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“Achoo!”
The pink-haired girl wiped her runny nose with a tissue as she shivered beneath a large tartan blanket. Teeth chattering, she pulled the thick fabric sheet around her tightly, tucking her bare feet in so that her toes didn’t freeze. A fire burned a few feet in front of her, bathing her face in a cozy golden light. Sadly, it wasn’t providing much in the way of warmth. And how could it have? Maylene was durable; she had trained her body vigorously for years to increase her resistance to extreme temperatures. But heat-resistance training in Stark Mountain was one thing. It didn't exactly compare to cold-resistance training in a refrigerated warehouse.
“I knew I should’ve taken that hiker up on his offer to visit Mount Coronet,” she mumbled regretfully. “Would’ve saved me a lot more money on dry cleaning. Stupid, stinking cold storage.”
It was supposed to have been a momentous occasion. A successful solo trek from Veilstone City all the way up to Snowpoint, on foot, was something worth celebrating. But it seemed as if Maylene’s body had other plans. In hindsight, it had been foolish of her to assume she could walk barefoot through snowdrifts as tall as an Abomasnow and not catch a cold. Hubris had gotten the better of her. Instead of spending her time in the city sightseeing, trying local dishes, or participating in red-hot Pokémon battles, Maylene was stuck inside. Sitting on her best friend’s couch. Feeling sorry for herself. Hooray.
Candice was in the kitchen, towards the back of the room. A rich, vegetal smell wafted out from beyond the doorway, and Maylene could hear the sound of a soup pot boiling over.
“Eek,” she heard her friend cry-out. Then the clattering of metal on the stovetop. “Hot hot hot hot hot!”
“She must’ve forgotten her oven mitts again,” the frozen fighter thought to herself. Classic Candice; she was completely focused when it came to running the Snowpoint Gym. Battling, training, teaching and socializing came naturally to her. But she could be a total klutz when it came to doing anything with her hands. Maylene heard more clanging noises, followed by a loud, exasperated sigh. Then, a smiling face peeked out from behind the door.
“How’re you holding-up, you lil’ ice-cube?”
Maylene allowed herself to lie down sideways on the couch, tucking her limbs in even closer so that she was completely enveloped by the blanket.
“I’m fine,” she croaked, before a mighty sneeze contorted her face. “Achoo!”
Her friend laughed her signature, hearty laugh. It was a nice sound. Always good-humoured, and never too self-satisfied. “Well, from what ol’ Candice can hear, you still sound preeeeeetty rough.” She grinned from ear to ear. “Good thing I whipped you up some of my special miso ramen! I promise it’ll warm you up so fast that you’ll forget all about how cold you are.”
“Thanks, but I’m not hungry,” grumbled the martial artist, between chattering teeth.
Candice disappeared into the kitchen doorway and walked back out carrying two bowls of piping-hot soup. She was dressed in her usual getup; a loose-fitting, long-sleeved white shirt, brown skirt and blue and white striped kneesocks. A light-blue sweater was tied around her waist.
“Scooch, you,” she said, playfully.
Maylene pulled herself up and cleared some sitting room as her friend forced the hot bowl into her icy hands. Instantly, she felt a rush of warm spread down her arms and across her body. Her stomach groaned. Suddenly, she was a lot hungrier. Bringing the spoon to her lips, she swallowed a mouthful of the flavourful broth before realizing how just hot it was.
“Pfffff…” she sputtered, as her tongue and cheeks burned. “Too hot.”
“Take it easy, silly” her friend giggled. “Not hungry, huh?”
The two girls sat comfily by the fire, enjoying the rich, salty soup. Maylene was still cold, but the deep chill she had felt in her bones had subsided, leaving behind only a frosty shiver.
“You know, you kiiiiiinda have to admit you brought this on yourself, Maylene,” Candice teased as she mixed-around the contents of her bowl, letting the miso, egg, bonito flakes and nori blend together. “Going out on route 217 wearing nothing but a sleeveless leotard and some karate pants? Preeeeetty stupid.”
“Come-on,” Maylene groaned. “You’re one to talk, Candice! You go out there in a skirt with your sleeves rolled-up every day!”
“Yeah, but I grew-up in Snowpoint. YOU grew up down south, where it’s always warm. Besides, I also have the decency to at least wear shoes when I’m trudging through snow.”
“I already told you, if going barefoot is good enough for my Pokémon- ”
“Then going barefoot is good enough for me. Yeah yeah, I get it.” Candice had heard that one dozens of times before. “In case you haven’t noticed, Maylene, your Lucario is covered in fur. Monferno is literally ALWAYS on fire. You, on the other hand, are virtually hairless and decidedly not… uhhh, flame-y.”
“Hrumph…” the pink-haired girl grumbled.
“You seriously need to take better care of yourself, May. I know you care a lot about your training and it’s really admirable that you stick to your ideals, but the cold is no joke. Trust me, I know. You’re lucky you didn’t get frostbite.”
“Yeeeeeeeeeeeeah,” Maylene sniffled. “Well now I have to lie around doing nothing, so I definitely won’t be hurting myself in the big scary outdoors.” Her frustration was audible once more.
“Okay, you. Why do you sound so down? AND don’t say it’s just because of the cold, I know you better than that…” Candice’s tone was firm.
“It’s just- ” Maylene began, pausing to wipe her nose “It’s just that I… I don’t like it when you dote on me so much. It makes me feel…”
Candice was surprised.
“Make you feel…?” she continued.
“It makes me feel weak, okay?” Maylene looked down at her soup. “It makes me feel like I’m some little kid who can’t take care of myself.”
“May…” Candice’s voice suddenly didn’t sound as chipper. “You know I… I was just teasing. I wasn’t trying to condescend you.”
“I know that, b-but it’s… I-I… I’m just so used to people expecting less of me, you know. I’m used to everybody treating me like a little kid. When I train, I train harder than any other fighter. When I battle, I battle harder. I come home every day completely spent, but my Pokémon respect me. They follow every command to the last breath. My grandpa always told me it was because I was fierce, intimidating even… but my opponents… they always underestimate me. Because I’m just some short girl.”
Candice turned to look at her friend. Maylene was wrapped tightly in her blanket. Her blushing, bandaged face was contorted into a frown, and her eyes were shut.
“When I planned my hike to Snowpoint, there was a part of me that did it just because I wanted to show that I could. That I’m not just some kid that lucked-out and inherited a Pokémon Gym from her grandfather.”
Candice could understand how Maylene felt. After all, even she had faced that kind of self-doubt before. When she had taken-over Snowpoint’s Gym, she had a hard time adjusting to the responsibility of running it. Drilling Gym trainers, maintaining the facilities, ALL on top of teaching at the Trainer’s School. It was a lot. Although she never found it difficult to focus in battle, the rest was draining. Still, she tried not to let it get her down. Candice could always find her way back to her happiness at the end of the day. But not Maylene; it wasn’t easy for a girl like her, so proud of her abilities, and yet so unsure of herself at the same time.
“Look, May. I promise you; I don’t think you’re weak. Everybody gets sick, especially up here in Snowpoint. It happens, but it doesn’t mean that you’re weak. I mean, you went out in a snowstorm, dressed the way you do, and only came-out with so much as a cold? That’s pretty incredible.”
Maylene turned her head to look Candice in the eye. The firelight washed over her friend’s smiling face.
“Then why do you always baby me, Candice?” The childish incredulity in her tone was kind of funny, but Candice stifled a laugh.
“Taking care of you, looking-out for you… that’s not babying you, silly. I just… I care about you. I fuss over you because… you know, I- ”
She suddenly felt her face get very warm. Closing her eyes, she tried to nonchalantly slurp-up a spoonful of ramen.
“Hey, what were you gonna say?”
“Uhhh… nothing. Just that you’re… ummm… that you’re my best friend.” Candice allowed her eyes to wander towards the fireplace, pretending her mind had suddenly gone blank. She looked back down at Maylene’s face. The girl was staring-up at her, also blushing, but not out of embarrassment or shame this time.
“C’mon… I know that isn’t all you wanted to say.”
“Nope that’s it.” Candice squeaked. Now it was she who could barely hide her embarrassment.
“Candice… d’you want to know something?” Maylene inched a little closer to her friend. Pulling herself out from under the blanket, she leaned forward and rested the side of her head on the back of the couch. “If you were about to say what I think you were about to say, well… it’s okay. Because I… feel that way too. About y- ACHOO!” She wiped her nose again with a tissue.
“Huh?!”
“S-sorry. Yeah. If that’s what you were going to say, I mean… I feel the same.”
The two girls sat in the glow of the fire, looking at each other for what seemed like forever. Maylene sniffed loudly. Candice absentmindedly stirred her half-empty soup bowl. They almost wanted to leave what had to be said unspoken.
“May…” Candice’s voice sounded shaky. “I know I was teasing you before but… please. Don’t joke around about that.” Maylene could hear the anxiety welling-up in her friend.
“I’m not joking!” Her tone was, again, almost childishly incredulous. “I mean it, Candice!” She stared directly into her caregiver’s face. “I love you! How could I not love you? You’re the most respectable Gym Leader I know. You’re an incredible talent and an even better friend! You made me ramen for Arceus’ sake! The entire reason I’ve been so hung-up over being sick isn’t just because I hate being weak. It’s because I hate not being my best self while I’m with YOU. Because I love you. I wanted us to able to see the city together and hang out because I. Love. YOU.”
For the first time in too-long, chatty, bubbly Candice was at a loss for words.
“So, what I mean to say is… if the reason you like to dote on me is because you love me… well, I love you too. A lot. And I’m kind of relieved, because I really don’t like being condescended.”
Candice’s face changed from nervous, to ponderous, to overjoyed in a matter of seconds. Remarkably, she didn’t drop her soup.
“Well, if you feel that way, I hope you don’t mind of I do this.”
Leaning over the pink-haired fighter girl, being extra careful not to spill the contents of her bowl, Candice planted a kiss on her companion’s lips. It wasn’t a long one, but it was warm, and Maylene knew that every ounce of affection her friend had ever felt for her was present in that kiss. Slowly, the two girls opened their eyes and pulled away from one another, admiring each other through hazy vision.
“Boop!” Candice gently tapped the tip of her friend’s bandaged nose.
“Dummy,” said Maylene. “If you kiss me, you’ll get sick too.”
“Naaaaah, I’m practically immune to colds. And besides, even if I did catch your cold, there’d be plenty of soup left to get me through it. And, of course, plenty of you to snuggle-up with.” That last part made Maylene blush.
“Speaking of cold…” she said, in a small voice. “Could you reheat my soup for me?"
Candice smiled that warm, chipper smile of hers. She leaned-in again and grabbed the girl’s bowl while planting another kiss on her lips.
“No problem, May. Candice has got you covered.”