"So what do you wanna do?" After May had dropped off Kai, she left with the excuse of having an appointment today. She can't bring herself to tell the boy that her brother is visiting, and Max wants May to return Kai to the orphanage. Kai isn't an item that can just be returned because someone wants her to get rid of him.
Therefore, Drew and Kai have been awkwardly sitting in his living room for the past couple minutes after they watched May drive off. Fortunately, she left Munchlax with Kai, but Drew feels like he should be doing more than allow May's Pokemon to keep the boy company. Drew doesn't know what to do or say. They can battle, but then what? And then Munchlax will be too tired to hang out with Kai.
Shyly keeping his gaze on the ground, Kai shrugs. "I'm fine. You don't need to watch me."
Sighing, Drew leans back in the couch cushion. "I want to get to know you, Kai."
"I don't wanna know you." Kai still resents Drew for putting him and May through that scandal weeks ago.
The green haired man, though, chuckles at Kai's confident voice. Kai is usually very shy and timid, but he's shown to be confident when his emotions are involved. It's a reason Drew respects and likes the boy. "I like May." Drew confesses.
"I like her too." Kai replies. He's too young to understand that Drew likes May romantically, which Drew is now thankful for.
Turning his head to hide his blush, the man asks, "What else do you like?"
"Not you."
Despite Kai's words, Drew finds him very amusing. This boy really does love May. "You're here all day, so we may as well get along."
Shaking his head, Kai tells him, "No. I have Munchlax. Just leave me alone until May picks me up."
Drew smirks and moves closer to the boy where Drew ruffles Kai's hair. "Can't, Kai. We're a team."
Swatting his hand away, Kai glares at Drew. "I don't wanna be on your team anymore!"
"Too bad." Drew then stands up after flicking his hair. "By the end of the day, Kai Birch, you're gonna hate me less." He then leaves to the kitchen to prepare a snack for him and Kai.
While Drew normally doesn't snack, he needs an excuse to get away and gather his thoughts. How is he going to reach Kai when Kai won't even let Drew into his life? What can Drew do? Groudon! He only agreed to this because he wanted to help May, and he saw it as a good opportunity to get closer to Kai. However, Kai wants nothing to do with him! This is going to be one long awkward day.
Kanto - Viridian City
"We should visit Drew this summer." suggests the brunette.
Bouncing their 2 year old son on his knee, Gary replies, "Sure. I've missed Goldenrod City."
Leaf glares at him. "You obviously don't listen to me."
"What?" Gary's mouth falls open in surprise. What did he do this time?
"I told you he moved to Cianwood."
Really? Gary doesn't recall that conversation, but he chooses to nod rather than tell his wife otherwise. "Uh. Okay. Ash mentioned how he, Misty, and Astrid will be visiting Cianwood too. For May."
Leaf happily claps her hands together at this. "Let's all go see them together! Oh my Suicune! You're a genius, Gary!" She quickly pecks his cheek before rushing out of the room to call the Ketchums.
Still confused about the whole situation, Gary looks down at Alex's bright green eyes. "Sometimes, I can't understand your mom."
"Mommy!" he giggles, which makes Gary smile. While his wife can be spontaneous, her playfulness and love for others makes him attracted to her. He's had these sorts of conversations with Leaf every now and then where he doesn't know what's going on. One moment, she's mad at him, and then the next, she kisses him. Gary doesn't mind as long as he always gets a kiss in the end.
However, she's been a lot more random and moody lately. More than normal. Is she stressed? Is everything okay? Well, the hurricane relief efforts are over now with the major needs being met. Therefore, Leaf doesn't need to worry about that. But then why is she behaving so sporadically? The last time she was this random, she was pregnant with Alex…
Looking down at the toddler who has his own hand in his mouth, Gary's eyes open wide in shock. Please let her just be moody. As much as he loves his child, Gary isn't ready for another. He and Leaf are busy enough with her being the champion and him taking over the Pokemon lab.
"Daddy!" Alex giggles and reaches at Gary's shirt.
Sighing, Gary hugs his son tightly and stands up to carry him out of the room. He needs to find his wife before she does something stupid, which she tends to do when moody, like making Drew meet May. Gary groans as he recalls that conversation. Obviously, he lost it, and it ended up with Drew and May together, but there was that whole scandal that's still occasionally on the news.
"Leaf?" he calls into the living room where he spots her on the videophone. He sees orange on the screen and figures Leaf is speaking to Misty. Once Gary gets closer, he notices Astrid is on Misty's lap, and the girl excitedly greets Alex, which gets Leaf to turn a ound at her family. Smiling, the woman takes Alex from him so that the boy can speak with Astrid.
This allows Gary to be free from baby duty, so he leaves the house. He needs answers because, ever since coming to the realization that Leaf may be pregnant, he's been freaking out. Mew, Gary Oak! He's never been this worried before, but he finds that he only worries about her. That carefree playful woman always makes him behave differently than typical Gary Oak. Nevertheless, it's why he married her. It's why he loves her. Mew, it's why he wouldn't mind having another kid with her. No matter how busy they get, they always make time for each other and their family.
Johto
"Wanna go for a ride?" Drew offers the boy after lunch.
"I want to be alone." Kai replies coldly.
Smirking at him, Drew ruffles Kai's hair. "No one ever wants to be alone, Kai." Drew never does. Yes, when he was with Brianna, he didn't want to be around her, but that didn't mean he wanted to be alone. He always had his Pokemon, and now, he has May.
Kai frowns, though he agrees with Drew. The boy never wants to be alone. It's the reason May keeps Munchlax by him. Memories of his father and mother flash in his mind, making Kai freeze in his seat. They left him alone, and May came into his life. He never wants to be alone again.
Seeing the frown on Kai's face, Drew gives him a warm smile. "C'mon. I wanna show you something." With his drop in mood, Kai reluctantly follows Drew. Once Drew puts on his coat, he grabs Kai's to put on the boy. "I promise it'll be fun."
Sighing, Kai looks at Munchlax who gives him a grin. Munchlax trusts Drew since he had traveled with Drew for two years. Plus, Munchlax knows how much Drew and May care for each other, so he knows Kai will be safe in Drew's hands. Kai returns Munchlax in his pokeball and puts the pokeball in his coat pocket. Drew makes sure they're both bundled up for the winter breeze before walking outside with Kai closely behind.
The man then throws out a pokeball, and his green dragon emerges from it. "Fly!" Flygon greets his trainer.
Smiling, Drew asks, "Can you take us on a ride, Flygon?" The dragon type nods. With Drew and May hanging out often, Kai has gotten to interact with Drew's Pokemon too.
"Where are we going?" Kai curiously inquires as Drew helps him get on Flygon.
Hopping on behind him, Drew flicks his hair. "Surprise."
Flygon then takes off, and Drew holds onto the boy who almost lost his balance. While Kai has flown on a Pokemon before, it was years ago...and on his father's Swellow. May doesn't have any flying type Pokemon, so he hasn't gotten to be above the clouds like this in Johto. The ocean really is beautiful from above. Kai finds himself mesmerized with the snow on the ground and the glistening waves of the sea. He's missed flying on Pokemon.
"The view is cool, right?" Drew chuckles as he notices Kai focusing on the earth below. The man also enjoys seeing the world from above, which is why he prefers flying on Flygon than using ground transportation. If Flygon is ever tired, then Drew will resort to public transportation, but then he's subjected to a lot of annoying fans.
"It's nice." Kai breathlessly replies, which makes Drew smile.
"I love it too."
Eventually, they near land, and Kai notices a tall lighthouse. "Where are we?" He asks Drew who remains silent. Once they land on top of the lighthouse, Kai looks out over the sea. The ocean is beautiful. He looks to the side of the lighthouse and notices the busy city. It looks really new.
"We're in Olivine City." Drew tells Kai while following his gaze. "It took a couple years, but the city is finally back to its former glory again." The man can't help but grin as he watches the city. If someone woke up from a 5 year long coma, they wouldn't be able to tell that a hurricane ever hit the region.
"Why?" Kai inquires, though his eyes don't waver from the beautiful city.
With his hand on the boy's shoulder, Drew smiles at the city. "Just because something terrible happens, it doesn't mean you can't rebuild yourself." He then winks at Kai. "And help from others doesn't hurt either." Olivine City's people worked hard to rebuild it as well as those outside of the city, like Drew and Leaf, helped too. Similar to the city, Drew hopes to help Kai heal from his wounds.
The man doesn't know what pain Kai is going through, but Drew knows Kai must feel lonely after his father's death and his mother's abandonment. "I'll never leave you, Kai."
Kai finds himself leaning into Drew's hand on his shoulder as his eyes gloss over. As much as Kai dislikes Drew, Drew has always made an effort for Kai's best interest. Whether it's to get closer to May or because Drew actually cares about Kai, Kai doesn't know. What Kai does know, though, is that Drew's words are hitting him deeply.
The boy doesn't respond while he keeps looking ahead. Drew is right. Kai already hates the man less. A small smile breaks out on Kai's lips, and he's grateful that Drew has returned to looking at the city too. Kai wants Drew to think he still doesn't like him. Else Drew may get too comfortable and hurt May, though Kai doubts that'd ever happen.
"That means you can't leave May again." Kai eventually says after some time.
Chuckling, Drew removes his hand from Kai and looks down at the boy's intense blue eyes. "I already came to terms with that the moment I met her last year. But now, I won't ever leave you both. We're a team, and teams stick together!"
"Yeah." Kai quietly replies. "We're a team." May is his family, but Drew and the Enbars are on the same team as them. They're a team who has a great track record so far.
After some time, Drew and Kai hop back on Flygon to head home to Cianwood. Flygon will get a well deserved rest later since flying between the island and mainland in one day tires him out. However, he is glad to help Drew any way he can.
Cianwood
"I told you not to come here for this." May warns her brother. Max had arrived in the early evening. May didn't know when to expect him, so she left Kai at Drew's early in the morning. She hopes the two are doing okay. While Kai wasn't happy to be spending the day with Drew, May needs him to. Fortunately, the boy never puts up a fight for anything May says, but May also doesn't make him do anything she knows he doesn't want to do, besides hang out with Drew today.
Now that Max is here, he got straight to the point for his visit. He's upset about the whole scandal on the news, even if it is just a rumor. He wants her to come back to Hoenn and to take Kai back to the orphanage. Plus, with May adopting Kai, there has been tension between Professor Birch and the Maples. "I came here for you, May!" he shouts back at her.
"Really? Like you know what's best for me?"
"I always had the brains!"
Despite this being true, May is irritated that her brother really believes he knows what she wants. "Just leave, Max!"
"Not until you come home with me!" he exclaims.
"This is my home!" Hoenn hasn't felt like her home in years. Not since she and Max started traveling and they rarely went to visit their parents. Her family just lives day to day going on with their own lives.
"No! You're home is with me, mom, and dad!" insists the angry man.
"Oh, like you'll be there." May challenges him. Though she doesn't blame Max for not being home since she also wasn't home when she was traveling, she really believes he has no right to tell her to go somewhere even he won't be.
"Mom cried for weeks after you left! And then when your scandal broke out, she's been crying nonstop since!"
Even though it aches May to know she's the cause of her mother's tears, she won't give in to Max. She can't. "I'll go back when they accept Kai."
"He's not even related to Brenden!"
"He's Brenden's son!"
"Where does it say that, May? His birth certificate? Professor Birch says that boy is not blood related, regardless of what a piece of paper says!" Max shouts at his stubborn sister.
"It doesn't matter." May narrows her eyes angrily at Max. "Kai is my family now too."
"Really?" Max scoff. "So you replaced your blood family for this no-name kid because you felt bad for him?" Although he's trying to remain strong on the outside, Max is hurt by this realization. She really just replaced them? Replaced him?
"I didn't replace anyone! You guys are still my family!"
"And you haven't tried to contact us even once after you left! You didn't even tell us where you were going!"
"I haven't changed my number! You could've called!"
"We were giving you time to cool off, May! We were waiting for your call!"
"Well, then keep waiting." she angrily replies, but as soon as she says it, she regrets it.
In his own fit of rage, Max tells her, "It's him or us, May. Make your choice."
"If you really care about me, you wouldn't give me an ultimatum."
"If you really care about me, you wouldn't make me get to this point." The two siblings glare at each other. Even though they know they're just saying hurtful words to each other, which they will regret afterwards, they're too angry to back down.
"You should leave now, Max."
He shakes his head at her. "No! That kid isn't even related to you or Brenden by blood, but you're picking him over your family who is related to you by blood! It's not fair!"
"His name is Kai!" May hates hearing Max refer to Kai like an object. Kai is a boy who has a name and feelings. "And he's been more family to me than you guys have been these past 3 years!"
"I can't believe you're really throwing us away." He mutters with disgust.
"You wouldn't understand." May says. "I shouldn't have even tried."
"Whatever." Max turns away from her to head to the door. "Just think about what I said. We're your family. We have been since you were born." He then slams the door shut as May glares at it.
In the window, she sees his Swellow take off, indicating that he's gone. She is grateful he's not staying with her because she doubts she could keep her cool around him. Plus, Kai shouldn't meet Max just yet. Sighing, she pulls out her pokenav to call Drew. SInce Max is gone, she can pick up Kai.
The call is answered and the man says, "Hey, May!" She hears wind in the background. Is it that windy at Drew's house?
"Hey, Drew. Max just left, so I can come get Kai now."
Drew pauses because he's worried about her. While he's been spending the whole day worrying about how he can connect with Kai, he's forgotten the reason he's supposed to be watching Kai. The man feels terrible for being so self absorbed in his own problems that he forgot about her again...like when he proposed they travel separately.
"Drew?" her voice gets his attention again.
Shaking his head, Drew replies, "Uh yeah. Actually, I can drop him off. We'll be there in an hour if you wanna prepare dinner."
So they haven't eaten either, May thinks. Also, why an hour? What are they doing? Are they really having fun? May smiles because she was worried about them for no reason. She'll have to ask them about their day together later. She's at least glad they had a good day since she obviously hasn't had one. "Sure. What do you want?"
"You."
His comment makes her blush profusely, but she can picture that arrogant sly smirk on his lips. "You're a grasshead."
Chuckling, Drew tells her, "Kai wants pasta." The two were talking about dinner plans before May called, so Drew was planning on making Kai pasta because he requested it.
"Okay." She says as her blush cools down. "See ya later."
"Oh, May!"
"Hm?"
"Kai and I really like you." Drew's blush warms his cheeks from the chilling wind, and Kai curiously looks at the man.
Smiling while her face flushes red again, May replies, "I really like you both too." Groudon, she obviously likes Kai as family, but what about Drew? She doesn't see him as family. They're friends, and she used to have a crush on him. However, she didn't know how to respond to him just now, so she just repeated what he said.
"Alright, see ya, June."
Before she can yell at him for calling her the wrong name, the call has ended. "That arrogant grasshead." she angrily mutters while heading into the kitchen, but her smile never leaves her face.