#ashxdrew

[art-killed-the-superstar]

BOYFRIENDS ON TOUR!!!!!! this was drawn up for @itstimetodrew for her birthday!! thank you for getting me into respectshipping all those years ago, i miss these guys

for context they’re doing ~couple things~ except ash wants to battle and drew wants a contest. they make ~couple decisions~ through pokemon battles and that’s just how it is

[love-killed-the-superstar]

Roses Are Lame, Roses Are Blue: Chapter 8

so, er, there’s really no fucking excuse for this???? except that when i don’t know how to write a chapter i will just procrastinate on it for literally years?? seriously someone just punch me

Title: Chapter 8: Flowers Are Without Hope Pairing: RespectShipping (Ash/Drew) Summary: A/D. Ash and Drew have never had the chance to see eye to eye, mostly due to the two living in the different trainer classes of pokemon trainer and pokemon coordinator. But when Drew proves he's a worthy opponent after winning a battle against Ash, the two find their lives are lacking a rivalry in which the latter respects the former. RespectShipping, M/M, slash.

(Chapter 8 - On Cloud Arcanine. Or, the one where Ash and Drew spend all screen time furiously avoiding looking at each other.)

Read on Fanfiction.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8711638/8/Roses-Are-Lame-Roses-Are-Blue

8: Flowers Are Without Hope

-Kanto Route 5, August 18th, 2005-

“I can't believe this line, May,” Ash grumbled, glancing at the long queue in front of them. “These gourmet cakes of yours better be worth it.”

“Oh, they will be,” May chirped, glancing up from her guide book for a few moments to smile reassuringly. “My guidebook calls it the best bakery around!”

The best bakery around? Ash couldn't say he'd ventured out of Pallet Town much as a kid but he'd never heard of this bakery before, so surely it couldn't be that great. (Unless it was the one that Professor Oak always used to buy those stale cream puffs from whenever Ash and Gary had helped him out with fieldwork in the corral. If it was that bakery he'd rather fight a wild arcanine than choke them down.)

The group were on their way to Saffron City in order for May to start competing in Kanto contests in order to enter the Kanto Grand Festival being held in the Indigo Plateau. Ash was happy for May wanting to explore the region, he really was, but he didn't see why they had to stop at all the dumb places marked in her guidebook. If they rewound a few years and travelled this route with Misty, would they still be stopping at all these places? Ash wasn't sure. Either way, he was more than a little agitated when thinking about all the time they were wasting standing around this crowded joint.

As he shuffled from foot to foot irritably, a strange howl erupted from the clearing behind the bakery, and onlookers watched in amazement as an auburn shape bounded towards them, releasing another growl.

“That's an arcanine!” Ash exclaimed, pulling out his pokedex. Hopefully his updated dex would have new information following Professor Oak's extensive examinations of his grandson's arcanine over the years.

The cries of the public increased as the pokemon grew closer, once again crying out powerfully. With a spring in its step, the fire pokemon leapt gracefully over the group, landing perfectly before continuing to speed off into the distance.

“That was cool!” Max beamed, watching as the large orange figure grew smaller.

“I'd love to catch it,” sighed May, clasping her hands together excitedly. As they continued to watch it, in awe of its speed, a new voice joined the fray.

“Arcanine!”

Ash's eyes widened and he spun round rapidly, a little dizzy.

“Look, it's Drew!”

But why? What was Drew even doing here? The last time Ash had saw him...

Ash watched his closet rival as he chased the minute flaxen shape in the distance, eyes shining, grin confident.

“Go, Flygon, flamethrower!”

With a cry, Drew's pokemon spat out a powerful fire that blazed at the arcanine's feet. With a roar from deep in its belly, the arcanine retaliated with an equally strong attack that streamed from its open jaws.

“Look, Arcanine's using heatwave!” Max gasped, eyes wide. The flygon hastily dodged the attack, unnerved by it. Annoyed by the harassment, the arcanine released a sudden burst of energy, speeding off into the trees.

“What's that?” Ash asked, bewildered.

“Now it's using its extreme speed,” Max observed, unable to tear his eyes away.

“It got away!” Drew stopped in front of the group, fists clenched and teeth grinding. Ash had rarely seen him so wound up over a pokemon... that said, Ash had never seen Drew catch a pokemon before, had he? He supposed the latter would probably want to do some sort of intimate pre-battle routine, bowing at his pokemon before charging in with another freaking petal dance. He doubted he'd expected company at all.

May stared for a few moments, mouth still gaping as she watched the spot where the arcanine had been, before turning to face Brock quizzically.

“So what's extreme speed, Brock?”

“It's an attack that increases a pokemon's speed,” Brock explained simply, “and by using it in battle it will almost always guarantee you the first attack.”

“Only an amateur would ask a question like that, May,” Drew smirked, approaching the group smugly. May frowned but held back from verbally attacking him, simply muttering, “I didn't know you were here in Kanto too, Drew.”

Ash was kind of wondering about that too.

“Real winners can never resist competition,” Drew said, flicking his fringe back, “though that does make me wonder why you're here.”

Don't take the bait, May, Ash grumbled silently.

“Can't you try to be polite?” she snapped, planting on her hips while scowling at the smug-faced coordinator opposite. Drew's smirk deepened.

“I guess this means that you've come to enter the Kanto Grand Festival too, huh?” Brock intervened, frowning a little at Drew, the latter turning his head slightly as he spoke.

“Well, more accurately I'm here to win it.”

“You're in luck for most annoying but I'm winning the festival!”

The competitive banter came to an abrupt halt as Drew reached into his pocket. “Yeah? Think so?” As he spoke, the small golden case he was holding flicked open, revealing a small glossy orange ribbon. “Check it out.”

May gasped, eyes wide.

“Huh? Is that a genuine Kanto contest ribbon?!”

“That it is.”

May groaned, fists clenched.

“I still haven't won a single one of those!”

“Well of course you haven't.” Again with the damn hair flipping, Ash seethed. He was starting to believe Drew did it to hide that he was bullshitting everything. “I'm on my way to catch that arcanine now so I can continue winning my way through Kanto.”

“For your information I'm gonna catch that arcanine!” retorted May, rising to his challenge as usual.

“I'd love to see you try.” He put his hands back in his pockets. “But I'd hate to see you humiliated.”

May stamped her foot in frustration.

“I'm gonna show you!”

Drew's eyes met with Ash's for just a moment, sharp and impossible to read, before he turned back to his flygon.

“Let's go, Flygon. Let's go get that arcanine!”

Without looking back, he began to run, his flygon following suit, and part of Ash felt hollow. It was a simple rivalry behind the scenes, just as it had been before, but... it felt like Drew was being deliberately cold towards him.

Still, he forced a smile. It wouldn't do any good to make his friends worry when May was so fired up about catching this arcanine, and besides, if it meant May wouldn't pick up on the change between Ash and Drew since she'd last seen them both, it was for the best.

“Wow, Drew's flygon is really something else,” Max remarked.

“Who cares?” snapped May. “I'm about to show him something else! And capturing that arcinine will be the perfect way to start!” Ash had to admit, seeing the look on Drew's face if – no, when – May captured the pokemon before him was a satisfying thought.

“Yeah, and we can all help you out!” Pikachu expressed a noise of agreement, and May grinned and took off after Drew.

“Let's go then!”

Max caught up with her quickly and began firing off questions – which pokemon was she planning on using? Did she have a strategy in mind for dealing with arcanine, and did she even know its most common attacks? – Brock fell into step with Ash.

“So,” he said in a low voice. “Drew's in Kanto. Did you know?”

“No,” Ash said shortly. “No, I didn't know where he was going any more than you did.”

“I was just asking,” Brock said quickly. He paused. “Did you two talk, in the end? About everything that happened?”

“Brock, can we not do this now?” Ash interrupted, trying not to raise his voice. “Anything that was happening between me and Drew, it's sorted now. It won't happen again. And bringing it up is only gonna make May suspicious, and right now her heart is set on capturing arcanine.”

Brock watched him silently for a few moments, before shrugging.

“Okay. But later, if you want to talk...”

“I know,” Ash exhaled. “You'll be here. I know.”

…

Most of the morning and afternoon were spent trying and failing to engage in battle with the arcanine. It clearly wasn't looking to partner up with a trainer any time soon, and Ash's patience was waning thin. May was driven, however, and their latest endeavour involved them crouched behind a rock, high up in the mountains.

“So tell me again why we're up here?” Max piped up, also visibly impatient with May's boundless energy.

“Cause this is our last chance,” Ash ground out.

“The old woodsman said Arcanine likes to come up here,” Brock explained. “So if it does we'll have it cornered on the ledge with nowhere else to run!”

“And with no more distractions like pecha berries what could possibly go wrong?” chimed in May, with a look of pure energized determination on her face.

Squirtle uttered a confused grunt, and the group glanced over. Arcanine was making its way towards the edge of the mountainside, and Brock hissed, “There it is!”

“Go get it, May!” urged Ash, half-excited and half wanting the excursion to be over already. He couldn't deny how cool it would be if May did capture the arcanine after all, though. Especially if it meant she had beaten Drew to it.

May stepped forward with Squirtle in her arms, giggling in anticipation, and the arcanine whipped around.

“So, Arcanine, this time you're not getting away!” May began, but at that moment, as per usual, Drew jumped in without missing a beat, landing a few paces in front of May with his flygon in tow. May gasped.

“Go, Flygon!” Drew called, smug determination written all over his face. Something in Ash's blood boiled. A small part of him enjoyed the way Drew's face lit up when he was facing an opponent, but the rest of him despised that even more. This was supposed to be May's victory.

“What are you doing?!” May squeaked out in indignation. “I was here first, Drew!”

“Hardly,” Drew scoffed. “I was up on that ledge since this morning.”

Arcanine, sensing the tension between the two, took that moment to leap over their heads and sprint up the mountainside and out of sight. May groaned as it disappeared from view.

“Great!” she snarled, glaring pointedly at Drew. “Thanks to you Arcanine got away and now neither one of us has it!”

“Please. Like you ever had a chance of catching it anyway.”

“How dare you, Drew!” May burst out, seething. “If you think you're so great let's have a battle right now to see who gets to go after Arcanine!”

Drew reached up to flick his fringe out of his eyes, and Ash fought the urge to roll his eyes.

“Huh! I guess a little warm up practice won't hurt.”

As they got into position, Ash caught Drew's eye.

Just let her have this one, he mouthed. He knew it was unfair – May could fight her own battles, she certainly didn't need his protection – but something inside of him was just begging Drew to show some sort of mercy. Drew stared right through him.

Brock raised his arms.

“Let this one-on-one pokemon battle begin!” he called.

“I'll give you the first move,” Drew said. For a moment, his gaze flickered over to Ash, and Ash found himself relieved. At least Drew wasn't completely blanking him, even if he was, as usual, impossible to read.

“You'll probably regret that,” countered May, fuelled by the urge to one up him. “Squirtle, start with tackle!”

Inwardly, Ash groaned.

“Why'd she start off with that?!” he asked aloud.

“And all Drew has to do is...”

“Go, Flygon, fly!”

Flygon easily dodged the attack, and Ash fought the urge to bury his face in his hands.

The battle ended badly and Drew, determined to one up May, was the first to reach the top of the mountain. Once they discovered the nest, they weren't sure where to go from there, but Team Rocket had, as usual, interrupted and captured the entire family of pokemon.

Ash seriously wondered if Team Rocket had any other hobbies besides gatecrashing their travels.

Surprisingly, Drew had stuck around to help, and his flygon had burst Team Rocket's balloon, sending them hurtling into the brush below. The group chased Team Rocket to where they crashed, the growlithe cubs and arcanine still trapped in the net, and both Ash and Brock reached for their pokeballs.

“We got them! Let's go, Brock!”

“Right!”

May interrupted.

“Wait.”

Ash stopped in his tracks, brow furrowed in confusion.

“Let Drew and I finish it up this time,” she said with a grin.

Drew's eyes met Ash's.

“Yeah, since we were the ones who started this whole thing off.”

Ash, surprised and just relieved Drew was talking to him at this time, didn't need much convincing.

“All right, it's all yours!”

Drew turned away quickly, and the moment was over.

“Come on, Flygon, we gotta rescue Arcanine!” He stabbed a finger towards Team Rocket. “Steel wing the net!”

Flygon cut the net down easily, and May and Drew engaged in a double battle against Team Rocket. Between calling out attacks, the two were complimenting each other on their form, and Ash felt a twinge of something in his chest. Jealousy, maybe? Loneliness? Longing? At this point, he couldn't sort out one feeling from another when it came to Drew. Everything turned into a cluster of messy emotions.

As Flygon took out Jessie's dustox with a flamethrower, Ash felt himself being drawn into the battle, like a dance.

“Yeah!”

“Those two are a great team!” he exclaimed.

“Even though their styles are totally different they work well together,” Brock remarked.

Were they all that different? Ash had always seen an eerie similarity to their fighting styles, even if their attitudes, training methods and the way they presented in contests were polar opposites. He was sure they would both hate being compared to one another, but Ash didn't necessarily see it as being a bad thing – in fact, it reminded him of Gary, and how the two of them had been like opposite sides of a coin, different and yet somehow the same.

Rivals. That was how he'd see it. Different and yet tethered together.

After Team Rocket were blasted off, the group stood for a while watching Arcanine groom its cubs. Ash turned to May.

“There it is. So, did you change your mind about catching it?”

May nodded.

“Yep.” She turned to Drew. “Well, go ahead...”

Drew shook his head slightly, still with that damn smile.

“As much as I think I could win with it, I don't wanna break up a happy family.” He hummed, brushing his fringe away from his face once more. “So I'll let them be.”

How generous, Ash thought dryly. May seemed satisfied with his response, and they all watched as the arcanine led its litter away.

…

“Hey.”

Drew turned to see Ash standing a few feet from him, fists clenching and unclenching with nerves. They had trailed back to the bakery May had suggested earlier for a victory snack, and the two of them had left to use the bathroom while May, Max and Brock queued. Only, Drew realised, it had been a ploy on Ash's part to get him alone.

“Can we not do this now?” he muttered.

“We have to. Drew, we need to talk,” Ash said, pushing his hair back self-consciously. “I... I thought you might call me one of these days. It's been weeks, you know, since we last talked.”

Drew's eyes narrowed.

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“We need to talk about this, you know? I'm sorry things went so weird on the phone last time. I didn't want it to be that way, it's just... I was freaked out. My mom found out about us, and I didn't know what to do. It made me realise how mixed up my feelings were, how bad the timing was. If I knew you were going to Kanto too...”

“What, you would have arranged a dinner date?” Drew snapped. “Get real, Ash. This was never going to work, was it? I don't know why I held on to some kind of hope that things would get better between us.”

“I want things to!” Ash pleaded. “I want us to be how we were before – before things got all weird and intense! Why can't we just be rivals for a while again, and see where it goes from here? Please, I don't want to lose what we have.”

“You can't lose something that was never there to begin with,” Drew said sourly. “No one knows about this rivalry, so is it even real?”

“Stop trying to shut me down with, with psychology or whatever,” burst out Ash, fuming. “I believed in you as my rival, even if we kept it a secret. I learned from you. You made me interested in contests! You're telling me none of that was real? How could I feel these things if there was no rivalry at all?!”

“Then why don't we just tell them? Why not just admit that we're rivals?”

Ash frowned.

“What do you mean? I... I thought you liked that this was something private.”

“Why does it have to be?” Drew countered. “I mean, you never thought it was weird that we were keeping it hidden from them? But I'm the stupid one for reading into it, right?”

“That's not what I'm saying!” Ash interrupted. “Of course I don't think that! But... but we kept it a secret before these feelings started coming up, don't you see? It's always been about improving each other, opening our eyes to other ways of battling and training! I don't get why that has to change?”

“It would be so easy to just tell her, Ash.” Drew's voice was flat. “We could tell May we're rivals too. Right here, right now, we could tell her together. It would be so simple.”

“You know she wouldn't like it,” Ash said in a defeated voice.

“She'd get over it. You two aren't my only rivals, and I know for a fact I'm not yours. One of these days May will find someone else to call her rival, too.” Drew's eyes bore into Ash. “Why can't we just be honest with her?”

“She's so pumped just being with you. I don't want to ruin it,” he said desperately. “But I don't want to end what we have either, Drew. Please.”

“I've kept quiet for you, Ash. You don't want them to know about our rivalry – you're ashamed of the feelings we have! I'm... I'm done being your secret.” Drew stared at him coldly, and then looked down. “Until next time.”

“Drew, come on!”

Drew headed back to queue with May, and Ash hung back in defeat, standing beside Brock with enough intensity to burn down the place. If Brock sensed something had happened, he didn't say a word.

They didn't speak a word to each other for the remainder of the afternoon.

…

The sun was beginning to set, and Brock mentioned about setting up camp.

“Well then, I guess this is goodbye,” Drew said, glancing between the group. His eyes lingered on Ash for just a beat longer, and then he quickly turned back to May again.

“Until we meet again, at least,” she said with a laugh.

Drew took a step forward.

“You know, there's a contest coming up in Saffron City I think you should enter.”

May blinked.

“I hadn't heard anything about it... why, are you entering?”

Drew smirked.

“Nah, I have to focus on finding a new pokemon to strengthen my team first. But I think you'd do really well in it.”

He began to walk away, refusing to look back.

“Well, thank you, Drew!” May called after him. He offered a wave without turning around, and then disappeared into the woods.

“What a poser,” Ash muttered, and Max snickered as May nudged him on the arm crossly.

The evening was uneventful, but the shared looks and things left unsaid lingered in Ash's mind as they ate dinner and did some evening training, finding a clearing where they could see late evening stars beginning to twinkle. They set up camp in the woods, and Brock took a seat beside Ash while May and Max finished their food and got ready for bed.

“So, wanna talk about what happened today?”

“There's nothing to talk about, Brock,” Ash sighed. “You saw. We barely said a civil word to each other.”

“That's the part that stumped me, honestly.” Brock squeezed his shoulder. “Have you worked out... whatever's going on between the two of you?”

“No. Actually, I think things have gotten worse. We agreed to go back to how we were, but... it's different, I can tell.” He looked away and muttered, “I don't think he's even planning on talking to me, if he can help it. We argued earlier.”

“He didn't take it very well, then?” Brock asked flatly.

“Take what very well?”

“That you aren't interested in a relationship.”

“Brock, it's not that I wasn't, you know, interested in him, and being with him,” Ash said, brow furrowed in frustration as he tried to choose his words carefully. “But, all it was doing was making things tense for us, and tense for May and Drew. So I told him I wanted to just be rivals, for now. It's not a decision I rushed, but... the way we've both been acting, I think he thought I was going to say yes.”

Brock exhaled.

“I had no idea you felt that way about him, you know. I'm sorry you couldn't talk to me about it until things got bad.” Ash frowned up at him. “What are you talking about, Brock? That isn't on you. I didn't even know what was happening until it got to that point. I've never felt these kind of things before. How could I know it was... well, a kind of love?” “I thought you and Misty would always end up together, truthfully,” Brock said with a laugh. “I thought when we were travelling I was watching young love unfold. You were really oblivious to it all?”

“Me and Misty?!” Ash's eyes bugged out. “Sorry to burst your bubblebeam there, Brock, but Misty used to tease me like I was her kid brother! Sure, we got along fine, but...”

“Well, have you ever had a crush on a girl?” Brock asked.

Ash shrugged.

“Not that I can think of? I don't know what that makes me. I don't see any point in using labels and stuff right now. It's not productive, is it?”

“Guess not.” Brock hummed to himself, deliberating on something for a few moments, before speaking up again. “You know, I thought Lance was cute, that time we met up with him.”

Ash turned to stare at him. “You did?”

Brock nodded, and cracked a smile. “Like you said, you don't have to put a label on what you feel. But if you want my advice, I think you should call him. Smooth things over.”

Ash stared down at his pokedex.

“I don't know about that, Brock. I think he's upset with me.”

“All the more reason to, then. Tell him what you told me, about the timing being bad and just wanting things to be simple. If he knows where he stands, the both of you will surely bounce back from it.”

Brock patted him on the shoulder and rose to his feet. “I'm going to bed, but promise me you'll sort things out?”

“I'll try,” Ash muttered. “He's not the easiest guy to talk to.”

With a wave, Brock headed back to where May and Max were sitting in their sleeping bags and climbed into his own. Ash headed a little deeper into the forest, and dialled Drew's pokedex code. He fiddled with his fringe, half-wondering if there was any point making himself presentable for this conversation, but half wanting Drew to find him attractive over his crappy pokedex facecam.

On the fourth ring, Drew answered. His hair was slightly ruffled, either from sleep or from recently flying, and he was in lodgings that looked like a typical pokemon centre room.

“Hey.”

“I told you goodbye,” Drew deadpanned.

“I know. But, but we need to talk properly, Drew. I'm sorry things got out of hand. But you're not ditching the Saffron City contest because of me, are you? I won't talk to you, if that's what you need to hear. I don't want to stand in your way.”

Drew scoffed.

“Don't flatter yourself. I wasn't planning on going anyway.”

“Drop the smug bullshit for a second, will you?” snapped Ash. “Why do you care so much about telling May, all of a sudden? Up until today you've been fine keeping it between the two of us. Whether it's romantic or not, I don't see why we have to involve anyone else.”

“You're ashamed of me, Ash,” Drew said harshly, silencing him instantly. “I won't be kept around at your convenience. I get that you think you're being noble and sheltering May, but someone was always going to get hurt. It just sucks you'd rather make me pay than just tell her the truth about us.”

“Drew, you're her first rival,” Ash said pleadingly. “If I tell her, it'll screw with her confidence.”

“You think she doesn't already know on some level?” Drew asked sharply. “Ash, she knows we've spent time together away from her, she knows I've given you at least one rose, and she knows that I get in your head. She's been putting the pieces together for months, can't you see that?”

Ash shook his head slowly, feeling the colour draining from his face.

“If she knows, why doesn't she just ask?”

“The same reason you won't just tell her, I suppose.” Drew's voice was quiet, but harsh. “Maybe it's cause she just doesn't wanna know. She's your damn friend, you figure it out.”

“You aren't being fair,” Ash protested.

“No?” Drew's eyes flashed. “I've been patient. I've given you time to sort through your feelings, I haven't run to May to reveal our big fucking secret! Now it's your turn to give me some time to get through this. I can take you not reciprocating my feelings. I can handle rejection, but when you won't even admit to your friends that I'm your damn rival? Why would I want to be stuck in a rivalry like that in the first place?”

Ash held the phone so tightly his fingers hurt.

“I don't want you to give up on us, Drew,” he whispered. “Please.”

Drew dragged a hand through his hair, looking truly exhausted.

“I can't do this right now, Ash. If I have to wait around for you to figure out what the hell you want from me, I'll never go anywhere. Just let me be until the next time we meet.”

“Please-”

The call ended, and Ash gripped his phone in despair.

“Fuck,” he mumbled, burying his face in his hands. “Damn you, Drew.”

[sassymox]

This is giving me serious ashxdrew muse/feels damn having to work in the morninnnggggggg!

[love-killed-the-superstar]

Roses Are Lame, Roses Are Blue: Chapter 9

what’s that??? a snazzy new cover???? after like, six years?? i must be dreaming. i drew this up a while ago but i didn’t want to reveal it until the next time i updated so you know what that means!!!!

Title: Chapter 9: The Courtship of Mr Rose Pairing: RespectShipping (Ash/Drew) Summary: RespectShipping. / Ash and Drew have never had the chance to see eye to eye, mostly due to the two living in the different trainer classes of pokemon trainer and pokemon coordinator. But when Drew proves he's a worthy opponent after winning a battle against Ash, the two find their lives are lacking a rivalry in which the latter respects the former. / Cover illustration by me!

(Chapter 9 - Spontaneous Combusken. Or, the one where Drew is shirtless for half the episode and Ash just pretends not to be interested.)

Read on Fanfiction.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8711638/9/Roses-Are-Lame-Roses-Are-Blue

9: The Courtship of Mr Rose

-Chrysanthemum Island, October 6th, 2005-

Two things were weighing on Ash's mind as they arrived on Chrysanthemum Island for May's next pokemon contest.

The first was the card and rose that May had received after losing the Wisteria contest. The moment he had seen the rose, his heart had sank. Drew had made it perfectly clear that he didn't want any contact with Ash while he cooled off, and the fact that he was now going to such extreme lengths to avoid their entire group was a little disheartening.

He couldn't fault him for it – they'd both had a lot to think about when it came to their relationship as well as their rivalry – but it did sting that Drew was avoiding May too. He noticed her taking the note out of her bag on numerous occasions over the next few days, peering at it with a troubled expression. Ash found his mind wandering often to what Drew had said during their last call.

“You think she doesn't already know on some level? She's been putting together the pieces for months.”

If she had been, she was hiding it well. She'd learned to stop asking for answers she knew Ash wasn't willing to give her, and stopped bringing up Drew around him when she could help it. Whether or not she understood what was going on, Ash couldn't tell. But the look of distress in her eyes as she read the note for the tenth time, like she couldn't quite figure out whether the invitation itself was a good thing or if the indirect method of contacting her was a bad sign – it hurt, to see her in knots over the complicated situation he and Drew had created for themselves.

The second thing plaguing Ash's subconscious thoughts was the Sceptile incident. Ash knew a thing or two about first love not working out to plan, but seeing the way Sceptile's love was spurned left a sour taste in his mouth. It made him think about what had been going on in his life – how he and Drew had both tried their best to figure out what the right thing for them was, and the awful feeling of rejection when they turned their back on one another.

Ash had tried to play dumb (after all, as far as his friends knew, it was what he did best), but after seeing Sceptile evolve and seeing that it did nothing to relieve the situation left him feeling hollow. He couldn't even carry out basic attack moves that should have been second nature. Nurse Joy had said something that he couldn't get out of his head.

“Now you've learned it's not always enough just to be physically strong.”

What did that mean, anyway? Was being torn up over rejection really going to make or break a trainer? Ash didn't consider himself in the same boat as Sceptile, not by a long shot, but he couldn't deny that his heart had been feeling heavier since their fight. It wasn't like fighting with Gary, where they'd both sulk for a day and then make up over a cup of cocoa in the Oak lab. It wasn't like fighting with Misty or May, heated bickering that then resolved itself in a matter of hours.

If anything, it reminded him of when his parents used to fight – the kind of mature argument where both parties tried not to show how badly it hurt, and instead chose to keep their distance, with only sad silences drawing out between them. It was a weird, uncomfortable agony that made him bristle with contempt for Sceptile's moping. If he had to suck it up and get on with life like it didn't affect him, so did his pokemon.

“Now, Sceptile, use bullet seed!” he ordered.

Sceptile went into his usual stance to generate the attack, but nothing came out. Ash growled in frustration as the group sighed collectively.

“Poor Sceptile must still be feeling the pain of a broken heart,” May said softly, fist pressed up against her chest as though it was making her own heart ache. Sceptile sighed in defeat, staring down at the ground.

“Hey, come on, you can do those moves!” Ash ground out, determined not to let Sceptile give up as easily as that. After all, wouldn't that say a lot about him too? “You have to try harder! Get that stuff out of your mind and do it!”

“You're just making it worse, you know.”

Ash turned quickly and stopped immediately in his tracks. Drew was heading in their direction, body relaxed, and much to Ash's surprise he was smiling. That sure wasn't the response he was expecting after the cold disagreement they'd had back in August.

“You're not thinking about it from Sceptile's point of view,” he said, with a sharpness to his voice that Ash knew was directed at him. Ash looked away.

“It's Drew...” May took a few steps closer, but Drew ignored her in favour of heading over to Sceptile and beginning to pet him.

“Telling your pokemon to try harder only gives them more stress. And you don't need that, right?”

Ash glared at him, and Drew met his gaze coolly, as though daring him to speak up.

Butt out of this. You're only doing this to prove a point to me.

May watched the exchange in a mixture of concern and curiosity, before she remembered something. She brought out the note and held it between two fingers.

“Hey, Drew. Did you send this to me?”

Drew's gaze tore away from Ash to stare at the letter for a moment.

“See, I'd love to be in the contest with you, but mark my words, this time I'm going to beat you! Get it?”

Drew's eyes narrowed.

“Except I didn't send that.”

May blinked.

“Huh?”

“Come on, that's not my style,” Drew stated with a smug air, flicking his fringe away from his eyes. “You should know that.”

“We should, huh,” the group deadpanned. Drew's cheeks reddened slightly, and Ash couldn't help but stare. It was rare seeing his composure slip at all.

“Truthfully, I'm not even going to be in this pokemon contest.”

May's face contorted in confusion.

“Huh? You're not?”

“I've been in so many contests lately, my pokemon are wiped. So we came to Chrysanthemum Island for a little R&R.”

“R&R? Go figure...” May hummed. “But if you didn't send me this, I wonder who did...”

As she stared down at the note, now more confused than ever, Drew turned and began to walk away.

“Are you gonna be watching the contest?”

It was Ash who blurted it out, and Drew stopped in his tracks. May glanced up too, confusion etched into her features.

“...Of course. I wouldn't miss it. I sure hope you've been improving, May.” He tilted his head, eyes meeting Ash's just for a moment, before continuing to head in the general direction of the resort.

“He said that, but I bet he's just here to make fun of me,” muttered May, lips pursed into a frown as she stared down at the card. “He didn't even send me the card.”

“Hey now,” Brock said quickly. “He didn't know you would be here. Anyway, forget about Drew. Me and Ash will grab some snacks and drinks ready for the warm up, so why don't you get your pokemon out and start warming up?”

She nodded, grim determination on her face.

“Right! Munchlax, Combusken, take the stage!”

Ash recalled Sceptile silently and followed Brock as they headed over to some vending machines near one of the beach shacks.

“So, Drew's here,” Brock said casually. Ash rolled his eyes.

“Yep.”

“Are you two going to talk things out already?” he pressed. “I know things didn't go well last time you called. But May and Max will start picking up on the tension if the two of you don't at least act civil.”

“Brock, he's upset,” Ash said sharply, frustration building up inside him. “Also, he's being a jerk about it. Why'd he have to butt into my business, huh? Siding with Sceptile in front of everybody...”

“I suppose, birds of a feather?” Brock guessed, shrugging with an uneasy grin as he selected a few candy bars he knew May liked to snack on during training. “I mean, both he and Sceptile are bouncing back from, ah, a heart ache, I guess? It makes sense he's bitter about it. You just have to rise above it. Be the bigger trainer.”

Ash snorted in contempt, gathering up the candy bars into his arms. Brock selected canned coffee, and the memory of the last time he'd had it resonated strongly in his mind.

The Hoenn Grand Festival...

The night they'd talked on the grounds, and had a battle; back when being rivals and crushes was something that seemed to coexist, where they had an understanding of exactly what they wanted...

No, that wasn't right. Drew knew, didn't he? It was Ash, as always, who was painfully unsure of himself. Why could he be so confident in battle, while being so clueless in his personal life?

“I never wanted things to be complicated, Brock,” he groaned, resting his head against the cool glass of the vending machine. “Why is it so hard for two guys to be rivals in secret without things being confusing and romantic? I don't get it!”

“Not sure I do either,” Brock said dryly, scooping up the cans into his arms. “Though, sneaking around and whatnot, it does have romantic connotations to it, Ash. Why not just be honest about it? Sure, May might be confused at first, but she'd come around to it.”

“But Brock!” Ash protested. “I... I stepped in on her rival. Her first rival! How am I supposed to tell her that? It'll really hurt her.”

“Well... sure, she'll be upset,” Brock agreed. “But really now, it won't take her too long to get over it. She's grown up a lot since we all first met.”

They watched from the vending machines as May hugged her munchlax for perfecting a solar beam.

“It's not just that,” Ash said with a sigh. “I... I liked having Drew to myself. I was so used to having Gary keeping me on my toes that I missed that here, so when Drew said we were rivals... I latched onto it. I knew it wasn't right doing it behind May's back! But he... when we talked, it was like he was a different person. We connected, and I wanted it.”

“Ash, does Drew know all this?” Brock asked, brow furrowed. “Does he know how you feel?”

Ash shrugged.

“Maybe not all of it. But it doesn't matter, he said so himself. He doesn't want to be a secret anymore, and now he won't talk to me.”

Brock watched him sternly.

“Ash.”

“Okay, okay,” he muttered, tearing his gaze away as his cheeks coloured. “I get it. I'll... I'll come clean. I'll tell him everything.”

At that moment, his pokedex beeped, and he pulled it out in confusion.

“Is it supposed to do that?”

“If you have an incoming message,” Brock said, looking equally perplexed. Ash touched the blinking envelope icon in the corner of the screen, and it read plainly.

My room number is 215.

Ash blushed to the roots of his hair.

“It, uh, sounds like he wants to meet you?” Brock supplied, also looking pretty embarrassed. “That's certainly a change from last time.”

Ash suddenly remembered something Brock was always going on about, how being invited up to a girl's room was the ultimate dream, even topping that of being a strong breeder. Well, girls were to Brock what Drew had become to Ash, right?

Ash turned to Brock. “Hey, Brock. What's so great about going to someone's room, anyway?”

Brock's face turned beet red.

“W-Well, er... now that you mention it... uh, still, I think you and Drew are a bit young for that...”

Ash frowned. “I don't get it. I've been in Drew's room before, after all.”

“Y-You have?!”

“LaRousse City. We talked about a lot of things. It... set the whole thing in motion for me, I think.”

Ash shrugged. “Well, whatever Drew wants, I came here to support May and that's what I'm gonna do. Cheering her on and getting Sceptile back on track are my priorities.”

“Brock! Ash!”

Startled out of their conversation, they turned to see May and Munchlax, hands sternly planted on their hips.

“You guys are so slow!” called May with a huff. “We can't be warming up forever you know!”

…

Ash wasn't responding to his messages.

Well, Drew decided, maybe this was for the best. He wasn't sure what had compelled him to give Ash his room number, but after being left on read he realised maybe Ash was still pissed at him for what had gone down earlier. It wasn't like he'd gone looking to raise an argument – he'd just seen Ash lashing out at his sceptile, a little too aggressively for the person who had stopped their little rivalry in its tracks, and he had felt compelled to comment. Perhaps it was a mistake, but the damage was already done.

Truthfully, it was more than just the contests that Drew needed to recuperate from. He always tended to push himself and his pokemon too hard when his emotions were awry, and something about Ash always made him into some kind of irrational fool. In fact, at his last contest he'd lost in his first battle, something he rarely did these days, and was advised by Solidad (of all people to see him screw up...) to take some time off to let his pokemon catch a break.

Drew knew he had been screwing up lately. He just kept running through that last conversation in his head.

“I don't want you to give up on us, Drew. Please.”

“Like I wanted that either?” Drew muttered to himself. “If I don't pull away you'll never have the courage to search for the answers yourself.”

Roselia looked up at him questioningly, and he sighed, folding his arms behind his head.

“It's nothing, Roselia,” he said. “Thanks for putting up with me lately.”

“Rose, roselia,” Roselia said tersely, as though to say, don't start wimping out on me.

“Heh, sorry. Let's just rest up this weekend.”

He lay back, the sun warm on his face, and shut his eyes. Despite the efforts to relax, he couldn't stop his mind from busying itself with recent events. Sceptile, looking lost and wounded by love. May, fired up and ready to pick a fight. The rose and the card, so innocent in all of this and providing no answers. Ash's face, pinched with desperation as he begged to make things work.

“Drew~!”

He opened his eyes and straightened up as May sang his name, rushing over to him with a beaming smile. A small, red-haired girl trailed behind nervously.

“May, what's up?” he asked, eyebrows raised a little. Given the way she had been acting this morning, he'd expected her to be in the midst of vigorous training, not giving another kid a tour of the resort.

“I've got a new friend!” May announced, motioning to the girl cowering behind her. “Her name's Brianna. She's a big fan of yours who became a coordinator after watching you perform!”

Well, this was certainly a surprise. His sole purpose for coming here was to avoid his regular fans, who were still searching for him in the Hoenn region. But it wasn't often that he met someone who he had actually inspired to become a coordinator too.

“Wow, you did?” He offered her a smile. “Hey, thank you.”

May smiled at Brianna too, eager to please, and Brianna fidgeted with her hands, a blush creeping up her face. “It's nice... to meet you...”

“And it was Brianna who sent me that card!” she continued. Brianna blushed a bright red.

“I didn't sign my name and I feel like such a total fool!”

“You didn't do anything wrong. May just made another silly mistake,” Drew brushed off wryly. May planted her hands on her hips.

“There's only one person I knew who would send me something like that, Mr Rose!”

Drew blushed.

“Mr Rose?!”

Roselia chirped in agreement with a nod and he turned, feeling oddly betrayed.

“Roselia...” he groaned.

May grinned at Brianna. “You know, if you'd like to shake Drew's hand I'm sure he'd love to!”

What exactly was May doing, networking him like this?

Brianna's gaze flitted between the two nervously.

“Y-Yeah? Really?”

Even if May was pushing it, he wasn't exactly about to crush a budding coordinator's dreams.

“I'd be happy to.”

They shook hands, and Brianna beamed.

“It's so awesome to meet you...”

May sidled up to Drew with a smirk.

“You've done this before, right?” she teased.

His eyes narrowed. “And you talk too much.”

Brianna was all smiles, oblivious to his slight dig at May. “Oh wow, I did it!”

Drew figured it was about time to leave, and nodded towards them.

“Bye. Good luck at the contest.”

As he walked away, he glanced back and noticed May's friends watching from above. Ash was there, but the moment their eyes met he looked away. Well, fine. Drew headed back to his hotel room, roselia following behind.

“Drew is such a weenie,” Max groaned, resting his chin on the edge of the wall. “Well, you're not wrong,” agreed Ash with a smile.

As they watched from above, Brianna turned on May suddenly, a fiery look in her eyes, and declared a rivalry with the conviction of somebody who already knew they were there to win. He had to hand it to Brianna – she was a girl who knew what she wanted and how to get it.

“Wow, someone's after May again,” Max deadpanned.

“No wonder,” Brock said with a smile, “everyone wants a shot at a champion.”

Ash grinned.

“There is nothing like a new rival to get you psyched.”

Pikachu nodded in agreement.

Brock glanced over at him.

“Rivals are important.”

Ash met his gaze and his mouth twisted into a frown. “Uh huh.”

Max, not picking up on the change in conversation, sighed longingly.

“I can't wait until the day I have a rival...”

“It'll happen,” Brock assured him with a smile. Ash took out his pokedex, staring a the message Drew had left him.

My room number is 215.

“I'm gonna take a leak before the contest,” Ash said distantly, spying a sign in the distance pointing back to the rooms. “I'll catch up with you guys later.”

Pikachu went to follow, but Ash shook his head.

“Stay with these guys, Pikachu. I'll be okay.”

Pikachu cocked its head in confusion, but relented, hopping up onto Max's head.

“What's up with him?” Max muttered as Ash walked away.

…

The door creaked open as Drew pulled on his familiar dark turtleneck.

“So this is your room, Mr Rose.”

“I refuse to let that nickname stick,” Drew deadpanned.

Ash peered around in awe. The room was one for paying resort guests, as opposed to the overnight contest dormitories they were booked into. Everything was sleek, neutral, sophisticated. Drew looked far more at home in these surroundings than he did in his own bedroom back in LaRousse City, even with his gaudy clothing contrasting starkly.

“It's fancy,” Ash remarked, before flopping down onto Drew's immaculately well made bed, creasing the covers with all the grace of a donphan. “I'm surprised you invited me here.”

“Yes, well, I wanted to give you some advice.”

He sat up straight, brow furrowed.

“Advice? You?”

Drew turned around, pulling on his purple shirt, with a stern look in his eyes.

“My advice is simple. Sceptile needs time to get over his heartbreak, and you're not doing it any favours with your tough love shtick. Maybe try and understand how it feels before running your mouth.”

Ash rolled his eyes.

“Are we really doing this? I know what you're trying to say, and it's starting to really piss me off!”

“I said for you to leave me alone until the next time we met,” Drew said shortly. “I'm ready to talk. So let's talk.”

“Sceptile doesn't know what love is,” Ash growled. “The same day he thought he fell in love he got his heart broken! So what? That isn't love!”

“How would you know?” Drew countered, eyes narrowed. “Did you ever think about how Sceptile feels? How bad it feels to think you have a chance, only to have it thrown back in your face?”

“Oh, cry me a river!” Ash snapped. He turned his back on Drew in disgust, shaking his head. “Meganium doesn't owe Sceptile anything! You can't just expect things to work out because you want them to, you know!”

“Even when Meganium gave Sceptile false hope? After all they went through together?”

Ash shook his head, laughing a little in disbelief.

“They knew each other a day!”

“We didn't.”

Arms wrapped around him, and he felt Drew's soft mop of hair pressing up against his neck.

“We've known each other a lot longer, Ash. We've been through a lot together. I... I don't discuss my own strategies with anyone, you know? And if you think I have a trainer battle with just anyone...”

Ash's heart felt like it was being squeezed by an elastic band. He thought back to what he had spoken about with Brock.

Does Drew know how you feel?

“I... I liked being around you,” Ash choked out, voice wavering pathetically. He wondered where all his previous courage had gone.

Drew breathed in Ash's scent and let out a ragged breath, still holding on, afraid that if he let go Ash would bolt out of the room faster than a quick attack.

“You were the first trainer who took me seriously since Gary,” Ash said slowly, feeling muddled as heat rose in his cheeks. “Even May thought I was too intense, but you... that was what you liked about me. Do you know how that made me feel? I never found someone else like you. Morrison, Tyson... they're great, but they aren't you.” He shook his head, biting back another bitter laugh. “Out of thousands of trainers, you're the one I try to impress. We don't even battle in the same worlds and its your opinion that matters to me the most!”

“Ash...”

“That's why the thought of us, the thought of us quitting being rivals, it's eating me up,” he confessed hurriedly, fidgeting with the edge of his hat. “I know you're hurting, Drew, and I wish I could take it all back, but I just don't know how I feel right now! And as for May... I wish I could tell her, but I don't want to lose her. I don't want to lose either of you!” Drew shook his head silently.

You could never lose me that easily.

“I think,” Drew said carefully, “that maybe we've made this situation a lot more complicated than it needs to be.”

Ash turned to look at him, cheeks aglow with a blush, and Drew drank in every last freckle, scar and blemish on his face. The last time they'd been this close, a magical leaf and bubblebeam combo had kept him from admiring how crooked and imperfect his rival's face was. There was something satisfyingly normal about it.

PI-PI-PI-PI-

Ash yelped, jolting out of Drew's arms like he'd been hit by a volt tackle. Drew took a few steps back too, startled by the shrill noise of Ash's pokedex. Hastily, Ash pulled it out of his back pocket.

“H-Hello?” he stuttered, looking visibly shaken up. From the other end of the dex Drew could make out the haughty voice of May's kid brother.

“Ash, where are you? The contest's starting in ten minutes! You've been in the bathroom for more than half an hour already!”

Ash began to laugh nervously.

“R-Right! Sorry, Max, I... I forgot. I got lost looking for the exit. I'll meet you guys in the stands, okay?”

After exchanging goodbyes, he hung up and let out a heavy sigh. When he turned to look back at Drew the conflict in his eyes was somewhere between wistful to have been interrupted and startled that they'd gotten so caught up in the moment.

“I... I gotta go,” he said in a small voice, cheeks still a faint red. Drew nodded.

“I know.”

“Will, uh... will you be there too?” he asked, staring at the ground. “At the contest?”

“Yeah. I wasn't lying when I said I was looking forward to seeing how May's been raising her pokemon lately,” Drew said with a nod. As an afterthought, he added, “Maybe I'll see you there.”

Ash nodded, and without looking back, darted from the room. Any longer in there and he was sure his face would catch fire.

…

Ash managed to get there with just a few minutes to spare, receiving another lecture from Max for his tardiness, and feeling a little guilty that he hadn't been around backstage to wish May good luck. One pointed look from Brock, and he gave a curt nod. He hadn't managed to say all he wanted to, but... the way the atmosphere was in that room felt like progress of some kind.

“Folks, yes, it's show time! You're about to witness an event led by a talented group of pokemon and coordinators that will thrill you to the core! And what better place to witness it than the beautiful and super sunny Chrysanthemum Island?”

Lilian was on fire, as usual, and her energy was contagious, but she couldn't distract Ash when he saw Drew slip into the spare seat beside Brock. He didn't meet anyone's gaze, focusing on the field below, but Ash noticed the way Brock looked between the both of them in bemusement. He hoped and prayed to Arceus and any other god listening out there that Brock wouldn't say something about communication that would scare Drew to another seat.

Instead, he cupped his hands around his mouth and bellowed, “Lilian! It's Brock!”

If she heard him, she certainly didn't let on, and Ash felt a wave of fondness wash over him. Trust Brock to be back on his game so soon.

“It's time to get to the first round!” she declared with a swift punch to the air that had the crowd's energy rocket. “So let's get busy!”

As the stadium erupted in cheers and the first contestant rushed out onto the stage, Brock spoke up.

“So, it was nice of you to join us, Drew.”

“Don't get the wrong end of the stick,” Drew brushed off, briefly glancing over. “This was the seat with the best view, that's all.”

Ash reached over to tug on Brock's ear, Max style.

“Don't try any provoking dialogue, okay?”

“I don't know what you mean,” Brock mumbled. Max swatted the two of them apart with a frown.

“Save it for later, guys! May's up next!”

As Jessibella and mime junior finished their hula dance and bowed to the cheering audience, Ash ever so casually glanced over in Drew's direction. His focus was on May, warming up from the wings, giving herself a last minute pep talk by the looks of things.

“She looks confident,” Drew remarked, and Ash said quickly, “Of course. She's gotten a lot stronger, you know!”

“Now presenting, our next entry!”

May rushed out onto the stage, giving a quick wave to some new fans who cheered her name.

“Now, Munchlax! Take the stage!”

With a twirl and a toss of her pokeball, Munchlax greeted the crowd with a beaming smile.

Max groaned.

“Munchlax? Oh man, Munchlax has never done a real first round before!”

Ash gritted his teeth. Come on, be there for May like she always is for you, Ketchum.

“Go for it, Munchlax, you can do it!” he called, and Pikachu cheered on in agreement.

May called out for a solar beam, and Ash found himself momentarily blinded by the sheer intensity of the solar beam Munchlax had created.

“Enter Munchlax, right out of the box with a blinding solar beam!”

The four of them collectively leaned forward in amazement, scrutinizing what they were witnessing.

“Blinding is right,” Max agreed, awestruck.

“How did Munchlax get the energy together for that solar beam so quick?” Ash asked, baffled.

“Well,” Brock began, looking up with a smile, “it could have been the sun rays.”

“Sun rays?”

“A strong source of sunlight not only makes a solar beam easy to get charged up, but fast as well,” Brock explained.

Drew's mouth tweaked up in a wry smile.

“It was a good choice for an attack when you're on an outdoor stage at a resort like this,” he remarked, glancing over in Ash's direction. Ash found himself filing away these details almost unconsciously, before realising exactly what Drew was doing.

He reached for his pokedex and began to type.

still trying to make a coordinator out of me?

Drew saw the message and his mouth curled into a wry smile. He sent a quick reply and snapped his dex shut as May's routine continued.

Of course. Since you have so much potential.

As she called out another metronome attack, Max groaned.

“Not again! Why in the world's May choosing metronome at a time like this?”

“She's taking a chance,” Ash explained. “You don't know what'll happen.”

“It's a chance,” Drew agreed, brushing his hair away from his eyes. “But I think it's worth it. If it works, it's a showcase. It puts your pokemon in a really great position.”

…

As the appeals round came to a close, Drew mulled over the performances. May was definitely more attack-savvy than the last time he'd seen her, that was for sure – the idea of risking a metronome attack in order to produce a solarbeam in this kind of sunlight was, admittedly, very impressive. It was something he recalled doing in one of his first contests, when he was still inexperienced enough to enjoy the thrill of risking the odds. She really was beginning to take coordinating more seriously.

Though he would never admit it, especially not to her face, he did find himself thinking that May herself had been very appealing. Where he used to find her chipper and overly zealous personality annoying, her confidence was now coming from a place of experience and gratitude towards her pokemon and their hard work, something he could certainly get behind.

Brianna, on the other hand, was doing pretty damn well for her debut contest. Her surskit was just beautiful, and the graceful way it skated across the ice reminded him fondly of how his masquerain used to skate before it evolved.

As much as he loved taking part in contests, sometimes it was nice to appreciate them as a spectator.

“So,” Brock said, clearing his throat. “May sure has improved, hasn't she?”

“No doubt,” Drew said, arms folded, though he smiled. “It looks like she's finally starting to take contests seriously.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Ash interrupted, eyes narrowed. “May's been working so hard. What more does she have to do before you see her as a worthy opponent?”

Drew glanced over at him sharply.

“I do. She has integrity and I can see that she's been training seriously. I... admire that.”

The look on Ash's face was odd, like he was trying to figure something out, and Drew turned to stare back at the arena. The circles they were running in were beginning to get tedious, and he half-wished the interlude would be over already so that he wouldn't have to wrack his brains for how he was feeling. It all made sense, up until very recently, and the smallest red bud was forming beside the festering blue rose in his head that Ash had planted there so long ago.

His pokedex buzzed with an incoming message.

can we talk after the contest???

Drew read the simple sentence over a few times, before putting his dex down, message unanswered.

…

“May!”

May looked up from where she was fussing over Combusken and Munchlax, both looking pretty pleased from the victory treats she'd given them. Max came hurtling forward first, giving her a hug.

“You won, May, you won!”

“What, you doubted me, little brother?” she teased, hugging him back. She ruffled his hair as he pulled away, grinning in delight when he swatted at her hand and took to fixing it. Ash and Brock joined soon after.

“You did great,” Brock praised. “And Combusken, too! Learning mega kick like that in the last few moments really saved you both!”

“He's a champ!” May agreed with a beaming smile. “My wonderful pokemon and I did a stellar job, if I say so myself!”

“That's for sure.” Ash pushed back his hat a little, offering her a crooked grin. “You did really great out there. Er... Drew thought so too. He seemed really into the battle.”

“Really?” May squeaked. He didn't miss the way her hands clasped together nervously at the mention of Drew's name, nor did he miss the tremor in her voice as she spoke next. “I was really, uh... a bit nervous having him watch me like that.”

“Doesn't he always watch you?” Max frowned. “I don't get it.”

“It's different when he's competing too!” May protested. “When we're competing as rivals we're busy thinking of ourselves, but when his full attention is on my performance, it's normal to feel a bit nervous, right?”

“Well, if you were nervous it didn't show,” Brock commented, putting an arm around her. “You were great out there.”

May grinned, a blush dusting her cheeks.

At that moment, Max peeked around her.

“Hey, isn't that Brianna?”

They turned to the station opposite May's. Brianna was packing away her things, shoulders slumped in defeat, movements sluggish. Even if she had done her best to act as a good sport in front of the audience, her disappointment was obvious.

May chewed her lip.

“Guys, I think I'm going to talk to her. Make sure she's all right,” she explained. “Could you maybe, um... give us a while to talk? We can leave in an hour or two, it's just, this is her first contest so...”

“Hey, you don't have to explain it to us,” Ash said quickly, hands in his pockets. “You guys are rivals. You gotta look out for each other.”

“Especially after her first loss,” Brock agreed with a sympathetic smile. “I remember your first loss like it was yesterday, May.”

May grinned wryly. “I'd like to think I've come a long way since then.”

She recalled Combusken and Munchlax to their pokeballs before hurrying off after Brianna.

“Well, we've got some time to kill,” Brock began, as they left the backstage area behind. “I'd suggest getting some food, but I don't think May would forgive us if we ate without her.”

“We could go for a swim!” suggested Max, skipping ahead a little in excitement. “We might not be allowed in the resort pool, but there's a whole ocean just outside!”

“That's true...” Brock mused. “We have the rest of the afternoon to relax, so we might as well. What do you think, Ash?”

“Sounds good to me!” Ash paused mid-stretch, brow furrowed. “Huh. Actually, I'd better go and find Drew.”

“Ughhhh,” groaned Max, stomping a little. “What is it with you and May and Drew, huh? It's like, Drew this, Drew that, all the time! All he does is act like a smug jerk too!”

“It's more complicated than that, Max,” Brock assured him with a slight grin, before glancing pointedly at Ash. “But you're right, you need to talk.”

“Well, if you wanna hang out with him so much more than me, he's over there,” Max sulked, jabbing his finger over to the lobby, where Drew was handing over his key card. Ash patted the back of his head.

“It isn't that, Max, I promise! I'll be out to hang with you guys in a minute, this won't take long.” He gave them a quick wave and Brock steered Max in the direction of the beach. Ash took a deep breath and tugged on his hat, readjusting it before taking a deep breath. No use in running while he was already here.

“So, Mr Rose. You're checking out already?”

Drew froze, his back to Ash, before turning quickly.

“You spying on me, Ketchum?”

Ash raised his hands in mock surrender.

“No way. Just came to talk.”

Drew eyed him wearily, then shifted his attention to Pikachu, perched on Ash's shoulder and watching him intently.

“Did you come for a battle or something?”

Ash considered this.

“Uh, not really? But I'm always down for a challenge if you're ready.”

Drew smirked.

“You'll beat me with what, your heartbroken sceptile?”

“Hey, he's gonna get over this stuff one way or another,” Ash retorted, eyes narrowing. “Maybe the two of you could learn from each other.” Drew's smile faded, and he looked away.

“Are we really just gonna bury our feelings under a pokemon battle and pretend like it doesn't matter?” he asked tiredly, folding his arms uncomfortably over his chest. Huffing out a laugh, Ash scratched the bulb of Pikachu's cheek.

“What kind of trainer do you take me for, Drew? We're gonna talk. Just, after we battle. Loser has to start talking first.”

“Nice try, but I think you should wait until after your sceptile recovers to instigate a battle, don't you? Whatever happened to a good old fashioned conversation?”

Ash groaned.

“You're impossible! I have like, five other pokemon on hand, at least! Look, Pikachu's all charged up to go!”

He gestured over to Pikachu, who looked almost as tired by the ordeal as Drew felt.

“Somehow, I think he'll manage.” As he began to head out the door, Ash hurried after him, falling into step beside him as they made their way out front onto the beach. It was crowded, coordinators buzzing with an after-contest high milling all around them, and it was getting harder and harder to keep up without getting lost in the swarm of excited trainers. Eventually, though, he found him once more, sitting by the water.

“Why'd you leave so quickly?” Ash asked with a huff, flopping down beside him.

“We're in public,” Drew responded, as though it explained everything. “Nothing romantic can happen with this many people around.”

Ash blushed a little.

“Romantic? Please. I just wanna talk.”

“I'm not sure there's any point,” Drew said distantly, staring out at the vast miles of water before them. “We're just stuck in this tug-of-war, back and forth so frequently we're actually not moving at all. Nothing will change unless there's a catalyst, and I think we both know you're not planning on telling May.”

“I don't want to hurt her,” Ash said firmly. “I'm not budging on this, Drew. I don't want her to know about this. At least, not until after the Grand Festival. She's doing really great right now and I don't want to upset her.”

Drew rolled his eyes and said nothing. He wasn't exactly ready to announce he was beginning to feel things for her, something he'd realised in a rush of exhilaration as he watched her truly connect with her combusken during that final contest battle.

He especially wasn't going to announce this revelation to the original catalyst of his affections. Given their history he knew it would do more harm than good, and the last thing he wanted for Ash was for him to end up in the same sorry state as his sceptile.

“Fine, don't tell her. But I can't see our rivalry going anywhere, for better or worse, if we're fighting like this.”

Ash's eyes flashed in irritation.

“So we don't fight. We just agree to call a truce and go back to how things were.”

Drew shrugged.

“Fine. But that means no more holding each other close. No more kisses, no more flirting. It goes back to being about battling, like it always should have been.”

It should have been the perfect solution. The thing Ash had wanted to hear for a while now, without the anger and the pettiness that had surrounded it originally.

And yet, he couldn't help but feel disappointed.

“Can't I hold your hand now, at least? Just... just for a minute?”

Drew studied his face for a few moments, before cracking a smile.

“Fine, you baby. Just for a minute. We don't want anyone getting the wrong impression.” He knew he should care about his image more, of what people would think when Drew The Coordinator was spotted holding the hand of Ash The Challenger, but he'd been keeping a low profile all weekend, and had only been approached by three fans so far, Brianna included. The contest fans of Chrysanthemum Island frankly couldn't give a damn what two boys were doing on a crowded sunny afternoon, when the entire beach was calling people to swim and train and otherwise have fun. No one noticed as Ash tentatively took his hand. No one batted an eye as Drew traced the tiniest pinprick of a scar where a thorn from a rose had once cut into his finger on a quiet day in LaRousse City.

“Drew?”

“Yeah, Ketchum?”

“I...” Ash paused for a moment, searching for the right words, and with it, the courage. “I want to tell her at some point, b-but when we're all ready for that. When I do, I hope you'll hear me out, because that's when I can give you the right answer.”

Back in Hoenn, those words would have made Drew's heart soar (or at the very least, beat a little faster). But this was Kanto, and things were changing all the time. Especially with May in the picture, looming over this tender moment with her newfound humility and passion for the world of pokemon contests.

Drew rose to his feet, still holding Ash's hand, and helped him up. Ash was watching him, cheeks dusted a faint red with his proposition, and Drew's heart opened up once more, the seasons shifting inside him. The trouble with being the way he was, it turned out, was how much bigger his heart now seemed as a result. With both Ash and May worming their way in, it was impossible to decipher how he was feeling right about now.

“Whatever the answer is, I want to hear it,” he said, allowing a tone of superiority to sneak into his voice. “So for your sake as much as her own, I hope May gets the rest of her ribbons in time.”

“Oh, you know she will!” Ash declared, eyes blazing with determination and his embarrassment forgotten. “If you thought she did well today, you'll be blown away once she gets to the Grand Festival! I can't wait to see the two of you face off!”

“Which one of us will you be rooting for more?” Drew teased, releasing his hold on Ash's hand as they began to head over to the other side of the beach, where they could see Brock and Max up to their ankles in the warm shallows. Ash reached up to scratch between Pikachu's ears, trying not to dwell on the emptiness his hand felt all of a sudden, and flashed a reassuring grin.

“Oh, May for sure. I mean, we're her number one fans, I'm sure you'll have an entire army cheering you on,” he ribbed.

“A fair point. You could at least cheer for me silently.”

Ash's smile softened.

“Sure I will. We're rivals, it's what we do when we're not butting heads.”

Drew squeezed his arm, murmuring a quick, “I'll hold you to that,” before Max's face lit up in recognition.

“Ash, Drew! Come on in, the water feels great!”

Right now, maybe going back to their roots was for the best.