Hey all! DarkSlash9 here, with another one-shot!

It's been quite some time since I've written one of these, and this one was written for a specific reason. It's part of a writing contest on a forum called Advancers! I won't go into specifics (partly because it's currently 3:17am and my bed is calling my name), but Advancers is a forum on Proboards for Advanceshippers. Lots of cool people are on there, as well as fanfiction authors whose pen-names you may recognize as some of the best to ever type up a pokemon story! Definitely worth checking out!

Anywho, the theme of the contest was quarantine! So here's a fun little quarantine tale for ye all!

Enjoy!

Simple Interactions at the Maples' House

[6:15pm...]

"Norman, are you sure it's alright? I mean, it's not that I'm worried about our safety, or anything like that; I literally haven't gone out in public since this whole thing began... It's more so that I just don't want to intrude-"

"Intrude?!" echoed Norman, deeming the word blasphemous. "Nonsense, Ash. There's no need for you to lock yourself away in that apartment of yours. None of us have left home either, so I can assure you we're all clean and disease free. Look, we've got ample room for one more, Max could really use the company, and Caroline isn't going to let me take no for an answer, so..."

"So...?"

"So, get your Patooty McBooty over here. Dinner's in 45 minutes, and she's cooking a meal for five, not four. Eat with us, spend the night, and then tomorrow we can make arrangements for you to pack some things and quarantine here for a couple weeks, got it?"

Having been laying in bed since the start of the phone call, Ash Ketchum sat up and looked around his studio apartment, his cell phone still pressed against his ear. Across the unswept floor lay countless variations of junk, each of them contributing to the absolute pigsty he'd crafted in his weeks of isolation. He slid his free hand down his face, letting out a silent groan; global pandemics and extroverts did not mix. He'd never considered himself one to surround themselves with filth, but alas, one tends to discover new things about themselves when faced with the crippling loneliness of solitary confinement.

"Hello? Ash? You hear me?"

"Uh, um, yeah. I hear you." stammered Ash, lamely. "Thank you, Norman. I really appreciate it. I'll shower and head over."

"Good. Try to be here before 7:00. I hope you like tacos."

"Love 'em." replied Ash, shamefully eyeing the many Taco Bell wrappers littering his floor. "And yeah, I'll be quick."

With nothing left to say, Ash hung up the phone and dragged himself out of bed. As he made his way towards the bathroom, he couldn't help but feel a certain thread of excitement woven into his mind's quilt of dread. Finally, he'd be able to converse with other human beings, in person. However, quarantine had been in effect for nearly three months already. Such a span of time only served to weaken the raven-haired young man's confidence; he'd buried his social skills away three weeks in.

Simply put, it was daunting. In Norman's house was his wife, Caroline. She was kind; Ash didn't expect much trouble conversing with her. Norman was just as minimal of a threat, since he was by far the Maple Ash had spent the most time with pre-pandemic. Max, on the other hand, would be slightly more troublesome. He was a few years younger, and he exuded a certain energy that Ash, in normal times, had trouble keeping up with for long.

As he grabbed his shower caddy, Ash let out a low, hesitant hum.

"And... lastly..." he began, closing the bathroom door.

[6:30pm...]

*knock* *knock*

"May."

...

"May. Dinner's almost ready."

...

"This'll do it... *ahem* ...Ash is coming over!"

"Who?" questioned May Maple, who had simply been ignoring Max thus far. "Who's Ash? You mean that guy that works for Dad at the gym?"

"Technically speaking, he doesn't work for Dad, he's actually just an intern shadowing him-"

"Same thing." interjected May, sitting up in her bed. "Why is he coming?"

"I dunno, and I can't say I care either. As long as he's not sick, anyway." beamed Max, from the other side of May's door. "I'm just glad I finally have someone to chill with! I'm gonna whoop his butt in Ultra Dragon Ninja Wizards Z: Melee after dinner!"

"He probably won't know how to play."

"Hah, I know!" chuckled Max, gleefully. "So yeah, you might wanna pick tonight to finally leave your room looking presentable. He's a pretty handsome fella... 19 years old, just like you... Doesn't have romaine lettuce for hair-"

"Shut up..." muttered May, returning to how she had been before Max had knocked: completely buried from the neck down in her blankets. "Just... stop talking. I'll be down in half an hour. Now go."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm goin'..." sighed Max, walking away.

Even though the entirety of their conversation had been through a closed door, May glared at said door, as if her younger brother were really visible. He'd come so close that time; so close to completing a whole conversation without annoying her. Unfortunately, such miracles did not manifest nearly as often as May would have liked. On this occasion, Max had instead condensed all the triggering content of his dialogue into the end of it, with his underhanded allusion to a certain boy with green hair.

That boy was May's ex-boyfriend, Drew.

Even two and a half months after their breakup, May could not come to terms with the abruptness in which her world had been shattered. One day, she'd been happily dating the suave, romantic boy of her dreams for nearly a year. But then, a global outbreak, two weeks, and a quick text message later, she found herself single again. And then, 8 days later, she saw Drew on Mallow Mao's Snapchat story, breaking quarantine to cuddle up and watch a movie in her house. Their faces were pressed awfully close together in the video, an act done under the guise of marveling at their shared trait of green hair. But May knew it meant more than that. She'd seen Drew eyeing Mallow on the walks they used to take around town, back when he was hers; something had probably been brewing between the two grassheads for quite some time.

"So much for "I hAve To fOCus oN mySelF riGhT NoW, tHeRe's TOo muCh gOiNG oN, MaY."" she mused, getting out of bed.

Moving like every step was a chore, May collected her shower items and made her way to the bathroom, thinking about how much she absolutely despised the color green the entire way there. However, as she entered the bathroom and set her stuff on the sink's counter, her thoughts gradually switched gears. There would be a guest at dinner, a guest she somewhat knew. That was, if several instances of awkward eye contact - and nothing more - over the previous few months before quarantine counted as knowing someone.

"Of all people..." she murmured, closing the bathroom door.

[6:50pm...]

"There he is!" boomed Norman, opening the front door. "Mr. Long, Tan, and Handsome; with a clean shave to boot! I invited you here for dinner, Ash, not to seduce my wife!"

"Good evening to you too, Norman." chuckled Ash, who had indeed shaved before coming.

The brown-eyed intern had chosen a simple outfit: black jeans, black sneakers, and a green, collared shirt. Neither too formal nor too casual, a fit that couldn't possibly work against him in any conceivable way.

"You're just in time, as always." noted Norman, moving aside so Ash could enter the house. "Caroline's just about done with the food, you can wait in the living room with Max until it's ready."

At Norman's direction, Ash made his way to the living room. Sure enough, Max was there, sitting on the couch. The 14 year-old seemed to have been waiting for him, as he was already facing the room's entrance. Ash opened his mouth to greet the younger teen, but found himself beaten to the punch.

"'Sup, Z-face?!" inquired Max, grinning.

"This freakin' kid..." thought Ash, rolling his eyes. "Hey Max, how've you been?"

"Oh y'know, succumbing to the crippling weight of a global quarantine stripping away the irreplaceable adventurousness of my youth."

"That's rough, buddy."

"It is what it is." dismissed Max, shrugging. "Anywho, have you ever played Ultra Dragon Ninja Wiz-"

"Oh, Ash!" exclaimed Caroline, unknowingly cutting her son off with her entrance. "It's nice to see you!"

Ash turned around to face Caroline, and when he did, he saw her eyes widen slightly.

"Oh my..." she mumbled, raising a hand over her mouth. "Such a handsome young man... especially here. Good golly, the gym's lighting does you no justice. Handsome, well-mannered, a good head on your shoulders... What a catch."

Receiving such a compliment had a double-edged effect on Ash. While it was certainly one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to him, it was also quite concerning. Was he unintentionally seducing Caroline? What if Norman heard what she'd said? What if his presence would cause a rift in their marriage? What if he was the catalyst for the end of a union between two spouses? What if... what if he was just overthinking due to social anxiety?

Ash snapped out of his trance and exhaled; it was probably that last one.

"Thanks, Mrs. Maple." he uttered, cheeks red.

"You're beyond welcome." she cooed, walking to the dining room. "Dinner's ready, so you boys wash your hands and follow me. May and Norman should be done setting up the table by now."

At the sound of May's name, Ash found himself frozen yet again. He wasn't afraid of her, or anything of the sort. It was just that her presence was by far what he dreaded the most, in regards to the night's coming events. Every time Norman's family had briefly stopped by at the gym during his internship, he'd spotted her staring at him. Or perhaps he was staring at her? Every time it happened it was eerily impossible to pinpoint who had been looking first. On the contrary, what followed was always a certainty: they'd both look away and pretend nothing had ever happened.

And now he'd have to look at her across a dinner table, and actually talk.

"C'mon," beckoned Max, walking past Ash. "I made sure you got a good seat."

Raising an eyebrow at Max's claim, Ash followed the bespectacled teen into the kitchen, and after washing their hands, he followed him into the dining room. As they'd entered, May had just finished setting the last fork on the table, and was making her way towards her seat. Norman was already seated, and Caroline was obviously headed towards the chair next to him. With Max well on his way to one of the two seats left, Ash dug deep into his fretful mind and employed the process of elimination. Through said process, he deduced the only seat left was the one directly opposite of May's.

Accepting his fate, Ash approached his seat and sat, descending at the same time May did. As per usual, the short staring contest with no intiators and no victors commenced, followed by awkward fiddlings of utensils by both parties. However, in an unprecedented turn of events, May looked back at Ash, only to notice the color of his shirt. A rush of unpleasant emotions coursed through her psyche.

"Nice shirt, Ash." complimented Max, seeming to be stifling down a laugh.

"Uh, thanks?" replied Ash, puzzled by Max's behavior.

"It really brings out the warmth of your eyes." added Caroline, somewhat dreamily. "The color looks so nice on skin like yours, too."

"Yep, he's a young stud." dismissed Norman, glancing at Caroline. "How about we start eating? Don't want the food to get cold, haha."

At Norman's suggestion, everyone began assembling their tacos, each of them scooping their desired ingredients from the bowls stationed in the table's center. While Norman, Max, and Caroline all reached for the hard shells, Ash reached for the soft ones. But alas, even something as simple as taking one ended up being more than he'd bargained for.

May had reached for the soft shells at the same time.

"Ah..." stammered Ash, jaggedly pulling his hand back. "A woman of culture... haha... ha..."

"Hard shells are a pain." mumbled May, grabbing a tortilla. "...Glad I'm not the only one who thinks so."

"Would you like some ground beef, Ash?" inquired Caroline, offering Ash the bowl.

"Not yet, Mrs. Maple. I like putting the toppings first." answered Ash.

"Oh, how unorthodox. It's nice to see a young, strapping gentleman thinking outside the box. Too many boys your age just do what all their other guy friends do, often at the expense of others. Namely girls." replied Caroline, sneaking in a look at May. "They really must raise 'em differently in Kanto."

"Honey, all he did was say he puts his toppings first." droned Norman. "It's not that deep."

"There can be beautiful implications in even the simplest of interactions." giggled Caroline, closing her eyes.

"For sure... I guess...?" half-agreed Ash, sheepishly reaching for the diced tomatoes.

However, reaching for the tomatoes would prove to be another conundrum feigning ease. Once again, he and May had reached for the same ingredient bowl, at the same time. This time, however, May removed her hand, allowing for Ash to grab the spoon first. Deciding to avoid eye contact for the sake of keeping his composure, Ash quickly grabbed the utensil and took a scoop. As he did, he could feel May's piercing blue eyes zeroing in on him, watching his every move. She was likely just waiting for him to finish up, he mused. So, he decided to take his second scoop a little faster than the first. Such hurried movements resulted in Ash accidentally knocking over his cup of water, the clear liquid spilling onto the floor.

Of course, this incited a wild panic of cataclysmic proportions in his mind.

"Oh my gosh." he droned, eyes wide. "I'm so sorry- I don't know how I let that happen- what is wrong with me- how did I not see my cup- I should just..."

Ash trailed off, in favor of looking around. Nobody seemed very upset. At all. If anything, they looked slightly confused as to why he thought a spilled glass of water was such a big deal.

"I should just..." repeated Ash, calming down. "...go get some paper towels."

"They're in the kitchen." said May, assembling the rest of her taco.

Without a word, Ash quickly got up and headed for the kitchen, hellbent on grabbing those paper towels as soon as humanly possible. Unfortunately, there weren't any left. The roll was finished, and he had not the slightest clue as to where the Maples kept their stock. Already wishing he'd never been born, Ash turned around, hoping to spot a stack of napkins or any other absorbent material he could use instead. He saw none.

Instead he saw May. Standing there. Looking at him.

"Hey." she greeted, establishing the longest span of eye contact the two had ever shared.

"...Hi." responded Ash. "You're uh... you're out of paper towels."

"Yeah, I know. I just remembered I used the last of that roll to dry off everyone's cups when I was setting the table."

As she'd spoken, May had walked over to a nearby cupboard, revealing several new rolls. She reached for the closest one, but once it was in her hand, she paused.

"So, you're from Kanto?" she asked, not turning around.

"Mhm." hummed Ash. "It's a really nice region, if you've never been ther-"

"Why are you here, then?" asked May, turning around. "Shouldn't you have gone back to Kanto once the pandemic started? And, not to be rude or anything, but why are you here? We're all supposed to stay home right now, aren't we?"

May waited for Ash to answer, but only received a stare from Ash. From her end, it was impossible to know what he was thinking or why he was staring, so naturally, her cheeks grew pinker the longer his eyes were on her.

There was no mystery on Ash's end, though. He was staring because, for the first time that night (and possibly ever), he was given a full, unhindered look at May Maple. He'd never been so close to her and her alone before; it allowed him to take note of several features he'd never noticed in their previous encounters. She had freckles. Not many, just a few specks of cinnamon resting on a smooth, cream-colored surface. Her eyes were awe-inspiring. He'd always recognized them to be intimidatingly blue, but gazing into them at such close range seemed to produce powerful tingling sensations in his chest. Her brown, earthy hair was down, instead of being half-contained by the bandannas she seemed to wear in public. It almost looked better that way.

Regardless, she was beautiful, and he was officially crushing on her.

"I'm sorry," drawled Ash, snapping out of his trance. "What was the question?"

May simply stared back at Ash, still blushing. Then, in complete silence, she handed him the paper towel roll and made moves to walk out of the kitchen and back to the dining room. Before she could exit, however, Ash had one more thing to say.

"Thanks for the help."

May continued walking, giving her reply as she left the room.

"No problem."

[8:00pm...]

Dinner had ended some 20 minutes prior, but May's mind hadn't yet moved on from its events. After their conversation in the kitchen, Ash and May had returned to the table. After cleaning up his mess, Ash had resumed assembling his tacos, and then joined everyone in the feast. Once they'd all finished eating, brief conversations had been had. Through said conversations, May had gotten the answers to her questions. Ash didn't go back to Kanto because he didn't think the quarantine would last as long as it had been. For him, leaving Hoenn would've been devastating, as he'd finally secured an internship that would pave the way for his dream job of becoming a Gym Leader.

That was cool and all, but what had really stuck with May was why he was currently in her house. Yes, her parents had invited him, but there was far more to it than that. In the aforementioned talks after dinner, Ash had won the imaginary Heaviest Subject Matter award by revealing that he'd spent nearly all of the past 2-3 months alone in his apartment, struggling with his own loneliness and disappointment. He had gone from a happy 19 year-old excited for what each day brought, to a downtrodden 19 year-old that barely left their bed on most days. It was a transformation May somewhat understood, and it was through that understanding that she realized he'd come over for a breath of fresh air. It was a fair reason, in her mind.

So fair that she felt the smallest bit of inspiration to follow his lead, in her own way.

After dinner she'd gone right back to her room, to resume her voluntary isolation. But perhaps talking to him, of all people, would help her feel a little less like the world was full of shallow, careless boys that followed the horrible trend of womanizing. The remarks she'd overheard from her parents earlier weren't false; he was indeed quite handsome, and definitely well-mannered. The latter trait in particular had already set him apart from Drew.

May shook her head from side to side as she got out of her bed; it almost sounded like she was looking to date Ash. It was a ludicrous notion, she barely knew him. She just wanted to chat... that was all.

...

...

...

"Hah! I win again!" roared Max, triumphantly raising his controller into the air. "That's 8-0!"

"What a surprise." droned Ash, staring blankly at the screen. "It's almost as if I don't know how to play this game."

"Eughhh... What's that taste in the air?" asked Max, scrunching up his face in mock-disgust. "Ugh, it tastes like SALT!"

"Yep. I'm salty." lied Ash.

"Well, if you're tired of getting your keister handed to you in Ultra Dragon Ninja Wizards Z: Melee, I'll gladly boot up Hogwarts Shippūden Academia Bros. Brawl: Tag Tournament and whoop you in that game too!"

"Who the hell is naming these games-"

"Hey guys." greeted May, making her location at the living room's entrance known. "How's it goin'?"

"Oh, hi." responded Ash, putting a little more enthusiasm than he'd intended in the "oh" part. "How's it goin'?"

May's eyebrows furrowed.

"You're answering my question with the same question."

Ash blinked his eyes.

"...How's it goin'?" he repeated, in what was his first humorous line of the evening.

His smartassery would be met with a reward, in the form of his first ever glimpse of May's smile. It was only for a split second, and was by no means a full-on grin, but it was certainly a smile, nonetheless. It was displayed via a quick smirk her lips formed as she rolled her eyes and fully entered the room, taking a seat on the same three-seater couch Ash was sitting on.

Having seen the short interaction between the pair of 19 year-olds, Max let out a low chuckle, his glasses shining in complete and utter anime fashion.

"Well, look who decided to slither out of her hobbit hole." he said, standing up. "You came just in time, May. Ash and I were about to ask if you wanted to play Twister."

"I literally have no recollection of that ever being discussed." declared Ash, raising an eyebrow. "I thought we were about to play Hokey Pokey Shingle-Dingle Academy Bros-"

"Yeah, sure, okay. Go ahead and lie." replied Max, walking towards the TV. "You should have seen him just five minutes ago, May. He was talking ALL the smack. 1-v-1 him right now and show him how it's done, please."

While Ash stuttered, stammered, and babbled like a naturally born idiot attempting to learn Swahili on the fly, Max grabbed Twister from the collection of board games stationed under the TV. When he turned back around to face the game's first two combatants, he saw two people with cheeks rosier than the flowers themselves, sitting on far ends of the couch. Their shared discomfort at the prospect of playing Twister together was all too apparent, but so was Max's clear indifference to such misgivings. And so, the younger Maple sibling quickly set the game up on the floor.

With the spinner in hand, he nodded at May.

"Ladies first." he said, flicking the arrow. "Aannnd... right foot, green."

With a light sigh, May got off the couch and placed her right foot on one of the green circles.

"Ash, as for you..." continued Max, flicking the arrow yet again. "Would you look at that! Right foot, green! Again!"

Before even getting up, Ash looked at the board. May had placed her foot on the green circle at the end of the column. Naturally, he got up and placed his foot on the circle furthest from hers.

"May, right hand, red."

Instead of following Max's order, May shot an incredulous look at her brother. The red column was on the other side of the mat. With her right foot already on green, the only way she'd be reaching the red circles was if she'd balanced her weight on one hand and foot. It didn't sound like a very compromising position when playing with solely family members, but with Ash... it was the peak of embarrassing. Unfortunately, Twister was very much designed to degrade all those who dared to play. Knowing she was not exempt from such a fundamental aspect of the game, May put on her game face and reached for one of the red circles. But she was no gymnast. As soon as she'd shifted her weight onto two limbs far from used to cooperating, she began to wobble.

Seeing this, Ash spoke up.

"I think she's gonna fall-"

"Don't... count on it..." interrupted May, through gritted teeth.

"But you're barely staying still-"

"You heard her! Don't count on it!" hollered Max, flicking the spinner. "Left foot, blue, Ash!"

"But-"

"LEFT FOOT, BLUE, ASH!" snarled Max.

"Okay, okay!" groaned Ash, as he placed his left foot on the nearest blue circle.

"What a wuss!" jeered Max. "You're making boring, safe moves like that while May's out here playing contortionist? What happened to all that smack talk earlier, dude?!"

Ash's eye twitched.

"Nothing happened to it," he began, reluctantly sliding his foot to a blue circle further from his own body and closer to May's. "because it never existed in the first plaEEeEeCE!"

Though it seemed quite inevitable, Ash was beyond startled when May had finally lost balance and fell over, towards him. With his left foot just a few circles away from her, he ended up being taken down with her. By the time both of their heads had stopped spinning from the fall, their entire worlds began spinning when they realized the manner in which they'd landed. May had landed on Ash, both of their bodies tangled like spaghetti.

The next series of events was one neither would ever be able to properly explain. Wide eyed, Ash looked down at his chest, and saw May looking right back at him. Then he looked at Max. Max noticed Ash's gaze and issued him an entertained smile for his troubles. Then Max looked at May, who was already looking at Max, with a scowl. Max's face did not change. Then she looked at Ash, who was staring at the ceiling as if he were watching his soul ascend through it and into the afterlife. She then stared at the nearest wall, wishing her soul would've done the same. Unfortunately, they were both very much alive.

"Pfft, you guys suck at this game." chided Max. "It's called Twister, not Cuddler, mind you."

"That round doesn't count..." muttered May, fighting off her embarrassment with every cell in her body. "Let's just start over."

Max leaned his head back a little.

"Sure." he agreed. "As soon as you get off Ash."

May frowned at Max's words, and then took a moment to look down and realize she was still on Ash... who was still staring at the ceiling like a CPR practice dummy.

"Oh... Sorry..." she apologized, quickly getting up.

"Don't sweat it, haha..." said Ash, also getting up. He gingerly scratched the back of his head before continuing. "You're light, breaking your fall barely hurt."

Taking that as a compliment, May smiled a full, friendly smile.

"I'm glad."

"And I'm glad you're both unharmed and able-bodied, allowing for a proper rematch." announced Max, flicking the Twister spinner. "Alright, this round's for all the cookies in the cookie jar. From the top: May, left hand, yellow!"

[9:30pm...]

By the time 9:00 had rolled around, Twister had lost its appeal. That wasn't to say the game's lifespan wasn't thoroughly enjoyed, however. May's earlier fall onto Ash had unwittingly helped break the ice between them, making room for a warmer, more casual atmosphere. Several rounds had been played, and with each and every flick of the spinner, walls had been broken down between the two teens who'd eventually become equally determined to end the night with the most wins.

Unfortunately, no winner was ever decided, as Max had grown tired of playing somewhere near Round 14. With a lofty, dragged out yawn, the bespectacled teen wished the pair a good night and promptly bid them farewell for the evening. Drained from the rigor of 14 consecutive Twister bouts, May decided to follow Max's lead and head upstairs as well.

After changing into her pajamas, May made her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth. As she did, she couldn't help but acknowledge how much she'd enjoyed the night. For the first time in many weeks, she was preparing for bed feeling good. She'd done a lot in the past couple of hours, possibly more than she'd done on all of the previous quarantined days combined. And none of it felt like a drag.

After spitting out her mouthwash, May put her toothbrush away and headed back to her room. Or at least she would have headed back, if she hadn't heard faint sounds of TV audio coming from the ground floor of the house. Deciding to investigate, she took take a quick stroll towards the staircase and began walking down it. Once she reached a low enough step, she bent over and peeked into the living room.

The TV was indeed on, and Ash was sitting alone on the couch, watching it. Though he seemed quite focused on what he was watching, his eyes quickly darted to May, the raven-haired intern having spotted her through his peripheral vision.

"Hey." he said, smiling. "How's it goin'?"

May rolled her eyes.

"Don't start..." she sighed. "What're you doing? You're not going to bed?"

"I may or may not have developed some semi-nocturnal tendencies over the course of this pandemic." chuckled Ash, putting his hands behind his head. "So I figured I'd watch something."

"Fair." replied May, nodding her head.

Deciding to spend a little more time with undoubted MVP of her evening, May walked down the rest of the stairs and entered the living room, once again sitting on the same couch as Ash. But this time, instead of sitting on the opposite end, she sat in the middle section, with Ash at half an arm's distance.

"What is this?" asked May, looking at the TV. It seemed to be some sort of over-the-top action film about samurai fighting demons.

"Samurai vs. Demons." answered Ash, nonchalantly. "It's a pretty stupid movie, I just like the fight choreography, really. I can put something else on if you're gonna stick around."

"No." snapped May, a little faster than she'd planned to. Noticing Ash's eyes widen from the sharpness of her answer, she quickly put a hand on his shoulder. "Wait, I mean-... Ugh, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. It's just that I've always kinda liked these ridiculously non-realistic movies. Drew never really wanted to watch any with me, he liked all those stuffy, thought-provoking drama films. I guess I just got kind of excited at the prospect of actually watching one with someone... else..."

Ash blinked twice, and then tilted his head a little.

"Who's Drew?"

"..."

On the physical side of things, May simply sighed and leaned into the couch more. On the mental side of things, she took the next train to the nearest volcano and performed an Olympic Gold-level high-dive into its lava-filled depths. Did she really just bring Drew up? When she was finally alone with who she'd, in the last 2 hours, deemed The Most Interesting Boy in the World? She had. And now, she had to explain.

"My ex-boyfriend." she grumbled. "He... he dumped me out of nowhere 2 weeks into the pandemic. With a pretty short text message, no less. And then he got with another girl a week later. A girl he'd been making shifty eye contact with every time we'd see her around town."

Deciding there needn't be the sounds of ronin clashing blades with devil spawn in the background of such a conversation, Ash muted the TV.

"That's awful." he uttered, frowning. "I've never understood how people can just... do that to someone that really cares for them."

"I don't either. But you don't need to understand something for it to happen anyway." replied May, looking down at her lap. "That's life, I suppose."

"Wisdom." complimented Ash.

"It only comes with experience." half-giggled May, finding humor in Ash's one-word reply. "But yeah, it just sucks how someone, or something you spend a long period of time wanting - and eventually get - can just disappear at any moment. When you told us at dinner how the quarantine's affected you, I really felt like I could relate, though the situations weren't exactly the sa- WOAHHHH, LOOK AT THAT!"

Following May's abrupt command, Ash looked at the TV screen. A squadron of samurai were standing on the back of a giant, golden, serpentine dragon as it plowed through the gates of Hell, slashing at imps and demons at every opportunity. It was obviously the climax of the movie, one so engaging that it had momentarily stolen May's attention. It took a few seconds for May to snap out of her awe and return to the conversation being had.

But by the time the grandeur of the scene had waned enough for her to turn back to Ash... she stayed quiet, in favor of smiling.

Ash's eyes were still on the screen, with his face showing the exact same brand of delight hers had just shown. There was something about the sight; something about seeing someone excited about the same thing as her... that just made her heart flutter. She hadn't felt that way in a long time... possibly ever. At that very moment, she came to the conclusion that there was no need to talk about someone that made her feel worthless, when there was someone that made her feel good, right next to her.

"You're spending the night, right?" she asked, poking Ash's torso with her pinky finger.

"Huh? Wha?" stammered Ash, May's touch releasing him from the movie's hold.

"Are you sleeping over?" asked May, peering straight into Ash's eyes.

"Y-yep." stuttered Ash. Even though he was far more comfortable being around May than before, her eyes were still his kryptonite. "Tomorrow night too, probably. And the next... and the next... and the ne-"

"Perfect." beamed May, grinning. "After this movie... how about we watch another?"

Unable to think of a better way to spend the night, Ash responded with a smile of his own.

"I'm game."

With a simple click of the volume button, Ash unmuted the TV. He'd done it just in time, too. The Shogun's reinforcements had just arrived to aid the surviving samurai in their final battle against the Demon King's forces. Which took place on a bridge. Made of fire. Underwater.

[1:48am...]

A pair of dark eyes slowly opened themselves. At the same time, a dry mouth attempted to moisten itself, but to no avail.

Water; Max needed water.

And so, he got up, wobbled out of his room, and headed for the stairs. With a silent yawn, he took the first step, but froze when he heard a strange sound. At first he'd thought it came from the stairs, but quickly dismissed the notion; none of them were creaky. Luckily, it only took the sound returning a few seconds later for Max to realize it definitely wasn't a creaky step.

It was snoring.

Max immediately raised an eyebrow. It sounded like it was coming from the living room, which shouldn't have made any sense. Their house had a guest room for Ash to sleep in, meaning there shouldn't have been anyone sleeping in the living room. But his ears weren't deceiving him. There was certainly someone down there. Realizing he'd see whoever it was on his way to the kitchen whether he planned to or not, Max shrugged his shoulders and continued his descent down the steps.

It was at the halfway point that he was able to see the couch. Much to the younger teen's delight, the snoring was coming from not one, but two people. Judging by their positions, as well as the fact that the TV was in screen-saver mode, it seemed the pair had fallen asleep while watching something.

Max smirked. Part of him wanted to take a picture of the two of them cuddled up on one end of the couch, sleeping while still sitting up, the sides of their faces nearly touching. But he figured it wasn't necessary; it most likely wouldn't be the last time it happened.

"All according to plan..." he mused, heading to the kitchen for some water.

And that's that!

I hope you all enjoyed this one! One shots / short stories have always been the hardest type of writing for me to perform (this includes things like poetry and 15-page essays), so I'm hoping I delivered somewhat. I'll leave that up to you, haha.

Adios,

~DarkSlash9