I finally post a fic to this account after almost 10 years, and it's (sort of) for a pairing that's been moribund for about as long. Well, better late than never.
This is set after Ep. 3 of Advanced Generations, where Ash meets May's family for the first time and Max joins them on their journey. This is partially to address something I feel was missing in the episode itself, partially because I love the early dynamic between Ash the experienced trainer and May the complete newbie.
Reviews and comments are appreciated for my first foray into fanfiction. Enjoy!
A Late Night in Petalburg
Night had fallen over the Petalburg City Pokémon Center, and with its arrival three young travelers were preparing to go to bed. Or at least they were trying to.
"This is so cool!" Max cheered from atop his bunk as he swung his bare feet back and forth. "I'm actually staying in a real Pokémon Center!" From the bunk underneath May rolled her eyes as she shifted away from her brother's carefree kicks.
"Come on, Max, you've been to this center a bunch of times with Dad. What's the big deal?" Max swung over the edge of his bunk to shoot his sister an upside-down look of disbelief, while on the other side of the room Ash raised an eyebrow at his newest traveling companion's enthusiasm.
"What's a big deal, May, is that now I'm not just hanging around in the lobby while Dad and Nurse Joy do all of the interesting stuff. I can eat in the cafeteria! I can sleep in the dorms! I feel like a real trainer! Even if it means I am stuck with you and Ash," he added with a grin. That earned a harrumph from May, who flopped back onto her bunk rather than look her over-excited brother in the eyes.
"I don't see why that's so amazing…" she grumbled. "It's not like it's nicer than our rooms at home, or Mom's cooking."
"True, but if that's the case," Max retorted, "then why were you so eager to stay here overnight instead of sleeping at home? Afraid it wouldn't look good to Mom and Dad?" As May spluttered angrily Ash took his chance to join in on the sibling conversation, or sibling argument as it was quickly turning into.
"Come on, Max, don't be like that," he raised his hands placatingly. "I'm sure May had her reasons. Although I do get where you're coming from. It's always nice staying at Pokémon Centers, but nothing beats my own bed and my mom's own food."
Pikachu lazily squeaked in agreement from where he'd curled up at the foot of Ash's bunk, and the trainer took this as his cue to get up and head over to the light switch.
"I'm turning the lights off, you guys. When traveling it's important to get up early, so let's all get some rest." After a vaguely affirmative mumble from May and a resigned "Okay" from Max Ash flicked the switch and sent the room into darkness. Before he climbed back into his bunk he looked over at where May had huddled under her blanket, her back turned towards him. While he hadn't known the new trainer for very long, he still couldn't help but feel like there was something bothering her. Well, he shrugged, a good night's rest would probably fix it. With that last thought he lay down and pulled his own blanket over himself before letting sleep claim him.
—
Sleep abandoned Ash much sooner than he would have liked, but the grumbles he would have normally had about that were pushed aside by what he saw in the darkness of the room. May, still dressed in her pajamas, was heading towards the door. Before Ash could do much more than blink the bleariness from his eyes she had already opened it and left, carefully shutting it behind her.
Ash had to resist the urge to jump out of bed after her, mindful of his best friend still snoozing at his feet. Instead he glanced over to Max's bunk, where the young boy was sound asleep, before carefully sliding out from under his blanket and into a pair of slippers. As quietly as he could he stepped out of the dorm room and headed towards the Center's common area, figuring that would be the most likely place for May to go. Luckily he'd guessed correctly; there she was, sitting at a corner table silently nursing a glass of water. Nobody else appeared to be around this late in the evening, with even Nurse Joy absent from the front counter, so Ash quietly coughed to catch his friend's attention. May's head shot up in surprise before she noticed him walking over, at which point her expression changed to a small smile as she slid over to give him room next to her. For a few minutes the two trainers sat together in silence, neither sure how to open the necessary conversation, before Ash's worry finally got the better of him.
"So, uh, May," he asked, "what are you doing up so late? Couldn't sleep?" She shook her head in response.
"Not really. I guess I was still angry at Max and needed something to cool off." May paused to take a sip of water. It was lukewarm, not cool at all, but just drinking it felt soothing. "I get that he's super excited to be traveling with us, but he didn't have to be so rude to me just because I wasn't as excited as he was."
Ash dwelt on that for a moment, trying to remember exactly what it was that Max had said to make his sister so upset. Despite his travels he wouldn't say he had much experience with sibling arguments, but one comment did stick out to him, something that reminded him of a question that had been in the back of his head all day after his battle with Norman.
"Was it what he said about spending the night at home not looking good to your parents?" May flushed and subtly nodded her head. "That's what I figured. Is it really a problem? Are you that worried about what your mom and dad might think of you?"
Even the idea sounded preposterous to Ash. As far as he could tell Norman and Caroline were both loving parents, and May and Max clearly both loved their parents in return. Besides, May was about to set off on a long journey as a Pokémon trainer. Surely it wouldn't be a big deal for her to spend one last night at home before that? As if reading his thoughts May turned to him and chuckled nervously.
"It's nothing that serious, I promise. It's…" she fidgeted in her seat, tapping her fingers against her glass. This was getting uncomfortably close to the truth about why she'd set out on a journey to begin with, and as nice as Ash was May still didn't feel like he needed to know that she didn't care about Gyms, the Hoenn League, or any of that battling stuff. "It's just that I was so excited to set out on this journey, but now that I've actually started it I feel like I'm not prepared at all. If it wasn't for you I definitely wouldn't have been able to get Torchic to the Pokémon Center in Oldale Town after that mess with the Azurill. And don't even get me started on when those goons in red attacked the Center and locked us in the storage room."
"I'm sure my parents wouldn't think badly of me just because I ran into some trouble early on, but I still feel like I need to prove I can at least handle myself out there—" Suddenly May flushed again and waved her hands in embarrassment. That had not come out the way she'd intended it to. "That doesn't mean I'm not grateful for your help, Ash! Seriously, I've only known you for a few days and I already owe you so much. Thank you…"
Now it was Ash's turn to feel embarrassed as he chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. He hadn't expected this to suddenly turn into an appreciation session. "It's nothing, May. What are friends for? Besides, I think you're doing great as you are." He shot her a smile, trying to get the message across in as many ways as he could.
"You think?" May tilted her head, eyebrow raised. "It doesn't seem that way to me."
"Positive. Before we even introduced ourselves you were helping Professor Birch pull me and Pikachu up that cliff. Then you stuck right with me when those guys attacked the Pokémon Center and didn't lose your cool at all. And you and Torchic are already getting along amazingly. I'm sure you're going to become an awesome trainer in no time." Ash pumped his fist for emphasis, even as May continued looking at him unsurely.
"Is that really that big of a deal? Shouldn't all trainers get along with their Pokémon? You and Pikachu, my dad and his gym Pokémon…Compared to that, what I have with Torchic doesn't feel very special." And how could it be, when her very first meeting with Ash had had him jumping off a cliff to save his Pokémon. Meanwhile Ash resisted the urge to snort as memories of his own start as a trainer came back to him.
"It may not feel that way now, but I can tell Torchic absolutely adores you, May, and from how you reacted earlier when Team Rocket stole it I know you feel the same." He gave her a crooked smile. "At least you're doing better than I was at this point. Pikachu and I are best friends now, but when we started out…" A sly grin grew on May's face at the implications.
"Oh? Now this is something I need to hear. I can't imagine you and Pikachu being anything other than best friends. What, did he zap your bike too?" Ash abruptly found himself unable to look May in the eyes. Thinking about it the story of his and Pikachu's first day together (and their first zapped bike) was a little too embarrassing for his liking, and there was still something bothering him.
"Uh, maybe some other time. It's still late and there's one more thing I wanted to ask you. Actually, it's something I've been wanting to ask you since I battled your dad." May raised an eyebrow, but she gestured for Ash to go ahead despite his obvious changing of the subject. Whatever it was, she trusted him not to pry if she decided she didn't want to answer. Ash coughed, although even he wasn't sure whether it was to clear his throat or stall for another few seconds.
"May, before I met your dad, why were you so evasive about letting me know he was the Petalburg Gym Leader?" Ash took a breath, hoping that he wasn't coming off as too accusing towards his friend. "When we first got to Petalburg you acted like you didn't know who he was, and back in Oldale Town you didn't even want me talking to other trainers about him."
May blanched. This was not what she had expected Ash to ask, and now that he'd brought it up she realized why he'd been so worried about her relationship with her parents. Still, with the Skitty out of the bag already it couldn't hurt to tell him the truth. At least she hoped it wouldn't.
"Oh. That…Well, to be completely honest, Ash…I was afraid of how you'd react. Oh, I don't mean in a bad way though!" May mentally kicked herself. Why was she stumbling so much over this? If Ash was ever going to be mad at her over this he already would be. Luckily he didn't look offended at all, simply confused.
"How I'd react?" Sure enough, Ash was as confused as he looked. While he was relieved that at least there wasn't any trouble between May and her parents, that didn't mean he understood what was actually going on. "Why would you worry about that? I think it's awesome that your dad's a Gym Leader. Do you not like his job or something?"
May hurriedly shook her head. "No, I am proud of my dad. It's just that…" she felt her whole face begin to get warm as Ash patiently waited for her to continue. "You're so enthusiastic about Pokémon, Ash, while I don't know the first thing about being a trainer. I guess…I guess I was afraid that if you knew my dad was a Gym Leader that would be all you wanted to talk to me about. I like talking to you, and I didn't want all of our conversations to end up being about my dad. It's stupid, I know, but that's why I was so evasive before. Then once you found out anyway I was too embarrassed to apologize for it. I'm sorry."
Ash found himself unable to do anything but stare as May hid her face in her hands. That was what she had been worried about? Then again, it wasn't like he could really understand what it was like to have a famous relative. At least she wasn't like how Gary used to be, flaunting Professor Oak's name every chance he got. Still, Ash couldn't shake the feeling that this was somehow his fault. Hesitantly he put a hand on May's shoulder, drawing her out from behind her hands with a questioning look.
"It's not a problem at all, May." The look of relief on his friend's face sent a burst of confidence surging through Ash. "You don't need to apologize for anything. I know I can get a little carried away when it comes to Pokémon. My friends have told me that enough times, that's for sure. I like talking to you too, whether or not your dad's a Gym Leader. So even if I do ask you about him, don't worry about whether that's all I care about."
May couldn't help but giggle at the smile on Ash's face. She truly was lucky to be traveling with him. "Sure thing, Ash. Although if you want to know about Dad's work you're better off asking Max. He's the real Poké-maniac in the family."
"I guess I should," Ash chuckled. "Speaking of Max, we should probably get back to sleep. I did say it's important to get up early after all.
May nodded. "You're right. You go on ahead though. I'm going to finish my drink first." As Ash nodded back and began walking towards their shared room May looked down into her mostly empty glass. She'd started the day dreading what would happen when Ash inevitably met her family, but now that he had all she could think of was how much she was looking forward to their future travels together, however long those would last. There was still the hurdle of how to tell him her real reason for setting out on her journey, but, as she downed the last of her water and set the glass down with a thud, she had the feeling it would all work out in the end.
Hopefully you enjoyed this one-shot. I was inspired to write it because while watching AG003 I noticed that despite May initially making quite an effort to hide that the Petalburg Gym Leader was her dad, she seemed completely fine with Ash finding out on his own later. Ash doesn't really bring it up either, so I figured I might as well try to show how the two would talk about it later.
This wasn't specifically intended as Advanceshipping, especially with how early it is into Ash and May's relationship, but feel free to read its potential seeds into it.
