"Can I look yet?"
A salty tang assaulted his nose as he felt sharp breezes throw his hair in multiple directions. He could taste the saline flavor of the air on his tongue, and trekking across the soft, unstable ground became more difficult with every step. Four out of five of Drew's senses were under attack; only his sight remained at peace, but only because May had insisted that he cover his eyes while en route to their destination. "A blindfold? Really?" he had asked her. "What are you planning?"
One grueling, ten-minute walk later, they arrived in this peculiar, still unknown, location.
"Okay, okay! You can take it off now!" May announced, and the weight of her hands lifted from his shoulders. At least she had guided him effectively, ensuring that he didn't hurt himself right before Christmas.
With a (somewhat exasperated) sigh of relief, Drew untied the blindfold. The brilliant illumination of the sun forced him to shield his eyes for a moment, and he blinked a few times to adjust to the light. Finally he took in his surroundings: sun, sand, and sea. "You took me to the beach?" he said, admittedly surprised. He didn't know what he had expected, but it wasn't this.
"Yep!" May either hadn't noticed his bewildered, skeptical tone, or she was choosing to ignore it. "Unfortunately, this winter has been really warm all across Hoenn. Slateport rarely gets snow anyway, but this year was especially bizarre for weather." She closed her eyes and turned towards the wind, allowing it to tickle her nose and to dance with her soft brown hair. "My family has a tradition of working together on a Christmas Eve snowman. Even if Dad was at work or if Max and I were traveling, everyone else would work together to make a snowman and take pictures for the rest of us to see." Suddenly she whirled to face him with eyes sparkling and hands clasped together in excitement. "I may not be home in Petalburg, but… you're family now, Drew." Those words made her face turned red for a moment, but she continued speaking anyway. "I couldn't let the tradition die! I was lamenting the horrible weather when I came up with an amazing idea! Our apartment is ridiculously close to the beach, so although we may not be able to make a snowman, we can still make a sandman!"
Her cheerful attitude and huge grin were basically contagious. Drew couldn't help but chuckle when he saw the exuberance and life that radiated from his lover. If keeping up this cheesy tradition made her happy, then he would participate with an open mind and an open heart. After all, as she had stated… they were married now, so they were family. He closed his eyes for a moment as well, allowing the beach air to soak into him. Suddenly, he didn't feel as if the surf and sand were assaulting his senses; rather, they seemed to be serenading him. The rhythmic lull of the waves, the malleable sand that shifted to accommodate his steps, and the sweet sunshine that balanced out the frosty gales all cooperated to beckon him, to soothe him, to keep him here.
"Drew?"
He opened his eyes. May was eyeing him curiously, probably awaiting some sort of response. She seemed just about ready to throw off her shoes and run into the sand, but she was probably waiting for some sort of cue.
"If you gather some shells for his eyes and nose, then I can probably find some seaweed for his mouth," he declared at last. Without giving him a chance to react, May grabbed his wrist and began to eagerly drag him along the beach.
"We can search together," she told him, still smiling widely. "When we're done, you'd better believe that I'm taking pictures! It'll be a wonderful addition to the Hayden Expeditions!"