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Back when May travelled to the Icy Rock to evolve her Glaceon, she spent the night at the Snowbound Lodge. It was a bed and breakfast located along Route 216 run by a sweet elderly couple. They charged a nominal fee, just enough to cover the cost of ingredients for meals – they told her that helping out travellers and hearing stories of their adventures was the real reason they kept the place open, anyway.
So when Drew said he wanted to visit Snowpoint City, May gave the lodge her full endorsement. The accommodations were cozy, the food was hearty, and the hosts were delightful. So the two of them made their trek up north with the destination in mind.
May would never travel with Drew while she was competing – no matter how she felt about him, it just didn’t make sense to guarantee that her toughest rival would be at every contest she entered. But she and Drew had already secured their 5 ribbons for the season, with the Grand Festival over 2 months away, so they had decided to journey and train together for a couple of weeks.
She wondered what her younger self, the rookie coordinator who always won her final ribbon at the last possible chance, would think of her now. She hoped she would be proud of herself. If she knew about present-May’s crush on Drew, she’d probably judge her older self – but May wouldn’t blame her. The Drew she knew back then was a jerk.
Drew was still a bit of a jerk sometimes, but he had considerably softened over the years. What had once been an obnoxious arrogance matured into a self-assured confidence. It was a good look on him.
May was elated when she saw the Snowbound Lodge in the distance. They had spent an exhausting day hiking through the snowy mountains, and she was glad their trek was finally over.
She was so happy, in fact, that she didn’t think twice about the odd new sign out front. The last time she stayed here, the lodge had a hand-crafted wooden sign at the entrance. It was now gone, replaced by a cheap looking vinyl sign that had mismatched clipart of skiers on it. But poor graphic design choices were the last thing on her mind at that moment.
She did notice the redecorated lobby once they entered the lodge. That change was harder to ignore. Where they had once been cozy loveseats and fluffy rugs, there were now bare white sectionals. The handcarved wooden dining set in the attached dining room was now a sleek metal table with gray chairs. The aesthetic seemed very minimalist. Not to her taste, but she knew some people liked that sort of thing.
At the very least, her favorite feature had remained: the cast-iron fireplace, which was surrounded by seating. She had spent hours chatting with the owners and other guests around that very same fireplace on her last visit. She couldn’t wait to do it again this time, with Drew by her side. He wasn’t much for sharing stories, but she knew he’d be willing to listen.
A blond man came out from the hallway, and began to walk towards them. “Welcome to the Snowbound Lodge. Do you have a reservation?”
As he got closer, she was able to read his nametag: Francis Locke, owner.
May was glad that Drew was the one who handled the logistics of their trip. Not only because she found that stuff boring (although she did), but because she wasn’t sure she’d be able to calmly rattle off her trainer ID and credit card number at a time like this. Not when she was faced with such a shocking revelation. The old couple weren’t the owners anymore.
They had been on the older side. She knew, rationally, that it made perfect sense for them to retire. But that did nothing to soften the emotional blow. She had been so excited to see them again, to tell them all about her adventures and to introduce them to Drew. She had been building up this reunion in her mind, and now it would never happen.
Thankfully, Drew was able to get them checked in. They’d be in room 4, down the hall on the left.
“Please enjoy your stay,” Francis told them, handing a key to Drew. “There will be a sit down dinner at 6:30 PM, and a come-and-go breakfast buffet from 5 AM to 8 AM.”
“We’ll be there!” May replied. And now that they were all settled in she could finally ask the burning question. “Oh, also - what happened to the previous owners of this place?”
“Mr. and Mrs. Sleet?” So that was their name! She felt awfully bad that she had forgotten them. May nodded as confirmation. “There was some sort of health issue in their family. They had to move back to Unova. The whole thing was very sudden, so I got quite the deal on this place.”
May thought it was tacky of him to mention finances, but decided not to press the issue. “Well, please pass along my best wishes for their family’s health!”
“Same here,” Drew said.
Francis looked at them strangely, as if it was an odd sentiment. “Uh, sure. Will do. Please excuse me, I need to go start on dinner.”
The two of them made the short walk down the hallway to their room. Like the rest of the lodge, the guest rooms had been renovated since her last stay. Back then, knicknacks and nature photographs decorated the walls. The bed had a wooden frame and had been stacked with a mountain of quilts. The room was now sparse and utilitarian – a king bed with a plain white comforter and a beige couch were the only items it contained.
May set down her backpack and took off her thick winter jacket, since it was too bulky to comfortably wear indoors. Drew did the same, before moving over to the couch to inspect it. He briefly removed one of the cushions, and then placed it back. “That’s what I thought. The couch has a pull-out mattress.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” May said. Her time on the road meant she was no stranger to sleeping on a couch, but she far preferred a mattress.
“Well, it wasn’t what I had in mind when the listing said the room had 2 beds,” he muttered. “But it is what it is.”
The two of them relaxed in the room for a short while. They fed all their Pokémon before heading out to the dining room for their own dinner.
There were two other guests there when they arrived – a Trainer and a Breeder, both of which were delightful conversationalists. Drew made an admirable effort to contribute to the small talk.
May had so much fun talking with them that she almost didn’t notice that their dinner was late. Almost..
Finally, at 6:43 PM (13 minutes after they were supposed to be served, but whose counting?) Francis arrived in the dining room carrying a tray with 5 bowls of mac and cheese. May thanked him for the food and began to eat.
Right away, she could tell that this was the kind of mac and cheese which came in a box. She didn't dislike it – she happily ate her entire bowl, plus a generous second serving courtesy of Drew’s leftovers. The poor guy had barely touched his meal. May wasn’t surprised, since she knew he was sensitive to artificial flavors.
May felt like a broken record, but she couldn’t help but compare tonight’s dinner to the last meal she had at the Snowbound Lodge. The owners ate with the guests that night, and they dined on grilled cheese with a homemade tomato basil soup. After the meal, the group went to the fireplace in the lobby to talk and drink hot cocoa.
Francis Locke offered no such post-dinner chat for his guests, although May was actually grateful in this case. She was so upset at the man that she truly couldn’t imagine wanting to spend more time in his company, and the offer of hot cocoa might have clouded her judgement and caused her to make a rash decision.
She knew it was silly, being so mad over all this. She knew that she should just leave a 1 star review on Skrelp and forget they ever visited the Snowbound Lodge. She knew that it wasn’t the end of the world.
But she had really wanted this to be special. This was the first time she and Drew… well, she wasn’t sure how to put it. She and Drew had spent the night together plenty of times, but those had always been while camping or at a Pokemon Center. Going to a bed and breakfast together felt like it was different, somehow. A milestone of sorts. She thought she could guarantee a perfect night by staying here, only for the complete opposite to occur.
Once they got back to their room, May offered Drew her reserve stash of protein bars and potato chips. Since he hadn’t gotten a proper dinner, it only seemed right that he got something to eat. He accepted and began to eat.
“This lodge is the worst! I swear, it was wonderful back when the Sleets operated it, but that good for nothing Francis has just run the place into the ground!” She told him. “I’m so sorry I made us come here, Drew.”
Drew held up a hand and then pointed to his mouth – he had something he wanted to say, but he needed to finish chewing first. She paused.
“It’s okay. Not like you knew the ownership changed,” he said. “And it’s not like we’re making a return trip. It’s just for one night, then we’re out of here.”
That was a silver lining, at least – once they made it to Snowpoint City, they’d be staying with Zoey for a couple of days, and then departing on the S.S. Sinnoh to the Resort Area.
She browsed social media for a little while, before deciding that she’d go to sleep early tonight. The sooner she went to bed, the sooner this fiasco would be over with. She quickly changed into her flannel pajamas.
May opened the closet, and was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a bedding set inside. After everything else that had happened today, she half expected that they wouldn’t even provide one. This joy was short-lived, as she soon realized there was no comforter or substantial blankets provided – just a fitted sheet and a flat sheet. The kind you’d want for a hot summer night, not a frosty winter evening.
She removed the cushions from the sofa. Drew interrupted her before she could start to pull out the mattress. “Surely you don’t plan to sleep on that.”
“Of course I am! I’m the one who got us into this mess. It’s only fair that I have to sleep on the cruddy pull-out.”
“That’s ridiculous,” he said. “Look, the bed is big enough for both of us. We can share it.”
Sharing a bed with Drew? It was at once an irresistibly tempting and impossibly mortifying offer. Just the thought of it made her feel flushed.
She considered the cold night ahead of her and the threadbare bedding set. She considered the warmth of Drew’s body heat and the coziness of a proper comforter.
Better to be flushed than freezing, she decided.
“That sounds like a plan to me,” she told him, attempting to seem nonchalant. She was unsure if she succeeded.
With that settled, she crawled into the bed, bringing the flat sheet and fitted sheet with her. She doubted they would do much, but there was no harm in adding extra layers. Drew flipped off the lights and then joined her in bed.
Joined her in bed. Saying it like that made it sound so dramatic, but it really wasn’t a big deal. The mattress was a king, there was a gap between the two of them, she wasn’t even touching him. This was hardly different from the times she and Ash slept next to each other in sleeping bags.
That’s what she kept telling herself, at least.
May tried her best to get to sleep – really, she did, she counted Mareep and everything – but it evaded her. Even beneath the comforter and 3 sets of sheets, she was still too cold. She wouldn’t be getting any sleep, not like this.
No matter how far she travelled, May would always be a Hoenn girl at heart. She was meant for the tropical sun, not the frigid chill. Really, she couldn’t be expected to act rationally in a situation
So, she did something irrational.
“Hey, Drew? You still up?” May whispered, soft enough to not disturb him if he was indeed asleep.
“Yeah,” he said groggily.
“You, um, still cold?”
“Yeah,” he replied flatly. She supposed the answer was kind of obvious.
“Well, I figure, if we’re already sharing a bed, maybe we could… share body heat?” She knew that was a silly way to phrase it, but even sleep-deprived and desperate to defrost, she just couldn’t make herself ask him to cuddle with her. That sounded far too intimate, far too much like something a couple would do.
She heard his breath hitch. Then, his voice unsteady, he responded: “... sure.”
He didn’t move, though. Apparently he was expecting her to initiate the physical contact. She supposed that was fair – it was her idea, after all.
She scootched herself towards the middle of the bed, towards him. Hesitantly, she put her hand on his chest and laid her head on his shoulder.
She felt so many things at once, she didn’t know where to begin describing them. Physically, it was just so nice to have some extra heat. She abandoned her bashfulness and clung on to him tighter, desperate to gain as much heat as possible.
Emotionally… a part of her felt perfectly content, like this was always where she was meant to be, here beside him. Another part of her felt like this was the most dangerous thing she’d ever done, and that she could irrevocably ruin her most precious friendship if she made the wrong move.
Drew placed an arm around her, pulling her in even closer. She noticed the sound of his heartbeat – fast and frantic, just like her own. She wondered why exactly his heart was racing. Could it be that he felt the same way she did?
People were always telling her that Drew obviously had a crush on her. But she always thought their reasoning was flimsy. They saw him give her red roses and assumed it was romantic. But he had been giving those to her (yes, her – not Beautifly, she knew that much) since they were little kids. They were a symbol of their rivalry, nothing more.
When asked to provide proof beyond the roses, she always got vague answers. The way he talked about her, the way he looked at her, the way he spoke to her – everybody else seemed to think his behavior made his feelings clear. But he seemed infuriatingly opaque to May. One moment, she’d be sure that her crush was requited, and then he’d make a snippy comment and that certainty vanished.
But right now, warm and safe in his arms, May allowed herself to hope.