A press conference took up most of the early evening. Despite the formal ceremonies being over by six thirty, May only left the contest hall by eight o'clock. Then she had to change, and make her way to the ballroom in the hotel for the after party. Practically everyone was already there- on her way into the lobby she noticed Brock escorting Solidad in by the arm. She didn't look particularly impressed, but was smiling all the same, cameras pointed in her face.

May escaped the lobby before her presence was noted by the paparazzi by the doors. She was never a fan of cameras, and thankfully the lift gave her some security until she reached her room. For once, she had been sensible, and had left her dress hanging up on the wardrobe. She tossed the white contest dress to one side, and slipped into the other. This one was red, floor length, and Solidad had helped her pick it out, so it was guaranteed to be good.

She fixed her make up too, smearing more concealer under her eyes to hide the exhaustion that had accumulated over the last few days. Coordinating was tiring work, and with all the extra training she had put in over the last few days, her appearance had clearly taken a toll too. Running a brush through her hair and destroying the ringlets she had put so much effort into this morning, she sighed. Of course, she was over the moon that she had won- she could finally call herself a top coordinator. But her mind kept flitting to Drew, and how he must feel after his loss to Solidad.

The lift seemed to take forever to come up to her floor, and once she stepped inside, she took a deep breath. It reached the ground floor in seconds, and she stepped out, her hells clicking on the marble. She made her way over to the ballroom, where, of course, she was stopped by multiple camera people, all of which she recognised as already haven taken her picture throughout the day. Her smile, albeit strained, was enough to satisfy them, and now the guest of the evening had arrived, they made their way out of the hotel or into the ballroom, hoping to get a few more photos for the inevitable spread in all the newspapers in the morning. She spotted the woman from Coordinator's Weekly, highlighted by her jacket, and made a mental note to avoid her for the rest of the evening.

In classic May style, she ignored the many people in the room, and headed straight for the buffet. A long table, with a gold tablecloth on it, was laid out along one side of the hall. Cake stands, platters and bowls covered it, and subtly lifting one of the bigger paper plates from the end, May made her way along, lifting whatever savory foods she liked. She decided she would come back for the cakes and biscuits later- the night was still young after all. She hadn't eaten properly today, aside from the half a pizza Drew bought before the finals.

"I thought I'd find you here," a voice came from behind her, and she whipped around, a smile on her face.

"You know me too well," she said, and Drew returned her smile, procuring a rose from his jacket pocket.

"For you. I think the coordinator deserves it this time, after all the effort she's put in."

"And what am I supposed to do with that?" She asked, motioning with her head to her filled hands. "I can't carry your rose and all my food, and sorry, but it takes priority."

"I'm not surprised," he said, rolling his eyes. "Fine, I'll carry it until you finish eating."

He made a move to leave from the buffet, and May reluctantly followed him, smiling at the passersby that congratulated her. He sat down at a table in the corner, where Solidad and Brock, along with a slightly unwilling Harley sat. She set her food down on the table, and without another word, started picking at it. She really had gone all out- no one else at the table would even have dreamed of eating that much.

"How's fame treating you so far?" Solidad laughed, sipping from her champagne glass.

"I wouldn't say I'm famous," May said between bites of bread.

"Just wait until the news hits the press tomorrow. Once the newspapers are out, you won't even be able to leave the hotel," Drew said with a grimace.

"I have to agree with him. You better have a plan to get out of here," Solidad nodded.

"Oh, let her be! Enjoy the evening, May, and don't listen to those two. They're always talking about their fame and fortune," Harley said dejectedly, rolling his eyes. Judging from the many glasses in front of him, he was already trying to forget his humiliating defeat at the start of the second round.

"She clearly is," Brock interjected, and May laughed, her plate of food diminished greatly.

"We should dance," Harley said suddenly, eyeing the few couples in the middle of the room who were swaying on the spot.

"This isn't really the sort of scene for your style of dancing, Harley," Solidad chastised gently. "Besides, you would need a partner."

"I'll go find a partner then!" He announced, leaving behind his glasses and empty plate. He stormed off, and May couldn't help but watch him as she went. He grabbed a random guy from the buffet table, and they started dancing. Although it wasn't elegant and refined like the other couples, it certainly was something to watch- their jerky movements combined with serious expressions made it unique.

"Care to dance?" Brock offered Solidad, who smiled, taking his outstretched hand.

"For once, I think I would." She left the table with a raised eyebrow in Drew's direction, which May didn't miss.

"For the record, I really don't want to dance, so don't bother asking," she warned, and he just laughed in response.

"I'm not good at dancing," he admitted, "so you're off the hook."

"I do, however, want some of the desserts."

"Shouldn't you wait a bit? You just ate, like, three dinners worth of food."

"Maybe you're right. Fine, I'll wait. But I will get them!" She said determinedly. Her PokéNav rang suddenly, and upon seeing the caller ID, May stood up, turning to Drew apologetically. "I have to take this. It's my mom."

"Go ahead. I'll be here if you need me," he said, and she pressed 'accept', eyes glancing round for an exit.

"Hey, mom! Wait two seconds till I get outside!" She laughed, covering the microphone with her hand.

There was a balcony not too far from where she was seated, with a staircase that lead down into the garden at the back of the hotel. She hadn't stepped a foot in it in all the time she had stayed in the hotel, but now she regretted not doing so. There were carefully carved out stone paths that converged in the middle with an illuminated fountain. Flowers and berries of many different colours made up the majority of the garden, with shrubs and bushes lining the path. Only a few other people walked in the garden- most of the people staying the hotel were in attendance at the party.

"Hey," May said into her PokéNav, smiling brightly.

"May!" Caroline exclaimed. "Congratulations! We're so, so proud of you. Practically the whole neighbourhood was round to watch the finals, despite the time differences!"

"Wow, that's embarrassing," May replied, rubbing the back of her head. "But… thanks."

"Are you at the after party now?"

"Yeah, I'm outside to talk to you. Honestly, I'd rather be talking to you than being in there. I'm exhausted after this weekend, and I can't wait to sleep."

"Are you coming home?" Caroline asked expectantly.

"Yep! I'll be back for a good while now. I'm going to take a break from coordinating for a while, I think."

"Really? But you just became Top Coordinator! Wouldn't that inspire you to work more, enter more contests?"

"I had this decided before I even won my five ribbons, mom. I want to come home, train as a proper Pokémon Trainer, learn how to battle from Dad. If he'll teach me, that is."

"Of course he will! You know, I think he always hoped you'd take over the gym one day, although I think he's now hedging his bets on Max doing it, since you took a different path."

"The fact that I'm a coordinator doesn't mean I can't be a gym leader. Like, look at Fantina and Wallace! They're both gym leaders that were former coordinators. Th-that's not to say I want to be a gym leader now, but… well, if Dad offered me the position I'd certainly think about it," she stuttered, smiling.

"Would you like to talk to your father? I'm sure he had his own words of congratulations for you."

"If he's not busy, that would be nice."

"It's a Sunday night May; of course he's not busy. In fact, I'm sure he'd be delighted to talk to you." There was a shuffling at the other end of the phone, and Caroline's motherly voice was replaced by Norman's gruff one.

"Congratulations, May," he offered, causing May to smile. "Your final battle was spectacular, just what I'd expect from my daughter." It was hard to catch, but there was a hint of pride in his voice, that made May's heart soar.

"Thanks. I've been training a lot, so I'm glad all my hard work payed off."

"It certainly did. You've come a long way from that first contest in Slateport City," Norman said, his breath catching at the end of the sentence.

"Dad? Are you… are you crying?"

"I'm just so proud of you. My little girl, Top Coordinator!"

"Stop it! You're going to make me cry too!" She smiled, wiping under her eyes to stop the tears that were quickly forming.

"I'm just sorry your mother and I weren't there to see it in person."

"It's fine, dad. Brock was here, and Drew was supporting me, and Harley too, probably. I hope, at least. And Solidad was so nice afterwards! And… well, thanks for phoning me. I know you haven't always believed in me, since I used to hate Pokémon, but… well, I'm really happy now. I finally achieved one of my goals!"

"So what now, kiddo? Onto another region?"

"No," May said, shaking her head, "I'm coming home. I'd… I'd like it if you could train me to battle properly, Dad."

"I don't think there's much I can teach you," Norman said honestly.

"Contest battles are a lot different than gym battles. That's something I learned over the last years. And I'd love to learn from you more than anyone else, since... well, you're my dad!"

"I'll see what I can do. But it'll have to be after the gym closes, so you'll have to find something to do during the day."

"That's fine! I want to help Professor Birch with the Pokédex, so I can do that during the day, and train with you in the evening."

"It's a deal."

"Thank you, Dad! I would hug you if I could, but… well, you'll just have to believe me," May laughed.

"I'll let you get back to the party. Have fun, darling."

"I will. Tell mom I say thanks, again."

"No problem. Good night, May."

"Bye, dad!" May said with a smile, and pressed 'end call' on the screen. She slipped her PokéNav back into her bag, and sat down on a metal bench, not wanting to return to the party.

The sky was dark now, with any hint of daylight obliterated by the moon. Most of the people in the garden had returned inside, leaving just May on her own on the bench. Not that she was complaining- it gave her time to relax. The weekend had really taken its toll, whether that be from general exhaustion or from using Mega Evolution three times over the course of as many days. She had read online something about it being bad for the trainer performing the act, but hadn't quite believed it until now. Whether it was a coincidence, or just her overactive imagination, she wasn't quite sure.

"I realised I never got to congratulate you," Drew's voice came from beside her, and she smiled, offering him the empty spot on the bench. He flicked his hair (honestly, she thought he'd grown out of that) before sitting down himself.

"Well, thanks," she replied, smiling at her knees.

"Does now count as after the Grand Festival?" Drew asked softly. May took a deep breath. She knew he had been leading up to this all evening, and part of her had left the party to avoid or postpone the inevitable. But she too wanted to talk about… well, whatever it was she could call it.

"Yes," she said finally, and he sighed.

"You give me really mixed signals."

"I'm sorry about that. I really don't mean to."

"Then what signals are you trying to give me?" He asked, taking one of her hands in both of his own.

"P…positive ones?" She sighed. "Look, Drew, I don't know anything about anything like this."

"Neither do I."

"Well, I guess that's one more thing we have in common."

"I've never… been in a relationship with anyone before. I've never had feelings like this for anyone apart from you." She turned to face him properly, his face as calm as it usually was. Her's on the other hand, was bright red, and the tears she'd managed to quell earlier were threatening to spill over once again. Luckily for her, the little light they had was concealing her complexion. "Hey, don't cry."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, tearing her hand away from him to wipe the tears away. "Sorry," she repeated, this time with a laugh.

"I'm just going to come out and say it, okay?" He said, taking a deep breath. "I really, really like you. In fact, I might even love you. I don't know yet. But what I do know, is that I want to make you happy, even if I don't really know how." He handed her the rose from earlier, closing her fingers around it. "I don't need an answer right now. I just wanted to tell you how I-"

He was cut off by her lips against his. His eyes widened at the sight of her closed ones, and he returned her kiss, lifting a hand to support her cheek. She grabs his free hand with hers that's not holding the rose. It didn't take long before she drew back, letting go of his hand to cover her face. His hand lingers on her cheek, before dropping to his lap. She takes a few deep breaths, and lowers her hands.

"I think that was the best way to show you how I feel. I'm not good with words."

"So, can we… can we make this a thing? I don't want to put a name on it, but…"

"I think we've been a thing for much longer than we thought. Like… I mean, have you ever gone on a date with another girl?"

"No."

"Exactly," she smiled. "Remember that time we went out for dinner in Floaroma Town? That was pretty much like a date, I think."

"That's when I really realised that I liked you," he said, casting his eyes to the ground in an attempt to hide his blush.

"There you go then."

"So what you're saying is, without realizing it, we've pretty much been a thing since we got here?"

"I mean, think about it!" May laughed. "Late night phone calls, coming to see each others contests, I think there was a lot of handholding…"

"I get your point. So what you're saying, is I could've said something back in Floaroma Town, and you still would've said yes?"

"I'm only thinking about all of this now. But I suppose so!"

"Which means I could've done this a lot earlier," Drew said, leaning in for another kiss. This time, he pulled away first, leaving May to pout angrily.

"We… should probably head back into the party."

"You're not gonna make me dance with you, are you?"

"No way! I'm still not wanting to do that," May replied, getting up from the bench and stretching.

"Can I hold your hand?" Drew asked nervously.

"You don't need to ask."

They walked hand-in-hand; slowly back up through the garden towards the hotel. They took the balcony steps up to the ballroom, where Solidad was waiting with a raised eyebrow. Drew gave her a halfhearted glare on the way past, but she ruffled his hair, noting with an obvious nod their intertwined fingers.

"Are you going to dance?" She asked as they walked past, only to receive a 'no' in perfect unison.

They took their seats at the table once again, going back to the usual May and Drew conversations that usually took place. Really, it didn't make a difference that they were a 'thing' as they so eloquently put it. It was just that now whatever they had had a name, instead of them just getting on with their lives and pretending their feelings didn't exist.

"So, what now?" Drew asked, returning from the buffet table with a plate full of deserts from May.

"Back to Hoenn," she said quietly. "And… I think you should go to Unova."

"No way."

"What do you mean, no way? Drew, I know you really want to go!"

"I'll do the Hoenn circuit again; become Top Coordinator of my home region. It's every coordinator's dream. I'll get a house in Lilycove or Slateport, so I have somewhere to go home to, and so I can get post."

"Is that your only priority?"

"I missed out on Mega Evolution because of it, so I think it's a pretty big factor, yes."

"Fair enough."

"And maybe, well, I was thinking, you could come and live with me. Maybe. At some point. Not right away!"

"We'll see where this is going by the end of the summer, and… well, we'll see," she said shyly, managing a smile.

"Getting back to Hoenn tomorrow is going to be a nightmare, though. What with all the paparazzi."

"Tell me about it. I'm dreading even getting out of bed."

"Hey, why don't we go now?" Drew suggested, his face lit up with his amazing idea.

"Drew, I don't think there's any boats to Hoenn at ten o'clock at night."

"Okay, but we can go to Sunyshore and get the first boat in the morning. The magazines will be waiting for you here, but you'll be gone, so there'll be no hassle."

"…You know what? Let's do it. Meet me in the lobby in ten minutes, okay? I have to pack."

"Deal."

May left the ballroom first, to avoid suspicion (mainly from Solidad), and headed up in the lift to her room. Her suitcase was stuffed under her bed, and she pulled it out, emptying the drawers and wardrobe and throwing the items in haphazardly. She folded her contest dress, and clipped her hair bow onto it. She stripped off her evening dress from the party, and changed into her shorts and vest that she had opted for wearing around the south of the region. It was perfect for Hoenn, and along with her sunglasses and hair tie, she was practically unrecognizable compared to her earlier appearance.

She swapped bags, too, from the black clutch to her backpack that she had used while travelling around Sinnoh. Cosmetics in the suitcase, and trainers on her feet, she grabbed her jacket by the door and lifted the room key from beside her bed. Giving the room a once over, she smiled, checking her PokéNav. There was a text from Drew- in the lobby now. Hurry up! She left the room, locking it behind her.

The woman on reception looked tired, but she sat up straight when May approached her. Her hair was messy- probably from the long day. People had been in and out of the hotel all day, and she had probably been working from the morning, and she was probably working until the hotel closed. May slipped the room key onto her desk, and lifted the money out to tip the woman. Although free accommodation was offered to all participating coordinators, she still felt bad, and the woman smiled tiredly.

"Ready to go?" Drew asked, similarly out of his suit he had previously been wearing. He had changed into dark jeans and a turtle neck, paired with his usual purple shirt.

"I'm glad to see the aqua gone."

"Shut up," he laughed, and the couple wheeled their suitcases outside. The stalls set up from the Grand Festival had begun to disappear, although some vendors had clearly decided to wait until the next day to take down their stand. Maybe they were hoping for a little more business as coordinators and fans left.

May threw Altaria's Pokéball, and Drew Flygon's, and they boarded their Pokémon, balancing suitcases carefully on their knees. They took to the sky, heading in the general direction of Sunyshore City with only the stars and moon to light their way. Fortunately, the city wasn't too far, and from the air, the lights of the urban area could guide them. They landed after only about twenty minutes in the air, stepping onto the solar panels of the city.

"We can't really stay in the Pokémon Centre if we're trying to do the incognito thing, can we?" May asked, and Drew shrugged.

"Your sunglasses are a pretty good disguise, and no one cares about someone who only ended up in the Top Four."

"'Only' the Top Four, how horrible," May scoffed.

"Ssh. Anyway, I think you'll be safe. They won't be expecting you, anyway."

The orange light of the roof of the Pokémon Centre was still lit, meaning they were still accepting guests. Instead of asking for a room, May opted to stay on the sofas, claiming that she could get a comfortable enough sleep on them. Drew joined her, sprawling out on the sofa opposite her.

"We have to get a selfie to commemorate this day," Drew insisted, and May rolled her eyes.

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Fine. But don't post it until we leave tomorrow, okay?"

"Fine!"

coordinatordrew

Mon. 19th June, 9;58am

Look out Hoenn, we're coming back!

COORDINATOR'S WEEKLY

PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF HOENN MAKE AN EXCITING HOMECOMING- FINALLY TOGETHER?

A/N: And that's it! As much as I hated writing those grand festival chapters (it took me like six hours to write one lmao i hate everything) I wrote this in less than an hour and a half because I was so pumped to finish it and I'm really pleased personally with how it came out! If you're reading this, thank you for supporting this fanfiction so far! And happy contestshipping week 2016! c: