Sorry for the late update! I've been rather ill and have had a few things going on, but here's the latest chapter! Also, thank you so much for all of your reviews, I'm honestly so grateful!
Chapter 6The next morning, May had awoken with a slight yawn before she'd encouraged her pokémon through their daily training routine and stumbled her way into the shared bathroom when it was all completed. Going through her morning routine, she'd been on autopilot before she found herself climbing out of the shower. Taking her hairbrush out of her toiletries bag, May quickly brushed her hair before pulling it into its ponyta-tail. Checking her face in the mirror, she frowned at the freckles she saw, and the bags under her eyes. However, knowing that she wasn't an expert with makeup like Dawn, she didn't bother applying anything other than her daily facial cream and sunscreen.
With a soft smile, she placed everything back away and rushed out to see her friends were slowly stirring. Not waiting for them to wake, May crept out of the room as silently as she could. Still startled by how well lit the foyer was, May left a message with the Operator to inform her companions she went outside to train before she walked casually out of the base.
Stretching slightly, May enjoyed the sensation shooting through her back before she continued to walk. Humming softly, the brunette woman glanced around at the cheerful people who were smiling at her. With a brief nod of greeting, May was about to start exploring Pueltown when she felt an arm sling around her shoulder with unusual confidence.
Blinking, she turned to see Max grinning at her, 'while it's great to see you finally leaving your broken shell, sis, I've got to admit, you're not the same twelve year old who separated from Ash and Brock. Do you honestly think none of us would notice?'
'I know, Max,' May sighed as she stared into her brother's knowing gaze. She'd done her best to hide it from him, but her brother was as quick as ever. There wasn't any way he'd missed her downcast moments the day before, and she'd been foolish to think he might have.
'How long?' He frowned in his unusually deep voice. His sister grimaced, knowing he was asking about her feelings for the man who had once been her fiercest rival.
'I don't know, for as long as I can remember. Maybe since I'd met him,' she whispered, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. This conversation was long overdue, especially since Misty and Dawn had assumed her feelings, albeit, correctly. At least her brother had a right to tease her. After all, he'd been there for half of her encounters with Drew. It was a small comfort that the green haired man wasn't around to hear this awkward conversation; that would definitely have killed her.
To her surprise, she found her brother's arms engulf her in a tight hug as he let out a shaky breath.
'M-Max?' She whispered as she gingerly returned the hug, so shocked by his reaction that she did not see the brightly clad figure from the previous day hiding behind a nearby building.
'You have no idea how long I was waiting for you to admit that,' Max whispered in her ear as he pressed his forehead onto her shoulder.
'Was I that obvious?' May grimaced as she pulled away from him, trying her best to hide her pout.
'Yes, just about the only person who didn't know was you. Even Steven came to realise it after he saw the way you ogled Drew's image on that magazine with the exclusive interview,' Max chuckled as he watched his sister flush.
'Steven knew?' She squeaked, her blue eyes wide with horror. How could she even think of facing the man after she found out he knew of her deceit. She'd been convincing herself slowly that any guilt she felt was countered by his ignorance. Now, though, that argument was clearly no longer valid, and it left her feeling gutted. It had never been her intention to hurt the man.
'Yes, and he forgave you because he was doing the same,' Max chucked as he noticed his sister's horrified expression.
'What? With who?' She whispered, blinking in shock. While it was a relief to hear that her guilt was, unusually, reciprocated by the light blue haired man; she couldn't help but feel slightly affronted that he'd been seeing her whilst his heart was captured by another.
'Heard of the Champion of Sinnoh?' Max grinned back, relieved that his sister didn't seem angered by this revelation.
'Cynthia? I suppose I can see them happening. Well, I wish them all the best of luck,' May grinned at her brother, ignoring the hollowness which filled her stomach. After all, whilst she could see the two Champions being with each other, she couldn't see herself with the man she was so childishly pining after. What was it about that Oddish brain that kept her so intrigued? She couldn't figure it out.
'Don't get your hopes up, they're both extremely reserved. And you know how long it took him to admit his feelings for you,' Max chuckled as he saw the ghost of his sister's truly chipper smile return.
'Yes, though if I recall correctly it was because he thought Team Aqua and Team Magma had killed me,' May giggled, her blue eyes sparkling at the memories of her ex's horror.
'Let me guess, "it was worth it", right?' Max groaned as he hid his face in his hand.
With a cheerful giggle, May nodded.
'So how are you two, you know, coping with this strange turn of events?' Her brother frowned as he watched his sister's clear elation, no doubt a result of their reunion.
'Steven and I are fine. No, actually, we're more than fine. He's still my rock, but now also my best friend, like Brendan,' May smiled as she clasped her hands behind her back, walking beside her friend.
'And what about this Lucas guy?' The dark haired man frowned, his tone filled with an angry disapproval May hadn't heard before.
Blinking, May took a moment to digest the question before whispering, 'I suppose he's a bit like Syd. I'd want to be friends, but it probably wouldn't work out.'
'So you and Syd don't talk anymore?' Max grimaced as he watched May's gaze turn troubled as they walked closer to a hooded figure, whose face was hidden in shadows.
'No, not since he found out about Steven and myself,' May shrugged before letting out an eager gasp.
The hooded, teal figure stiffened slightly, glancing their way. Upon noticing May's eyes were glued to a nearby restaurant, the figure visibly eased their posture, apparently relieved by her easily distracted nature.
'Let me guess, you've always wanted to try Jerry's Pancakes?' Max groaned as his sister grabbed his uniform's sleeve and pulled him into the small café which was before them.
'Hi, can I have a table for two please?' May beamed at the cheerful assistant.
'Take a seat wherever you want, we'll bring the menus out to you,' the light green haired woman smiled as she took two menus from her counter.
Taking a seat in a four seater booth by the window, May barely noticed a dark pink haired woman enter the café with a soft smile. Walking towards the duo, she placed her hands in her pockets and smiled, 'Hello, May, you had me quite worried.'
'Solidad!' May gasped before jumping out of her seat and tackling the woman in a tight hug.
'I've missed you too, May,' the woman smiled, her light blue eyes softening as she wrapped an arm around her younger friend.
'How have you been?' May questioned as she ushered her friend into a seat beside her.
'Well, I've been busy, I can say that with certainty,' Solidad smiled as her gaze lingered on Max's Top Ranger uniform.
'How's the dig going?' May questioned as she gazed at her friend, an eager smile filling her lips.
'Well, Gary's been pushing us, that's for sure. He's quite the taskmaster, that man,' Solidad chuckled as the waitress arrived at their table.
'May I take your drinks, please?' The woman smiled, a notepad and pen in hand.
'I'll have a skinny mocha with two sugars please,' May asked, smiling up at the woman from her seat beside her friend.
'Long black, please,' Max smiled up at her as well, though her gaze lingered on his uniform longer than necessary.
'And for me, I'll take a flat white, thank you,' Solidad spoke calmly, waiting for the woman to disappear before turning her attention to Max, 'I hear congratulations are in order?'
'Oh, I was lucky and managed to help set out a fire in the forest,' Max chuckled nervously.
'Please, you deserved it, and you know it, lil bro! I'm so proud of you, after all, you also saved Cresellia from that Dusknoir and Claydol group, then there was the Snover stuck in that volcano, do I need to continue?' May chastised, her blue eyes glowering in an anger she didn't really feel.
'If I didn't save them, Crawford would have. Arceus knows, the man deserves to be a Top Ranger too,' Max muttered bitterly.
'And that's for Arceus to work on. Crawford isn't bitter about your promotion, so stop taking it so moodily. Besides, you've achieved much more than everyone else from your class,' May grinned at her brother, proud of his achievements.
'What about you? I hear dad's been struggling to keep up to your name when you were a Leader. Steven was taken by you for a reason,' Max grinned back, rolling his eyes as his sister poked her tongue out at him.
'Next you'll be saying that Wally is taken by me too!' May groaned, not seeing her brother's guilty expression.
'Hey, if all else fails, you could always become a Ranger too,' her brother grinned at her, noticing Solidad's bemused expression as the siblings bantered back and forth, appearing to have recovered from May's sudden appearance in Almia.
'What gives you that idea?' May questioned, clearly surprised by her brother's thoughts and unspoken praise.
'You bonded with Manaphy so easily, have a way with making your pokémon shine. Besides, does the Temple of the Sea mean anything to you? What about the mysterious events that happened in the Cave of Origin? They're mysterious because you and the League won't tell anyone about it, which makes me think that your role was more significant than you let off. Then of course there's everything that happened after it, including your secret battle with Steven. May, travelling with Ash gave us the wits we needed to get out of many an unrealistically dangerous situation. Being around Brock meant we learnt the required first aid skills for not only our pokémon, but ourselves. Surely you've noticed that?' Max questioned, noticing Solidad's wince at Brock's name, though his sister seemed as oblivious to that as her own feelings towards the chartreuse haired man years ago.
'Manaphy,' May whispered as she glanced out of the window, considering her blue prince.
'You miss him, don't you?' Max questioned, his gaze softening at her pause.
'Of course I do, every day,' May whispered as her brother took something blue out of his pocket and placed it on the table before her.
Blinking, she realised it was the bracelet Lizabeth had given her, a small bracelet made with various pieces which were called the mark of the People of the Water. She'd thought she'd lost it when she hid it in her room upon her father's first hospitalisation, when she realised she'd not be able to go back on her journey.
'Take it, if not for myself, then for Lizbeth and her family, and as a memento of Jackie and that prince of yours,' Max smiled as he held it out to his sister, his gaze unusually soft.
Blinking, she hesitantly reached for the blue bracelet, trying not to remember how few of them remained in the world. With shaky hands, she put the bracelet on her right wrist, whispering, 'All I need now is one of my bandanas and I'll be truly happy.'
'Why don't you wear a bandana anymore?' Solidad frowned, deciding she wasn't interrupting the sibling's moment to ask the question which had been plaguing her for a while.
'It's no longer a habit, I suppose,' May shrugged slightly as her brother grinned, 'we could get you a blue one, if you want? It might just match that bracelet of yours, though I think we'd need Dawn's advice on any other accessories.'
'I'd rather want my old red one over a brand new blue one,' May muttered as she plucked at her red top, reminiscing her original trainer's outfit.
'Why, to rekindle memories of your first meeting with someone?' Max teased with an evil smirk, perfectly aware of the kind of reaction his taunt would receive from his sister.
Glowering, May sent a well-aimed kick at her brother before stating, 'yes, for my first meeting my fair prince, who did you think?'
Feeling a sense of satisfaction as he winced, May's joy was short lived as the waitress came back. In a soft voice, she asked, 'may I take your order?'
'Ummm, I'll take the pecha pancakes please,' May grinned before Max glowered, 'I'll have the passho cream pancake.'
'And I'll take the pinap pancake, please,' Solidad smiled softly before handing the two menus back to the waitress.
Once she was gone, Solidad glanced between the siblings before frowning, 'so, how many people do you still talk to?'
'Well, I bumped into Brianna on the way here, and I sent her a message with my Xtransceiver contact details, though I'm not sure that counts since I haven't seen her in years. And Harley came to my 'rescue' after he was with you. Honestly though, Dawn, Misty, Serena, Iris, Ash, and Brock are the only ones I see every so often, other than Wallace, Steven, Brendan, Wally and you. Considering I see most of them maybe once or twice a year, that's not many people,' May shrugged sheepishly at the woman.
'That's more than me, which is saying something for our self-labelled recluse,' Solidad smiled down at the brunette, still taller than her, despite May's growth spurt from puberty.
'What? How many people do you talk to?' May questioned, sharing a bewildered glance with her brother.
'Well there's a few people who I work with. I think you may know of Gary, he's friends with someone called Ash, and I think it's the same Ash you travelled with. I still talk to Drew, Nando, Harley, of course but other than that, I just spend most of my time with my work,' Solidad smiled softly at her friend, her gaze not in the least diminished by the smaller group.
'I don't know if I know Gary, but Ash has so many friends from all of his travels that I kind of find it hard to keep up. Of course, you're right, as usual. You don't seem to talk to many people, but it's not quantity, but quality, that matters. How are Drew and Nando?' May questioned, hoping that her expression was neutral. The last thing she needed was for her pink haired friend to notice her nervousness about news of Drew.
'Nando is well, filling concerts with the songs he's created with his pokémon. As for Drew, he's immersed himself in work. He's been assigned a special project, though we're not supposed to know about it. I have my suspicions as to what it is, but I can't disclose that information. Before you ask if he'll be on this journey, I'm not too sure. He stated he was waiting for something, though I'm clueless as to what,' Solidad smiled, noticing May's anxiety at hearing Drew's workaholic ways. Unbeknownst to the brunette, her friend shared a knowing glance with Max, though both felt troubled as they saw May hide in her shell.
'Well, at least they're both working hard for their goals, that's what matters,' May smiled as the coffees came to their table, courtesy of the chipper green haired woman.
The rest of their meal passed by in silence, with May smiling at the waitress who brought out her pancake and eating it down without a word.
Once they were all finished, she left the café and went to find a secluded place to train, oblivious to the concerns of her companions.
I do appreciate any feedback as it helps me to improve my writing and this story :)
Thank you again for taking the time to read this!