Fallen Leaves (Take 2)

May laid down in the grass field, watching the autumn leaves swirling around her, giggling when they tickled her and sighing whenever the wind stopped and they all fell slowly to the ground. She giggled again as an orange maple leaf landed on her nose, before the wind picked it up again and it blew away. A few feet away, she could hear the light snoring of her Glaceon, resting within a pile of leaves that hadn't blown away. She lifted her head to look around. Blaziken and Blastoise were facing off in a mock practice battle, while Venusaur looked on lazily from the side, half-sleep, with it's flower open, absorbing the power of the sunlight, and the warmth. Close to Venusaur, Munchlax was sitting against a tree with a large pile of berries next to it, happily chomping away while watching the spectacle. A nearby trainer's Furret kept sneaking over to the pile of berries and taking a couple, making May laugh at the sight. She laid her head back down and closed her eyes to enjoy the fresh breeze.

Opening her eyes again, May watched Beautifly dancing along the wind currents, and playing with the leaves in the air. Every now and again, Beautifly would produce a small silver wind or a gust to create a marvelous display of beauty and power. May sighed happily and laid back, allowing the leaves to settle over her and lazily watching the clouds drift by. It was a perfect day. Just relaxing. No contests to worry about. No rivals around. No training to be done. Even Team Rocket wasn't bothering her. Just once, May was able to relax and let all her negative emotions fly away on the invisible wind, while her pokemon had fun and played outside their pokéballs. But just as her thoughts were finally floating away, and she started to doze off...

"May." A voice said condescendingly. It sounded so close, but at the same time, so far away.

May snapped opened her eyes, staring up into the emerald-green eyes of her rival, Drew. "Drew." She replied in the same patronizing tone.

Drew smirked, unable to flick his hair while leaning over, without looking foolish. "Congratulations, May. You remembered my name."

May could almost feel her blood start to boil. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Drew smirked again and flipped his hair, but didn't say another word as he sat down beside her. For a long time, they stayed like that. May resting in the grass, unable to actually sleep with Drew sitting so near her, and still calming down from his comment. Drew, on the other hand, while relaxed, was watching May's pokemon playing, looking at May every now and again, smiling at the angry expression on her face. After about twenty minutes had gone by, he heard deep breathing beside him and looked at May again, realizing she was asleep. Every now and then, she giggled in her sleep as the breeze or a leaf tickled her. Drew smiled softly, before quickly turning away as she murmured something. Slowly, the world around them began to darken.

May's pokemon walked over to her, Venusaur carrying the sleeping Munchlax in it's vines. Beautifly landed on Drew's head as Glaceon nudged May's head. May groaned, trying to go back to her dreams. She sat up carefully, stretching her arms above her head and yawning in her attempt to wake up. She glanced around at her pokemon while rubbing her eyes. Drew smirked at her childish way of waking up.

May yawned again. "Are you guys tired?" Her pokemon nodded, and she drowsily returned them, almost dropping their pokéballs in the process. Putting their balls back in her pack, one of them fell out and rolled to Drew's feet. May stared at it for a moment, feeling a little dizzy because she was still half-asleep. Drew quietly picked it up and twirled it on his finger, before tossing it to her.

"Great job, May." He said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. May huffed.

"Arrogant jerk!" May snapped. Drew smirked and held his hands out in a sort-of "hey, can you blame me?" way. May yawned as she slowly placed her pokeballs back in her pouch. Glancing up, she jumped and stepped back, startled be the appearance of a rose where her nose had been a moment before. Cautiously, she took it, staring at the soft petals and thorn-less stem a moment, unaware that Drew was watching her, fighting the blush that threatened his face. May rolled her eyes, rolling the rose between her fingers gently. "Let me guess. This is for Beautifly, right?"

At first Drew planned to reply with "yeah, something like that," like he had before. But then he stopped himself. "No," he said bluntly.

May blinked, surprised. She'd half-expected, sometimes even hoped, that he might answer differently someday, but she hadn't seriously been expecting him to. "Wha-what? Then who's it for?"

Drew rolled his eyes. Sometimes he was amazed she did so well in contests when she was so dense. For crying out loud, he'd given her fifty-four roses in the 5 years they'd know each other…not that he was counting…He sighed for a second, before smirking and flicking his hair. "Guess, May. Who do you think?" He asked, slightly disappointed that he had to actually explain it to her.

May put her finger on her chin as she thought for a moment. They weren't for Beautifly. Maybe they were for her? The thought made her smile, but she quickly dismissed it. No, they weren't like that. They were barely friends. Weren't they? Then again, she had read somewhere that gifts, especially roses, were the same as flirting. And flirting meant there were feelings like love involved, but no way did Drew love her of all people. Then maybe one of her other pokemon? Glaceon? No, she'd evolved three years earlier. Blaziken? For winning against Blastoise? Nah, that couldn't be it. Maybe…they really were for her…She sighed. She couldn't say that, if she was wrong…he'd never let her live it down, and she'd be heartbroken. "I don't know." She finally said, looking down just enough so that he couldn't see her eyes.

Drew rolled his eyes. "You're really dense, May."

For a moment, May didn't say anything, controlling her tears. "No, I'm not, Drew!" She stepped forward in her momentary anger, and tripped over a hole in the ground. They were close enough that Drew was able to quickly catch her, but May immediately twisted herself so that her momentum cause them both to start rolling down the hill. They landed in a giant pile of leaves May's pokemon had been playing with earlier. The leaves flew into the air, and started to float down on top of them. When they finally stopped rolling, they were quiet for a second, before May started giggling uncontrollably. Drew smiled and laughed in his own way, a sort of "hmph" sound. They were laying beside each other, with Drew's arms still holding May close. They blushed when they realized how close they were.

They quickly separated and sat up, although they sat close enough that they were still almost touching. May smiled softly as the leaves finally settled around them. Drew watched her, dazed by how she looked covered in the last rays of the setting sun, surrounded by leaves that mimicked the sky. The effect was beautiful, May glowing a faint red-orange, with leaves the same colour caught in her hair. With the smile on her face and the look of serenity as she watched the leaves around her, she looked angelic to Drew. The light from the sun dulled suddenly, having just gone down beneath the tree line, and as she glanced over at Drew, he reached out a hand for her cheek.

Slowly, gently, he held her cheek in the palm of his hand, feeling the smooth feminine skin under his fingers, watching first his fingers, amazed at the feel of her skin, and then in her eyes, for a sign, anything that told him to continue or stop. She was surprised, that much was obvious. Inside, she was torn between what to do. If he was just teasing her and she leaned into his gentle touch, she didn't think they'd be able to stay friends, and if they did, it would take a long time for her to forgive him. On the other hand, if he meant it, if he really was going to do what she thought he would, then…she couldn't even think about it, it made her heart soar so. Finally, she decided that she'd regret it forever if she didn't, so she closed her eyes, smiled, and leaned into his touch, her hand reaching up to brush his hand with her fingertips. She felt him move towards her, and opened her eyes to see him coming closer, eyes half-closed.

For a moment, he paused, seeing her eyes open, but when she started to close her eyes again, he rushed in, gently taking her lips with his own, pulling her in with the hand on her cheek. She took her hand off his and placed it lightly on his forearm, reaching up with her other hand and wrapping her arm around his neck. They broke apart and stared at each other for a moment, catching their breath. Finally, Drew smiled and pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her hair.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." He whispered, breathing in the scent of her hair, the scent of the leaves and the dirt.

She laughed and hugged him tighter. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to."

He pulled back and looked at her. "Why didn't you make the first move?"

She looked at him incredulously. "And if you hadn't felt the same way? I'd have never lived it down!" She sighed and closed her eyes, turning away.

Drew carefully took her chin and turned her face back to him. "I can't even think of that being true," he said sternly, before smiling softly, "but I see your point." He kissed her again, before standing up.

Drew took her hand in his, twining their fingers together, and kissing her hand before they started walking. May blushed as he did so. For a few minutes, they walked in silence.

May smiled to herself, staring at the ground. "So, who were the roses really for?" She asked quietly.

Drew rolled his eyes, unsure if she really meant the question, or if she just wanted to hear him say it. He flicked his hair with his free hand. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, May. And I though you'd know by now."

Too happy to be mad, May smiled at him. "Who?"

Drew almost breathed a sigh of relief when he realized she did know. He smirked and they stopped walking as he pulled her into a hug. "You, May. They were always for you, every single one."

May giggled. "All of them? All forty-four?" She blushed. "N-not that I was c-c-counting!"

"Forty-five, actually." Drew smirked again, but resisted the urge to flick his hair. "I gave you one a little while ago, remember?"

May thought for a moment, then remembered the rose. "Oh yeah…I was still half-asleep…" She giggled, before grabbing his hands, releasing herself from his hug, and spinning them around.

Drew smiled, and pulled her closer again after a moment, picking her up and twirling her around. A little while later, the sun had set and it was getting harder to see. "Time to head to the hotel and get some sleep."

"Hotel?" May asked, surprised. "Why not the pokecenter?"

Drew flicked his hair arrogantly. "May, I rarely ever stay in a pokecenter when I'm in a town. And besides, my hotel room has an extra bed."

May blushed lightly, but agreed. Hand in hand, they headed slowly for the hotel, silently enjoying each other's company.