brendan nodded, squeezing Wally's hand back before slowly letting it go. "Of course." An usher then interrupted their talk and walked in between the trainers.
"Wally! Wally, come on, the contest is about to start, we need to get you back stage!" The usher dragged Wally by the hand as he gave Brendan one last wave, his Gallade following from behind. Brendan sighed and opened the doors before him. He followed a red carpet down to where the audience was, and another usher pointed him to the mosh pit.
Brendan stood in the middle of the crowd of people which varied from new ten year old trainers to elderly men and women. The mosh pit was not pleasant, at times Brendan was mushed between two or more people and the thoughts Brendan had about Wally that raced through his mind didn't exactly help either. The lights then started to dim as the red curtain on the stage started to open and reveal the contest judges as well as the host. The host was in a sparkly blue suit with a huge smile plastered on his face.
"Welcome everyone! To tonight's Master Rank Tough Contest! Today, we have four very strong and tough Pokemon but only one will come out on top, is everyone ready to see the contestants!?" The audience cheered loudly, this host knew how to rev a crowd up. Brendan all of a sudden felt a strange poke on his right shoulder blade. He quickly turned around and saw that May was right behind him. She waved and increased the volume of her voice as the audience was still cheering.
"Hey Brendan!" Brendan could barely hear May over the crowd but waved and gestured for her to stand next to him.
"Hi May! I wasn't sure if you were going to make it or not, glad to see you!" May simply smiled and nodded as the first contestant walked on stage. '
"The first contestant of the night is Katie and her Bibarel!" The audience clapped for the Bibarel as it walked onto the stage and then moved off to the side. May and Brendan watched the contestants curiously as they all came on stage.
"And for our second contestant we have Matt and his Marshtomp!" The audience seemed to cheer louder for the first contestant by a small amount. Brendan squinted his eyes as he looked over a few men that were taller than him.
"Contestant number 3 is our one, and only! Jasmine and Steelix!" the audience clapped loudly as the Steelix walked onto the stage. Brendan raised an eyebrow.
"Huh.. that Jasmine girl looks familiar." May shrugged "Well you were born in Olivine right? She's the gym leader out there." Brendan nodded "Ah... right, I think she became gym leader a few years before my family moved to Littleroot."
"And last but not least, our fourth contestant is... Wally and Gallade!" Gallade had a great reaction from the audience, but it wasn't clear if Gallade beat Steelix or not in audience reactions. Wally stood next to Gallade on stage and quickly caught eye contact with Brendan, but the contact broke when the host began to talk again.
"Now folks, remember to vote for your favorite, may the toughest Pokemon win! It is now time for the talent round!" May turned her head to look at Brendan. "You think we should vote now or later?" Brendan shrugged. "Maybe we should vote now... I need to get out of this stuffy room for awhile anyways. This mosh pit is killing me." May nodded and started to walk back out to the lobby, Brendan following behind. Brendan and May made it down the flight of stairs to the main room where there was a large box and small paper ballots that were stacked neatly. People were already crowding around it as they stuffed their ballots into the box. Brendan and May took a place in the line that was starting to form. May formed a smirk on her face.
"So... what did you think of the hotel suite?" Brendan bunched his hands into fists as the line quickly went by. "How did you know about the hotel suite May?" Brendan growled as May bit her lip. "Well, because Wally told me about it this morning." Brendan remained silent as he casted his ballot, he then walked off to the side and allowed May to cast her ballot. Brendan took May's wrist into his hand "We need to talk now." he tugged at May until they were just outside of the contest hall.
"That is a lie, because you were in your dad's lab this morning, cleaning! You remember when we talked?" May sighed and looked down as the grass. "Okay... it was a plan that was set a long time ago, when Wally was training Gallade for this contest." Brendan groaned in anger as he kicked a nearby road sign.
"I don't think you understand what I've been going through May! For six years, I've been focused on none other but my Pokemon, putting the rest of my feelings in the back of my mind. Things were simple back then because nothing else mattered aside from being the very best and stopping the eco-terrorists from destroying the Hoenn Region. I like, and might even love Wally. When I'm around him he gives me clarity of what's important, and while Pokemon is important, being a good person and role model is important as well. If I was good at Pokemon but not a good person, I might as well just be like Maxie or Archie." Brendan sighed as he plopped down on the front lawn of the contest hall. May scratched the back of her neck nervously, she had never seen Brendan this upset in her life.
"I had feelings for Wally and I didn't have the guts to snap to reality and to actually confess how I feel. I really want to tell him so bad, but at the same time I don't want to lose him." Brendan buried his face into his knees as May crouched down to be at head level with him.
"Brendan, you're overwhelmed right now, take a deep breath. You need to get it together, Wally is in there trying to win a contest right now! And I am sincerely, really sorry, I promise that I won't hide anything, anymore about the situation. You won't lose him, he loves you too much to let go. He has suffered through the same tribulations that you have gone through. And I can assure you, when you guys talk and clear things up, that a weight will be lifted off both of your shoulders." Brendan took a deep breath, like May told him to do as he began to look towards her with a big smile.
"Really? He um... likes me back?" May nodded and took Brendan's hands as she pulled him back up to a standing position. "He does... but you'll talk to him soon, we have a contest to watch, right?" Brendan grinned and let out a small laugh. "Yeah! Let's go back inside... sorry I acted so angry." May nodded and patted him on the back. "It's okay Brendan, things happen." The two friends walked back into the contest hall and made their way back to the mosh pit to watch the rest of the contest.
The talent part of the contest had a total of five rounds. Each Pokemon took turns showing off their tough moves that they practiced with their coordinators. Finally when the fifth round was over, the host stepped onto the middle of the stage.
"Alright everyone! Now that the votes are in, and that the talent part is over, the judges will now tally the points and claim the winner! Take it away judges!" A spotlight then casted over the three judges. Wally was on the stage next to his Gallade who for the most part looked chill, despite this being the most nerve wracking part of the entire contest. An older male in a gray suit stood up from the judges tables with a few notes in his hands.
"We have a winner! In fourth place is Matt and Marshtomp!" Both the young boy and his Marshtomp looked extremely disappointed.
"In third place is Katie and Bibarel! And coming in at second place is Jasmine and Steelix! Which leads me to the winner of the master rank tough contest, Wally and Gallade! Come on up here and take your ribbon!" The entire crowd cheered as Wally walked towards the judge. The judge smiled and placed a yellow ribbon on the Gallade who let out a cry of happiness.
Soon enough, the audience started to evacuate out of the performance hall to the lobby. Once Brendan and May were in the lobby, they waited a few minutes as they stood in the middle of the sea of people who were leaving to go home. Brendan then peered up over the crowd and saw that Wally was getting an interview by a newscaster. Brendan slowly pushed his way through the crowd as May followed him.
"So tell me Wally, how does it feel to be first place with your Pokemon?" Wally laughed at the reporter as Gallade stood next to him.
"It feels great, Gallade and I put a lot of hard work into our training for contests and battle. We hope to participate again!" Wally stared straight into the camera as Brendan and May came up from behind him. The newscaster then gasped and started to turn red as she noticed Brendan.
"Wait! There's been a new development here at the contest hall, Champion Brendan is here! He was in the audience it looks like." the cameras then started to focus on Brendan as he walked over to Wally. He looked down from the flashing lights, despite being in the lime light for six years, he was still not used to the media attention. Wally forced a smile on his face and took Brendan's hand.
"Oh yeah! He's my friend, he helped me train for the contest." the newscaster grinned and looked over at her camera man "I hope you're getting this Ryan." Brendan and Wally stood in front of the camera as the newscaster asked Wally another question.
"So how long have you known the champion Wally?"
"Six years! He got me into Pokemon Training, but um... we really need to go, thank you miss! Gallade can't wait until the next contest!" With that, Wally tugged Brendan along, away from the paparazzi as May followed the two outside. As soon as the coast was clear, Wally returned Gallade to his pokeball. Sweat dripped down his cheek as he took a breath of fresh air. May and Brendan stood next to him in concern before May started to talk.
"Wally, are you okay? Do you need to sit down?" Wally looked over at May. "Nah! I'm fine, there was just... no oxygen in that crowd. Thank you for coming May." Wally walked over to May and hugged her tightly. "No problem! I really wanted to come see you. So um... I should probably leave you two be, I need to head back to Littleroot, dad is probably wondering where I am. You should give your parents a call too." Brendan nodded at May as she started to walk off. "Alright! Bye May! Have a good night." Brendan sighed as he looked at Wally.
"You um... want to head to the lighthouse or something? That tends to be a quiet place." Wally nodded down at the ground shyly. "Yeah.. sure." The two boys walked side by side the entire way in dead silence. Nothing else was heard except for the roaring waves of the sea and the chirps of small bird Pokemon. The tension was high as the boys neared the tall white lighthouse that's light looked onto the ocean. When the boys found a place next to the building, Brendan took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts.
"Wally... I just want to say first and foremost that I'm sorry I kissed you earlier today. I'm also sorry that I've acted like a total weirdo around you the entire day." Brendan sighed as he stared into Wally's eyes.
"When I'm with you, I feel like everything makes sense. Your smile, your soft gray eyes, the way you say my name... it brings me peace and happiness, like a calm to a really bad storm. I love you so much Wal..." Wally hugged Brendan tightly and pressed his lips against Brendan's as the crescent moon and stars illuminated the sky. He grabbed a handful of Brendan's dark brown hair as small tears of happiness dripped down his cheeks.
"I love you too Brendan, so very very much.." Wally clinged onto Brendan as he ran his fingers through Wally's green hair. Brendan moved his head down and whispered into Wally's ear. "You want to head back to the hotel?" Wally nodded as Brendan lifted Wally into his arms and carried him the entire way back to the suite.
Brendan carefully set Wally down on the bed before laying down with him and letting out a yawn. "Mmn.. I wish I didn't have to go home, I want to stay here with you." Wally smiled happily as he nuzzled his head into Brendan's chest.
"Then don't go, you can spend the night." Wally's smile turned into a grin as he pecked Brendan on the lips. Brendan let out a small laugh "Yeah... but then I have to head back home tomorrow." Wally shrugged as he climbed back out of the bed and started changing into a t-shirt and boxers in front of Brendan. "Don't worry about that, we'll have a lot of time together tomorrow." Brendan grinned like an idiot that just won a carnival game as he changed into a pair of sweat pants. "Yeah, you're right." Brendan then flicked off the light as the two of them climbed into bed together. Brendan yawned as he felt Wally wrap his arms around him.
"Good night Brendan, I'll see you tomorrow." and with that Brendan drifted off to sleep in pure bliss.