Hello, again! Some of you may know that I've undertaken a journey this year to go back and watch all of Pokemon through from the beginning. I'm currently about 20 episodes into Diamond and Pearl. I've taken it as an accomplishment that, even being the fangirl that I am, I've really only gotten serious about two ships since this journey started. And it didn't feel quite right to leave Advanced behind without writing a one-shot for this second ship.

Two's Company

Many would find it ironic that Brock, who specialized in getting his heart broken, actually knew a thing or two about love. At the very least, he knew how to spot a budding romance when he saw it. May was starting to realize she had sorely underestimated his intuition.

They had kept in touch over the years. Her adventures had become particularly interesting to him once he'd settled back down in Pewter City, and she had enjoyed hearing about Dawn's progress as a coordinator back when he'd been on the road in Sinnoh. Although, she had started to notice that it was not all talk of new places and Pokemon. Somehow, Drew always seemed to make it into their conversations.

The first time her old friend had asked after Drew, it had sent a jolt of panic through her stomach. It had been Brock who'd brought him up, right? Had an errant 'we' slipped past her lips?

But it was not until their most recent video call that Brock had gotten truly blunt with his implications.

"I miss you guys sometimes, but it was a really good idea for me to go off on my own like I did. I've learned a lot. It can get lonely, though."

Brock's smile was a little different this time. Shrewd. "Yeah, I guess Drew doesn't make for much company, huh?"

There it was. The first outright accusation that she hadn't been quite as alone as she claimed. It might have been worth denying—after all, what real proof did he have?—had May's responding blush not immediately given her away…

…

It hadn't started out as a lie. Honestly. For her first few months in Johto—most of it, really—it had just been May and her Pokemon. Traveling, training, and contests. The life of a real trainer.

And it had been great. She kept Ash and Brock and her family in her thoughts, of course, but without the distractions… without Team Rocket stirring up trouble at every turn… May felt like she was really coming into her own as a coordinator. And her rival coordinators… Well, she didn't have to go to much trouble to keep them in her thoughts.

They all seemed to have started in the same place. Early on, May saw Drew, Harley, and Solidad too much to miss them. But they'd branched off in their own directions soon enough. Although… Admittedly, she'd never stopped seeing Drew on a regular basis. But that wasn't due to action on her part, no matter what Brock might think! Drew was always just there. Though she had found it suspicious that he didn't even compete in half the contests they met up at…

Once she'd noticed it, May couldn't seem to stop thinking about it. About him. And the more she thought about it, she realized that it had kind of always been like this. Drew had been there for an awful lot of her contests, from the very beginning. And he always seemed to be looking out for her, whenever Harley or Team Rocket tried to interfere…

And then it happened. She just happened to arrive at a contest Drew was competing in. She caught the tail end of it, arriving just in time to see Drew accepting his ribbon, Masquerain hovering at his side. May quietly went to stand behind Roselia, waiting for him at the edge of the stands. Drew held up his ribbon with a little smirk, and the crowd went wild.

"That attitude," May scoffed, barely audible over the cheering. But the Pokemon standing beside her heard. May met Roselia's eye with a little smile. "But at least he's pretty, right?"

Roselia stared at her for a single second before bursting into laughter—the kind that made it near-impossible to remain upright. Laughter that hadn't abated by the time Drew made his way over.

He didn't seem terribly surprised to see her. In fact, he ignored her completely, kneeling down to be on Roselia's level. "What's so funny? What did May do this time?"

May would have been indignant… if she hadn't been distracted, dissecting her own words. She'd meant it as a joke, but did she find Drew attractive? Well, sure, but, I mean, she had eyes. So Drew was rather nice to look at. From an objective standpoint, of course. It didn't mean anything… Necessarily…

"Huh? What's wrong with you?" Drew was looking up at her now, and May suddenly became aware that her face was very hot.

…

It was a few weeks before she saw Drew again. Once more, she arrived in town just a little too late to participate in the contest, but at least she got to watch most of it this time around.

Though it probably wasn't the one he wanted her to see. Drew's Butterfree lost to a Quilava in the battle rounds. It was a bad type match-up to start with, but it couldn't help that Butterfree was still the newest member of Drew's team. They were still learning to work with each other. But May knew that Drew took all of his losses to heart.

Once again, she saw Roselia before she saw Drew. The Pokemon caught her just outside the coordinators' waiting room, a rose held out for the taking. May held it nimbly between two fingers with a smile. She'd wondered after Drew's endless supply; did Roselia grow them? But she didn't have long to ponder this before Roselia was urging her forward.

An idea had formed in her head already. She tried to hold the rose as casually at her side as possible. May kept her smile neutral as Drew looked up at her. Butterfree was seated beside him on the bench.

"Hey, Drew," she greeted. "How's Butterfree doing?"

"Butterfree is fine. What are you doing here?"

Was that suspicion she was hearing in his voice? So he was the only one allowed to partake in some low-key stalking, was that it? May refused to let him rile her up this time. She was vaguely aware of Roselia watching them from the doorway.

May smiled sweetly and held out the rose. "I'm not allowed to keep an eye on the competition? Here. For luck in the next one."

Drew seemed surprised for the briefest of seconds before taking the rose from her, the familiar smirk back on his face. "What's this? You're giving me roses now?"

"Of course not. It's for Butterfree. I didn't think you needed to rely on luck."

She left him then, managing to contain her giddy laughter until she was out of earshot.

…

And so it continued on. Before she knew it, May found herself growing disappointed when Drew didn't show up for her contests. Pretty soon, it became all she could think about. Her Pokemon noticed her distraction, and it started affecting her performances. And then, it all came to a head in Ecruteak City.

It was not May's worst loss, not by a long shot. But it was a loss, and to a coordinator who didn't have nearly as much experience as she did. And what were the chances, as she left the stage to tend to her Pokemon, she spotted none other than Drew turning away from the results of her lackluster performance.

It was too much to hope that he would leave it at that. Drew cornered her on her way out of the contest venue.

"What do you think you're doing?" His cold voice stopped her in her tracks, and when she turned around, Drew's expression was harsher than she'd seen it in a long time.

"Hey, Drew," she replied, her voice nearly inaudible.

"Well?" he said, refusing to be distracted. "What was that back there?"

A familiar irritation welled up underneath her embarrassment. "Excuse me, Mr. Perfect! Some of us have bad days, all right?"

He scoffed. "That's no excuse. If you're not prepared, you shouldn't be competing. It's not fair to your Pokemon. Even the most talented Pokemon can't succeed with an incompetent trainer."

It was so much harder to argue with him when he was right. But May still had her pride, if nothing else. "What's it matter to you, anyway?! I'd think you'd be celebrating any time I lose. It just makes you look better, right?"

If possible, his eyes got harder. "I don't know about you, May, but I prefer my rivals to have a little self-respect."

There were tears welling up in her eyes now, and the sensation turned her ire into fury. "Drew-! You… You…" She could barely get the words out.

He quirked an eyebrow in challenge. "What?"

"You drive me crazy!" The dam broke, and the words exploded out of her. "With your cool attitude and your constant critiques! And it's your fault, you know?!" Her rage was making her nearly incoherent. "I'm never this flustered when you're not around to see it! Gah! I just—" Love you.

The truth almost slipped out before she'd even acknowledged it herself. Immediately, she clamped her jaw shut, the blood rushing to her face. The infuriating boy standing before her watched with growing confusion as the silence continued, and the surely blistering insult did not come.

"Um… May?" he asked at last. Finally, this seemed to snap her out of her daze. But, if possible, her face seemed to grow even brighter when she saw his eyes closely scrutinizing her.

"I… I have to go!" she stammered, turning and sprinting out the door. Drew didn't attempt to follow her. As May ran towards the Pokemon center, she tried to keep her focus on getting her team the help they needed. However, there was a small corner of her mind where she couldn't stop herself from wondering at what point Drew had become more than just the competition.

…

Not an hour later, May was seated in the Pokemon Center's waiting room. Everything was running a little more slowly with Nurse Joy over at the contest hall, but her Chancey assistants had more than enough experience to put anyone's mind at ease. If only the wellbeing of her Pokemon was the extent of May's worries…

"Um… May?"

She nearly jumped off the bench at the sound of that voice. Sure enough, there was Drew, Roselia at his side this time, wearing an uncharacteristically stern look. Drew looked a little sheepish himself.

"Drew! W-what are you doing here?"

"Well, you see…" The Pokemon at his side gave him a sharp poke when he trailed off. The boy sighed. "I think I owe you an apology. I may have been a little… harsh back there. So… I'm sorry."

May's eyes remained glued to the floor. "No… You were right. My Pokemon got hurt because of me."

"But you were right too. Everyone has their bad days." Drew took a seat beside her, albeit at a careful distance.

"That doesn't change how right you were," she protested.

"Why do you always have to be so difficult? I'm trying to apologize here."

They sat in silence for a moment. At last, May asked, "Drew… What are you even doing in town? You didn't compete in the contest so…"

"Oh…" he said when she trailed off. "Well, I… I heard you were heading this way."

"Why do you keep checking up on me?" Her voice was not quite as sharp as it had been an hour ago. "Normally, you don't have time for anything but your own training."

"Well…" Drew seemed to be considering his words very carefully. "This is part of my training."

May looked up at him for the first time. "I don't understand."

She expected another smirk, possibly some derisive comment, but Drew remained serious. "I've been watching you for a long time, trying to understand you."

"To understand me?" she repeated.

There was the smirk, but it didn't have the mocking edge she'd grown used to. "What can I say? I can't stand to leave a mystery unsolved. From your first contest onward… I've never seen anyone improve at the rate you have. Especially considering your travel companions…"

"What about them?"

The look he gave her stated quite clearly that he felt the what should be obvious. "Your friends were magnets for trouble. Every time I saw you, some distraction was right around the corner. I can't imagine how you ever got any training done." His expression twisted into something akin to frustration. "So the fact that you were able to catch up to me so quickly…"

May sighed. Rivals to the very end, indeed. For some reason, she felt a little disappointed. He glanced at her curiously. "So I guess I've just been wondering why you broke off on your own in the first place."

She laughed a bit. "I think you started rubbing off on me, Drew. You were always so focused… And I started to realize that I didn't have any. Focus, that is. The Grand Festival was over, and I felt kind of empty inside. Lost. It was all I'd been aiming for, for so long. I decided I needed to spend some time focusing on myself and my goals. So I came to Johto to see what it would be like to live like you for a while—think about nothing but contests."

"But I just told you I have been thinking about more than just contests," he corrected quietly. "I've been thinking about you."

May struggled to keep her heartbeat steady. She hurried to correct, "for the purpose of advancing your training."

There was a brief pause. Did she imagine Drew losing his nerve to say something else? "Right. I guess that's a good point."

Roselia huffed impatiently beside him. May had almost forgotten that they had company. The sound seemed to thaw them out. The two seemed to realize simultaneously just how stiff they'd both gotten. Their eyes met and they chuckled in harmony. Drew glanced fondly at his Roselia.

"I guess I should just get to the point, huh? May, I'd like to travel with you."

His words wiped her mind utterly clean. "You… You what?"

Now Drew was the one who seemed impatient. "I don't mean to crowd you. I understand if my request sounds a little counterproductive to you. But I've been searching for a way to grow as a trainer too. I could always track down Solidad if—"

"No!" she cut in a little too forcefully. She hurried to backtrack. "I mean, it's just… I guess it has been getting kind of lonely."

"Great. So…" Drew held out his hand with a smile.

May took it and let her hand rest in his for a moment, perfectly aware that everything was about to change. Drew's presence in her life had always been marked by the brevity of their time spent together. He tended to disappear just as quickly as he arrived, and May was surprised to note that her most vivid memories were of his back as he was walking away. And yet, he'd had such a profound effect on her. May was looking forward to exploring that effect as they spent more time together.

…

So much had changed since then. Though not quite everything, as she'd anticipated. She'd uncovered a softer side to Drew in the more than a year they'd now spent traveling together. (Her own soft side had never been hidden.) She'd come to know his Pokemon nearly as well as her own. They continued to train, compete in contests, the whole nine yards. But every moment spent together took on an air of… lightness. Even when they were competing against each other.

Drew's smiles—the relaxed, kind ones—became a more common sight. There were times May forgot his primary goal in joining her had been to advance his own training. And yet… he didn't seem to tire of her company the way she had so quickly tired of solitude. And then…

May was at a loss of how to explain what had happened next to Brock—how they had grown closer than she had ever dared to hope—but perhaps she didn't have to. In part because he probably had already guessed it himself, and in part because there was some sort of commotion on his end of the line. May spotted at least three of his younger siblings all pulling on him and shouting over each other. May was suddenly glad she'd only ever had Max to look after.

"Okay, okay, one at a time!" Brock was struggling to remain seated and take stock of the situation around him at the same time. He turned back just long enough to say, "Sorry, May, I'll have to call you back; say hi to Drew for me—" before the children succeeded in pulling him away and the screen went dark.

May hung up her end with a little laugh and freed up the video phone for someone else. She had not taken two steps before she caught sight of Drew, making his way over through the crowded Pokemon Center.

"Hey, how are your friends doing?"

She surprised him by walking right up and taking his hand, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Drew turned a satisfying shade of pink. Physical displays of affection were not something he had had a chance to get used to.

"Um…"

May smiled at him. "Apparently, we're not that subtle."

Drew sighed, though May could tell his exasperation was at least a little put on. And even if he wasn't pleased by this information, he didn't let go of her hand, which was all that mattered to May.

Review please!

I don't own Pokemon.

So, when all is said and done, I really like May as a character. She grows a lot and her character arc felt complete. I really liked her final episodes and decision to go off on her own—because she was finally thinking of the future, whereas her goals throughout Advanced were always very short-term, even when she did start to get serious about her contests. As much as I wanted to write a story about May and Drew traveling together when they both went to Johto, I didn't want to completely erase all the progress she made at the end. I think it worked out pretty well. I like to add some element of time passing in my stories, anyway. Well, that's all from me for now. Perhaps I'll get inspiration for another one-shot as I continue on with Diamond and Pearl, but I guess we'll just have to see. Thank you for reading!