Platonic

Chapter 40: The Rumor

Previously...

"I don't want you to leave," she said as she searched for his hand. When she found it, she laced their fingers together.

"I don't want to leave either," he said as his grip tightened in hers. It was quiet after that, and May started to feel herself drift off.

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He had never even realized he had fallen asleep until his eyes began to flutter open. He must have been more tired than he thought from the stress and anxiety bubbling up. Immediately he noticed the warmth on his side. He felt the heat rush to his face as he realized that May had accidentally fallen asleep next to him.

She was pressed up against him, her face snuggled into his shoulder. One of her arms was thrown over his chest and a leg was in between his. The other one was still interlocking with his. Clearly the right and proper thing to do was pry her off of him and get up, but he just couldn't bring himself to care enough to do so. No matter how embarrassing and inappropriate it was, all he wanted was to stay next to her.

It was completely selfish. However, he also had the gall to be greedy. He could indulge himself just once and suffer the consequences. After all, he had already been good when this had happened before he would take his chances just this once. Making up his mind, rolled onto his side facing her as he slipped an arm around her, pulling her closer as he tangled his legs in hers.

Her head automatically pressed into his chest and she subconsciously readjusted her arm to wrap around him. She nuzzled into him as he tilted his head down to tuck hers under his chin. She sighed comfortably. He was a horrible person. He had completely taken advantage of her without her knowing. But even though he felt guilty, he couldn't bring himself to let her go.

He drifted off until May woke up about thirty minutes to an hour later. When she came to, she woke him with a squeak. Her face was red as she pried herself away from him and let go of his hand.. He feigned innocence but the blush he wore was real as he scrambled away from her.

"Sorry!" They both said at the same time. They both looked away awkwardly.

"It's probably my fault. I'm a sleep cuddler," May explained sheepishly.

"Well I was holding you back so..." he said quietly. A heavy silence hung over them.

"We should, uh, get going," Drew said.

"Yeah, um, right," May said quickly. "I'm gonna go take down my tent," she said, and hastily exited. It was irresponsible of him, but he just couldn't bring himself to regret it, even though it was a bit awkward between them now.

When they finally arrived in Goldenrod City the first thing they did was meet up with Solidad and Harley. A few days before, they had made arrangements to meet each other for dinner at one of the local restaurants. That's how they found themselves sitting across the table from the two coordinators.

"Well, it's so good to see you two again!"Solidad smiled widely.

"Yeah, you too," Drew said.

"How many ribbons do you darlings have?" Harley asked, his competitive side showing.

"We've won 2," May said. Harley smirked.

"So we're even!" He said triumphantly.

"Now, now Harley, let's put a pause on that talk for now! I was waiting to tell you in person! I'm a bit upset you didn't tell me yourselves, but congratulations! How did it happen?" Solidad asked excitedly. He looked to May to see if she had any idea what Solidad was talking about but she looked just as confused as he was.