May and Drew make me ramble. Have some fluff I threw together because I'm a terrible procrastinator.

CS week 2016 Day 1- Alola

May was born for the beach.

Many things had changed in the five years since she'd left home, but her love of adventure was not one of them. She loved every new place, from the snowy peaks of Sinnoh to the sleepy country sides of Kanto she'd yet to find a place she couldn't find something to entrance her, but if she was being completely honest, beaches would always be her favorite type of place.

Alola was magic.

The cluster of islands was only just beginning to make a push to attract trainers of all types to its remote local, and May had jumped at the invitation to participate in a Contest showcase on the biggest of the tropical islands. The second the plane door was open she was off it, and sprinting off the simple airstrip straight to the beach it bordered. She spread her arms wide and closed her eyes, breathing in the ocean air she'd missed so much while she'd been making her way through the Sinnoh circuit the last year. She listened to the waves roll in and the odd bird type she couldn't identify cawing overhead.

"One of these days I'm going to let you lose all of your stuff."

May's gentle smile broke into a wide grin. She took one more moment to appreciate the breeze before turning around.

"But then what would be the point in keeping you around?"

Drew snorted and flicked his hair, two things that were so endearingly him that May could hardly believe that they'd once been almost guaranteed to send her into a rage. There were two bags at his feet, and May skipped toward him and picked up the yellow one.

"It's cool though, right, that the planes land right here on the beach? How cool is that?" She knew she was bouncing, but she didn't care. Drew only grinned at her.

"Pretty cool actually. Everything about this place is pretty cool." He picked up his own purple bag and motioned with his head toward the airport. "We need to go this way if we're actually going to get anywhere."

May smiled then started walking with him, falling easily into step on his left. He'd spent the entire plane ride answering her incessant questions about Alola, which she'd been shocked to learn he'd been to several times on vacations with his family. She maybe shouldn't have been, anymore it was safer to assume Drew had been somewhere, but she still couldn't believe he'd never mentioned that he'd gone to the paradise region so regularly. She planned on talking about the place every day for the rest of her life and she'd only been in it for ten minutes.

"Are you going to play tour guide the whole time?" she asked as they reached a sleek but tough looking jeep on the other side of the airstrip. Drew simply smirked and pulled open the door to the back seat. May rolled her eyes at him before sliding in.

"Fine, have it your way, but be warned, I plan on spending at least one full day on the beach." Drew slid in next to her, and the door clicked shut behind him. She shot a sidelong glance at him, trying to read his expression, but quickly looked forward again as her stomach swooped. She still wasn't used to this. Drew had always made her feel things; anger, annoyance, confusion, frustration…

Well, that one was still there now.

But now it was different. It had been different ever since he'd said they should go to Alola together. It had been different since Harley and Solidad and Zoey and Dawn had all said they wouldn't be going. It had been different since this trip was intentionally only the two of them.

May could feel her face heating up, and fought the desire to scoot further into the backseat of the jeep away from the heaviness that was Drew. She chanced another glance only to see him looking at her from the corner of his own eye. He quirked an eyebrow and she huffed and laughed awkwardly, then yelped as the jeep lurched forward and she lost her balance and tumbled into him. Drew's arm went around her automatically to steady her, and though the driver told her to be careful back there, she barely noticed. Sparks were crackling along her arms, and she was staring, but he was too.

One breath. Two. Three.

"Seat belts."

May blinked, and shifted around to try and buckle the belt.

Drew didn't let go.

They both knew what this trip was. It wasn't as though they didn't know what was going on. They'd been doing this dance for months now, years really, but neither of them was going to actually admit that. It was so obvious that they were on the verge of something, but there was still doubt sitting at the back of May's brain.

What if she was reading more into it than he was?

What if he was fine with the way things were, all tense and awkward but also wonderful and working? What if acknowledging whatever was between them ruined it? What if it only worked if they stayed on the surface.

"Are you okay?"

He finally let go, but didn't move away. Their legs were touching, and that was the only part of May's body that had any sensation.

"Fine!" she squeaked. "Just excited for another expedition." She brought her hands up to frame his face and closed an eye, pretending to focus her shot.

"Adventures in Alola! Beaches, cliffs, waterfalls…as long as everyone remembers to stay away from edges it should be amazing!"

"Are you ever going to let that go?" Drew complained, frowning at her.

"Nope!" she said happily. Drew groaned.

May turned her attention out to the scenery rolling past them, keeping her hands up. Alola really was amazing. Everything was so green and there were so many bright colors, either flowers or the houses lining the road. They were driving toward a beach, but May sort of assumed that was a given. The place was small, made all the more obvious that it only took about three minutes for their car ride to come to an end.

"Whoa."

May had never really stayed anywhere that wasn't a Pokémon Center, but she hadn't been in charge of this trip. The contest people were putting them up, and apparently they were doing it style.

"This is actually one of the biggest resorts in the region. We never stayed here, we tended to go smaller, but this place still has an amazing reputation." Drew explained as he walked back up to her. He'd left her gaping around the lobby to go to the front desk "in the interest of actually getting to a room sometime in the next day," and was now holding an electronic keycard in front of her face to get her attention.

"Do you want to drop your stuff in your room?"

May focused on him then.

"My room?"

May felt a little thrill at the soft pink that made its way across Drew's cheeks. She always felt so proud when she could make him blush.

"Well, yeah…why wouldn't you…oh right group travel."

May giggled.

"I guess I should get used to having my own room now that I'm a big shot, huh?"

"Yeah, the girl trespassing on the beach finally made it into the resort." Drew said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" May asked, frowning at Drew, who had started to walk the second he'd finished. She loped after him.

He seemed embarrassed, which normally would have been cause for amusement, but now she wasn't sure if she was supposed to be offended or not.

"You know…the beach is only for people staying in the resort?" He said.

"What are you talking about?"

May was beyond lost, and judging by Drew's reaction that was a bad thing.

"Nothing. Let's just head to the beach."

Drew was obviously done talking about whatever it was May wasn't getting, because he picked up his pace and it wasn't until he was at a pre-set umbrella and loungers that she caught up to him. He was in "off mode" now, and May wasn't sure how that had happened. Another wave of anxiety over the changing nature of their relationship washed over her. Was this how it was going to be? If they got more…serious…was Drew always going to be this, well, serious?

May was so distracted that she hadn't even noticed Drew had stripped off his outer layer of clothing and was now sitting in his lounger in swim trunks, eyes obscured by a very cool pair of black sunglasses. She gulped, but his agitation was still very evident in the way his eyebrows pulled under the glass frames, and how he was frowning at the beach, where the sun was already low. She shook herself and pulled off her own tank top and shorts to reveal the bright red bikini she and Dawn had spent two hours picking out in a video shopping trip that had proven very difficult.

She crawled onto the second lounger and perched her own white sunglasses on her nose. She glanced at Drew again, but he was still staring at the surf, so she turned to do the same.

"Do you really not remember?"

May shivered as Drew's voice broke the full minute of silent tension.

"Remember what?" She turned her head to him, but he was still looking away.

"Slateport?"

"What about Slateport?" May asked, the feeling that she was missing something important burning in her throat. He looked at her, indignation obvious even behind the sunglasses.

"That was when we met, May." He said.

"You mean when you made fun of me and bragged about staying in that fancy resort, and literally stuck your hand in my face?" She asked, trying not to laugh.

"Well, yeah, okay, when you say it like that it's not nearly as nostalgic as I was making it in my head."

May's heart skipped.

"You think about when we met as nostalgic?" She asked. He raised an eyebrow.

"How is the first time you meet someone not nostalgic?" May shrugged.

"Don't get me wrong, you made an impression," She grinned, retreating back into the safety of joking, "but it wasn't exactly a good one." Drew pushed his glasses up onto the top of his head, sweeping his hair back with them. May swallowed thickly, then felt her face flushing, hoping he hadn't noticed.

"Okay, so the first beach was a little…rough, but what about the other times?" He asked, and she couldn't tell from his tone if he was being serious. Frustration flared up in her again, but this time she only had herself to blame.

May pushed her own glasses up. The sun was nearly gone now, and the light was low. She glanced up to answer him, but Drew had moved, and was standing above her, holding out a hand. She took it, and he pulled her up, but he didn't let go when she expected him to. Instead he started walking toward the water, dragging her along with him.

"What other times?" she asked, because she had to say something before she exploded. Drew studied her.

"The same night, at Slateport." May frowned.

"But, you weren't there to watch the fireworks…were you?" He smiled.

"I suppose there were fireworks to watch too, weren't there."

May wasn't sure if her heart was still beating, or if it was just going fast enough to seem like it had.

"What other-"

"After the first Ribbon Cup."

"Ah yes, the first of many post cup training sessions." May grinned, but Drew's smile didn't hold amusement, it was sincere, and May had to look away again.

"What is your point here?"

"I think I really like the beach." May looked quickly up at him. He was still holding her hand, but he moved it slightly, and May realized it was her turn.

She could let go right there, and they'd go back to gliding along in silent but familiar agony, to never being sure if they wereserious or…

No.

She spread her fingers and slid them so that they interlocked with his.

"I love beaches." she whispered. "They're by far my favorite travel destination." She shifted, and realized for the first time that she had to tilt her gaze up to look at him.

When had that happened?

"May…"

He sighed, and May waited. Drew had to have a plan; he always had a plan. He had plans for when she didn't, and it was the only reason she had made it this far. She just had to wait now, for him to put it in action.

His free hand entered the pocket of his trunks, and when it came out, he was holding a bright red flower, which would have been entirely normal, only for once it wasn't a rose.

"I know this isn't my regular thing, but…"

He held up the Alolan flower between them, and May smiled at it before he reached up and pushed it behind her ear.

"Drew-"

May was glad when he shook his head, because she honestly had no idea what she was going to say. It was just like the jeep, but a million times worse.

No, better.

They were staring at each other. Drew's normally bright green eyes were a darker emerald in the low lighting and they were absolutely fascinating. Did they always do that? She'd have to remember to check. Maybe they were still bright, but she just needed to get closer…

She leaned up, and they weren't green anymore. They were black, because they were all pupil. May realized too late what she had done, but then again maybe she had meant to do it. Forget the status quo. May wasn't status quo, May was adventure, and adventure was going for this.

The hand Drew had used to put the flower behind her ear was still there, and she felt the gentle pull forward as he leaned down to match her. She had one last brief glimpse of what little green was left in his eyes before she closed her own. Every sensation she'd felt since the plane landed exploded in her at once. Her stomach swooped, her heart stopped and then raced ahead, and her face glowed with heat that radiated from where Drew's lips met hers.

May was born for the beach, and Alola was magic.