"Never… again…" May was shaking as she clung to Drew.

"You do realize we're on the ground, right?" Drew asked dryly.

"Don't care. Never again." May shuddered. She was aware of the tear tracks on her face, running parallel to her mouth thanks to the wind. She could feel them every time she moved her face, little reminders of what had been an ordeal.

Drew exhaled sharply, an annoyed sound. "I meant that you can let go," he said, pulling at her arms. May flinched, releasing her grip and flinging herself back in one movement. Drew turned just in time to see her overbalance and, arms flailing, topple backwards off of Flygon. "Oh, for the love of -" Drew exclaimed, hopping off Flygon's back and hurrying over to May.

"No, I'm fine!" May said, hurriedly standing and dusting herself off.

Drew shook his head as he relieved Flygon of his knapsack. "It's a good thing that we landed outside of the city. Imagine if people saw you like this."

May's cheeks flushed, and her eyes narrowed. "Again, it's all because of that horrible flying. Ugh…" She trailed off, putting a hand to her forehead, feeling dazed. "No more of that, okay?" She bit her lip, hating how she sounded pleading.

Flygon trilled softly. He turned to face her, large red eyes full of concern. May watched as the pokemon extended its neck towards her, sloping toward the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Drew frowning slightly.

"He's apologizing," Drew explained, gesturing at his flygon. "I can't imagine why, seeing as it was a perfectly smooth flight… but, yeah. He feels bad, see?" May did see; the look of contrition on Flygon's face was one she recognized from interacting with Blaziken, or, really, any of her pokemon.

Tentatively, she reached out a hand and petted the crown of Flygon's head. "It's okay," she murmured. "I'm just a bit scared about flying. You were wonderful." She hesitated, then added, "And, hey, know why that is?" Flygon gave her a puzzled look. May grinned, bringing her face a little closer to the pokemon's. "It's because you're a good boy! Yes, you are! Yes, you are!" She was stroking Flygon's neck now as she would a ponyta's, giggling slightly as he trilled again, a louder, happier sound.

Just as May was discovering the exact joint that needed scratching on Flygon's shoulder, a cool voice beside her said, "Flygon, return." The pokemon was enveloped in harsh red light, and abruptly May found herself foolishly half-squatting, arms extended where the flygon had just been. She straightened up and turned, glaring, to Drew, who stood with his arms folded, one hand still holding Flygon's pokeball.

"What was that for?" she demanded.

"It's getting dark, we need to get to the Pokemon Center."

May stared up at the sky. "It's, like, one in the afternoon!" she protested. "And that's still not an answer, Drew."

"Yeah, well. We should still get going." With that, Drew shouldered his knapsack and strode past her down the path toward the city limits. May stared at his back, both bewildered and angry. She wondered if it was even worth trying to be his partner, if it meant suffering the bickering, the bizarre mood swings. Realizing she was falling behind, May sent the concerns to the back of her mind, deciding to perhaps talk it over with Solidad as she hurried in Drew's wake.

The sight of the Goldenrod City Pokemon Center was a welcome one for May. There was something about the abundance of tall buildings that made her feel rather claustrophobic, but the red-roofed Pokemon Center looked much the same as any other. She found the familiarity extremely comforting. Drew, she noticed, seemed to be the opposite to her. He seemed in his element in the busy city, which, May supposed, made sense; he had grown up in LaRousse, after all. When they drew within sight of the Pokemon Center, however, she noticed him tensing up.

"Uh, hey," May began hesitantly. Drew glanced at her sharply, and she gulped. "Um, are you okay?"

"I just don't want us to run into, well, anyone, really," Drew said quietly as they walked towards the automatic doors. "Let's just get inside and we can -"

He froze, staring at the glass doors. At least, that was what May thought he was staring at. Too late, she realized that he had been looking at the reflections on the doors, images of herself, Drew, and -

"Oh, my sweet little cookie, you're finally here!" May felt a long, lanky left arm snake around her waist, yanking her into a sudden hug. Her head knocked against Drew's shoulder - he'd been seized as well. May squirmed as she saw an all-too-familiar face reflected above her own in the doorway. Harley was positively beaming as he began to walk forward, forcing them to do the same.

"Now, who should I see on my way back from a short errand but the pair of you!" Harley exclaimed as they passed over the threshold and into the lobby. He released them only to dash in front of them, still grinning broadly. "Really, Drew, how could you keep her from us for so long? Five whole May-less days, what a tragedy, you selfish boy." He pouted for a moment, then brightened again. "I'll get you some coffee, hon, you just relax over here!"

May staggered over to the indicated sofa as Harley trotted off to fetch hot drinks. She sank into the cushions, leaning her right side into the arm rest. She hardly cared that her least favorite rival was about to return, presumably planning to pester her with his usual brand of nonsense. There was something about his energetic greeting that had only served to remind her how bone-tired she really was. Drew sat down next to her, looking somehow as tired as May felt, even though he'd slept in a proper bed every night that week. May could only assume that it had something to do with the man who was sweeping back towards them, laden with styrofoam cups that trailed steam.

"Here you go, hon," Harley said, handing May a cup. "I put plenty of sugar in it, don't you fret." May winced; she preferred cream at most. Still, a warm drink was a warm drink, and she sipped at it politely, ignoring the granules of sugar that hadn't melted into the mixture (Harley hadn't been kidding about there being plenty of sugar in there). Next to her, Drew reached towards the cup in Harley's other hand, but the man was already draining it. He smacked his lips exaggeratedly, then looked down at Drew. "Oh, where are my manners? I would have gotten one for you too, Drew, but, you know, only got two hands." He winked at them, and May could feel the boy next to her tensing. "I can go get you one, though! You take, what is it, five sugars these days, right, Dr-"

"That's fine, I'll get it myself," Drew snapped, shoving himself up from the sofa and stalking back the way Harley had gone. Harley immediately swiped Drew's vacated seat. He immediately adopted a conversational pose, hoisting his right ankle onto his left knee and allowing an arm to drape over the side of the couch, head propped up on his fist. May had the sense that she was being cornered.

"So, May, hon," Harley began, oozing sweetness, "I just wanted to apologize for that nasty little incident last week."

May stared at him. "Yeah, sure," she said before she could stop herself.

Harley looked faintly affronted. "I knew you'd say that," he muttered into his fist. "It's true, though." He scowled at May's look of blatant disbelief. "What?" he demanded, glaring at her. "Honestly, you'd think I was twirling some tacky little mustache or something."

"It would be fitting," Drew muttered as he returned to the table. He scowled at Harley. "Where's Solidad?"

Harley's face broke into a huge grin. "Right behind you."

May watched as Drew turned in his seat. Sure enough, Solidad was walking towards them, an open smile on her face. What Harley had not mentioned was that she was not alone. Keeping pace with her was a boy who stood a head shorter than her. A stranger? May wondered, but then she saw that his hair was the same salmon-pink as the trainer beside him, and then there were the same eyes...

"Ah, you must be Drew," the boy said, offering his hand. "I've heard plenty about you, of course."

Drew stared at the outstretched hand. "And you are?"

"Sorry, this is my brother, Diego," Solidad said, stepping closer to Drew, whose eyes had dilated with what May assumed was recognition.

"Of course," he said, taking the other boy's hand. "I've heard about you as well, I just didn't realize-"

"Yeah, I decided that Johto was the place to be," Diego cut in, pumping Drew's hand vigorously up and down. "Whitney's supposed to be one fierce opponent, so how could I resist?" He sighed. "It's a shame I got here when I did, though. Ah well, nothing to be done for it, I suppose."

"What do you mean?" May asked. The other three turned to her, and she reddened. "I mean, I'm sorry, I-"

"Sol, is this May, then? The girl who almost won Kanto?" Diego was sizing May up now, making her face burn even brighter.

Solidad sighed. "Yes, that's her. She did ask you a question, though."

Diego put a dramatic hand to his head. "So right you are, Sol, she did, at that. As it happens," he said, growing more serious with every word, "I am on a quest to obtain any and all badges the world can offer. Every gym is an opportunity, and I intend to seize every last one of them."

"Ah, so, you're a trainer, then?"

Diego looked deflated. "Such a banal way of putting it," he complained. "It's not nearly as impressive a name as 'coordinator' by any stretch of the imagination. But, yes, I suppose that is what I am."

"To each their own, muffin!" Harley said brightly. "At least trainer is accurate no matter your skill level, whereas, well, I've met some dreadfully klutzy coordinators in my day." This last was said with a significant glance in May's direction.

Before she had time to respond, Drew stood up. "Well, we can't really talk about your pratfalls all day, Harley," he said, melting the smile off Harley's face. "We still have baseline training to do." He turned to leave, but Solidad placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Are you sure you have to go right now?" she asked. Behind her, Diego watched the proceedings with what looked to May like boredom.

"We don't even have rooms yet," Drew snapped, shaking off her hand. "C'mon, May, let's get out of here."

"See you around, kiddies!" Harley called after them as they left the Pokemon Center. May almost had to jog to keep up with Drew's strides. She had plenty of questions, chief among them being where they were going, but silence seemed like the safest option just then.

Drew eventually came to a stop outside the glossy doors of a hotel. He eyed the building while May fought to catch her breath beside him. "It'll do," he muttered before striding into the lobby.

In short order, May found herself lying back on a double bed in an airy hotel room, staring at ceiling bathed with yellowing afternoon light. Drew had mumbled something about grabbing a shower before swiping into his own adjacent room. That had been all he'd actually said to her since leaving the Pokemon Center, and she couldn't decide whether or not to resent him for that. On the one hand, there was something frustratingly Drewish about the way he simply declared she would stay in the same hotel-on his account, no less!-without consulting her. Did she really want to partner with someone who didn't even ask her opinion? But, on the other hand, maybe it wasn't as Drewish as she'd thought. No, she decided, it was something to do with the meeting. It can't have been Harley, he's never that sore about his nonsense. Which meant it had to do with Solidad. Or, more specifically, Solidad's brother.

A sudden knock at the door broke through her thoughts, and she bounced off the bed to investigate. A quick peep through the keyhole showed her enough green hair to confirm her visitor as Drew. Sure enough, opening the door revealed him to be standing there, hair damp, eyes tired. "We should talk," he said, stepping past her into the room.

"Yeah, about manners," May muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing." Drew didn't look convinced, but he seemed to dismiss it nonetheless. He flopped onto her bed, stretching his arms out behind him. May pursed her lips. "If you're that tired, why aren't you in your own room?"

Drew rolled onto his side to face her, eyes narrowed. "Pretty sure this is my room, May."

"Your other one, then," she snapped, patience evaporating.

In response, Drew sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're in a fine mood," he said, eyes closed.

"Oh, look who's talking!" May put up her nose and screwed up her face, adopting a nasally tone as she continued. "Mister 'oh, this is my room, not that I asked if you wanted to be here or anything-'"

"I thought it would be nice," Drew snarled, sitting up in defiance.

"Oh, sure, you thought, but did you ask?"

"You know I had other things on my mind!"

"Because, yeah, that's an excuse!"

"Would you rather be at the Pokemon Center?" Drew was glaring at her now. "Getting cosy with Harley every meal, you want that, then?"

"You're missing the point on purpose."

"Oh? Enlighten me, then." Drew's voice was dangerously low. "Do please tell me what 'the point' is."

May hesitated. "I just..." she began cautiously, feeling her way towards every word. Drew's eyes were boring into hers. "I just don't feel like it's fair if we don't talk things out first," she said. "That's all."

Drew didn't move. May stood there, wondering if their entire contest partnership was going to crumble then and there. But, no, there was something changing in the expression of his eyes.

"You're right." The words hung between them. May blinked. Drew was staring at the floor now, jaw clenched. "I should have asked," he spat through gritted teeth, still not looking at her. "I'm sorry."

May sighed. "Should I go?" she asked quietly.

Drew's head swung up. "I didn't-" he started, then he hung his head. "Yeah, maybe."

May nodded. "I'll be in the lobby," she called over her shoulder as she walked out of the door. She didn't hear a reply.

Hmm, it's been awhile. Almost three years, actually. And yet, this story is not dead, and I am similarly not dead.

Please, tell me what you think with a review. Your feedback means a tremendous amount to me and has the potential to help shape the narrative.

Regardless of whether you do review or not, thank you for reading.

Until we meet again,

Carp