An old man sits in his rocking chair, his face stuck in an uncomfortable looking frown. He pushes his slipper-covered feet against the hardwood floor, occasionally slipping, but paying no attention to it as the crick and creek of the chair swayed his body back and forth. Eyes fixated on the window in front of him, he watches as the bright leaves danced through the bleak a grey atmosphere and land in their respective place on the ground. It was autumn—or fall as some liked to call it—and the old man had little else to do but fall asleep in his spot on the rocking chair. In his younger days, he might have gone for a walk around the block with his wife, but things such as that had became difficult.
Carefully pushing himself up from the rocking chair, he struggled gaining his balance. He teetered slightly, his leg going wild with shaking until a few moments passed and he was steadied. With a grumble, he rubbed his leg before shuffling and sliding his feet across the slick wooden floor. The old man’s pace was slow, as it would be with his bad leg and joints, but though he was used to it by now, it grew frustrating and tiresome. Having your own body give out on you was certainly not something you looked forward to the older you got, but it was inevitable.
Fingertips gliding across the back of the sofa, his fingers brushed the hand-knitted blanket his wife had made all those years ago. He always hated the colors of it, but even he couldn’t deny that it was a wonderfully warm blanket. He suddenly leaned his palm against the fabric to give himself some support on the way to the kitchen, a puff of dust coming off the blanket. With a grunt, he looked down at his hand on the sofa, and back to the kitchen doorframe. He was nearly there.
Taking a hand off the sofa, he sniffled, the dry scent of dust and old fabric filling his senses. Almost there. He tried hobbling faster, getting frustrated and tired of his own body. He detested how difficult it had become for him to simply get some egg salad. Almost there. Suddenly, with another sniffle and a few hitched breaths, his body welled up with the uncontrollable urge to expel the dust inside his lungs. His nose flared and his face scrunched.
AAAAAACHOOO!
With a flash of gold before his eyes, the old man let out a bellowing sneeze. His slippers slipped on the hardwood floor, and he only barely caught himself from falling on the doorframe to the kitchen.
Leaning more of his weight on the doorframe to recover, he wiped the dust from his eyes, water welling up in them after the large sneeze. But it was odd. Rather than the scent of dust continuing to fill the air, the warm sweet smell of apple pie replaced it.
“Harvey? Is that you? Harvey, the pie is done. Could you get it out of the oven for me? My hands are full.” The sound of clanking dishes and running water came from her.
The old man’s eyes darted upward instantly, his expression turning to that of shock. Staring at the woman at the sink, his lower lip quivered. Glennys glanced around to check on him. God, it was truly her standing there.
“Are you all right?” she paused briefly before her eyebrows furrowed, and went back to her business washing dishes at the sink. Glennys replied back with an irritable tone, “Go on now, and fetch the pie! We wouldn’t want it burning!”
The old man sniffled a few times more and wiped the wetness from his face. The shock of seeing Glennys, at first, was enough to give him a heart attack, but in a few moments, he felt old habits begin to sink in as they had when she used to be around. Straightening his posture, he walked with a normal gait over to the oven. “Will you stop nagging me? I’ve got it.” One last large sniff, he slipped on an oven mitt and briskly took the pie out of the oven.
“Now put it on the window sill, dear.”
“I’ve got it! Yeesh…”
Bringing the hot apple pie over to the window, he set it on the sill and opened up the window to let in the autumn air. He stopped briefly, watching the bright leaves float to the ground and smiled. Though the sky was dim and bleak, the autumn air was crisp in comparison to the warm kitchen, and felt good against his skin. Checking his wristwatch for the time, the gold of the watch shimmered with an odd brightness in the dimmed sunlight; the little hand was still on the 5, and the big hand only just passed the 6.
Do That Titanic Thing (but not the dying part yea)
May wasn't sure why she hadn't been on a boat in so long. It seemed like when she was younger, she spent most of her time on a boat, traveling across regions with her family until they found that stable place to live. It was only fitting that Brendan would be the one on the boat with her now, considering he was there when she first began her journey in Hoenn, the first steady place her family had lived.
The boat wasn't a large one, but it was enough to hold a load of passengers to get to Slateport City where Brendan and May were to meet up with some other friends of theirs. The front deck was relatively spacious with a few chairs to lounge out on. The weather was crisp fall weather with a clear blue sky, the cool air from the moving boat chilling her sun-kissed skin. It was uncommonly cool for the mid-fall season in Hoenn, but that honestly just made it an even more beautiful day.
Turning to her friend, the brunette let out a breath and smiled, pushing some of the hair behind her ear to keep the wind from blowing it in her eyes. "So, are you excited?"
"It really has, hasn't it? I can't believe we all managed to pull together a beach house for the week! It's going to be so much fun! ...Hopefully Wally doesn't mind that it's sort of close to the beach though," rubbing the back her neck at the thought, May let out a nervous chuckle. Although Wally seemed to have been growing into health, she couldn't help but to be concerned.
Simply shrugging his shoulders, Brendan turned his head back to the ocean, "Aah, he'll be fine."
The blue-eyed brunette stared at her friend for a moment. His mind seemed to be occupied with something else. Resting her arms on the edge next to him, May nudged his arm, which felt notably warmer than her own. She wondered how he stayed so warm in the cool breeze. "What'sup, Bren? 'Something on your mind?"
Lips forming into a subtle purse, Brendan rolled his eyes to look at her, and his lips grew into a smile. What started with the brief silence of him looking at her, eventually turned into a reply, "It's nothing--HEY, but doesn't the bow look pretty neat?" He seemed to change the subject fast for whatever reason, pointing to the bow of the boat. Unsure why he did this, she kept listening, simply giving him a nod for a response, unsure if she was really impressed with it at all. "Aww, come on, with a bow like that, someone could totally do that Titanic scene!"
Arching her neck back a bit, she checked what it looked like before bringing her attention back to her friend. "You wanna do it?" May said with a grin, shaking his shoulder a bit with her hand. "Come on!"
She pushed off the bar, and skipped over to the front of the boat, Brendan soon following. Letting out a whistle, Bren shrugged, still seeming pretty happy with how she reacted, "Okay, but I don't know if I trust you to hold me up on there like Leo!"
"Oh, you're funny," she winked, propping a foot up on one of the bars to prepare herself. She obviously knew she would drop him if she tried that.
"What, I thought that's what you were suggesting!" With a chuckle, Brendan grinned. As he approached her, he seemed to hesitate, his grin fading slightly as a thought seemed to strike him. What was wrong with him today? Taking in a breath, he close his eyes and wrapped his arms around May. The sensation was not something she entirely expected, as his fingers slide along her arms before grasping them. He laid his head on the bend of her neck and shoulder, and said in an uncharacteristically gentle whisper, "Are you ready?"
May inhaled, feeling her face heat up a bit, the heat of his body pressing against the back of her. With a clear of her throat, she nodded confidently, "Go for it."
In a few swift movements, Brendan had brought them up and May found herself being held at the very tip of the ship. At first, it was a little frightening, but after a moment, the brunette was surely enjoying herself. Between the feeling of being so far above the ocean and Brendan's touch, it was an amazing experience. She found herself sinking into his body slightly as she let out a laugh, turning her head only slightly to at least attempt to look at Brendan. "Wow, this is really cool!!"
"Yeah, isn't it?" he nustled his chin on the crook of her neck, which tickled a bit for her, "I knew this was a good idea when it came to mind. WAIT, we should sing the song too, right? It's only fitting."
Feeling Brendan's chest inflate with hair behind her, she knew he was about to burst out in song at the top of his lungs. Oh boy, here we go. With a goofy grin, she decided to join him. "NEEEEAAARR, FAAAR, WHERE EEEEVEERRR YOU AAAaaAAaARE--" Both with an attempted riff, they quickly managed to get themselves out of sync, which eventually turned into a laugh. Wow, this whole thing was hilariously generic and wonderful. It almost felt as if she was in some sort of movie or story herself.
After a little longer of the wind blowing through their hair, they decided to get down. Brendan carefully helped her hop of, guiding her with one of his hands. However, this being May, she managed to catch her foot on the bar, causing her to stumble a bit. Leaning her hand on his forearm to catch herself, she gives him her typical nervous laugh and looks up. "Oopsie, heheh.."
As she steadied, Brendan held his arm tense so she could lean her weight on it. His eyes seemed busy with a thought. It was unusual to stay this silent, May expecting a taunt of sorts for her being clumsy per usual. Instead, Brendan tugged his arm to himself and leaned down, skillfully brushing his lips against hers.
Eyes widening and taken off guard, May stood stiffly as her face turned as red as a beet. Slowly backing off, Brendan seemed fairly flustered himself, probably not knowing he had it in him to make that sort of move on his long-time friend. "I'm..." he started, folding his lips inward momentarily and averting his gaze off of May. Words seemed to be hanging on the tip on his tongue, but without saying a single one of them, he groaned and beginning to walk off red-faced.
May caught his wrist to hold him back from walking any further. His gait slowing, he shifted his eyes back to her, and saw that with a tilted head to look at him, there was a smile perched on those lips he had just left. Brendan's face brightening up in return, he pulled her into a hug.
"I didn't want to leave this boat without you...--Well, not in a morbid way in like a--"
May took a whack at his chest and he let out a oof! and a chuckle. Leaning her head against him afterward, she held his torso close to hers, "Hah, you're such a goofball." Looking back up to him, she furrowed her brows slightly, "How much longer until the boat docks in Slateport?"
He paused, "A couple'of hours...... I really wanted to do the Titanic thing."
There he was, sitting on the couch all by his lonesome. As May entered the common room, he was the first thing she noticed. Briskly walking over she leaned over the back of the couch, the bottom edge of her shirt scrunching up a bit as she did so, her tummy all the while resting against the cheap fabric of the couch. Arching forward, May slide her arms around him. Her head nuzzled by the crook of his neck for a moment, feeling a smile tug at the edge of her lips in the process.
"Heyyy," she said to him in a breathy whisper, drawing on the end of the word. It was nice to see him again. Having to wait to see him after a whole week of grueling finals was pretty difficult for her.
A stare, a few twitches of a smile, and before she knew it, their lips were brought together by what seemed like some strange magnetic force. It started gentle, lips merely mingling before deciding to burst into the full conversation of a kiss. His hand grazed her hips, fingers tugging at the fabric of her shirt similarly to how the fabric of the couch did before she tumbled over.
May smiled on his lips, bringing her hands to the side of his face to give him a decisive smooch before crawling herself over to his lap. She forgot where she was, what time it was, and everything else that mattered beyond this moment it seemed. Her thumbs drew along his subtly masculine jawline, and she tilted her head. She was so lucky to have him. Shifting her body slightly, the brunette girl planted her lips against his again and--
May's eyes fluttered awake. Wincing at the morning light, she brought her hands to her eyes to wipe the sleep from them. It was a dream... It was just a dream with a place-holder boyfriend. Closing her eyes for a moment, she propped herself up, and decided that this was a dream that could be forgotten.
However, despite not knowing why hat May did know was that she certainly didn't want to go to bed yet. Too many thoughts...
With a grunt, the antsy brunette rolled her body down and sprawled her limbs back across onto the mattress with a flop. The once stretched muscles loosened in her body and a feeling of slight relief came over her. It was an odd position after all. Breathing in a couple of heavy breaths to make up for when her lungs her scrunched, she lets out one puff of air before speaking up.
"Hey, Yellow?" she called to her roommate, eyes glancing over to the right where the blond was hopping herself into bed. The girl only let out a soft hum in response to show she was listening. "Why do you think I don't have a boyfriend yet?"
"I... don't know. Um," Yellow sat herself down on the bed and looked around at nothing in particular before bringing her eyes back to May. Perhaps she just wanted to word it carefully. "maybe you just haven't found the right person yet... Don't worry, I'm sure you'll meet someone."
May's eyebrows furrowed a bit, the skin pinching at her brow and looking a little less cheerful than her usual self. The reply didn't impress her... It was something she's heard before, after all. However, she did feel a little bad for asking Yellow this sort of loaded question in the first place. May just wanted to get a couple of her thoughts off her chest before bed... Maybe she'd sleep better that way. Sweeping her gaze back up to the ceiling with another sigh, May looked pensive. "Yeah? I feel like everyone I click with... I feel like it never works out..." she said with her voice almost sounding as if it were aching.
And then there's you and Red, who just happened to be perfect for each other, she wanted to say. Red and Yellow were so cute together... But seeing them all lovey together really began to wear on May, now that she thought about it. She was a little jealous. In realizing this, May puffed up her cheeks a bit, and turned over in her bed.
She let out a nervous laugh and waed her hand flippantly, "You know what? Don't worry about it... Hah, you're right I'll find someone one day! Nothing to worry about! I am only 16 after all..."
"Yeah! See?.." Yellow replied breathily with a smile. May couldn't tell if she bought that response or not, but nonetheless she tried to smile about it. Yellow was a good roommate and a good friend either way.
"Goodnight then!"
"Mhm! Goodnight, May."
While the cute blond tucked herself into her white floral bedsheets, May fiddled at the covers under her fingertips. Sleeping... School... Neither of these May was any good at and she certainly didn't want to do either at the moment. Her covers scrunched under her as she flipped on her bed, restless and anxious with her current thoughts. Curling her lips inward, she wetted them with the tip of her tongue. Without much further hesitation, May reached far off her bed and onto her desk, back arching and torso having a hard time staying on the mattress. Her fingers brushed her torchic charm and quickly nabbed it, yanking it back at her person and typing up a message onto her mobile phone.
heyyy r u sleepy?? im not :(
"Aaand send.." she whispered, not giving Yellow a second thought at the moment.
"You really want it, don't you?" Gold said with a smarmy smirk perched on his lips. He tongued the front of his teeth as he eyed May, letting out a smack as the skin of his tongue escaped the smooth surface of his pearly whites. He was in his teasing mood tonight. If you looked into his golden eyes long enough, you'd most likely find a plan brewing behind them, trying to figure out the best plan of action to mess with tonight's companion. "You can be honest with me."
In response, he only let out a huff of satisfaction, sinking into his chair and crossing his arms against his chest. He nodded back with his trademark smile and half-lidded eyes, "Alright then."
That was the only response she got!? May tore her hands down from her face, a pout replacing her previous embarrassed visage. Cheeks puffed with a tinge of red to them, she leaned forward, "And what's that supposed to mean!?"
"Hey, I just said 'alright then.' Don't get your panties in a knot," the dark-haired boy leaned over, getting in her face a bit. An eyebrow quirked curiously.
His smug demeanor on this particular subject seemed to be getting to May. Her shouldered tensed, and her face turned redder as the dragging conversation went on. Boy, this was frustrating. She didn't want to admit it, especially to Gold of all people. Maybe she was being a little stubborn, but simply put, the subject was a little embarrassing for her! It may not have seemed like a big deal to Gold, but it was to May. Averting her eyes to the side to avoid his close gaze, she had made a decision. "Fine, just.. do it" she managed to puff out with a half-assed confirmation from her lips.
DING DING!-The bells went off, and Gold had won this round. He patted her shoulder with a cheeky grin, and her face seemed to soften ever so slightly. "Don't worry, you won't gain much more weight with ONE more sundae. Besides," he winked and picked up the menu from their table, leaning back into his seat once more, "I knew you'd cave, so the bill's on me."
May grumbled, flopping back in the booth of her chair herself with a defeated groan, "The bill's on you anyway!" With a brief pause, she glanced to him out of the side of her eyes before letting a goofy grin slip onto her face, reaching over to shove his shoulders a bit. "You really suck! If I gain any more weight because of you, I'm gonna-!"
Gold laughed, and quickly turned her attention to choosing a sundae off the menu.
How did it end up like this? Dating him for merely a few weeks, May found herself breathlessly sitting on a couch beside her boyfriend. It was nothing more than a make-out, but it was something she didn't expect to share with him so soon. Especially with him. Her lips felt damp, cool air hitting them along with his warm breath still teasing her lips for more.. whether he intended it to do so or not. Honestly, she was hoping he was. May's eyes fluttered downward for a moment before coming back up to meet his. He was still so close.
Noticing his reddened face, the brunette couldn't help but to give him a cheeky smile. May brought her hand to his cheek, the tips of her fingers fiddling with the ends of his green locks, and she rested her forehead against his.
He nodded and swallowed, "I-I've... wow." He seemed to be at a loss of words.
Bringing her other hand to his face, the girl pecked his lips. "Sorry, uh," with a light laugh, the May continued, "I dunno what came over me."
"No! It.." The green-haired boy's eyes widened a bit before letting out a breath. "It's fine! I... I lik... liked it." Wally took in another breath and let it out, his face cherry red. May was betting he was up to his ears in embarrassment at the moment. Her stifled laugh turned into a huff of air. Boy, he was so cute. The brunette wiggled her way in between the area between his arm and chest to lean against him, snuggling against him on the couch. Though a little startled at first, Wally relaxed, letting his arm wrap around her.
Feeling his long boney fingers comb through her hair was soothing as she lay there, looking at nothing in particular. It was nice being with him and feeling his touch. His heart knocked against his chest, picking up the pace slightly if she fidgeted, and even more so if she looked at him. May supposed that Wally wasn't that used to this kind of physical contact, let alone much at all-not to mention the fact that she had really sprung that on him earlier-and still wondered what he thought.
Closing her eyes, she thought over how it happened again in her mind. The movie they were watching had ended and the TV commercials were rolling. It was boring. Without much thought, she ended up giving him a peck on the cheek.. then the lips.. and then you could say she escalated it a bit. She just couldn't help herself. IN thinking it over, May began to worry slightly. Should she have waited? They've pecked before, but nothing quite this passionate. Was she even a good kisser? Did he like it? On his part, yeah, he was a little sloppy, but he got better fast. With a sigh, the girl crumpled into his arms more, wrapping her arms around him. She listened to his heart beat rather than her thoughts, enjoying this moment with him thoroughly.
Then he spoke.
"Hey, uh... May?" Wally moved slightly as May's eyes blinked open and perked up to look at him. A questioning hum escaped her lips as she slipped her lower lip under her teeth in a cute and questioning bite. "Could we, uh..." he withdrew his arm from around her and glanced to the side as she sat up. Another glance, and a smile at May, Wally hesitantly moved toward her. He slide his hands over to hers, lacing their fingers together. His hands were a bit cooler than hers. He gave them a slight squeeze before planting a soft kiss on her lips. Backing from her lips ever so slightly, he let a breath dance against her skin yet again, this time a grin coming onto his face. This time May could tell it was intentional.
" I.. liked that a lot."
Giving her hands another squeeze, Wally leaned into another kiss, and May smiled against them, leaning in herself.
