#Maxi fic

[leavingautumn13]

To contrast with its docile pre-evolution, camerupt are temperamental, bitey, bullheaded, and prone to setting things on fire. They are often placed with herds of regular cattle to defend them; a well-trained camerupt can take on a pack of mightyena by itself.

Camerupt have very few natural predators. Mightyena will sometimes make an attempt if a member of the herd is particularly weak or sick, but they more often stick to numel. With rock-type moves, a camerupt can put up a fight even against a salamence.

Due to the dangers camerupt can pose even to its trainer, numel is rare as a starter pokemon except in the Lavaridge area. Most captive camerupt have been bred and raised in captivity; if a specimen was caught in the wild it was most likely caught as a numel and then evolved. Approaching wild camerupt is not advised.

[send me a pokemon and i'll draw it in my style and add my headcanons]

#camerupt #realistic pokemon #pokemon #pokemon rse #pokemon oras #autumn.art #i'm doing rough anatomical sketches? i'm officially too far gone #''that camerupt in the front looks familiar'' that's maxie's camerupt tephra from my fic. with a slightly more coherent redesign #anyway. hoenn's answer to bison

[adventuringblind]

Defensive Maneuvers

Max Verstappen x Leclerc!reader

Genre: fluffy with a pinch of angst

Request: yes! I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Requests are open for Max, Charles, Oscar, and lando. Don't hesitate to send me ideas!

Summary: The normally soft-spoken leclerc sister becomes the out spoken girl her family knows. What triggers this change? Max Verstappen and his ridiculous father.

Warnings: Jos being Jos, mentions of verbal abuse, mention of physical abuse if you squint, *best Daniel Riccardo voice* nooooot prooooofreaaaad

Notes: written in third person . I am neither the youngest nor have brothers, so I tried my best to get an accurate relationship depiction. Ironically, I'm the oldest with sisters.

Masterlist

The Leclerc sister is known by her brothers as the baby of the family. Even Arthur, who is only older by mere minutes, holds it over her head that she is the youngest.

The constant teasing from her siblings made her learn how to use her quick wit. Verbal comebacks becoming her specialty at a young age. Because of her ability to be polite in public, no one suspects what she is truly capable of.

Her brothers tease her regardless but she lets them. Her sharp tongue making them regret not holding theirs.

Pierre had made this mistake once. Mainly under the influence of Charles convincing him to say something at her expense. The verbal lashing he received in response had him apologizing profusely. Charles doubling over in laughter as her practically lectured his friend. Needless to say, Pierre has yet to make this mistake again.

Charles was by far her favorite sibling. Lorenzo had a habit of bossing her around and Arthur shared a room with her. She loved all her brothers, but felt the most connected to Charles. She followed him around like a lost puppy some days. Ready to cheer him on at every Karting race.

This was where she first encountered Max.

After the race, she went to go congratulate Charles for a race well done. He was third but all the Leclerc’s were proud nonetheless. On the way over to him, she saw Max. He was at majority of the races Charles was at. The two had never talked formally, but they were aware of the others existence.

Something about the situation she was witnessing didn’t felt right. Max was standing with his dad, his knuckles turning white from gripping his second place trophy so tightly.

As she walked by, she almost fell over at hearing how his father was treating him. The slander leaving his mouth over his son placing second almost made her tear up. She was only nine at the time, but even she knew whatever was happening was wrong.

So she steeled herself, took a deep breath, and entered into the conversation. She walked up and tapped Max’s shoulder. He jumped at the feeling, not having seen you coming.

“Hello Max, Charles is busy with family but wanted to congratulate you.” She smiled warmly at the Dutch boy. Obviously taken off guard.

Jos turned to her, also not knowing how to handle this. “Not much to congratulate,” he sneered. The young Leclerc narrows her eyes at him. Not realizing how brash the older man is.

“What do you mean, Mr. Verstappen? There is plenty to congratulate.” She questions back, her tone mildly snarky. Obviously having no intention of backing down. The older man didn’t even bothering responding to her. He turns on his heels and walks away. Yelling back to Max “I’ll be in the car.”

Max looks between the girl who he’d never spoken too and his father. Unsure of what he should do in this situation. Thankfully the girl notices this. “Sorry for stepping in. He sounded unreasonably upset.” She apologized with a huff.

“Thanks actually- for what you did.” Max stutters out. No one had ever taken the time to defend him.it was an unusual feeling. He knows he can’t stay long though. “I should go. I’ll see you around- I guess.” Then he runs off. Waving as he goes.

She had told her mother about it. The older woman explaining what was probably happening at home. It made her sad for the Dutch boy. Having to hear that it happens more often then just races.

This was only the first encounter with Max. The Leclerc sister made it a point to find Max after every race and praise for a job well done. Much to his fathers dismay. She knew she couldn’t stop what was happening, but maybe her words would help ease some of the hurt.

The girls mother occasionally helped out with her quest. Walking with her daughter to find the Dutch and congratulate him.

It became a routine. One that Max was starting to enjoy. The seeking out now being reciprocated. The two even finding time to converse about things aside from racing.

Max’s father had started to become increasingly more annoyed at this fact. Pulling Max away from you. Spitting vulgar words at a child that wasn’t even his own.

Pascals had made a note that if she was directly insulting to Mr. Verstappen, it might make things harder for Max. She still made her snarky remarks and threw insults at the older man, but only loud enough to make Max chuckle.

Her brothers eventually caught on. Charles and Arthur saying nice things to Max in passing. Charles was more strained, but was trying nonetheless.

The brothers began teasing her relentlessly as they grew up. Her fondness for Max only growing. Her quick tongue seemed to falter when they brought up Max. She held a soft spot for him, as he did for her.

When Max and Charles were in formula 2, she was incredibly proud of both of them. She divided her time equally between the two boys. Still always making sure to sing Max’s praises loud enough for everyone to hear.

Originally she though Max’s father would cool down and maybe start to see how talented he is, but she was mistaken. The older man somehow seemed to get more competitive.

It was increasingly easier to talk to each other now since the two both have phones. She comforted over video calls as he ranted about something stupid his father said to him. He listens to her talk about her fathers battle with illness. The two became inseparable. Being the reason for each others smiles on most occasions.

Then formula 1 came. Charles driving for Ferrari and Max for Redbull. The youngest Leclerc baskets in both boy finally making it. Years of hard work paying off.

Max no longer lived at home. Having moved to an apartment in Monaco. This meaning the two could spend more time together. The, now young woman, takes pride in that fact she convinced him to move closer to her.

She’d become more outspoken recently. Opening defending both her brothers and Max. Most people knew not to say anything if she was within earshot.

The year is now 2021 and Max and Lewis are both fighting hard for the championship title. Max was visible upset at the end the race. Second place wasn’t enough if Lewis is going to keep winning.

The young woman immediately trying to find him after the podium celebration. She had seen the look in his fathers eyes and is now frantically trying to beat him to Max. Charles and Arthur found her in a frenzy. Confused because she is usually calm, her sarcastic remarks and opinions given so level that you’d think it was rehearsed.

“I need to find Max.” She explained, panting from running around the paddock. They decided three sets of eyes would be better then one and split off in different direction.

She was so caught up in her search for Max that she hadn’t noticed her phone buzzing in her pocket.

A text from Charles reading: In the back of the Redbull garage. It doesn’t look good.

She took off running spotting snarled waiting for her outside. She could hear the commotion from Jos.

“I was going to try and break it up but they won’t let me in.” Charles gestures to the wall of Redbull engineers. She however, wasn’t going to let them stop her from getting to Max. She shoved her way through with determination and surprising strength. Immediately settling herself between the two Dutch men.

Jos had turned his anger towards her now. His finger getting dangerously close to her face. “You are part of the problem.”

She crosses her arms over her chest. “The only problem currently is you.”

“My son has been distracted because of you. His hopes for a title this year not getting any better because of you.” He spits. She can feel his breath on her face.

“Personally, I think Max is a good racer because he wants to be. Not because of you or me helping or distracting.” She lets a smirk form on her lips. “Your just angry because your finally running out of things to berate him about. Hard to be angry when Max is better then you.”

Jos’ face had turned red. She could feel Max’s anxiety increasing from behind her.

Then everything happened in slow motion. She hadn’t noticed Jos’ hand raised above her. Charles moved faster then anyone. Shoving Jos to the side, his hand not getting to connect with anything but the nearest wall.

He was raging now. Thrashing like a child who didn’t get their way. Pierre and Charles who had somehow managed their way inside kept a firm grip on him as Christian ran to get security.

The Youngest Leclerc. The one who spent her days defending Max in secret, keeping the haters at bay never letting Max go a day without know he is loved. Finally she turned around and stared deeply into his eyes. Blue irises glasses over from tears he’d been holding back.

She embraces him warmly. His face buried into the crook of her neck. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner.” She apologized softly.

Max pulled away and gives her a confused look. “On the contrary, I think you were right on time.”

Security had come and grabbed Jos to escort him out of the paddock. Charles and Pierre now finding then tension between the two heating up. The two boys giggling. “I swear if you two don’t kiss or something I will no play nice with Max.” Charles laughed.

She didn’t care about the teasing. Just taking time to comfort Max. The two still conjoined in a loose hold.

Max leans his forehead against hers. “You know I’ve loved you for awhile right?” He smiles.

“You would be stupid to not.” She remarks. Max shaking his head at the remark. “But I have to agree with Charles on this one.”

Max doesn’t hesitate any longer. Placing his lips on hers. Pulling her as close to him as he can. He then pulls away, his lips still close to hers and voice barely a whisper.

“Thank you, for protecting me all these years.”

#x reader #fanficion #f1 fic #formula one #max verstappen #super max #max verstappen x reader #max verstappen x y/n #max verstappen x you #maxy #orange army #jos verstappen #max verstappen fanfic #max verstappen f1 #charles leclerc x reader #pascale leclerc #Leclerc sister reader #angst #i would protect him with my life #redbull #redbull racing #red bull f1 #pierre gasly #racing #karting #arthur leclerc #protective #snarky #sarcastic #reader insert

[abiding-by-the-laws-of-color]

Happy Valentine’s Day! Have some keychain designs I made a while ago and some gifs I made overnight :) -Ghost

#aqua leader archie #magma leader maxie #hardenshipping #pokemon oras #archie pokemon #maxie pokemon #pokemon rse #oras #pokemon #ghostuff #valentines day #yay #Maxie is doing a crosswords like in that one fic #Someone tell me if u know the person who wrote it bc Maxie w crosswords is awesome actually

[cherry-leclerc]

may 18 at 11:59 PST

#first maxie fic!! 💞 #WARNING:⚠️ #ANGST ANGST ANGST #flashbacks r our bsf for this one #Max verstappen #Max verstappen smut #f1 #f1 imagine #f1 x reader #formula 1 #max verstappen angst #max verstappen blurb #max verstappen fluff #max verstappen x you #max verstappen x reader #max verstappen f1 #max verstappen imagine #max verstappen fanfic #formula one x y/n #formula one x oc #formula one x you #formula one x reader #formula one #f1 x female reader #f1 x y/n #f1 x oc #f1 x you #f1 x female oc #red bull f1 #red bull racing

[verstappensrealwife]

Beyond a Contract - Max Verstappen x Reader

fluff

approx. 1500 words

warnings: kissing

max verstappen masterlist - here. f1 masterlist - here.

In the glittering world of Formula 1, where speed and glamour collide, a rumour swirls like exhaust fumes on the track: you, a rising star in journalism, are tasked with a mission unimaginable—fake dating one of the sport's most renowned drivers, Max Verstappen.

As the paddock buzzes with speculation and cameras flash with every calculated move, you find yourself thrust into a whirlwind of luxury suites and champagne-soaked celebrations, all while navigating the complexities of a relationship that exists only for the public eye.

But beneath the dazzling facade lies a tangled web of secrets and desires, as you and Max struggle to maintain the charade while grappling with the undeniable chemistry that sparks between you. With each staged photo-op and stolen moment, the lines between reality and fiction blur, leaving you wondering if there's more to this fake romance than meets the eye.

From the moment the charade began, you had no idea how intricate the performance would become. Every smile, every touch, meticulously orchestrated for the cameras, yet somehow, amidst the staged romance, genuine emotions began to bloom.

As you embarked on this journey of deception with him, the lines between fiction and reality blurred, and you found yourself drawn to him in ways you never anticipated. His charm, his wit, his passion for the sport—all of it fueled the flames of desire within you, until it became impossible to deny the burgeoning feelings blossoming beneath the facade.

With each stolen glance and whispered conversation, the facade began to crumble, revealing the raw, unfiltered connection between you. Despite the world watching your every move, you couldn't ignore the magnetic pull drawing you closer to Max, igniting a love that transcended the boundaries of the charade.

In the midst of the staged romance, amidst the glare of the spotlight, you discovered the unexpected beauty of falling for someone in the most unlikely of circumstances. And as the facade fell away, leaving only the truth of your love behind, you realised that sometimes, the most genuine connections are forged in the most extraordinary of circumstances.

As the clock struck 8 pm, the stage was set for the first PR stunt—a seemingly intimate dinner with Max Verstappen. Through the large panes of glass at the front of the building, cameras captured the scene, casting a soft, romantic glow over the dimly lit restaurant.

In the flickering candlelight, you and Max were caught in a moment of laughter, the genuine joy evident in the curve of your smiles. Despite the orchestrated nature of the evening, there was an undeniable chemistry between you, an electricity that crackled in the air.

Max couldn't tear his gaze away from you, captivated by your every gesture and expression. From the sparkle in your eyes to the way your hair fell in soft waves around your face, he found himself drawn to every inch of you. It was as if time stood still as he savoured the sight of you, relishing in the fantasy of having you by his side, even if only for show.

As the evening unfolded, he found himself lost in the illusion of your fake romance, unable to resist the pull of his growing admiration for you. And though he knew it was all a charade, a part of him couldn't help but wish that, just maybe, there was a hint of truth hidden beneath the facade.

The air crackled with tension as Max's proposition of carrying on the date in his hotel hung between you, his gaze unwavering as he awaited your response. Despite the contractual nature of your arrangement, there was a palpable undercurrent of something more—an unspoken desire that simmered beneath the surface.

Your heart raced as you considered his offer, the allure of the unknown tempting you to abandon caution and dive headfirst into the depths of possibility. Yet, lingering doubts tugged at the edges of your mind, reminding you of the boundaries you had agreed upon.

"Our contract doesn't say that's necessary," you replied softly, your voice tinged with uncertainty.

Max's shrug belied the intensity in his eyes as he leaned in closer, his voice low and husky. "I don't mind," he murmured, his words laced with a vulnerability that mirrored your own. "I think you can feel something more than this facade too..."

With his confession hanging in the air, the lines between reality and fiction blurred, leaving you to grapple with the weight of your mutual attraction. And as the tension between you reached a fever pitch, you realised that perhaps, just perhaps, there was more to this fake romance than either of you had dared to imagine.

With a nervous nod, you made a split-second decision to seize the opportunity presented by Max's invitation. Hastily settling the bill, you dashed out of the establishment, your heart pounding in your chest as you embarked on this unexpected turn of events.

As you navigated the bustling streets, your mind raced with a whirlwind of emotions. What had started as a simple contractual agreement had now morphed into something entirely different—a real, genuine date with Max Verstappen, the famous Formula 1 driver who had captured your attention in more ways than one.

Despite the nerves that threatened to overwhelm you, there was a flicker of excitement coursing through your veins. This was uncharted territory, a leap into the unknown, and yet, there was a sense of exhilaration in the air as you ventured into the next chapter of your evening with Max.

As you arrived at the hotel, a nervous energy crackled in the air between you and Max, the weight of the evening's events hanging heavy in the space between heartbeats. The grand facade of the building loomed before you, a silent witness to the unfolding drama of your unexpected rendezvous.

With each step toward the entrance, the anticipation built, a silent crescendo of anticipation and uncertainty. What lay beyond the threshold was a mystery—a realm where the confines of reality blurred, and the boundaries of your fabricated romance were tested.

As the automatic doors slid open, you stepped into the opulent lobby, the soft glow of chandeliers casting a warm, inviting light over the marble floors. Max's hand brushed against yours, a subtle gesture that sent a jolt of electricity coursing through your veins, igniting a spark of anticipation in the depths of your soul.

As the elevator ascended, the tension between you and Max reached a fever pitch, the anticipation crackling in the air like electricity. With each passing floor, the space between you seemed to shrink, until you were practically pressed against each other, the heat of his body searing through the fabric of your clothes.

With a subtle nudge, Max drew impossibly closer, his presence overwhelming yet intoxicating. You found yourself lost in the depths of his gaze, your breath catching in your throat as his lips descended upon yours with a fervent urgency.

The kiss was electric, igniting a fire within you that burned hotter with each passing second. Your heart raced, pounding against your chest as you melted into his embrace, losing yourself in the dizzying whirlwind of sensation.

But as quickly as it had begun, the moment was shattered by the ding of the elevator, signalling your arrival at Max's floor. With a sense of urgency, he dragged you out of the confines of the elevator, practically running to his room with a single-minded determination that left you breathless and exhilarated.

As you crossed the threshold into his room, the door closing behind you with a soft click, the world outside faded away, leaving only the two of you in a cocoon of intimacy and desire. And in that fleeting moment, as you stood on the precipice of the unknown, you knew that whatever lay ahead, you were ready to dive headfirst into the depths of passion with Max by your side.

In the soft glow of the hotel room, surrounded by the hush of whispered confessions and the warmth of shared embraces, Max and you found yourselves teetering on the edge of something extraordinary. With each passing moment, the boundaries of your contractual agreement faded into insignificance, overshadowed by the blossoming love that bloomed between you.

As the night unfolded, you discovered that what had started as a mere PR stunt had evolved into something far more profound—a genuine connection that defied the constraints of your fabricated romance. And in the quiet intimacy of the moment, as you gazed into each other's eyes with unspoken longing, you knew that it was time to cast aside the pretense and embrace the truth of your feelings.

With trembling hands and hearts laid bare, you made a silent pact to abandon the confines of your contract and embark on a new journey together—a journey defined by love, authenticity, and the promise of a future filled with endless possibilities.

And as the first rays of dawn peeked through the curtains, illuminating the room with a soft golden light, you knew that this was only the beginning of your love story—a story that would unfold with each passing day, leading you both down a path of happiness and fulfillment, hand in hand, as an official couple in love.

el fin.

Kindahatethisbutohwell

#max verstappen x reader #f1 fic #f1 imagine #formula 1 #f1 x reader #f1 #f1 fanfic #charles leclerc #lando norris #fernando alonso x reader #charles leclerc x reader #max verstappen x you #ts4 maxis match #max verstappen #sims 4 maxis match #wanda maximoff #trigun maximum #max verstappen smut #max verstappen imagine #max verstappen fanfic #bahrain testing 2024 #carlos sainz #f1 2024 #formula one #f1 one shot #f1 edit #lewis hamilton #verstappen #mv1 #mv1 x reader

[zyonsay]

hellooo, can i requ some headcannons of max verstappen having a bf that is rly pretty (i'm talking rbr seb vettel or nico rosberg 2000s pretty)

Pretty Boy MV1

Fem aligned people may read but not f3tishize my work!!

Summary: One scenario of Max talking about his boyfriend in an interview and then three headcanons with scenarios

Reader: Male

Warnings: Max Emilian Verstappen

Now playing: 'Me Gustas Tu' by Manu Chao

AN: Hey anon! I combined your request with another one, which asked for a scenario of Max talking about reader in an Interview. Hope that's alright! ALSO Seb/Nico in their teenage dirtbag era was SOMETHING. (something great, im foaming at the mouth)

“So, Max, you’ve been very active online recently. Especially your partner has made many appearances in your posts. What are you two up to?”, the Interviewer glanced at his silver watch before looking back up into Max’s blue eyes. He had anticipated this question for the whole weekend. The press liked to stick their noses into his private life, especially because he was not in a straight relationship. All eyes were on him, as per usual. “My gorgeous boyfriend?”, a sly grin tugged at his lips. “We’ve been spending loads of quality time together. Over the break we planned a little trip. I love him with all my heart and am excited to spend time with that amazing person”, his mouth pulled into a slight smile before the Interviewer crossed another question from his mental list.

Yes, Max likes to keep part of his private life to himself, but he can’t resist posting candid pictures of you all the time. Maybe he’ll even create a separate account besides his main one just for pictures of you and you guys’ daily life. Your phone buzzed and you quickly held it up to your face while laying on your bed. It was a notification from Instagram, Max had posted something. The phone unlocked and led you to the new post your dearest made. It was from this morning when the two of you went out on a hike and spotted a few cute deer. The picture showed your back while you were crouching and watching the animals. With a giggle you turned to Max, who was laying behind you. "That's a cute pic!"

Even though he appreciates your looks, he makes sure you know that you are the first reason why he’s in love with you. Your beautiful face and soft hair is the cherry on top! With gentle hands he held your face, while leaving kisses on your nose. His sweet upside-down smile adorned his face while he whispered, “My beautiful schatje.” Max gently pushed a strand of your hair behind you ear before leaning in for another peck.

That said, he’ll still compliment you at any given chance. Something he likes to do is leave little post it notes on the fridge when he has to leave early. ‘Good morning beautiful! I saw that you used the last bag of your favorite tea, go check in the cabinet above the dishwasher!’, Max had left a little yellow note on the door of your fridge, he even scribbled a wonky heart on it. You opened the cabinet only to find way too many packs of your favorite tea stacked up. God, how you loved that idiot.

#maxie <3 #ZyonsRequests #male reader insert #reader insert #f1 fanfic #f1 x male reader #f1 x reader #x reader #male reader #male x male #male!reader #x male reader #max verstappen x reader #max verstappen x male reader #max verstappen fic #gay

[team-product-bed-them3]

#book review #sims 4 maxis cc #mishapocalypse #travel #obey me shall we date #creepy #poems and poetry #electoral college #my fic #archive of our own #mtmte #bilbo baggins #snape #niall horan #kehlani

[magma-queen]

This was requested by @giggly-squiggily and I must say, the prompt is SO FRIGGIN CUTE. I apologize if this took too long, but here’s your first prompt, dear! Enjoy! <3

He had it marked down on his calendar.

It was their 10 year wedding anniversary.

And this is the most excited Maxie had ever been in YEARS.

It was disappointing though, he couldn’t take the day off from work to be with the love of his life, but he was certain that Archie had planned something wonderful for them before he left for work.

He sat up, but saw that his husband wasn’t in bed with him. Ideas flooded through his mind. Was he going to go downstairs to find that Archie had made an amazing breakfast for him? Who knows? He had already planned a wonderful present for him. Excitedly, he emerged from bed and threw his clothes on, then headed down the stairs.

When he stepped into the kitchen, he saw his husband sitting at the table with a bowl of cereal in his hands.

“Morning, love.” He smiles.

The redhead seemed a bit confused and disappointed. “Good morning, dear. Is.. there something you want to tell me this morning?”

He saw Archie’s confused look. “Huh? Nothing I can’t think of. Why?”

“Dear god, he forgot.” Maxie thought. He cleared his throat. “You know what today is, right?” He asked, being a little more blunt this time, and hoping that Archie was just playing with him.

“Mmm.. it’s Friday?” Archie chuckled.

Tears almost started to prick the corners of Maxie’s eyes. “Y-yes, it’s Friday. N-Never mind. Forget I asked.” He walked over to the fridge, grabbed a protein shake, then started heading for the door. “I’ll be home later.”

“Okay, sweetheart. I love ye!”

“Yeah.. love you too.” He glumly shut the door and began walking. He finally let the tears flow.

Yes, Archie can be forgetful at times, but Maxie had never counted on his husband forgetting their 10th wedding anniversary. He had to have been toying with him. He had to of! He let these thoughts race through his head as he made his way to work.

Meanwhile Archie was still sitting in the kitchen. He did sense how upset Maxie seemed, and felt bad about the act he put on. He could tell he was about to cry.

But Archie did not forget. In fact, he was planning something extraordinary for his husband. For both of them. Hopefully Maxie would forgive him by the time the surprise was over.

He couldn’t get the smile off of his face. He started making a few calls, then began his plan for the evening ahead.

Back with Maxie, the poor man was depressed the rest of the morning and all afternoon. He could barely concentrate on his work. Courtney and Tabitha would clearly tell that something was wrong, but they didn’t want to make his mood worse.

Maxie didn’t know how to feel. Angry? Upset? Confused? All 3?? He couldn’t understand why the man he’s been married to for 10 whole years had forgotten one of their most important anniversaries. Even his Pokemon were starting to get worried about him. He had assured everyone that he was fine, but he was easy to read.

Once he was finally finished, he left his office and headed back home. Once he stood in front of the door, he was hoping, praying that Archie really didn’t forget.

He opened the door, and saw that the house was dim. Archie was lying on the couch waiting for him.

“Hey, Max. How was your day, baby?”

“It was fine.” He grumbled.

Before Maxie could slip his shoes off, Archie stopped him. “Wait, Max. I’m a little tired from working today, and I don’t think I can cook tonight. Would you like to.. go out?”

He didn’t suspect a thing. “Sure. Just.. let me change.”

Archie’s stomach dropped. Perhaps he should’ve let Maxie know that he at least didn’t forget. He could tell that he was so upset, and didn’t blame him for being short with him. But he’s hoping tonight, he could make it up to him.

They both stepped into the car, and Archie drove them nearby a steep hill in Mossdeep city.

“Um, Archie.. this doesn’t look like a restaurant to me. What’s going on?”

Poor thing, he was still clueless.

Archie smirks and parks the car. “C’mon, I wanted to show ye somethin’ first!”

Hesitantly, Maxie stepped out of the car and follows Archie up to the top. He gasps, seeing the cutest little picnic setup he’d ever seen.

“A-Archie..”

Archie sat down on the blanket laid out and picked up an acoustic guitar.

He began singing. “When I first saw ye, I saw love~ and the first time you touched me, I felt love~ and after all this time, yer still the one I love, mmm~”

The redhead’s eyes watered, until the tears were flowing.

“Looks like we made it, look how far we’ve come, my baby~ We mighta took the wrong way, we knew we’d get there someday~”

“Oh, Archie~”

“They said, ‘I bet they’ll never make it’, but just look at us holding on, we’re still together, still going strong, mm~ Yer still the one I run to, the one that I belong to, yer still the one I want for life~ yer still the one that I love, the only one I dream of~ yer still the one I kiss goodnight~”

His husband just sat next to him and cried. He was so happy.

“Ain’t nothin’ better, we beat the odds together, I’m glad we didn’t listen, look at what we would be missin’~”

He sang the chorus once more beautifully.

“I’m so glad we made it, look how far we’ve come, my baby~”

He stops, puts down the guitar, then pulls a sobbing Maxie close to his chest.

“Shhh, Shh shh.. don’t cry, my love.” He removes his glasses and kisses his temple. “Happy anniversary, darling.. *kiss* I should’ve never pretended to forget our anniversary, Max… I just didn’t want ye finding out the surprise. I’m so sorry I upset ye.. please forgive me.”

Maxie lifts his head up, wiping away his tears, holds Archie’s face, and presses his lips against Archie’s.

“Mm? Mmm~”

“I love you, so much.”

“I love ye too, baby.”

When the kiss was over, they started eating. Archie was excited for what was coming next.

Soon, they both saw glittering meteorites in the sky. Archie saw Maxie’s eyes light up at the sight, and smiled.

“I made sure we’d be here for the meteor shower tonight~”

“It’s absolutely beautiful.”

“Mm hmm~ and so are ye, my lovely lava man~ C’mere~”

*blush*

He pulls Maxie close to his side, and they watch the rest of the meteor shower. Afterwards, Archie drives them both home. Once he opens the front door, Maxie makes him sit on the couch.

“You wait here. I’m going to get YOUR present ready~” He purrs, kissing his cheek.

This made Archie’s face turn red. This was such a perfect evening for them both, and now, it was going to be even better.

After about 15 minutes, Maxie came behind his husband, who was still waiting, and covered his eyes with his hands.

“Ohoho~ so it’s one of those kinds of surprises, eh?” Archie chuckles, standing up. “Alright, I’ll keep my eyes closed~”

Maxie just laughs and leads him upstairs to their bedroom. Once they’re at the doorstep, they stop.

“Are you ready?”

“Mmhmm~”

“Alright, open your eyes.”

Archie does so, and he sees their whole room covered in rose petals, candles lit around the room, and his husband already in his night clothes.

“Oh my…” Archie exclaimed. “Wow, babe… this- this is..”

He leans into his chest. “All for us~” He giggles, leading him to the bed. “Let me show you how much I love YOU~”

“Hold on, lemme change first, baby.”

Archie never changed so fast in his life. Can anyone blame him? Cuddling with his husband, on their anniversary, surrounded by candles and rose petals?? It’s romantic!

He came back, and practically ran to the bed, embracing Maxie into his arms. “This is amazing, Max~ I love ye~ *kiss*”

“I’m glad you love it, darling. I love you too. I was worried that it wouldn’t be good enough-“

“-Absolutely not! There’s nothing I love more than to be lying here.. with ye.”

The redhead smiles and starts kissing him around his collarbone and neck.

“Hehehehe~ Maaaaax~” Archie snickered, squirming in his grasp.

“Mmmm? *kiss* What’s the matter, dear?” He teases, continuing his kisses. He knew what he was doing.

“N-nohohohothing, it’s just- pffff- y-yer kihihisses- gahahahahahahah!!”

He couldn’t finish his sentence because the redhead decided to tickle his belly.

“What was that, honey? I couldn’t hear you~”

“B-Bahahabe, cuhuhuhut it ohuhuhuhut! Ahahahah- yehehehe- *snort* ye know Ihihihi’m ticklish!”

“Ohhh~ so I see~” He smirks, tickling faster. “That’s what I was missing on this perfect day~ your laughter~”

“AHAHAHAH-! OHOHOKAHAHAY- YEHEHE WANNA PLAY LIHIHIHIKE THAT? FIHIHIHNE!”

He shoots his arms out and begins tickling Maxie’s ribs.

“GAH-! Ahahahahahah-! Nohohoho!! Nahahahaht the rihihihihibs!! *snort* Ahahaharchie, stahahahahahp!”

He just grins and nuzzles his beard into his neck, kissing him while he continues to tickle his ribs. “Hehe! Ye started it! Ye ruined the romantic moment by tickling me! *nuzzle*”

“Nahahahahohoht thehehehe beheheheard-! Not thehehehehehe beheheheheheard- ahahahahah-! *snort* Okahahay okahahahay!! Ihihihihi suhuhuhurendeheheheher!” He squealed.

Archie chuckles and kisses his check after he stops his nuzzles and tickles. “Yer so cute.”

“Hehe.. heheh…” The redhead wipes the mirthful tears off his face and hugs his husband. “Ihihihi love you, you big dork.”

“Awww, I love ye too, Maxie. *kiss* Happy anniversary, baby. Here’s to 10 more years of ye putting up with my bullshit~”

“Oh, you shush~” Maxie scoffs, wrapping his arms around him. “You know well by now, my darling… that I love you and your bullshit. Now, kiss me.”

Archie growls playfully and returns the kiss, cuddling the rest of the night away with the love of his life, until they both fall asleep. This was an anniversary neither of them could ever forget.

#Pokemon #Requests #Giggly-Squiggly #Hardenshipping #Maxie #Archie #Fics #my fics #tickling #I had so much fun writing this one :3 I hope you like it!

[action-include-degree-mind]

#debby ryan #kian lawley #sims 4 maxis cc #travel #couples #creepy #netflixedit #poems and poetry #3d printing #electoral college #humiliation captions #my fic

[leavingautumn13]

maxie lore for my fic or... something

#sure i'll maintag this #magma leader maxie #trainer may #pokemon rse #pokemon #autumn.art #autumn.fic #fic: eye of the storm

[adventuringblind]

Not Your Fault

Max Verstappen x Reader x Oscar piastri

Genre: Angst

Summary: Max and Oscar have to comfort their girlfriend who's hospitalized after a major crash.

Dialouge prompt: "It's not your fault"

Warnings: major crash, injury description

Notes: This is part of my 1000 follower celebration! Requests are still open for it if you would like to participate!

Masterlist

"Red flag Max, red flag." Comes GP's voice over the radio.

Something in his stomach dropped at the words. Crashing is a risk they all take every time they get into the car, but that dosen't it isn't hard when it happens.

"Who was it?" His fingers crossed. Silently begging whoever controlled fate that it was neither a McLaren nor a Ferrari. He's not sure he could handle it.

"It's a Ferrari."

"Who?"

"Y/N"

His heart dropped. She'd been called to drive in place of Carlos. The Spainard had caught Covid and was out for the entire triple header. She'd gotten a chance, and now she'd crashed out.

"Is she okay?"

"Max-"

"Is she okay, GP? Please, I need to know." His heart is beating faster then he would’ve liked, but he can’t help it.

“They haven’t gotten a response yet. Ferrari was checking to see the damage on the car but haven’t gotten a response yet-”

“They were checking on the car?!” Max’s blood is boiling as he peels into the pit lane. He rips himself out of the car as marches to where GP and Christian are presumably waiting for him. They look neutral at the moment.

Christian grabs him by the shoulders to stop him from going any further, but it doesn’t matter. The screen is replaying the crash. Something must have happened with the steering and braking because the car just didn’t slow down. It hit the wall at 200 mph. The Ferrari car is stuck in the barriers. The fence having come down on top of her, essentially burying the car underneath.

“Any word yet?” His voice breaks. eye’s still trained on the screen as it shows the Marshalls trying to pull the debris away.

“Still nothing. They lost the onboard footage and can’t see her vitals.”

Max is about to jump into a rant. His anger at Ferrari still boiling. That is - until Lando comes barreling into him. The Brit is out of breath and flushed. “Haven you looked at your phone?”

All three Redbull members stare at him in confusion. Lando looks between them expectantly. “Well somebody better get Max his phone because Oscar is about thirty seconds away from killing everyone in the Ferrari garage.”

Max runs to grab his phone and comes back to Lando who is waiting impatiently for something. Texts from Charles and Carlos about what they know, A missed call from Oscar- “I don’t see anything apart from the usual.”

Land rips the phone out of his hands and pulls up his instagram. Then he find the Ferrari page and and taps on their story. He hands the phone back with sad eyes.

Within the mess or a PR scripted excuse, one thing sticks out to him the most: ‘driver error.’ Max the pulls up Charles’ texts. His hands are shaking with the impending appearance of Mad Max.

Charles gives him the whole story. ‘Don’t believe the story! I saw the data, it was the teams fault.’

“Oscar saw this, didn’t he?”

“Kim, Jon, and Andrea are keeping him confined, but unless you want to be outed to the world I suggest you come help.”

Max looks at the screen. Still no sign of life. The car is still buried.

Then he looks to his team principal for approval. Christian nods and then the two are ducking and dodging cameras.

Oscar isn’t mad often. Rarely, even. He has so much patience for people that Max sometimes wonders where he puts it all.

He found out after the Qatar sprint. Max was getting some nasty hate. It was under every photo Redbull or himself put out. He simply put his phone away and tried not to let it bother him. Their female lover saw but knew better then to start something and decided to, and he quotes, ‘fuck the diets and eat Max’s favorite.’ Which the Dutch had been more then happy to do.

Oscar on the other hand was going to chew out every person who boo’d at max on their way to the hotel. Oscar’s anger comes in the form of harsh words and stupid actions until it turns to wet and it’s like every emotion he’d been stifling hits him all at once. Then it’s all teary eyes a cracked voices.

Max and Lando round the corner and sneak through the back of the McLaren garage. Straight into Oscars room where they are supposed to find him.

He is, in fact, nowhere to be seen.

Max makes a break for the Ferrari garage. He wants to be relieved when he sees the Australian with Charles, but he can’t be because he’s with some of the Ferrari staff as well.

He breaks the circle and sets a, hopefully calming, hand on Oscar’s shoulder. “Any news on her condition?” The men in red shoot him dirty glares as he interrupts whatever they were talking about previously.

“No.”

Okay, rude.

Charles clears his voice. “Actually, me and Oscar were just discussing her condition. They pulled her out of the car - but it doesn’t look good. The FIA might stop the race because of the barrier.”

“Thank you for the update, Charles. We’ll be going now.” Max and Lando have to drag a ver stubborn Oscar away.

They pile into Lando’s room since it’s closer and Oscar collapses. Him and Max almost topple over together. “They said it’s her fault when it’s not!”

“I know. It’s out job to make sure she knows that too. Chewing out Ferrari isn’t going to help.” At the moment, Max can’t help but finish in his head.

They take some time to calm down before heading back out. They are greeted with the news that the race has been cancelled due to the barrier meaning that the two are free to leave.

Which they do, with incredible speed.

She had to be transferred to the hospital. According to the doctor that greets them, she’ll make a full recovery but it will take a while to get there. A few broken bones, some internal bleeding, a concussion, a major gash, but she’s alive. That’s what matters.

Oscar and Max spend the night in her room. The two patiently waiting for her to wake up. Charles had dropped by with Lando to bring them her stuff and see how she’s doing. Max was happy they brought food and Lando actually took to force feeding Oscar.

They wake the next morning to quiet sniffles. Max cracks his eyes open to see her, staring at her cell that Max left on the side table, with tears streaming down her face.

He is up and alert in a second with Oscar coming to slowly. “Schat, talk to me.”

She just hands over her phone without saying anything and Max scrolls through it for a few moments. Apparently Ferrari’s statement went further then he thought. Again, they are playing the blame game.

And no, absolutely not. Max Verstappen is not the kind of man to let her believe this. He turns off the phone and tosses it aside before Oscar can see. He really doesn't need another passive-aggressive Assie incident.

"Charles saw the data. It was the car. It wasn't your fault."

"But everyone is believing it was. How am I supposed to build a career now?" She sobs. The EKG is beeping wildly with her heart.

Oscar, in his sleepy state, switches from leaning on Max to climbing into bed with her. It works like a charm, and she starts to breathe again. It's labored, but it's calming down, at least.

"You'll show them. The data will come out eventually." Oscar mumbles into her shoulder.

"And until then -" Max intertwines hands with both his lovers. "- We'll defend you because we love you."

#x reader #fanficion #formula one #f1 fic #formula 1 #racing #f1 fanfic #max verstappen #angst #max verstappen f1 #max verstappen imagine #max verstappen fanfic #super max #maxy #max verstappen x you #max verstappen x reader #max verstappen x y/n #max verstappen x oscar piastri #oscar piastri f1 #oscar piastri imagine #oscar piastri #oscar piastri x y/n #oscar piastri x reader #oscar piastri x you #oscar piastri fanfic #mv1 x reader #mv33 x reader #mv33 #mv1 #op81 imagine

[onboardsorasora]

De aged Daniel is just like his older self wanting to eat things that he shouldn’t

I think it was the p1 podcast where Daniel said he falls asleep to true crime podcasts or something like that, so de aged Daniel needs max to tell him a story until he falls asleep. And Max either tells him a story of Daniel’s Red Bull years or Monza 2021

this one was fun to write

De-Aged Daniel | De-Aged Daniel Pt2 | De-Aged Daniel Pt3 | De-Aged Daniel Pt 4 | De- Aged Daniel Pt 5

Max watched fondly as Little Daniel climbed onto the bed in the guest room, his new red Ferrari pjs were vibrant even in the low light. Charles had come through with all sorts of branded merch and Daniel was in heaven while Max was in hell. It was alright though, Max knew he had loads of time to make a Red Bull fan out of him yet.

Little Daniel threw himself onto the bed, starfishing atop the blankets before giggling and scurrying away from Max’s tickling fingers. 

“Did you brush your teeth?” Max asked, Little Daniel bore his teeth at him, a miniature version of a face Daniel made all the time. Max couldn’t hold back his own grin.

“All clean! See!” Little Daniel confirmed.

“Do you want a plushie?” Max looked over to the pile of plushies that his nephews favored that he unearthed from storage. Little Daniel looked at the offerings and pouted, his eyes turned sad.

“Where Maxy? Want Maxy.” Daniel bit his finger and looked up at Max beneath his lashes. 

“I’m right here.” Max pointed to himself and Little Daniel’s face grew upset.

“Want Maxy.” he folded his arms to his chest and Max rolled his eyes and sighed.

“I’ll get Maxy.” He left the room to grab the cushion he’d tried to hide while Little Daniel was brushing his teeth. The cushion that marketing had given him as a gag gift and he’d kept hidden away until Little Daniel saw it and fell in love.

He looked at the silver sequins and brushed them all in an upwards direction to see his own face staring back at him. He couldn’t lie, he felt a little happy that Daniel had wanted his likeness to make him feel safe while he slept. Daniel in every version was his favourite person, he hoped the inverse was true. 

He walked back into the guest room brandishing the cushion, melting at how Little Daniel’s face quite literally cracked open with joy and Max felt that warmth in his chest that people always talk about. Something something his heart outside of his body.

Little Daniel hugged the pillow close, uncaring about the sequins then looked up at Max with his wide adorable honey eyes.

“Can you read me a story?” Daniel nibbled the corner of the cushion. “Pweese. Mummy always does.”

“Of course, what kind of story?” Max sat on the edge of the bed, Little Daniel scootched over then looked pointedly at the adult sized space beside him. Max shook his head fondly at how demanding Daniel was for affection in every form, and leaned against the head of the bed. 

“A racing story!” Little Daniel cuddled up to Max’s side under his arm.

“Of course.” Max tickled Little Daniel’s side and the boy giggled loudly. “Ahmm.” Max looked to the ceiling for a moment.

“Ok, I’ll tell you the story about how a honey badger won a race.”

“What's dat?” Little Daniel looked up at him with curious eyes. Max ran a hand through his hair.

“It's a lovely animal that isn’t scared of anything. It's cute and cuddly but then it's fast and protective.”

“Like you?” Max felt that cute aggression again, warring with the puddle he wanted to melt into. 

“Like you!” Max announced, enjoying Little Daniel’s shock.

“What aminal is Maxy?” Little Daniel fingered a few of the sequins.

“I’m a lion.”

“Lions go rawr!” Little Daniel offered sagely.

“Lewis is a panther, I think.” Max said.

“What sounds do they make?”

“I think they go rawr too.”

“What aminal is Shaarrllll?”

Max thought for a second. “I dunno, maybe a mouse.” He tickled Little Daniel and he shrieked a laugh. 

They eventually settled and Max started telling Little Daniel the story about how the Honey Badger won the race. He kept his voice soft and even and ran his hand steadily through the little boy’s hair.

“And then the panther and the lion crashed just as the honey badger drove past them to cross the finish line.” Max looked down to see Little Daniel’s face slack with sleep, tucked into Max’s waist. With a fond smile, he tucked Little Daniel into the sheets, making sure the pillows he placed to line the edge of the bed were still secure. He left the bedroom, pulling the door almost closed leaving just enough space to let in the light from the hallway.

#maxiel #de aged daniel #max/daniel #little daniel and maxy #my fic #answered #anonymous

[reyalvr]

oki i have a req now !! can u make a fic of #18 and #19 with tsu'tey and reader (i have a big fat crush on him) where they're on a date night laying down somewhere just cuddling and enjoying the moment. while cuddling, reader confesses that they've dreamt of having a family before, meeting and being mated with tsu'tey and just indulging with all the love they have at that moment but then also shares to him that they're scared that it'll get taken away from them soon and that sometimes it feels too good to be true (either bec of sky people or for other reasons). hehe its straight up fluff with a hint of angst but you can add more details abt their family status like are they just newly mated or are they already established for n years with kids or with their standings in the clan (olo'eyktan/tsakarem) and etc.

ps. specifically wanted #18 cause i get lucid and prophetic dreams too and they happen way too often for my liking -🐬

SEE YOU AGAIN.

୨⎯ in which feelings and thoughts are confessed. ⎯୧

genre┊ fluff, slight angst

pairing┊tsu’tey x fem-omatikaya!reader, tsu’tey x tskaha-mo’at’ite!reader 

wordcount┊2.4k

warnings┊ slight movie spoilers

author’s note┊ AHHHHH i love this request sm it’s so cute !! as always, feel free to listen to the song recs i added since these are the songs i listened to while writing this teehee … simon franglen put crack in ‘happiness is simple’ istg 

song recs ┊ see you again, happiness is simple.

Tsu’tey had many sides to him; fierce, strict, and even cold. But there was a side to him that was unknown to most of the clan. It was the side that had captured your heart, the side that had made you so irrevocably in love with him. 

Gentle. 

You watched from afar as Tsu’tey played with the children by the river, their giggles and laughter filling the forest each time he splashed them. Most knew him as a ruthless warrior of the Omatikaya, even more so after the recent destruction of the sky people. He was recognized as one of the finest hunters your clan had seen in years, his skills and talents surpassing most of the men his age. 

But you knew him as him; kind and patient Tsu’tey. Even in your younger years, he was always softer with you – like he had some built-in switch in him everytime he interacted with you. Needless to say, the match between the two of you was fate. 

Tsu’tey’s voice roared as he found two of the kids hiding behind the rocks, each one encircled by one of his arms as he carried them. They laughed even harder as he spun them around, the other kids coming up to him with fake attacks. 

“Now!” One of the girls yelled to the group as the sounds of little feet splashed loudly towards his direction. 

“What is this! Have I been ambushed?” He said, a mocked expression of surprise painting his face. 

Though your husband was a mighty warrior, not even he would be able to withstand the strength of energized children. He fell back into the water, the kids in his grasp landing on top of him as the other children continued to surround him. You couldn’t help but laugh along with them as you finally made your way to them. 

“Oel ra’un! You have bested me, you sly hunters!” He said in feigned desperation. 

The children yelled in victory as he moved to sit up properly, his smile gracing his features. He ruffled one of their heads, the small child giggling as he did so. The girl who had led the ambush spotted you then, her eyes lighting up as soon as she saw you.

“[Y/N], [Y/N]! Look, we have defeated the river demon of the forest!” She exclaimed, her fist pumping up as she continued to wield her makeshift blade. 

Tsu’tey turned slightly, clearly surprised to see you here. He was not upset, though, as you were already aware of these excursions he had with the village children. He smiled even wider, glad to have your lively aura grace the younglings. 

“I see, ma’evi.” You said, stroking your head as you looked down at your defeated mate. “How very noble of you, the village is safe!” 

Tsu’tey only stared at you as you spoke, his smile never faltering. You held your hand out, pulling him up out of the water. Once he was stable, he pecked you quickly on your temple as his hands came up to stroke your back. The children cringed at his affection, and you only laughed. 

“It is getting late, ma’eveng.” Tsu’tey paused to let go of you momentarily, crouching down to be level with the little ones. “You must return to the village before Tsahik scolds me.” 

Their groans of protests and pleading whines made your heart melt; you were always swayed by children and the light they brought to the harsh realities of life. You almost pleaded with them, almost begged Tsu’tey as well if they could play a little longer.  

But you knew he was right, the children needed to be back soon before it got too dark. The forest was home to many beautiful things, but it was also home to luring dangers. They all looked up at you, their eyes wide with childlike wonder. You only nodded in agreement with Tsu’tey’s orders, and they finally gave in once they realized they wouldn’t be able to persuade you. 

You waved them off as they started making their way back, their disappointment fizzling away as quickly as it came. You felt Tsu’tey grab you by your waist then, a more intimate gesture now that the kids were gone. You smiled at him, your ears pinning back as you made yourself comfortable in his grasp. 

“I didn’t know you were coming, yawne.” He said, stroking stray hairs away from your face. “I have a persona to live up to, you know.” 

“Persona of what? Being the river demon?” You teased, and he nudged you lightly. 

“You know what I mean.” He said with a knowing tone. “I cannot let you have such leverage over me, I am the Olo’eyktan-in-waiting!”

You laughed at him as you moved to place your hands on his shoulders. He was as dashing as always, even more so in the warm light. 

“The children love you, that is not leverage.” You replied seriously, though you knew he was only joking. “It is admiration.” 

He only hummed before he closed the gap between the both of you. His lips were so plush, so soft. It felt like heaven every time he kissed you. His passion engulfed you fully, and your hands came up to cup his face as he moved to wrap his arms around your lower back. When you finally pulled away he pouted, and you stroked his bottom lip with a smile. 

“Come,” You said as you stepped back, arm outstretched for him to take your hand. “I want to fly tonight.”

Flying on your own was always an exciting feeling, but flying with your mate was something entirely else. It was an experience that you wished upon everyone. The sky people would call it love, but it was more than that. Txasunu was what best described it; to do something you enjoyed tremendously with the person you loved greatly. 

Your laughter filled the night sky as you sent Tsu’tey and his banshee a gust of wind, flying under him to avoid his own retaliation. You sped forward, sending him yet another blow. 

“Skxawng!” He yelled, though you knew he meant it lovingly. 

You looked back at him through your visor, your fangs showing as you beamed brightly. You swerved upwards then, flying over him as you were suspended upside down. Tsu’tey had never gotten used to your skill as a rider, and he figured he never would. Amazing would not even begin to describe you; you were brilliant. 

He laughed as he finally moved to be level with you, the both of you spinning around each other before dipping back down to fly over the hanging vines that connected the floating mountains. You yelled out into the air as you both made it over the rocks, your laughter never fading. 

His hand gestured for you to follow him as he yipped, and you quickly flew to the direction he had pointed to. He was ahead of you now, navigating the both of you up to one of the grass plains that grew atop the mountains. He landed swiftly, and you followed soon after. 

He held you by your waist as you hopped down, his grip secure so as to not let you slip. You thanked him quickly before removing your visor. You could see clearly now, your eyes adjusting to the darkness of your surroundings. The grass glowed as you stepped on it, illuminating your movements. 

“That never gets old,” You said, spinning out of his hold. “How is it that my father chose you as Olo’eyktan-in-waiting when you can’t even beat me in flying?”

“Because Eywa has blessed you with abilities so strong that it leaves you unbalanced.” He smirked at you, grabbing your arm to pull you close to him once more. “Your father chose me to balance you out.” 

You smiled at him before he pulled you down to rest, his back leaning against one of the smoother rocks. You sat in between his legs, your back pressed up against his broad chest. He let out a heavy sigh once you were comfortable, wrapping his arms around you. Your hand went up to hold one of his arms, your thumb tracing small shapes on his skin. 

“Now this,” He breathed out. “This never gets old.”

You laughed lightly as he nuzzled your neck, his lips pecking your shoulder. 

“You are awfully affectionate today,” You paused to tilt your head up to him. “Not that I am complaining, though.”

He chuckled lightly against your shoulder, still peppering kisses along your skin. Your heart was happy in this moment, the solace of being safe in your mate’s arms quelling your tensenes away. You leaned further against him, closing your eyes as you matched his breathing. 

Though you were recently mated, your bond with Tsu’tey had stretched back all the way to when you were still young. He was never good with expressing his feelings – his real feelings. You were aware of the expectations his parents had set for him, and you always did your best to relieve him of the weight of it all. 

He did the same for you, just not outright. But anyone who knew him knew that he only had eyes for you, and that he would quite literally go to hell if it meant that you would be safe. You were grateful for him, grateful to the Great Mother for allowing you to meet someone who cared for you as much as you cared for them, if not, even more. 

Now that you were one with him, you felt it was your duty to make sure he was free from shame, free from the torment of never being good enough. None of it mattered to you anyway, in your eyes he would always be perfect. You kissed the inside of his forearm, right on his pulse. 

And while your efforts seemed to have worked to keep him steady, the suppressed concerns within your own heart had started to take over your mind once again. 

“Tsu’tey?” You whispered. 

“Hm?” He replied, his head now resting atop yours. 

“Can I tell you something?” You looked up at him, watching him as he still kept his eyes closed. 

“Anything, yawne.” He whispered back.

“I dreamt of this once.” You said softly, your hands still holding onto his arms. “Dreamt of being with you.” 

He looked at you now, confused. “Why would you have to dream? Surely you could not have doubted my promises to you-”

“It is not that, ‘Tey,” You reassured, turning your body to face him fully. He did not let go of you, only adjusting his arms to rest on your lower back. “It’s just- I was afraid. And I still am, sometimes.”

“What is it that troubles you?” His confusion was now replaced with concern. “Tell me and I will do everything in my power to stop whatever it is.”

“I believe it won’t be that simple, yawne.” You said as you shook your head slightly. “My fears concern the sky people.” 

He hissed at the mention of the demons, infuriated by the fact that they have been clouding your thoughts. You sat upright then, grabbing his hands to place them on your lap. His lips had formed a slight frown, his expression troubled by your worries. 

“This fear has been brewing inside of me for so long, Tsu’tey.” You said, your tail laying flat as you confessed your feelings. “The day I lost Sylwanin, my baby sister, I was changed. I thought I was going to lose everyone to the sky people – I thought I was going to lose you.”

He sighed as he moved to hold your face, his eyes looking deep into yours. You had no tears in your eyes, only a pensive look as you continued to tell him your thoughts. 

“I pushed these fears away by dreaming, dreaming of what life would be like without the sky people – without all this tragedy.” You said, your hand coming up to grasp his wrist. “I dreamed of a lifetime of happiness with you, dreamed of having our own family one day.” 

“[Y/N], please hear my words as I say this,” His expression softened. “You do not need to dream, because I am here. I promised your father that my sole purpose to the Great Mother is to make sure you remain happy, remain safe.” 

Your heart swelled, a wave of relief washing over your senses. You knew deep down that it was pointless to worry about such things, but still it troubled you. Nobody could ever be sure of what the future held, not even your own mother. The will of Eywa was absolute, and it could be cruel just as much as it could be divine. 

But you didn’t linger on your worries for much longer, finally smiling once again. You leaned forward to kiss him, relishing in his comfort. He was gentle with you, his hands moving to rub your back as you held his face closer to you. The scent of the forest still lingered on him, fresh and earthy. 

You pulled away to rest on his chest, one of his hands coming up to caress your head. You heard his heartbeat then, steady and strong. You laid a hand directly on top of his heart, and he held it as you soothed yourself of any more troubling thoughts. 

“So,” He said, breaking the peaceful silence. “A family, you say?” 

You smacked him lightly as you laughed, your spirits lifted from the dull emotions you had been feeling only a moment ago. 

“Yes, a family.” You said as you stared up at him, a smile gracing your lips once again. “Two children, if we are lucky.”

“Oh, we most certainly are.” He replied almost immediately. “Our first born will be a strong Olo’eyktan, I am sure of it.”

“Or Olo’eykte.” You added, already firm on your decision of succession. 

He hummed, smiling as he did so. “Of course. A girl would be a fierce leader – just like her mother.”

“And a boy would be a mighty warrior.” You said, still beaming up at him. “Just like his father.”

He held you closer, and you felt content – you felt at home. You yawned then, your body starting to succumb to your tiredness. He rubbed circles on your hand as he lulled you to rest with a melodic tune; his songcord. 

“Sleep, yawne.” He said quietly, his own fatigue starting to take a toll on him as well. 

You felt yourself smile once more before you finally drifted off, his voice the last thing you heard before falling into a restful slumber.

“I am here.”

reyalvr © 2023 ... do not repost, alter, or steal my work.

taglist┊@wishuroses, @neteyamslovrr, @avatarkv, @cheolattes, @samiiistarss, @normspellsman, @sharkybabe9.

#✎ maxi’s works #tsu'tey #tsu'tey te rongloa ateyitan #tsu'tey x reader #tsu'tey x y/n #tsu'tey x you #tsu'tey fluff #tsu'tey fanfiction #tsu'tey fic #tsu'tey angst #tsu'tey imagine #tsu'tey avatar #avatar tsu'tey #avatar 2009 #avatar #avatar fluff #avatar fanfiction #avatar x reader #avatar x you #avatar x y/n #tsutey

[multistanasitsfinest]

Have you- have you- guys read "The italian job" by stereobone on ao3? (PROBABLY MY FAV FIC EVER) Well...there's this scene where Miles is kinda repairing the floor so Alex won't get stubbed toes and he's wearing THIS.EXACT.SAME.OUTFIT. there as he is in his last photoshoot!!!!

And the dirt on his hands and shoulders, the fact that he described it as his "farmer look"...I can see it all so clearly. Worned out jeans and a white vest... very much 'Aviation' coded to me.

#someone get this man in an italian villa #put him there under the sun #all smiley and content #with a really pretty visitor 👀 #and baby maxie #miles kane #this fic is a blessing #milex

[zyonsay]

i have a scenario.. imagine max confirming his relationship w his bf, the m!reader, and not only are they been together for years and years, but they also married in secret! i cant stop thinking abt this.

Le mariage MV1

Fem aligned people may read but not f3tishize my work!!

Summary: Artist y/n l/n and Max Verstappen reveal their marriage

Reader: Male

Warnings: Slighttttttt Angst, Max Emilian Verstappen

Now playing: 'Blue Velvet' by Lana del Rey

AN: Hey anon! I paired this request with another request. I hope thats alright! I just thought the two prompts fit together quite well. I hope you enjoy! Who's your favorite artist? Mine is Jan Vermeer <3

(The other request)

The gallery was stunning. You had specifically ordered to have as many plants as possible in it. White and light green, pearlescent fabrics adorned the walls while the soft sunlight flooded the rooms of the art exhibition. The paintings reflected lots of emotion and made the viewers think about the story behind them, even after leaving the gallery.

But there was one very special painting that attracted a lot of attention; It was two men, both in tailored suits, kissing. The little plaque next to the canvas read ‘Our wedding.’ And that’s when two worlds collided. One of the men was obviously identifiable, this was Y/n L/n; A world famous artist, who this exhibition was dedicated to. But as far as the public knew, you were unmarried. Strange.

Then there was another man on the right side of the picture. You had painted beautiful light hues onto the mans face, with the utmost care he was portrayed on the canvas. Art fanatics knew a lot of people, whether it was Claude Monet or Umberto Boccioni. But this person wasn’t part of the art universe. Or at least if you don’t count speed as art in itself.

But only a minute of research would show that this was Max Verstappen – though what does that mean? You two weren’t connected in any way shape or form. Or at least not publicly. What does an esthetic, artful genius have to do with the dominator of the pinnacle of motorsport?

Max was gently holding your waist; this was about to be interesting. Once you both entered the fancy building, you were immediately spotted by Paparazzi. He was THE Max Verstappen, obviously they were keen on snapping a picture of him. What they didn’t expect to see was a man by his side, holding onto him like they were a… couple?

This was like light to a moth; they took as many pictures as their cameras allowed them to take. The media was absolutely going to love this. The event you two were attending had a restricted number of Interviewers allowed, but the ones that were present had already set their eyes on you like eagles.

Quickly hurrying away, you found the table at which Christian and Geri were sitting at. Those two were the only people you’ve trusted to talk about your… relationship. Christian offered Max and yourself an understanding smile while Geri began chatting about how lovely the setup was.

You had to admit, the event was well planned. The food was amazing, the drinks tasted wonderful, and the décor was stunning. But you couldn’t shake that uncomfortable feeling of being watched with every step you take. Max noticed your stressed expression and slid his hand onto your thigh while offering you a slight smile. The atmosphere darkened as the lights slowly dimmed and the stage lit up. A man stood on it, thanking everybody for coming. He then shortly introduced the band that would play a few songs after his speech.

This was the moment you were scared of the most, now you had to participate in Interviews. Max pulled you to his side, giving your hip a gentle squeeze, as if to assure you. The grey-haired interviewer was smiling, if you squinted lightly, he looked like the cheshire cat. “Max Verstappen! Great to see you and your…?”, he glanced at you, still smiling. “My husband.” Now the Interviewer looked startled, his eyes widened at Max’s words while his gaze shifted towards the dutch again. The rumors of your painting had spread into the corners of the press, but not really taken seriously, after all there’s many lunatics in this world. The man’s unsure expression was replaced by a smile again. “Ah yes, the painting.”, he looked back at you.

“Y/n l/n, apparently that painting was made in 2018? Now considering it’s depicting your marriage, did you two in fact get married in 2018 or was it more a… artistic expression?”, he stunk of cigarettes and cheap perfume. You tried masking your disdain with a smile. “We did indeed get married in October 2018. Around the same time i made this painting.”, your tone was polite and lighthearted, like a feather in the wind. The grey-haired interviewer seemed to think for a second before speaking up again. “What was the specific reason for not publicly announcing your spouse?” His ice blue eyes now peered at Max, though your husband seemed unfazed. “The public doesn’t need any information about mine or his private life. This information is not essential for the media.”, Max dismissed, excusing himself and you.

With a sweet smile on his face, he guided you towards the terrace to the side of the building. The night air was fresh and clear. Max leaned his back against the railing, studying your features in the soft moonlight. You took a step forward; both of your noses were almost touching. “We did it.”, you then closed the distance between the two of you and caught your husbands’ lips in a sweet kiss. You could feel him smile into the kiss.

#ZyonsRequests #f1 x male reader #reader insert #male reader insert #male reader #maxie <3 #max verstappen x male reader #f1 x reader #x reader #x male reader #male!reader #male x male #max verstappen x reader #max verstappen fic #gay #f1 fanfic #max verstappen

[new-eyes-extra-colors]

Sunlight

Fandom: Pokémon Omega Ruby

Rating: General Audiences

Characters: May, Maxie, Groudon, Steven Stone

Summary: "Frenemies" is a weird relationship to have with someone, but if May hopes to partner with Groudon, she's going to have to make it work.

A/N: The only excuse I have for this is that I dearly love both of these characters and think they should be friends. Two things to note: May is 24 here, and there is an on-screen panic attack about two-thirds of the way through.

A Groudon-sized heap of thanks to my friend @slam-dunkrai for beta reading for me!

[read on AO3]

Something was beeping.

May opened her eyes blearily, then squeezed them shut again at the brightness around her and frowned. Where was she? She peeked again and her head throbbed. The ceiling was white and tiled; not the popcorn ceiling of her room in Littleroot, and definitely not the supports of her tent. Her back was on something soft, her head supported by pillows. Her left arm itched fiercely, and something was tight across her chest, making it difficult to breathe. There was a sharp pain in her left side, like she had a stitch from exerting herself too much.

She rolled her head to the side, looking down the length of her arm to see what was making her skin protest so much. A long clear tube ran from her wrist to… she followed it up to a bag dangling off to the side of the bed, far above her head.

Oh. Right. That made sense. Hospital, got it. They’d tucked her in a little tightly. The last thing she remembered was… running? She’d been headed down into the Cave of Origin to deal with Groudon, Maxie’s voice in her ear and half her team left behind on the surface to help with the evacuation. How had she…

…No, that wasn’t right. The last thing she remembered was leaving the Cave of Origin, after Groudon. With Groudon.

Using her right hand so she didn’t disturb the IV, she reached up to rub the sleep out of her eyes. The beeping increased in tempo. It must be a heart rate monitor. Okay. Hopefully everybody assumed the ultra ball she had with her was one of her pokémon and not, you know, the horrifyingly eldritch walking natural disaster that had been well on their way to starting the literal apocalypse. Who would suspect that?

Her increased heart rate summoned a nurse seemingly out of thin air.

“Ah, you’re awake,” the woman said, sweeping into the room, a smile on her face. “How are we feeling this morning?”

“Fine, thanks,” May said. She tried to sit up and dizziness washed over her; she laid back down, head thumping against the pillows heavily. The pain in her side was back in force. “Where’s my team?”

“At the center next door,” the nurse replied, fiddling with one of the machines. “You’ll be able to see them once you’re discharged.”

“I’m good to go now,” May said. “I feel great.”

The nurse eyed her critically. “You are dehydrated and have three cracked ribs.”

Oh. Maybe the blankets weren’t tight after all.

“Just cracked?” May asked. “Not broken?”

The nurse leveled a forceful stare at her.

Okay, but she’d just fought a world-ending monster to a standstill, what, a day ago? How long had she been out? Whatever, it didn’t matter. She wasn’t intimidated. May leveraged herself up with her right arm, ignoring her protesting ribs. “Seriously, I’m good to go. I need to check on my pokémon.”

The nurse sighed. “I’ll send the doctor in to assess you, and you can discuss your situation with her. But I don’t recommend leaving unless she gives you the all clear.”

“Sure, gotcha,” May said. “I’ll be sure to drink lots of water and avoid any strenuous activities. I don’t need to be in a hospital to do that.”

*

The doctor protested as well, and no doubt May’s friends would once they found out, but she signed a release and wrote a letter stating why she was leaving before the doctor’s recommendation, and was discharged a few hours later. She brushed her teeth, got changed—somewhat gingerly due to the cracked ribs—secured the one pokéball she had on her person, gathered her bag and her cell phone—someone had kindly plugged it in to charge while she’d been unconscious—and checked her messages. Six missed calls, five from the professor and one from her mother, and two texts from Flannery and one from Brendan. Guiltily, she tucked the phone away. She could get back to them later.

She was going to get an earful from Steven for sure, provided he knew about her condition—if anyone did, he would—but given the circumstances, her health could wait a little while. She had more pressing concerns.

She couldn’t get over the fact that she caught Groudon.

Was that even allowed? Maxie had been going to do it, before everything got shot to hell, and he was probably a better trainer than she was. On the other hand, there must’ve been something wrong with his method, because instead of partnering with him, Groudon rampaged. There was no guarantee they wouldn’t do the same thing the moment she let them out of their ball, but at least now she could return them. Right? Pokéballs weren’t foolproof, even the expensive one she’d used, but it didn’t seem like Groudon had broken out yet, so they still had to be in it.

Wherever it was...

“May I see your trainer’s card, please?” the receptionist asked. May already had it in hand and passed it over the desk to her. “Okay, let’s see… May Maple. It looks like we only have one of your pokémon under our care currently. An aggron. He’s in the large pokémon wing, down this hallway to my left at the very end. You’re welcome to visit him at any time.”

Wait, what? “Aggron?”

“Yes, that’s what his intake paperwork says.” The receptionist looked up at her, faintly confused. “Is that incorrect?”

When had Brutus evolved? “No, no that’s right.” Surely she’d be able to recognize him regardless. Right? She was that good a trainer at least. He’d recognize her, definitely. “You don’t have any others?”

The receptionist shook her head. “No, I’m sorry.”

Crap. Okay. She’d have to check with Steven, then; he would know what happened. “Okay, no worries,” May said, making sure to sound lighthearted. “Thank you.”

“Of course. Is there anything else I can help you with today?”

“Just one thing. What’s my aggron in for?”

The receptionist looked over her computer screen. “He’s being tested for stress fractures after being… caught in a cave collapse, and also for exertion after a suspected spontaneous evolution.” She looked up at May, a question in her eyes, but didn’t say anything else.

“Okay, thank you. I think that’s all I need. You said the left hallway, right?”

“That’s right. Have a good day.”

“You too.”

May took off past the receptionist’s desk, power walking to keep from breaking into a sprint. A cave collapse and a spontaneous evolution. That’s why she had been running, right? She’d caught Groudon, but the earthquakes hadn’t stopped; she’d had to run to get out. She dropped Brutus’ pokéball sometime during the fight, so he was beside her during their escape. If the ceiling started to come down, he must’ve evolved to protect her. Vaguely, she remembered being pinned to the ground facedown with something impossibly heavy bearing down on her back, only saved by the sturdy construction of the suit, and then that weight being lifted marginally. The earth had been rumbling and air had been hissing in her ears. She must’ve passed out not long after.

May was pretty sure that was one mystery solved. Spontaneous evolution happened for a lot of reasons, but defensive evolution was more common than other types. To know that he’d somehow mustered the energy to save her after being so exhausted from combating Groudon, to know she was loved that much by her pokémon was…

She wiped at her welling tears with the back of her hand. Now wasn’t the time.

She pushed open the double doors at the end of the hallway and spotted Brutus immediately. A hulking mass of white steel and rocky flesh stretched out across the floor, taking up a surprising amount of space. The attending nurse glanced at her as she entered, and the aggron lifted his head and looked at her with clear blueish green eyes.

May burst into tears at the sight, and ran the distance to drop to her knees and throw her arms around his neck, not minding at all the hard skin or cold metal armor or pain in her ribs. The nurse stepped aside and let her have her moment.

“Wow, you got big, huh?” May asked, pulling back to peer into crystal eyes and scrubbing the tears from her own. Brutus looked back at her, silent and stoic. “How am I gonna feed you now?”

“Biggest aggron I’ve ever seen,” the nurse said. “Course we don’t get many of them out here on our little island. But he’s an impressive specimen for sure.”

She turned to look up at him. “Is he okay? The receptionist said he was being looked at for stress fractures.”

“Yeah, he’s checked out so far,” the nurse replied, glancing at his clipboard. “The only trouble he’s in is due to exhaustion and overexertion.”

“Spontaneous evolution,” May said.

“Yeah, you know. Pokémon are tough customers, especially this one, but even they can get the wind knocked out of them.” He smiled kindly. “I wouldn’t worry about him though. He’s recovering well, and I have no doubt he’ll be ready to leave in a few days. Really, it’s just a precaution that we’re still monitoring him.”

May sighed with relief. Alright. So she just had to arrange to stay a few nights at the Center—she had things to do, and people to talk to, and a giant eldritch lava monster to find, and hopefully everyone else would be sticking around in Sootopolis for a while too.

She spent the next hour cooing over Brutus, running her hands down his armored face and holding his massive paw in her lap. He seemed to be himself, just tired. Eventually, reluctantly, she patted his nose and stood. She needed to get a room here and then go figure out what had happened to Groudon.

When she did so, the receptionist said, “Oh—it looks like you’re already in our system for the rest of the week.”

May frowned. “Um, okay. Can I ask whose card is on file?”

The receptionist clicked her mouse. “It says here the credit card authorization was signed by a Steven Stone. Wait. The Steven Stone?”

Oh, but that made sense. Of course Steven would be footing her bill. Again. It had to have been him who brought Brutus to the Pokémon Center in the first place, and probably the one who recommended treatment for spontaneous evolution. He was the steel-type expert after all.

“Yeah, that’s him,” May said. “Can I pick up my keys now?”

*

She ran it over in her head during the walk back to the Cave of Origin. She went in with Brutus and Comet—one was in the infirmary and one still in a ball, clipped to her hip. Ivy was with Steven and Alluria was with Archie, and that’s where they both still were, according to what Steven had said on the phone when she’d called him after picking up her keycards at the Pokémon Center. But where was Groudon?

The worst-case scenario was that their ball had been lost in the cave-in, but Steven and Wallace were working on getting that sorted right now. When she’d spoken with Steven he’d mentioned that, as both a landmark and a place of importance to not just the Sootopolitans but Hoenn as a whole—and since there had been no major injuries during the short-lived state of emergency—one of their first priorities in the wake of this disaster was clearing the cave out. That was good, right? All she had to do was wait, in that case, and she had to do that anyway while Brutus recovered.

The cave entrance was so much less intimidating in the daylight—well, the natural daylight, not the light of Groudon’s summoned sun that had blared overhead in the dead of the night. Now, past the massive carved doors, it looked like any other cave she’d dove into during the last two years, except for the construction crew coming and going out of it.

Nobody seemed to notice her as she slipped inside and followed the wide passageway deeper into the earth. She had no idea how close she’d been to the entrance when the ceiling collapsed, but she was going to find out.

It turned out to be pretty far. She found Steven after the fourth turn, who knew how many feet underground, his metagross and a constellation of beldum floating ominously beside him.

He turned when she called out to him. “There you are,” he said, smiling. “You really should be wearing a hard hat in here, you know.”

“Eh, this cave already tried to crack my skull open once and didn’t manage it,” she said, knocking on her head with her right fist, and Steven chuckled.

“Be that as it may, May, safety is not a joke. Why don’t we go outside?”

“This’ll just take a second,” she said. “I know you’re busy.”

He nodded. “Alright.”

“First of all—Ivy.”

“Yes,” he replied, unclipping a blue and red ball from his belt. “She performed admirably, you should know. She’s exceptionally well trained.”

Hopefully he couldn’t see the blush that crept up her cheeks at that. “Thank you,” she said, returning the sceptile’s ball to her own belt. “You don’t know what that means to me. Um, second of all is a little more complicated.” Steven’s brow creased in concern as she continued. “So, um, I think I lost one of my team members when the cave collapsed.”

“I’m sorry, May, that’s very serious,” Steven said gravely.

“Yeah, I—I know.” She took a deep breath; hopefully if he thought she was overwhelmed with worry he wouldn’t ask too many questions. Like what pokémon is it and where did you catch it and hold on, I thought you only had four partners.

“They’re in an ultra ball,” she said. “So, um, if you find one, will you please let me know?”

He laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “May, of course I will,” he said. “I’ll let the rest of our crew know as well. As soon as we find them, I’ll give you a call.”

“Thank you,” she said, with genuine gratitude. He held his arms out and she started in for a quick hug, but then backed off. “Uh, my ribs are cracked.” Dang it.

“Oh! I’m sorry, it had completely slipped my mind.” He held out a hand for her to shake. “Apologies for the formality, then.”

She shook it, smiling. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ve made it up to me already. Thank you for booking my stay at the Pokémon Center, and for looking after Ivy and Brutus. At this point I think I owe you one.”

Steven looked at her. “May, we all owe you.”

Right. Saving the world and all that. “Eh,” she said, trying not to sound flippant. “All in a day’s work. Actually,” she said, “I do have one more question.”

Steven nodded.

“So, I know the cave collapsed, I know Brutus evolved to protect me,” she started. “But who dug me out? I’m assuming it was you and Diligence.”

“It was a group effort,” he replied. “I believe Mister Asher reached you first.”

That made sense; Maxie had been the one operating the other end of the radio, so he had been right there at the mouth of the cave. Not that it had been much help; they’d lost the signal almost immediately. Wasn’t his fault.

“After that, I arrived with Wallace, and then Mister Caspian, Mister Jeong, and Ms Khouri-LeRoux.”

Archie, Tabitha, and Shelly. She was planning on talking to all of them at some point. “Right, okay,” she said. “Just making a list of who all I need to thank.” Among other things. Definitely not who all she had to ask about her—her missing pokémon.

Stars above, Groudon was hers, weren’t they? Her responsibility. Reality settled like a weighted blanket around her shoulders, making her stomach churn with anxiety. She had to pick up the pace.

*

After thanking Steven again she showed herself out, and stepping back into the clear sunlight was a relief. She still had no idea how long she’d been trapped in the cave, but she considered it fortunate that she didn’t remember it. Being buried alive was… well, it didn’t merit thinking about. Not now.

Next on her list: Maximilian Asher. Wherever he was. It was a little funny—after all this time knowing each other, they’d never traded phone numbers. She just happened to run into him. A lot. Which, of course, had been according to his plans all but the first two times, and that time in Lilycove when she caught him out shopping. But he hadn’t left her any hints about where to find him now.

He’d been such a frequent presence in her life the last two years and now it felt like an eternity since they’d spoken, even though it had been the day before yesterday. The last time was over the radio, right before Groudon erupted from the magma deep in the cave…

Right, she wasn’t thinking about that right now. She had at least one person from Team Magma she could contact. It was fortunate he’d opted to give her his number after the incident at the Weather Institute all those months ago. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts, all the way down to the Ts, and then dialed.

It only rang twice. “Hello?” said a voice on the other end of the line.

“Hey, Tabitha,” May said. “It’s me. Is your boss around?”

“Maple?” he asked, sounding incredulous. “Yeah, he’s right here. Why?”

“I need to talk to him. Well—I need to talk to both of you, technically. It’s nothing bad. Where are you guys at?”

“North side, down by the lake.” Not far, then. “There’s a little café on the east side of the gym. We’re on the patio.”

“Gotcha, thank you. I’ll be there in a sec.”

*

It was a short walk to the waterfront. The winding path led downwards, past a myriad of shops and clusters of apartments, and under hanging ivy and colorful banners before opening up in front of the lake. It reminded her of Olivine, on the far side of this same ocean, so close and so far. She passed in front of the Sootopolis Gym and its official League signage, following Tabitha’s directions, and soon spotted the people she was looking for.

They were sitting at an outdoor table under a bright yellow umbrella, and were both out of uniform. Tabitha looked sharp and professional in slacks and a button down, and Maxie looked surprisingly casual in slacks and a turtleneck. The bright red coat really did a lot for his silhouette, May realized. He looked smaller out of it.

Both men looked up at her as she approached, though Maxie’s gaze quickly fell away to the tabletop. May waved, a little awkwardly, and moved to stand a few feet away from them.

“Uh, hi,” she said. Her anxiety flared again. Might as well accept it—this was going to be a weird one, but she could still be polite. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”

Maxie and Tabitha shared a look—she definitely was interrupting something, and given the events of the last few days, it was probably better not to speculate.

“We were just finishing up, actually,” Tabitha said. “Why don’t you have a seat?”

Right, sitting down was probably less weird than standing here.

“How are you feeling?” Tabitha asked as May pulled out a chair and sat down between them. “Last time I saw you, you were being carted off to the hospital.”

“I feel fine,” May said. “The cavern got it worse than I did.”

Tabitha cocked an eyebrow at her, but if he knew anything to the contrary, he didn’t call her out on it. “Okay, well, that’s good. Glad to have you up and around. So how we can help you?”

“Well, I think you already have,” May said. “And um, that’s really the only thing I needed to talk about.” She took a deep breath and looked at them both in turn. Tabitha was leaned back in his chair, casual as could be, and Maxie was sitting with impeccable posture as always and still refusing to meet her eyeline.

“Steven told me what happened after the cave-in,” she said. “He said you both helped dig me out, and I wanted to say thank you for that. So, thank you.”

“It was the least I could do,” Maxie said quietly.

“You saved all our sorry hides,” Tabitha pointed out.

“People keep saying that,” May said.

“Probably because it’s true,” Tabitha said. “But regardless, you’re welcome, Maple.”

She nodded at him, and then Maxie cleared his throat.

“Ms Maple,” he said, finally meeting her eyes, “would you be comfortable speaking with me in private?”

That… could be about a few different things. “Uh, yeah, that’s fine.” She glanced between them again. “Uh…”

Tabitha scooted his chair back and stood. “Courtney called earlier and I need to get back to her,” he said, “so I’ll leave you two to it.” He nodded at May. “If I don’t see you again, Maple, take care.”

“You too,” she replied warmly.

He pushed the chair in and then turned and walked away, pulling out his cell phone as he went. May fiddled with her bracelets.

“Are—” she started, just as Maxie said, “I—”

They both stopped, and Maxie ducked his head. “Go on.”

May hesitated. “Are… how are you?”

“I’m fine, Ms Maple.”

Yeah, right. Who would be fine after all of that? He had the air of a kicked dog, and it was a feeling she was familiar with. However he was doing, whatever was going through his head, it sure as hell wasn’t fine.

“Okay,” she said, because what else could she say to that? Not to be rude, but I don’t believe you, sorry. It wasn’t the sort of thing you called someone on, so she let it go.

Maxie took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “I owe you an apology. More than one, I expect, but I will try to be concise. I can only imagine how much you must hate me, but—”

May flinched. “What?” How could he think that? She must’ve screwed up somehow, just like she always did, if he could think it was even possible for her to—when had she even been angry with him? Sure, she’d once cornered him on the fourth floor of a department store in Lilycove, feeling like an idiot with a stuffed animal tucked under her arm, and grilled him for hints about where his base was, but that was a far cry from angry. Annoyed that he was winning their little game of cat and mouse, maybe. And she enjoyed their battles; he was a good trainer.

Hot tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and she felt her face flush and throat tighten. “I don’t—I don’t hate you.” Stars above, if she screwed up this badly, did she misinterpret their entire relationship? She twisted her hands in her lap. “Um—do you hate me?”

“No, no, of course not,” he said quickly. “No, I didn’t mean—ugh.” He closed his eyes briefly. “I apologize, Ms Maple, I’m finding this more difficult than I imagined. I misspoke. Permit me to start again?”

She wiped at her nascent tears with the back of one hand. “Uh, yeah. Go ahead.”

He nodded. “Thank you. Now: please understand I’m not asking your forgiveness. But my error in judgement never should have fallen on you to fix. The monumental task of dealing with Groudon never should have been your responsibility, and for the fact that I was unable to rectify my own mistake, I am truly sorry. You should not have been involved.”

She waited a heartbeat, and then two, and then said, “Okay, but I involved myself.” He opened his mouth to reply but she held up a hand. “I’m a trainer, Maxie, so it was my responsibility, actually. And I mean, you were there. Nobody else had the team for it.”

“Regardless—”

“No, there’s nothing else. I’m sorry, but like, it wasn’t something that you alone could have fixed. And everything turned out fine—the earthquake damage was minimal. Hell, I caused more trouble for everybody by collapsing the cave. Nobody was hurt. I really don’t think this is my place to say, but you seem to, so… apology accepted.” She shrugged and immediately regretted the motion as the pain in her ribs flared again. “You’re forgiven.”

He closed his eyes. “Just like that,” he said flatly.

“Yeah. I mean… yeah.”

He shook his head. “Just when I begin to think I understand you, you do or say something like that.”

May resisted the urge to shrug again. “Sorry.”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for.”

She nodded. “You know, I wouldn’t’ve chased you across the entire country if I hated you. I would have just like, told Steven where to catch you.”

“I see,” he said unconvincingly.

She waited a beat, but he didn’t continue. “So, um, are we okay now?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean our… relationship, or whatever. Back to normal, right?”

He studied her for a moment. “I’m very interested to hear what you think normal is for the two of us.”

She huffed a laugh. “Well I didn’t think you were going to ask me to define it.”

He raised an eyebrow at her.

“Okay, okay. Um. Rivals? Friendly ones? Who don’t hate each other?”

“You tell me, Ms Maple. You’re the one with a laundry list of things you have every right to be aggrieved about.”

“I already said you were forgiven.”

He sighed. “You did.” He leaned back in his chair. “Very well. I suppose rivals is… fitting.”

“Great. …Um, not to change the subject, but there is one more thing,” she said slowly. “I had an ultra ball with me when the cavern collapsed. Did anyone find it, or…?”

His demeanor changed subtly—back straightening, eyes narrowing—and in that instant she knew that he knew.

Oh, stars above.

Of all people… of course it was him.

“Yes,” he said coolly. “I was wondering when you were going to broach that topic.” He reached down and unclipped something from his belt, and then placed the slightly melty black and yellow pokéball in the center of the table. “I did, as it happens.”

“Oh. Uh. Thank you.” She didn’t reach for it.

“I have been trying to decide what to say to you regarding your chosen solution,” he said, tapping one finger on the tabletop, “but I find that words simply escape me.” He took a deep breath. “Ms Maple, I’m well aware I have no right to tell you how to handle this—”

“So don’t.”

“—but I cannot overstate the danger of attempting to—”

“You were going to do this.”

“I was wrong.” He leaned forward in the ensuing silence. “You’re so quick to forgive me, but I was wrong. Do you understand that?”

“You weren’t down there,” she snapped, and he leaned away at the heat in her voice. Guilt bit into her instantly. “I’m sorry. But the one time that you weren’t there—” Stars above, stop. She wasn’t admitting that to him, at least not yet. She shook her head. “Look. I’m not going to try to justify myself to you, but I don’t think I had a choice. The cavern was coming down and I couldn’t just—leave them.”

He laughed and she frowned. This wasn’t the giddy schoolboy laughter of their encounter on Pyre or the triumphant, borderline maniacal laughter of Groudon’s cavern. He sounded…  tired.

“Ms Maple, I am not trying to lecture you. And I’m certainly not implying that you’re incapable of handling her. Obviously, you’ve done that once already.” He sighed. “But I think you should seriously consider not following in my footsteps.”

“I really think we’re past that point. They’re already awake, now.”

“And you think that’ll make a difference.”

“I mean, yeah? They haven’t broken out of their ball, yet. I’m sure they could.”

Maxie tapped one finger on the tabletop. “I suppose that’s fair. What exactly is it you plan to do?”

“Take them somewhere they can’t hurt anybody if they decide to have a temper tantrum, let them out, and just… talk to them.” She held up her hands, forestalling any argument. “I mean, they’re a pokémon, right? And they have partnered with people in the past, right? You weren’t wrong about that.”

“Perhaps,” he said slowly, like he was conceding a point he didn’t really believe in. “But to be frank, Ms Maple, is your team in any shape to handle her a second time if she proves to be less than tractable?”

“Yes,” she shot back. “Ivy and Alluria are good to go. That’s two type advantages. More than what I had last time, and they weren’t tractable at all then, believe me.”

“I do,” he replied. “Regardless, I don’t think you should be undertaking such an endeavor on your own.”

May stared at him. “Who am I gonna ask to help with this?”

“I don’t have an answer for that.”

She had one, but he wasn’t going to like it very much. She’d probably have to work her way around to it. She picked an angle and dove in. “I mean, the obvious answer is the League.”

He hesitated, then shrugged and folded his hands primly on the tabletop.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” She sat forward. “Turning Groudon over to the League is basically like handing them to the Devon Corporation. Look, I want you to know that I know that. Just because I’m friends with Steven…” She shook her head. “I’m not blind to his flaws, is what I’m saying.

“But if not him, then who? Because I can’t let them rot in a ball forever and I can’t let them rampage, so at some point I’m going to have to deal with them and like you said, it’s better not to do it alone.”

“I’m sorry, Ms Maple, but I don’t have a solution to offer you.” At least he had the good grace not to suggest her father, gym leader or not. “I wish that I did.”

With a sigh, she sat back in her seat. Groudon’s pokéball sat between them on the table, an odd, faintly ugly centerpiece. She had to play this smartly if she was going to get what she wanted.

“Maxie, listen,” she started, and he nodded. “I appreciate the suggestion, I really do. But I already thought about it and I already have someone in mind.”

“Well, good, then,” he said.

“He’s an expert on Hoennic mythology.”

He opened his mouth to reply, and then squinted at her. “No.”

“Why not?”

He set his jaw. “Ms Maple. Far be it from me to understand your… earnestness in attempting to ignore how singularly I have already failed in that endeavor. But recent events have made it abundantly clear that some quality of mine rendered me incapable of succeeding in this particular effort and it would behoove you to acknowledge that.”

“You’re literally the best man for the job.”

“I’m literally the worst man for the job.”

“You know you want to.”

“Yes, I do, and that’s precisely the problem,” he snapped.

May sighed. Plucked the ball from the center of the table and turned it over in her hands. Made a show of it. “Fine,” she said, trying her best to sound defeated. “If you’re not comfortable, I won’t try to force you. I’ll just do it alone again, which is not, you know, dangerous at all. Or,” she said as he opened his mouth to reply, “maybe I’ll just ask Archie for help.”

Maxie narrowed his eyes at her. May held his gaze.

“He’s a sweet guy,” she continued, maintaining eye contact. “Seems pretty knowledgeable about this kind of thing, too. I bet he’d be happy to give me a hand. And I do have to talk to him today anyway, since I have to get my milotic back from him.”

Maxie folded his hands in his lap. Inhaled and then exhaled. “You,” he said, voice low and measured, “are trying to get a rise out of me, and it isn’t going to work.”

Oh, now all of a sudden he was unbothered by that. “I’m trying to ask for your help,” May shot back. “Except you’re more bull-headed than your own camerupt, apparently. I had to sit through your big speech about your incomparable partner—”

“Yes, and we saw how well that went.”

“Well we wouldn’t be doing that again,” she said. “No expectations, no grand intentions, no inscrutable magical artifacts. Just two people, and one pokémon. That could work.”

He hesitated, and she could practically see the gears turning in his mind. “I should be talking you down from this.”

“I can’t just let them sit in a ball forever, Maxie.”

“I know, I know. Gods.” He pulled off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes shut. He sat like that for a long moment, and May leaned forward, trying not to grin. She had him.

“If I don’t help you, you’re going to do this anyway, aren’t you.”

“Yep.”

He sighed heavily, and then leaned back, put his glasses back on, and looked at her squarely. “You’ll need space,” he said. “A lot of it.”

“Somewhere secluded, ideally,” she added.

He nodded once. “Do you have someplace in mind?”

“Yeah, I think so. It’s about an hour’s flight from here, if I’m remembering right.”

Maxie hesitated. “Flight?”

“Yeah, unless you want to swim. That’d probably take longer.” She squinted at him. “Can you swim?”

“Very well, thank you,” he said haughtily.

“Well, pick your poison. How does your swampert do in saltwater?”

“It’s a euryhaline species.”

“So, fine. So between her and my milotic…”

“I think I would prefer to fly,” he said. “If it’s all the same to you.”

May smiled. “I think that’ll work fine. Are you available tomorrow?”

“You want to wait?”

“Yeah. I mean, it’s almost dark and I just realized I haven’t eaten anything at all today.”

He gave her a withering look. “Ms Maple.”

“I had things to do, okay?”

“Stars preserve me,” he muttered. “Well, conveniently we’re at a café, so why don’t you go in and order something now?” He waved one hand. “On me.”

She balked. “Are you offering to buy me dinner?”

“Yes, if only to ensure you eat a proper meal. I’m unfortunately aware of your proclivity towards instant noodles and energy drinks.”

She made a face halfway between a smile and a cringe. “Yeah, forgot you knew about that.”

*

The roof of a Pokémon Center—at least most of the others she’d been to—was usually as busy as its interior, with trainers relaxing, sparring, or simply taking in the sights. But this early, May was the only one out here, and she was grateful as always for the solitude. She had to admit, the East Lakeside Pokémon Center had a wonderful view. She could see all the way across the lake from here, to the local gym and to the Center on the opposite shore. The sky was rapidly lightening, but the city, in the depths of its crater, was still awash with darkness. Pinpricks of lights—streetlamps and windows and trolleys—stood out on the far side of the lake.

She was just cinching the final strap on Comet’s saddle when she heard the door to the roof open. She glanced over, only half expecting Maxie even though she knew he was punctual, and tossed him a little smile and wave when she saw it was him before getting back to her preparations. She wasn’t used to flying with passengers; typically it was just her and Comet and she forewent the saddle a not-insignificant portion of the time. But today, safety was the name of the game.

“That’s a latios,” Maxie said from somewhere off to her left. She looked up and over Comet’s back at him. He was back in his red coat, looking like his normal, faintly imposing self. That was probably a good thing.

“Good morning to you too. His name’s Comet,” May replied, finishing up with the buckle and scratching behind her dragon’s feathery ears.

Maxie mouthed the name with a frown. “Your fourth pokémon is a latios?”

She wasn’t surprised that he remembered their names, though she couldn’t recall mentioning Comet in front of him. Comet apparently took exception to Maxie’s tone, and snapped his jaws, arched his neck, fluffed up his feathers, and tipped his head to side-eye Maxie, who took a step backwards.

“He’s not trying to be critical,” May said to the dragon, smoothing the feathers on his neck back down with one hand. “I think he’s just surprised.”

“Yes, though at this point I’m not sure why.” Maxie shook his head. “Every time I start to think you couldn’t possibly impress me more…”

May ducked her head and bit back a smile. “The, uh, attitude is just because he doesn’t know you. He gets a little flighty around strangers.” To Comet, she said, “Please be nice. I told you we’d have a passenger today.”

She kept smoothing feathers, doing her best to reassure him. That seemed to settle him somewhat, and the sharp angle he held his neck at relaxed. He stretched out toward Maxie curiously, sniffing the air.

“You can pet him now if you want,” May said. “I promise he’s friendly.”

Maxie hesitated, but then held out a hand for Comet to inspect. The dragon arched his neck again, but not as severely this time; then, slowly, pressed his nose into Maxie’s palm.

“Scratch behind his ears; he loves that.”

Maxie did so, a faint smile tugging at his lips, and Comet trilled. “A latios,” Maxie repeated. “You’ve had him since before Pyre, yes? Why didn’t you ever use him in battle?”

“He doesn’t like fighting,” May replied.

“Can he understand what we’re saying?”

“I think so? He seems to pick up tone pretty well, and intent if he knows you. I just talk to him like he’s a person and that seems to work fine.”

“Fascinating,” Maxie murmured.

“We’re still working on the sight-sharing thing,” May said, “but it’s pretty taxing having someone’s entire sensory experience dumped into your head, especially when they see in the UV spectrum and have psychic powers and an extra set of limbs compared to you. The first time we tried it I got a horrible migraine-and-nosebleed combo. Spent the rest of the day curled up in my tent with a pillow over my head, trying to ignore the phantom limb sensation from briefly thinking I had wings.”

Maxie leaned to the side to give her a critical look past Comet’s neck. “And this is something you regularly subject yourself to.” It wasn’t a question.

“It’s not that bad now,” May said defensively. “We’ve been practicing. Uh, are you ready to go, then?”

He sighed. “Yes, we’d best get going.”

May patted Comet’s shoulder twice, and he lowered himself into a laying position on the ground, tucking his forelegs underneath himself and spreading his wings. She showed Maxie how to buckle the belts that would keep the two of them secure on Comet’s back while flying, waited for him to get settled into the second seat of the saddle, and then double-checked his work.

“Sorry for that, but I don’t want to lose you to a mistake,” she said. “Uh, not that you have anything to worry about; Comet and I have practiced mid-air catches before. He’s pretty good at it.”

“Dare I ask how?”

May winced. “Uh, probably in exactly the way you’re thinking.”

He sighed and leveled that forceful stare of his at her. “Ms Maple, at some point you and I are going to have a serious talk about that reckless streak of yours.”

She broke eye contact quickly; she could unpack any implications there at a different time. “Sure.” She hopped into the front seat and did up her own buckles. “We’re not doing any fancy flying today, though, are we bud?” she asked, leaning forward to pat Comet’s neck. He warbled.

May looked over her shoulder. She would have twisted, but her ribs were already protesting from lifting the saddle earlier and she didn’t want to injure herself further. “Okay, have you ever flown before?”

“In a plane,” Maxie said dryly.

“Well, then, dragon riding 101—basically just do what I do. Lean when I lean in the direction I lean. If you’re not sure what to do, just lean forward. There’s a strap right behind my seat—” she reached back to pat it, “—you can hold onto that. Please don’t grab me.” That was less a rule and more the preference of someone with three cracked ribs, but he didn’t need to know that. He’d just blame himself for getting her hurt, even though it wasn’t really his fault.

“Also—you probably want to put your glasses somewhere safe. Which reminds me, I have a pair of goggles for you.”

Maxie removed his glasses and tucked them into an interior pocket of his coat as May dug around in her pack for a moment before producing a second set of flygon-brille goggles, the twin of the ones perched on her own forehead.

“Interesting choice,” he said. “Very… traditionally Hoennic.”

“I like that they don’t scuff in the sand,” she replied. “I got them in Lavaridge.”

Maxie made an approving noise, but didn’t say anything else. She half expected him to brag; he was from Lavaridge—it wasn’t a coincidence that his sister was the gym leader there.

May pulled on her own goggles, and once Maxie was situated, she patted Comet again to signal they were ready to go. The dragon stood slowly so as not to jostle his passengers. May hunched forward as much as her aching side allowed. Behind her, Maxie hissed a breath.

“Don’t forget to lean forward,” she said, and felt Comet’s stance shift as Maxie did so. “And don’t forget to hold on.”

“Believe me, I have that covered,” he said, sounding grave.

May tried not to smile at that as Comet took two bounding steps forward before leaping off the roof. He flared his wings almost immediately to catch the wind, arcing upwards in a neat parabola before flapping hard to gain more altitude. Cool air rushed past and May almost laughed aloud as they soared in a skyward spiral over the lake, now sparkling and golden in the light of the early morning sun. When she could see the ocean past the white crater walls of the city, she let go of the saddle.

“Okay, hold on!” she called over her shoulder, over the wind, and then lifted her right arm and key stone bracelet high in the air, and—

—blinding white light burst from the mega stone on Comet’s collar as he transformed, massive wings stretching wider as his feathers rippled, changing from blue to lavender. If they’d been flying solo, this was the part where he’d flip them over into a triumphant loop, but he remembered what she’d asked him about gentle flying today and instead only trilled and beat his wings harder to increase his speed.

May whooped as they shot upwards into the wide blue sky, despite the throbbing ache in her ribs, despite the monumental task waiting before her, despite what she was going to have to deal with back in Littleroot, eventually. There was no feeling on the planet like this. With one hand on a dragon’s neck and the wind in her hair, for a little while, at least, she was free.

They leveled out at cruising altitude about a half mile above the city, and May tugged at the thread of psychic energy connecting her mind and Comet’s to ask him to turn southwards, roughly in the direction of that old tower that loomed on the horizon. He bobbed his head, dipped a wing, and banked.

Finally, she turned to look at their passenger. Maxie was still clinging to the saddle, but his posture seemed somewhat relaxed, and he was taking the opportunity to peer over Comet’s side down at the city and the long line of black basalt Groudon had left in their wake as they had traveled to the Cave of Origin from their cavern beneath the sea.

“You doing okay back there?” May asked.

“Fine,” he said, somewhat stiffly, pulling his gaze away from the scenery to meet her eyes. “If this is your usual means of travel, I think it’s very telling.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“I meant it as one.”

May nodded, grinning to herself. “Okay,” she said over her shoulder, “we’ve got about an hour, maybe a little less since it seems like the wind’s in our favor. Should be a pretty smooth ride.”

“Thank the gods,” Maxie muttered.

They settled into what May felt was companionable silence. The only noises were the rush of the wind, the occasional beat of Comet’s wings, and the cries of seabirds. Far below, the ocean sparkled in the sunlight, a vast blue diamond-studded quilt covering the world.

The sun shone brightly high in the sky, warm and heavy on May’s bare arms. They were really doing this, she realized. Less than an hour and, for the second time in two days, she’d be facing down a monster so powerful as to bring the whole world to its knees. She’d barely beaten them the first time.

Anxiety coiled in her gut, and she took a deep breath. Stars above, but she hoped this wouldn’t get them both killed.

*

May’s estimation on their flight time turned out to be slightly off; Comet touched down about an hour and a half later. It wasn’t a large island they landed on—only a few hundred yards across, mostly covered in sand and scrub grass, with the ocean lapping sedately at the shores.

May was already unbuckled and sliding off Comet’s back as he folded his wings, and she helped Maxie down a moment later, holding his arm as he steadied himself. He really wasn’t used to flying.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” she asked, smiling.

Maxie sighed as he put his glasses back on. “I imagine it must be an acquired taste.”

May chuckled as he began combing his hair back into place with his fingers, looking as disheveled as she’d ever seen him. She bit back a smile and turned her back to him to pet Comet. She didn’t want him to think she was making fun—it was just that he was kind of cute when he was out of sorts.

“How is it that you’re familiar with this place?” Maxie asked. “We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

“Well, we’re not exactly nowhere,” she said. “Pacifidlog is another three hours or so in…” She turned to orient herself, and pointed. “…that direction. Far side of the archipelago.”

“I suspect our respective definitions of nowhere may be significantly different, and you didn’t answer my question.”

“Oh—how am I familiar. We do a lot of flying around. I like exploring, and there are a lot of little uncharted islands out here. Never know what you’re going to find. Plus, it’s kind of peaceful, you know?”

“I see. You don’t worry about getting lost?”

“Not with Comet around. I don’t know for sure but I think he can sense the planet’s electromagnetic field. He’s an excellent navigator, anyway. Besides, in this area, you can orient yourself off that tower.”

Maxie frowned. “What tower?”

“That one, on the horizon.” May dug in her bag to retrieve her field binoculars and passed them to him, pointing. “See?”

“N—ah, yes, I do.”

“Not sure what’s going on over there, but there’s a nasty downdraft around the exterior—we tried flying to the top and Comet almost got knocked out of the air. And the front door’s locked.” She squinted at him. “I don’t suppose you’d know anything about that?”

He lowered the binoculars and arched an eyebrow at her. “Why are you asking me?”

“You’re the mythology expert.”

“Hmph. I suppose I am.” He hummed. “If I had to venture a guess, I would say it sounds like the Sky Pillar. It’s a place of great importance to the Draconids.”

“The dragon tamers who live in the Falls,” she said. Not unlike her mother’s side of the family, across the ocean in Blackthorn. She’d met a few on her journey, and had simultaneously felt awe and jealousy that they were so connected to their culture, in exactly the way she wasn’t. “Like the old ruins on Pyre and in Granite Cave on Dewford, right?”

He looked faintly pleased as he passed the binoculars back. “Yes, exactly. They’re one of the oldest cultures in Hoenn. The Sky Pillar is supposedly a point of contact with their god, Rayquaza.”

“A dragon, I’m assuming.”

“A great one, allegedly. One that’s supposed to… keep the planet in balance.” He frowned again. “A serpent eating its own tail.”

“What?”

“Ah—nothing. I’m just suddenly doubtful of its existence, recent events being what they are. Were.”

“What do you mean?”

“Groudon isn’t the only one of her ilk,” he said, and everything crashed into May at once: Groudon. They were out here for a reason; she wasn’t just sightseeing with her new best friend. They had to deal with Groudon.

“Not the only giant scary world-ending monster,” she said shakily. “Okay.”

Maxie frowned and held a hand out halfway to her arm, like he was about to touch her but thought better of it. “Ms Maple, are you alright?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine.” She waved a hand dismissively. “What were you saying?”

He narrowed his eyes like he didn’t believe her, but continued anyway. “I was saying Groudon has a counterpart. Her equal and opposite, the incarnation of the sea itself, Kyogre. Rayquaza is supposed to keep the two of them in balance. I didn’t think of it at the time since we had other more pressing concerns, but I wonder why Groudon’s rampage didn’t attract Rayquaza’s attention. By all accounts it should have.”

May fiddled with her bracelets, running her thumb over the cool polished surface of her key stone. “Lugia’s the incarnation of the sea,” she said.

“Wh—oh. Yes, I suppose you would think that.”

“It’s true.”

“I have no rebuttal,” he said. “My expertise is in Hoennic mythology, not Johtoni. Though I will say, given recent experiences, your gods seem more… benevolent than ours.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” It had been all over the news, about a year before her family had moved to Hoenn: Lugia had appeared in the Whirl Islands, just off the coast near Olivine, to partner with that boy from New Bark who bested Team Rocket for what was hopefully the final time. May had compared herself to that boy a lot over the course of the last two years, but never did she expect she’d also be dealing with a partnered legendary. All things considered, she would trade Groudon for Lugia in a heartbeat.

That was a mean thought. Groudon was her responsibility now, no matter how scared she was, and whether she liked it or not—and if she wanted this to work, she needed to like it.

“What’s Kyogre like?”

“Much like Groudon, I suspect.”

“Hm.”

A beat of silence passed, and then Maxie asked, “Is this why you were so upset on Pyre?”

“Huh?”

“You’re Johtoni. I’m sorry to say it just occurred to me. You cremate your dead, yes? Mount Pyre must have been… shocking.”

“Oh. Yeah. I mean. Among other things, like how it’s super haunted and all.” And like him ignoring her about the data she and Tabitha had retrieved from the Weather Institute, but he didn’t need to hear that.

He hesitated, and she realized he must be thinking of that too, and probably regretting it. “Right.”

Another moment of silence passed between them. The waves crashed down on the shore, seabirds called, and Comet yawned and curled in on himself, settling down in the grass for a nap.

“Are, um. Are we stalling?” May asked in a small voice.

Maxie smiled ruefully. “Perhaps we are. Shall we, er, get to it, then?”

“Yeah.”

“How do you propose we prepare for this?”

Gods, what could they even do? Maxie had planned this for at least two years and things still went awry for him—and they were essentially winging it, now. At least they weren’t in the middle of a city this time, but other than trying to minimize potential casualties—

“Pokémon out, or no?” Maxie clarified, cutting into the downward spiral of her thoughts with a direct tone.

“Oh.” Good question. “I don’t want to come across as intimidating.”

“I don’t believe you need to worry about that.”

She shot him a glare and he shook his head at her.

“You’re only proving my point,” he said.

“Since when do you have a sense of humor? I don’t want to come across as threatening then. Like, I want to telegraph ‘I would like to be your friend,’ not ‘I am going to have my milotic hydro pump you into submission.’” Not that she was convinced she could actually do that, two type advantages or not, but—

“I think backup would be reasonable, all things considered,” Maxie said diplomatically.

Right. Right. May fished around for a compromise. “Maybe we could leave them a ways away? I don’t want to crowd them.”

He nodded. “That works for me.”

May unclipped Alluria’s ball from her belt and released her near the shore. White light spilled upward into the elegant shape of the milotic’s long neck, barbels, and fanned tail before coalescing into cream, pink, and teal scales. She settled heavily into the sand, draping her coils over each other, and looked at her trainer with large dark eyes.

May stepped forward and ran her hands down the smooth scales of Alluria’s neck. A few yards away, Maxie was gently patting his swampert’s wide snout, and she was waggling her external gills happily.

“Just stay here for a little while, okay?” May said to Alluria. “I’m going to shout if I need you.”

Alluria crooned a low note in acknowledgement. She was slow out of the water and only getting slower as she grew, but she had range, which would hopefully be an advantage if Groudon proved to be less than tractable, as Maxie had put it. Worst case scenario, they could retreat into the ocean.

“Are you ready?” Maxie called.

Her heart thudded in her chest and she drew in a sharp breath. No, no she wasn’t. How was she supposed to be ready for this? The first time she’d been coasting on a sense of unreality; her life had spiraled out of the real world into a monster movie, to the point that nearly being blasted out of the sky by Groudon’s solarbeam on the flight back to Sootopolis had barely registered. Now? Now she’d be facing them down on foot, injured and with no suit, without her strongest pokémon—

“Ms Maple?” Maxie materialized at her side, peering at her with something like concern written on his face. “Did you hear me?”

“Uh—yeah. Yeah, I’m ready.” She flashed him a smile and rubbed her hands together so he couldn’t see how they were shaking. “Are you?”

He gave her another look like he didn’t believe her. “Yes, I am. Shall we?” he asked, then turned and marched off toward the center of the island without waiting for her response, his shoes crunching in the sand.

May took a deep breath that did nothing to steady her fraying nerves. Okay. He believed in her, didn’t he? He wouldn’t be out here if he didn’t believe in her—hell, he had the opportunity to do what he wanted with Groudon and he didn’t take it. That meant something.

And she had beaten them once already, while they were presumably much more powerful. She had Alluria and Ivy and Maxie’s swampert waiting in the wings in case something went wrong, and Comet too if they needed to make a quick getaway. They were far enough away from Sootopolis that they could call for backup and have it arrive long before Groudon reached the city again—or any populated area, for that matter. But what if all of that wasn’t enough?

And what if they took that as a threat? How would she feel, being quite literally out of her element and surrounded by potential enemies? There was no way to judge how Groudon was going to react, if they were going to be open to a partnership or if they’d try to fight. May would be scared, just like she was now, and scared pokémon reacted poorly—she still had the bite mark scars on her arm from that poochyena she’d scraped up off the road in Rustboro to prove that. But what else could she do?

She couldn’t just run away—but gods above, was she good at running away. What else had the last two years been if not a grand disappearing act? She’d dipped out of Littleroot, she’d been shirking her responsibilities with Birch Labs, she didn’t remember the last time she talked to her father, and worse, she liked it that way. But she’d ran straight into this, a problem she couldn’t run from, or hide from, or fight, or ignore, or—

Suddenly Comet pushed his face up to hers, warbling in alarm, and sun-warm feathers brushed the back of her arms as he wrapped a wing around her and clutched at her right hand with both of his. She squeezed back instinctively. Her throat felt tight and her head pounded.

“Ms Maple?” Maxie appeared a moment later, frowning in concern and half-reaching out to her again. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I’m fine,” May gasped. “I think—I think I’m having a panic attack.”

“That is definitionally not fine,” he said sternly. He stepped forward and placed a hand firmly on her back between her shoulder blades. “Sit down.”

She did so shakily, knees hitting the sandy grass hard. She took a ragged breath in and her ribs twinged. Maxie knelt beside her, hand still on her back.

“Just breathe,” he said gently.

She tried. Every breath scraped its way down her throat and her head throbbed and blood rushed in her ears, but she tried. Her chest was tight and the pain in her left side was so sharp it made her want to cry and she just couldn’t get enough air in to soothe her aching lungs, but she tried.            

Inhale.

Minutes passed. She could hear herself breathing tremulously but the world felt zoomed out, like she was a bystander watching herself from outside her own body. Somewhere far away, Comet’s warm hands clung to hers and Maxie rubbed soothing circles on her back. None of this could possibly be real. Any moment now, she’d wake to see the canvas of her tent above her head—just another night on the road.

Exhale.

The world came back into focus slowly, beginning with the pain in her knees where her weight pressed them into the sand. Her bare shins itched, her arms felt leaden, her head pulsed with a nascent headache. The sensation of swimming through a dream passed as she settled back into her body. She was here, and she was with friends.

And she was probably about to get them all killed.

Maybe don’t think like that.

Inhale.

“Can you speak?” Maxie asked quietly.

May sniffled. “Yeah.”

“Alright. What’s the matter?”

“Um. Like, aside from everything?”

He hesitated. “I would appreciate something specific to address.”

That made her laugh for some reason. “Sure. Uh, just for you.” She wiped a fingertip under each of her eyes to clear her tears, being careful not to smear her makeup, and took as deep a breath as she could.

“This is a mistake,” she said. “Like—I barely stopped them the first time. And if you couldn’t get them to work with you, I don’t have a chance. So we’re probably just going to piss them off or scare them, which is going to lead to them rampaging again, and if they do that I don’t know if recalling them will work, and we’ll be back in the same situation we were in.”

Maxie shifted his weight. His hand was warm on her back.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but that’s objectively untrue,” he said slowly.

May looked up at him sharply. “What?”

“To begin with,” he said, “you stopped her when she was more powerful than she is even capable of becoming right now, and while at a disadvantage too, might I add. Additionally, the Red Orb is still in Sootopolis and we’re far from the Cave of Origin, so there’s no risk of her undergoing primal reversion a second time. Finally, comparing yourself to me is ridiculous. You’ve already accomplished more than I did by catching her.”

“But there’s no guarantee they’ll decide to partner with one of us,” she shot back. “What are we supposed to do then?”

Maxie leaned away slightly and gave her a long look.

“What?” May asked.

“What is actually the matter?”

“What do you mean?”

He shook his head. “You were so confident about this yesterday. You aren’t given to being unreasonable so it’s clear something else is bothering you. What is it?”

May looked away. How did she even begin to explain this, especially to someone like him? He didn’t lack for confidence in himself in the slightest, to the point that it was almost a flaw. How could she describe the bone-deep dread of knowing that her best was never good enough, that every endeavor was doomed to fall just short of success, that she could always, always be better, but never enough as she was?

She wasn’t that boy from New Bark. She never would be. She couldn’t be.

“I can’t do this,” she whispered. “But you still could.”

“Absolutely not,” he said vehemently.

“Why not?”

“She has no reason to listen to me. You’re the one challenged and caught her. And you didn’t answer my question.”

May took a deep breath. Closed her eyes. “I’m not—I’m not a good enough trainer to do this. They don’t have any reason to listen to me either. I can’t do this.”

Maxie paused. “I’m unsure how you came to feel this way,” he said carefully, “but you should be aware that you are again, objectively, incorrect.”

“I—”

“Stop,” he said. “Just listen. You’re an outstanding trainer, and your pokémon agree. Look at Comet—can you not tell how much he cares for you? To say nothing of Brutus. Do you truly believe he doesn’t love you, after pushing himself so hard to help you? What is it that matters more than that? If anyone can handle this, Ms Maple, it’s you.”

Comet nosed at her cheek gently, as if agreeing with him.

“What’s going on with you?” she asked. “Yesterday it seemed like you thought this was a bad idea.”

“I did. You convinced me otherwise. Consider something for me, if you don’t mind.”

“What?”

“What’s the worst thing that could happen?”

She pulled her eyes away from Comet to stare at Maxie instead. “I already told you.”

“And we established that you’re quite capable of handling her in a battle, and that primal reversion isn’t a concern. Try again.”

Stars above, it would be so easy to push him over into the sand. She was half tempted to do it. “We could die. That’s pretty bad, Maxie.”

“That’s fair, I suppose. Was Groudon aggressive towards you at all during your initial battle with her?”

May frowned. “Uh, no. They seemed not to notice me.”

“Then she hasn’t displayed behavior like that before,” he said curtly. “There’s no reason to think that will change. Groudon’s not a mindless monster; she’s a pokémon, and one that had a good reputation among humans in the past. You were right, yesterday—this could work, and it’s something worth doing. Your worst-case scenario may possibly happen if we do nothing, as well. It’s better to be sure.”

“I—” May grit her teeth. “You’re really frustrating sometimes.”

“So I’m told.” His voice softened. “Will you be alright?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m—I’m fine. I’m sorry.”

“You haven’t done anything wrong. If you weren’t… anxious about this at the least, I’d be concerned.”

She laughed shakily. “Not really how I wanted to be validated today.”

“Your worry can be valid,” he shot back. “But you were catastrophizing. That isn’t the same thing. Keep your worry within the realm of reason.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re never worried about anything.”

“I’m worried about you right now.”

She didn’t have anything to say to that. Her arms felt limp and her head pounded. Of course he was worried about her. This must seem out of character to him. For two years she managed to keep it together around him only to fumble at the last second, when it mattered most.

“I’m sorry,” May said. “That was disingenuous of me to say.”

“Apology accepted.” He paused. “On that note, I believe we may also need to have a conversation about your self-esteem, or apparent lack thereof. As I said before, I’m unsure why you feel this way, but it would be unconscionable for me to let this state of mind persist unaddressed. Now,” he said, standing and brushing the sand off his slacks, “shall we?”

He held out a hand to her.

May stared at it. Comet had ahold of her right hand, and she could barely lift her left due to her ribs, and she didn’t want to ignore him because he was being kind and they were doing so well…

What the hell, how bad could it be? She lifted her left hand, ignoring the twinge in her ribs, and—

“Are you trying to injure yourself further?” he asked archly. “Other hand, please.”

May cringed as she pulled her right hand away from Comet. “No, I just, um, didn’t think you’d know about that.”

He looked offended as she placed her hand in his. “You really thought I wouldn’t check in on you?”

“No, I—why would you?”

He pulled her to her feet, then dropped her hand and placed both of his on her shoulders.

May froze. He was looking at her intently, like a hawk might eye a rabbit. Her heart pounded in her chest.

“Ms Maple,” he said firmly, “I’m unsure what sort of company you’ve been keeping that has led you to believe the contrary, but you deserve people in your life who care about you.” His grip tightened incrementally. “Do I make myself clear?”

Her tongue felt glued to the roof of her mouth. She nodded.

“Good.” His hands fell away from her shoulders, and he folded them behind his back, standing up straight. “Now,” he said. “Let’s get to it.”

He turned and marched away for the second time, leaving May standing there feeling like she’d just run a marathon. Stars above, she’d forgotten how intense he could be.

She exhaled. Well—this was it, wasn’t it? She didn’t get to stall anymore, and if she wasn’t brave enough to do this now, she probably wouldn’t ever be. She just had to… leap in.

Comet shuffled up beside her and rested his head on her shoulder, chirruping softly. May reached over to run her hand down his face as she leaned in to press her cheek against his.

“I’ll be alright,” she said. “I think. Just hang out with Alluria for a few minutes, okay? I’ll shout if I need you.”

He made a sound halfway between a growl and a warble, but did as she asked, settling in the sand beside the milotic. He folded his wings, but stayed upright and alert.

Okay. May took a deep breath and started forward, heart still racing as she power walked to catch up with Maxie, who was standing several yards away, waiting for her. They could do this—she could do this. She stepped up beside Maxie and looked over at him.

“Do you suppose this is far enough inland?” he asked, arching an eyebrow at her.

“Uh, sure. It’s as good a spot as any,” she replied.

He nodded. “In that case,” he said, stepping backwards and making a sweeping gesture, “I believe the rest of this is up to you, Ms Maple. I’m right here if you require support.”

Dread settled like a weighted blanket around her shoulders. It would be easier, in some ways, to decide this wasn’t worth it, actually, and to turn tail and run back to Sootopolis, drop the ball in the PC, and never think about it again. But she couldn’t stomach that.

Okay. This was easy. She’d let pokémon out of balls before, obviously, and that’s all this was. Right? The first step was letting them out to see what they’d do. She could manage that.

She unclipped the ball from her belt. It felt strange in her hand—rough and malformed from the overwhelming heat of the Cave of Origin warping it. For some reason she expected it to feel heavy, too, but it didn’t—it was the same almost-nothing weight of any pokéball. She could’ve mistaken it for any of her other team members.  

Deep breath in. The gentle breeze tossed her hair around her ears, carrying the soft sound and salty smell of the water with it. Maxie was probably waiting on her again.

May exhaled. Just go through the motions.

She raised her arm slowly, as if she was moving through deep water. Her head swam. With her thumb, she pressed the release button, and the clasp disengaged with a soft click.

Immediately, white light poured from the ball to pool at her feet in a shape that grew larger at an alarming pace. It was close—far too close. May’s heart thudded against her aching ribs and she took a step backwards—directly into Maxie.

He caught her by the upper arms. “Steady,” he said. “You can do this.”

His hands fell away and her throat was tight as she rasped a breath. The light towered above her as it rapidly faded into red and black scales. Groudon was hunched over on all fours, heavy head nearly touching the ground—if May reached out, her fingertips would almost brush their nose. Far, far too close—

Their jaws parted, revealing long fangs and black gums, and they hissed like a fumarole as grey smoke spilled from the corners of their mouth. Their hot breath stank of sulfur. May’s eyes watered and her limbs trembled—she had to run, she had to run right now—

And then they stood, pushing off the ground with their forelimbs and stretching up to their full height. The ground quaked as they shifted their weight. Creatures that large shouldn’t move that fast—but that didn’t stop them. They swung their head back and forth as they looked around urgently, and hissed again.   

The sunlight flared, brighter and hotter in an instant, feeling like a weight on May’s bare skin. She squinted, holding a hand up to block the worst of it, palms tingling, but it was still so intense. Oh, hell—

“Get her attention,” Maxie said from right behind her. “I’d wager this is an instinctive response. Let her know she’s not in danger.”

Right—right. She could feel her hands shaking as she raised her voice:

“Groudon!”

Their head jerked at the sound, then deliberately tipped toward her. They fixed her with one bright yellow eye, and May sucked in a breath. Did they know their name, or were they just reacting to the noise?

She didn’t have time to think about it. The thought dissipated as fast as it had come under the overwhelming intensity of Groudon’s full attention. They were looking at her.

Oh, gods, this wasn’t going to work. They were a deity, and she was just—herself. Not that boy from New Bark, and not Maxie Asher. Just—

They growled, and the whole island quivered beneath May’s feet as the very earth responded to their call. You couldn’t tame a power like that—couldn’t bind it to your will. My incomparable partner, Maxie had said. But what had she done to earn their respect?

They snarled and May quailed, her tense muscles screaming at her to run, but she was pinned to the spot by Groudon’s white-hot gaze. And then—

Maxie put a bracing hand on her shoulder. “No rival of mine is going to be intimidated by an oversized reptile,” he said right beside her ear. “Talk to her.”

This time he left his hand where it was, and something about the connection was grounding. My incomparable partner…

May stood up straight and balled her fists at her sides. “I don’t want to fight you again,” she called up to them. “I’d rather be your friend!”

They opened their mouth again, showing teeth, but didn’t make a sound. If they were a lairon, she’d interpret that as a threat display—back off, or get bitten. But it could also be a challenge.  

“If it’s really a battle you want, you should know I won’t back down,” she said.

Groudon snapped their jaws, and their eye flicked briefly past her, but they didn’t otherwise move.  

“But if you’d rather not,” May continued, “will you please hear me out?”

A heartbeat passed, and then two, as Groudon blinked slowly. She was being judged, May realized. She swallowed thickly. She was a fraud. Everything about her—the bravado, the compassion, the competence—it was all a façade that dissolved under scrutiny and somehow, they’d know it.

And then Groudon snorted. Smoke roiled from their nostrils. They looked at her, and she at them.

They were listening.

“Incredible,” Maxie breathed.

May exhaled. That had worked? She fished around for her next words. She had a hard enough time talking to other humans; what was she supposed to say to a god?

“You must be so overwhelmed,” she said, realizing it even as it left her mouth. No wonder they hadn’t responded to Maxie. The Red Orb, the Cave of Origin, and being woken up suddenly after who knew how many years…

Groudon eyed her, expression inscrutable, the same way Brutus had done when she first met him. May shifted her weight, leaning back on her heel. She shouldn’t think of them like that—they weren’t her beloved aggron. But they were still a pokémon.

“I want to help you, if I can,” she continued. “My name’s May. I’m a pokémon trainer. I travel all over Hoenn with my partners. You met one of them before—do you remember?”

They hissed.

“I’m really sorry, but I was afraid you were going to hurt yourself or someone else. But I hope that we’re past that. I don’t want to fight you again.” She took a deep breath. “I’d—I’d like you to be my partner, too.”

They didn’t react.

“If not, that’s okay. I’ll take you wherever you want to go and release you. But if you want to see the land you created… then I want to help you do that. We humans aren’t perfect, but we’re trying to make things better—for everyone. There’s so much to see.” She hesitated. “You probably haven’t had a partner in a long time, huh?”

They tilted their head, and exhaled. Slowly, they lowered themself back down onto all fours, and this time May managed to clamp down on the thrumming energy in her legs that told her to run. Groudon kept their head cocked to one side to watch her with a single eye, and it occurred to her that they probably couldn’t see very well in front of their nose—like Brutus.

They were close enough to touch, now. May reached out a hand; watched as their vast yellow iris contracted as they inspected it. Then their gaze moved upwards, to her face.

The sunlight suddenly dimmed, easing the heat on her skin. They weren’t going to fight her.

“Is this a yes?” she whispered.

They closed their eyes and huffed, sounding almost exactly like Brutus. Maybe—maybe the two of them weren’t that different, after all. Carefully, amazed at her own bravery, May laid her hand against their snout.

Their bright scales felt like smooth, sun-warm stone against her skin. They leaned into the touch, and so May brought up her other hand to sweep under their jaw. They rumbled contentedly.

She’d—done it?

May laughed tremulously, and Groudon cracked an eyelid to look at her briefly before closing it again. She’d done it. They weren’t going to rampage, they weren’t going to hurt anyone, they weren’t going to plunge Hoenn into an endless drought.

She felt herself tear up. Was this how that boy from New Bark felt, when Lugia dipped their graceful neck to be touched like an equal? That flood of relief—that you weren’t being judged, that you weren’t found wanting, that you were worthy… Wasn’t that the whole point of partnership—to be loved?

May leaned forward and squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her forehead against Groudon’s snout. For a moment, she could hear nothing but the sound of her own breathing as the tension in her chest unspooled.

She took a deep breath and straightened. “Hey, do you—” she started, and then realized Maxie’s hand wasn’t on her shoulder anymore.

She turned. He was standing a few yards behind her—when had he moved? His hands were behind his back, his chin lifted slightly, and he looked unbearably smug: the perfect picture of himself. And then he smiled at her. Tight and quick, but still.

May smiled back. “Do you wanna come over here?” she asked.

His smile faded. “What?”

“I don’t think they’ll mind.”

He blinked at her. “I…” He suddenly looked lost. She’d never seen him speechless before—she hadn’t even been sure it was possible. But here they were.

She felt a sudden crash of empathy. Of course he probably thought that, after what he’d done, he didn’t deserve the opportunity—and maybe he didn’t. But she didn’t care about what he deserved. Whatever his plans had been, she believed his apology was sincere, and she had meant it when she said she forgave him. And he was still a trainer—a good one at that. He wasn’t the heartless monster running Team Rocket back in Johto, who treated pokémon like tools to be used and discarded. He would’ve treated Groudon well.

May moved to stand beside Maxie and looped her arm through his. He hesitated when she stepped toward Groudon, but followed when she tugged at his arm.

This was going to be another weird one. But—hell. The last two days had contained the strangest experiences of her life. This was easy.

“Go ahead,” she said.

“Hello,” Maxie said, sounding almost—sheepish? That couldn’t be right. “I believe I owe you an apology for disturbing you.”

With their head still low to the ground, Groudon snorted a gout of smoke and blinked slowly.

May reached out and patted them between the nostrils. “I think that means you’re all good.”

“Huh,” he said, uncharacteristically subdued. “I will defer to your judgement on that.”

May smiled again, letting go of his arm so she could pet Groudon with both hands. They closed their eyes fully and settled down into the sand, rumbling softly, just like a lairon would.

Maxie started to raise a hand, and then turned to look at her intently. “Do you think she would mind if I…?”

“Go ahead,” May said again.

He began to reach for them, hesitated, and then tried again, as if he had to convince himself of the action. But his fingertips brushed their nose, and then he was laying a hand fully against the ridge above Groudon’s eye.

“I was expecting…” He leaned to the side, leaving his hand where it was as he inspected the rest of them, all scales and spines. “Absolutely fascinating,” he murmured.

He turned back to her suddenly. “Ms Maple,” he said, and then paused, and she realized that whatever he was about to say next wasn’t rehearsed. “I want to thank you for… quite a lot, actually, but also for this specific moment.” He ducked his head. “I don’t believe I deserve it.”

“Well, to be honest, I think you do,” she replied. “I couldn’t have done this without you. You’re pretty great.”

He flinched like she’d struck him. “Hm,” he said, suddenly refusing once again to meet her eyes. “I will… bear that in mind.”

May smiled ruefully to herself. That would have to do for now.

Maxie cleared his throat. “I would also like to add,” he said, “that I cannot possibly overstate how proud of you I am.”

It was May’s turn to look away in embarrassment and squeak out a “Thanks.” Maxie didn’t say anything else; just nodded.

The waves crashed; the seabirds called. After a long moment, May asked, “Now what?”

“Hm. I suppose we return to Sootopolis,” Maxie said. “I’m sure there is still more to be done there.” He looked at her over Groudon’s snout. “Eventually, more people than the two of us will know about this.”

That would have to be alright. Whatever else was going to happen, May suddenly felt that things were going to be okay. This was an end, but it was a beginning, too—a new and surprising chapter she never could’ve anticipated. But it looked like she wouldn’t be alone for it. Not this time. Littleroot still loomed somewhere on the horizon, but for now, it was a distant shadow, and she was standing in the sunlight.

#trainer may #magma leader maxie #groudon #pokemon omega ruby #pokemon oras #pokemon #autumn.fic #fic: sunlight