Chapter 66

Reaching the outskirts of Muelland, May hummed a song eagerly, trying to keep spirits high. Iris and Cilan weren't really talking to each other, Axew clinging firmly to Iris in a way May had never seen before. Travelling as they were, May was at her wit's end.

Other than try and liaise between them, she had no real option but to focus on her appeal which, frankly, wasn't anywhere near good enough.

'I'll just sign up for the contest,' May muttered, taking the first opportunity to sneak away from them and their frosty demeanour.

Seeing Iris open her mouth, May hurriedly interjected, 'I'll catch you tonight, I'll go practice some more after this.'

Without waiting for a response, May turned and hurriedly left the duo to their devices, grateful for a reprieve.

Hopefully they'd resolve whatever issues they had with each other now that she wasn't there to be an awkward third wheel. Grabbing her Xtransceiver, May unlocked it with her finger.

With a few taps on her Xtransceiver, May registered online and, with the sound of a silver wind attack, her registration was completed. Twirling her device in her hands, she headed to find an isolated part of Muelland.

Hearing her Xtransceiver chime, she glanced down to see Brawly from Dewford Town was trying to reach her.

'Hello stranger, how've you been?' May asked, bringing the device to her ear, unable to keep the eager smile from her face.

'Hey babe, not too bad. Making any waves in Almia yet?' Brawly's relaxed grin met her ears, and she could already picture him lazing on Dewford beach, lemonade in hand, a group of fans not too far away.

She might miss the relaxing beaches of Dewford, but the inevitably glares from his fans definitely made her grateful that they were communicating via Xtransceiver.

Looking up at the sky, she frowned, 'sort of? I've been too busy trying to just swim to really try and master anything.'

'Talk to me,' Brawly said, and she heard the rustle of fabric as he sat up, the sounds of people calling on the beach meeting her ears.

'Did Steven set you up to this?' May asked, her eyes narrowing. She wouldn't put it past the champion, especially with how well he knew her.

'Why would Steven want me to talk to you, babe?' Brawly asked, though his tone was far too innocent to even try and convince her.

Rolling her eyes, she barely held back the snort, 'yeah, right! You're almost as bad a liar as me!'

'Babe, I saw your appeal in Kalos. Even if he didn't ask, I would have reached out,' Brawly said, the words alone filling her with dread.

Pressing her lips together, May fidgeted with her jacket. What could she say to him? Back when she'd been gym leader, he'd heard all about Stu—Drew.

Arceus, if Drew was back in her life, she couldn't walk around calling him Stu! He'd think she'd lost it more than she already had, and Brawly would probably find the whole debacle all the more amusing.

And if Brawly found it amusing, she could only imagine how Brendan and Orlando would react.

'Babe, I'm not going to tell you what you should or shouldn't be doing… but are you sure Stu? We both know that Steven's going to treat you far better than he can. I'm not saying that because I'm mates with Steven, either. I'm friends with you both and I remember how you were back then. Stu wasn't even there for you when you needed him, he was too busy parading that girl around. Do you remember how upset you were when he brought her to Petalburg?' Brawly said, and May heard a woman's voice talking to Brawly.

'Who's that? Do you have a new girlfriend already?' May asked, twirling a pokéball in her hand, hoping to at least not have this discussion.

'No, that's just a new trainee. Though... would you be jealous if she was?' Brawly asked, his voice once again all too innocent.

Rolling her eyes, May replied, 'I don't know, should I be? Were you jealous of Brendan, Steven or Stu?'

'How could I be jealous of someone I never met?' Brawly asked, laughing eagerly, and May wondered if it was just because she'd referred to Drew as Stu.

'I don't know, I haven't met your new trainee either?' May retorted, twirling the pokéball around her fingers as she imagined him stretching languidly in the sun, a cool breeze ruffling his hair.

Oh, to be back in Hoenn and able to enjoy a nice lemonade on one of the beaches, wingull flying around, the soft sand crunching under her feet with a warmth she missed.

'You don't need to meet her to be jealous, babe,' Brawly mused, laughing lightly in her ear.

'Ditto back, babe,' May replied, putting a little bit of emphasis on the last word so he'd get the hint.

'Careful, if your boys heard you talking to me like that, they might get the wrong idea, and we both know I can't win against your ex,' Brawly laughed eagerly, the sound of water crashing on the sand meeting her ears.

Once, that statement would have made her blush and flounder, but she was very accustomed to Brawly's flirty sense of humour after how close they'd become as colleagues.

'My boys can get in line,' May muttered, looking up at the sky. It was nice, but something about it was just… different. Maybe it was the atmosphere, or something else, but it wasn't where she wanted to be.

She missed home.

'You finally admit there's a few, then?' Brawly teased, and May shook her head, letting out a light laugh.

'You know there's not,' May said, wishing he'd give her a break from the boy talk.

'Babe, you're a stunner. We both know there's a queue, and that's just what Steven and Wallace told me,' Brawly grinned before calling out instructions to someone on his side of the line.

'They talk about me?' May asked, almost dropping the pokéball in her shock.

Brawly let out a hearty laugh, saying, 'of course they do. You know how Steven is when he's talking about one of his favourite subjects.'

Frowning, May wondered what her friend meant, though he changed the topic before she could enquire.

'So, how're you going with your ribbons?' He asked, the sound of his steps hitting the sand reaching her ears as a flying type sang above her head.

Grimacing, she admitted, 'not good. I feel like I should have a new combination, but I've got nothing.'

'Babe, you're not going to find it by forcing it. Inspiration hits you like the flow of water, so just pace yourself and find the wave that's right for you. Just wait, it'll come,' Brawly assured her, though May didn't think she could just wait for inspiration to hit her out of nowhere.

'That's easier said than done,' May grimaced. Contests were so much harder than gym battles because they had an air of subjectivity to them. With a gym battle, it was all about training, strength and strategy, whereas contests had both aspects, though aesthetics was of utmost importance.

'Babe, don't be so hard on yourself. You're bound to be struggling. Just do what comes naturally and trust your pokémon to do the right thing,' Brawly grinned before slurping in her ear.

Just thinking about the lemonade he was probably holding made her mouth water.

Would they have that in Muelland?

'I hate you,' she sighed, wishing she could be on the beach next to him, enjoying the warm sun in Dewford. She missed home and would gladly put up with the icy glares from any of the gym leader's fan clubs.

'That's a lie, babe, though there's a fine line between love and hate,' he teased, though May didn't have the energy to react.

She missed being in Hoenn, in her element. Maybe she was getting too old for travelling like this, or maybe she finally realised how isolated she'd been whilst working at Rockson's.

She'd been lucky that any of her friends had travelled to her back then, let alone that they were still making the effort for her that they were.

'You ok?' The man asked, appearing to have registered something was wrong.

Sighing, she admitted, 'not really, but I will be. Just missing home.'

'I'd say come home, but we both know that's not the solution here. Who's on your team? Swap out your pokémon so you can have some of your OG's with you. Maybe their experience will help you, too?' Brawly said, his solution surprising her.

Frowning, she said, 'I might do that, but I was hoping to work on my Almia team.'

'You've got the rest of your journey for that. Right now you're missing home, and your home is missing you. You know I don't call you for no reason, babe,' Brawly explained, his voice a low murmur.

'Awww you miss me? Brawly!' May beamed eagerly, grinning at the prospect of telling Brendan.

She could already picture his reaction. He was going to flip, always wanting to protect her from Brawly's flirtatious nature. If she told him, he'd definitely be yanking his white hat off his head, and that wasn't even including his reaction if he'd heard their conversation first hand. Orlando, of course, wasn't going to be much better, but he usually reeled his frustrations in much better than his older brother did.

Suppressing a giggle, May wasn't sure Steven or Gary would appreciate her conversation with Brawly, either. The man was far too flirtatious for his own good, especially after the string of relationships he'd had after Shauna had broken his heart.

Clearing his voice, the gym leader said, 'I don't miss anyone.'

Giggling, she snorted, 'you're an awful liar.'

'So are you, so we've got that in common,' Brawly said with the most child-like defiance May had heard in years.

Laughing, she teased, 'why are you being so shy? It's fine for friends to miss each other! I miss you and everyone else too.'

'Yeah, well at least I'm not stooping to seeing your parents,' Brawly grimaced, and May's eyes narrowed as she considered who could be visiting her parents.

'Who's doing that?' May asked, once again twirling the pokéball in her hand.

'Not my wave to ride, not my story to tell, babe,' Brawly warned, that edge in his voice that told her she was pushing it.

'Come on, I'm in Almia, what am I going to do from out here?' May frowned, wishing she could poke the man and get the answer out of him.

'You? A lot. You have no idea how wrapped everyone is around your little finger,' Brawly said, completely surprising the Johto born woman.

'What do you mean by that?' May asked, capturing the pokéball to stare at the dirt ground.

'Babe… are you still as naïve as you were back then? Didn't your relationship improve your cluelessness, at least a little?' He faltered, surprising her with the disappointment in his voice.

Blinking, May's insides twisted uncomfortably as she said, 'I don't know. I mean, why would anyone do anything for me?'

'Why wouldn't they?' Brawly asked, so softly that May wasn't sure she was meant to hear.

'Babe, I can see why you're giving both Steven and Wallace a hard time. Be careful over there, especially since your boyfriend and I aren't there to save you,' Brawly warned, as someone else called something to him.

Pouting, she scowled, 'I don't have a boyfriend.'

'That's what you always say, but if you need anything, you've got an arsenal of guys who'd drop everything to help you, just pick your fighter,' Brawly grinned before saying something else to the person.

'There's girls too!' May retorted, hating that that was the best she could come up with.

Snorting, Brawly said, 'yeah, but from the way I've seen guys behave around you, I know those guys are going to be faster than those girls can get their shoes on. Who's the pretty one that has the water pokémon again?'

'Are you saying that because of a certain ex?' May asked, hoping to change the topic. She definitely doubted that Brawly was being serious.

'This has nothing to do with her. I'm saying that because I'm one of them, babe,' Brendan said, completely shocking her.

'W-what?' May asked, blinking up at nothing, her hands trembling around her Xtransceiver.

'I know we don't talk as much as we used to, but you're one of my closest friends. I'm not just talking for the league when I say I want you back in Hoenn, though I'm sure even Roxie will be happy to see you're back,' Brawly explained, appearing oblivious to the panic attack he'd almost given May.

Taking in a breath, May said, 'Brawly, I haven't been a member of the league in years.'

'Not officially,' Brawly said, his words terrifying her.

'What?' She asked, surprising herself with the edge in her voice.

'May, I saw how Steven was sending you all over Hoenn and I've been gym leader long enough to know that that wasn't normal. Admittedly, it was great seeing you as often as I did, but I'm not a fool. Add to that the tenseness you had with Steven every time the word champion was mentioned… he wronged you, babe,' Brawly grimaced, his voice barely audible over the crashing waves and laughter in the background.

'I'm sure he had his reasons,' May said, her voice quiet and lacking conviction as she returned the pokéball to her belt.

'I know he did, but that doesn't change what he did. I'm sure he's kicking himself, and not just because of your knocked out lover,' Brawly sighed, rustling some items before saying, 'let's go, Makuhita, we've got a gym to clean!'

'Babe, don't hold it against Steven. I can see it eats him up, and I know you've seen it, too. I don't remember the last time I actually saw him as happy as he was when he was with you,' Brawly continued, his voice quiet as he walked through the streets.

'He ended it because of Cynthia,' May explained, wondering why Brawly was bringing this up now.

'Is that what he told you?' Brawly chuckled, though there was no mirth in his voice.

'Let's discuss your appeal. It's got to do with pokémon, so I should be able to help out somehow, right?' Brawly said, promptly changing the topic and sending a course of relief through May.

The Johto woman definitely didn't want to be discussing Steven Stone with Brawly of all people.

With how it ended, she wasn't even sure she could talk to anyone about it, either.

A/N:

I couldn't resist adding a conversation of Brawly into this. With the way I've written him in May, Gym Leader, I really like the friendship he and May have, so I'm hoping you like it too :)