Chapter 17

Seated on Brendan Birch's bed in the middle of his surprisingly neat room, May couldn't contain her joy to herself. With how much time he'd been spending at hers, there weren't any ramen packets or soda bottles littering the place.

She couldn't remember the last time she'd been cooped up in her room for that long, and Brendan's room was always far more interesting, and not just because of the mess.

In the corner was the sofa where Brendan had been told to sleep, though May could see from the eager glint in his eyes that he had no intention of sleeping.

Hearing a knock on the door, May glanced at Brendan, who opened it to reveal his mother, bustling around in that motherly way May knew and loved.

'May, drink this, it'll help reduce some of the pain,' Scarlett advised, placing the tincture in the bedside table.

'Thank you for looking after me,' May said, bowing slightly before drinking the concoction.

'Nonsense, we're practically family. Besides, you're always welcome here,' Scarlett beamed, seemingly oblivious as Brendan frowned at her.

Knowing Scarlett as she did, May gestured for the woman to sit on the desk chair in the room. She ignored Brendan as he gestured wildly for May not to invite his mother to stay in the room.

'How has everything been?' May asked, shifting her body to face the woman.

'Well, Orlando's been quite upset, he had no idea you were in such a state. Thank goodness Brendan had Swellow, otherwise I don't know what would have happened,' Scarlett began, adjusting the blankets on the bed.

'Poor Orlando,' May grimaced as she felt the familiar, uncomfortable guilt in her stomach.

'He was quite distraught that you had both disappeared off of Mount Chimney. We all feared for the worst, especially with your track history,' Scarlett continued, showing no indication that she would stop.

From behind her, Brendan shook his head before slipping out of the room, leaving May to talk with his mother alone.

To say that Scarlett could talk was an understatement. May had simply been smiling and nodding for so long that she'd barely registered when Brendan had slipped quietly back in the room, a pile of snacks and drinks in his arms.

'Sweetie, you shouldn't hold it against your mother, she worries about you. And, whilst she trusts Brendan, I suspect they're just being overprotective because of the state you were in when you arrived,' Scarlett said, bouncing around topics with only a loose connection to May.

Smiling, May tried not to look at Brendan as he hid the items he'd smuggled into the room.

Finding an opening, May assured the woman, 'I know, but sometimes it's nice to just be able to breathe.'

Nodding her head, Scarlett said, 'well, you were always so scared of pokémon, so we're all just used to worrying about you. Sometimes us parents forget when our kids are grown up.'

Tapping the bed, Scarlett stood up, saying, 'if you need anything, just let me know.'

Heading to the door, she stopped before sending a dark glare to her son, saying, 'Brendan, I know you snuck out to get junk food while my back was turned. I hope you remember to clean up your mess instead of expecting May to live in your filth.'

In response, Brendan opened and closed his mouth like a lost magikarp, but his mother had already snapped the door shut behind her.

Giggling, May turned her attention to Brendan, 'hey Brendan, guess what!'

'What?' Brendan asked, smiling at her eager grin.

'Privacy,' May grinned, waving her arms around like an animated tyrogue.

With a houndour's grin, Brendan rushed over to her side, his hands reaching for her as he growled, 'finally.'

Seeing the eagerness with which he was reaching for her, May hesitated, but the man's lips had found hers, kissing her with an eagerness she'd missed.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, May enjoyed the feel of Brendan's hair under her hands, his shiny gengar beanie lying on the ground where he'd dropped it ages ago.

A/N:

This will be the last chapter I upload of this mini series, however if you want more, do let me know. I'll actually miss writing Brendan and May like this though :(

For anyone interested, I've started uploading one of my original stories on Royal Road, you can find it on there under the name LSS Russell. Stories on there are free to read and I'll probably be uploading weekly :)