NeroxMae: Roys Promise

The cool breeze made Mae realize she was still alone on the grassy field. Roy was supposed to home back to his house the next day. Rena licked Mae's small tanned hands to remind her she still has her Pokemon by her side. She let her body rest against mother nature's green blanket and started to contemplate what her next course of action was.

Roy, how could you do this for me. Are you that desperate?

Mae took a blade of grass and tickled Rena's nose with it. Rena's snorted and Mae cheered up. She quickly sat up and grabbed a notebook out of her book bag. Her finger crossed over several pages and Mae's face lit up.

"Well- looks like all my appointments are over and I think I should take a break. Maybe I should go visit Nero like he suggested in his letter, what do you think Rena?"

Her Ninetales Rena nudged up against her face in agreement. She missed Mae's childhood friend too.

"Well, let's see, I still want to speak to Roy to figure out what the hell he was thinking... Let's still wait for him to come home."

Rena yipped in agreement and started a display of fire to cheer Mae up.

She grinned.

I guess, I'm not alone after all.









Roy struggled to walk up the staircase to his own mansion. His hands were full of gifts for Mae and treats for her grandfather. He fumbled about and dropped a few packages here and there.

"Ack!!" he cried out as he fell over. Luckily, he caught his balance before hitting the side railing.

Too bad the driver has already left..I wonder where all the maids and butlers went.

He heard the entry door swing open and Mae appeared before Roy with her arms crossed.

"It's about time you came home!" she exclaimed.

"So you missed me that much?" Roy let out a laugh. "Could you help me with these please? They're for you and your grandfather."

As much as Mae wanted to kick Roy in the groin area, she still helped him bring the gifts safely into the heart of the mansion.

"It's nice to be back," Roy said as he hugged Mae-- only to be greeted with a punch in the stomach.

"WHU-"

"YOU .. YOU have truly disappointed me.. YOU, Roy Blackwell should feel ashamed. You are a horrible person," shouted Mae.

Roy gasped for air. His eyes caught a peek of a pile of letters on the living room table. He sighed and took a seat on a nearby day couch and sat sulking in his shame.

"You found them."

Mae's eyes filled up with tears and as she blinked they rolled down her gentle face.

"How could you?" she spat. She was incredibly angry.

"Come sit next to me," he gestered her over to empty area the couch.

"NO!"

"Mae- come sit next to me or I won't speak."

She glared at him and decided to do as he requested. She pouted through all the tears.

"What caused you to do that---Why would you hurt me like this?" she cried. Her head found it's way onto a pillow and she held it close.

"Mae, I know this makes me seem like a jerk, but, you have to understand-"

"What's there to understand? You kept those letters to gain an advantage over Nero! You knew how on edge I felt about him! You did this to try to win me over--and-- and I can't believe it started to work," she wepted for minutes but it felt like hours. She slowly started to get a hold of herself after several moments of silence. "I almost-almost said I love you back..."

"Wha-what?" Roy stammered.

"I almost said it back, just to make you feel better and to push myself to care for someone else instead of Nero - but I held my tongue because I knew it would be an empty saying. 'I love you' is a very deep phrase, it's supposed to be said with all your heart, and as much as I care for you, I don't feel that way," she explained.

"I see."

Roy sat quietly and didn't say much at all. The silence angered the hot tempered girl even more.

"Don't you have anything to say for yourself, Roy Blackwell?!" She stopped her tears; she wanted to hear what he was thinking.

"Look," he said as he grabbed her hand. She winced, but allowed him to hold it out of confusion. "I care about you so much Mae. I know what I did was wrong, but.."

Mae poked her head underneath his hair after he looked towards the carpet. She saw a puddle of tears starting to appear on his pants.
  
"Roy?" Mae was concerned. She knew she shouldn't have approached him the way she did and so suddenly but she was filled with rage and couldn't control herself.

He used his sleeve to wipe away the flecks of water on his face.  

"He's the only one I ever lose to."

"You mean, Nero?"

"Yeah," he answered. He held Mae close and closed his eyes. She did the same.

"I wanted to be the one there for you after he hurt you so much. I've seen you cry your heart out in your bedroom. I've seen you sketch out past memories when you sat relaxing on the patio. I've seen your face when you day dream of him. You love him so much and you've never cared for me that way after all these years I've dedicated to you. I've worked hard to reach where I stand in the world to gain your approval, but he's always who you think about. It's never me. When I saw you one day sending a letter to him, hate came over me. I knew it was despicable of me to take the letters, but I had to- to stand a chance. I at least wanted you to open your eyes to see how good of a man I can be. I felt guilty a few days after the first letter, but I had already started what I did so I continued. Then after a while, you started to see me. The real me. Not the one around Nero. You started to app-appreciate m-me and I fel-felt like you started to ca-care. I'm so-so sor-sorry"

Roy started to stutter out of frustration and disappointment in himself. Mae patted his back. She had to admit he was right. She had never given him a chance to show himself as an individual - not until Nero was out of the picture. She felt kind of bad for shutting him out of her life in that way.

"Roy. I care a lot about you. I really do. You've been so good to me. Especially when I felt like I had no one else to turn to- you were there to make me smile and laugh. Thank you, but I just, can't ever replace Nero. He's perfect for me."

"He hurt you."

"-And you hurt me. It doesn't make you any better."

Roy looked over at her and took deep breaths through his nose.

"I'm going to see him."

"When are you going?" Roy didn't want Mae to leave so soon.

"Well, I hope in a week or so."

"But-"

"I can't wait to go!" She said happily, totally ignoring Roy.

"But-"

"I have to arrange a flight into Sootopolis!"

"MAE!" Roy raised his voice to get her attention.

"What now, Roy?" she said coldly.

"Your parents come here to see you in a month. You haven't seen them in a long time. It's disrespectful to leave when you know they're coming."

Mae bit her lip. Her relationship with her parents wasn't the greatest. They would be proud of where she was at in life now, but they had never truly supported her like her grandfather did when she was young. Another problem was they loved the Blackwell family and always pushed Mae into liking Roy more than a friend. They liked Nero just as much, but for them, they wanted the Reed name to withstand the test of time and having a business line would enable that- not just being a gym leader.

"What great timing" Mae said sarcastically.

"I'll make this up to you Mae. I still care so much about you, and not having you there as my girl-well, it hurts, but I would never want to lose our friendship. I will figure something out. Let's plan it for your birthday. I promise I won't do anything that will piss you off by then. Just around six weeks or so you'll be in Sootopolis city."

"I guess, I'll have to go with the flow," she sighed. She wanted more than anything to be with Nero at that moment. She thought of how happy he would be to see her face.



I love you and only you Nero. Hang on a little longer- I'll see you soon.









It was a matter of minutes now until Mae's parents would walk through the entry doors of the Blackwell mansion.

"Hey- stop twiddling your thumbs, you look like a child," Roy commented. Roy acted much more mature after their discussion a few weeks ago about him taking her letters. He seemed more mature when it came to representing himself well in front of people of stature.

Mae stopped immediately and held her posture high. She wanted to look confident in front her parents.

"Don't look so stiff Mae, relax, they're you're parents." Roy tried to calm Mae down, but seconds afterwards the doors burst open.

"The Reeds have arrived," announced a butler.

"Mr. Reed, Mrs. Reed," Roy politely welcomed them and bowed his head.

"Ah, my boy, how have you been?" Mae's mother pressed his face into her chest. "So good to see you!"

"We told you to call us Ida and Kent, how many times do I have to remind you?" grinned Mae's father.

They presented themselves well by wearing matching business suits.

They must've came from a meeting..

"Mae, look how much you've grown, you look beautiful my child," said Mae's dad.

Strange, they're being so kind.

"Yeah," Mae muttered. "Nice to see you two."

"So Roy dear, did you have a chance to go over the business proposal?" asked Ida, Mae's mother.

I knew it. They're not here to see me, this is about business. How predicable.

Roy saw Mae's dissatisfaction in her facial expression and decided to change the topic.

"Ida, I'd love to talk about it later with you. We've got some nice juicy kobe steaks for tonight and that's been on my mind all day," he chimed.

"Dinner should be ready shortly, Mr. Reed," commented a nearby butler.

"Excellent! How about we start heading over to the dining room now?"

They gathered together and walked through the elegant mansion to the spacious dining room table. It was dimly lit with candles adding to the beauty of the room. The table cloth was ivory colored laced with gold trimming. It gave a nice warm welcome to the hungry group.

Mae took a seat closest to Roy since she didn't feel very comfortable around her parents.

"It should only be a minute or two," said a maid who filled their empty water glasses.

"So what have you been up to, Mae?" asked her mother as she placed her napkin on her lap displaying her perfect manners.

"Not much, just trying to figure out what I want to do with my life."

"Still haven't made a goal yet I see." Mae's dad sounded disappointed.

"Actually - Mae has already become a big name around this area as a Pokemon connoisseur. She always has a busy schedule, but is taking a vacation soon," added Roy.

Ugh, why do you have to butt in Roy?

"Oh! That's wonderful news Mae! We're proud of you! Having a connoisseur in the family will be great for future connections for business," added Mae's father.

"I don't really want to take part of your type of business," she responded back quietly.

"Well, in the future when you are married into the Blackwell household, you may like their business better," Mae's mother stated.

Roy watched Mae closely. He could see her losing her cool quickly. He placed his forehead in the palm of his right hand. He was preparing for Mae to lose self-control. She did it often as a child and teenager and he was certain she'd do the same now.

Seconds later, Mae stood up and pounded her fists with might on the dining room table. Her silverware set could be heard hitting up against the fine china that decorated the table.

"WE ARE NOT--"

Roy interrupted her. He got out of his seat and placed his hand on her soft shoulders to push her back into her seat.

"--getting married until at least three years later. We talked about it last night before you two arrived to visit."

Mae's mouth gaped open and she stared at Roy.

"I have to make sure the business deal I made a few weeks ago will smoothly pull through. After that, I plan on doing a lot of changes within that company and that will take some time. Mae has to start her own company and we need time to plan that all out. Once that's done, we'll consider planning the wedding. Right dear?"

Roy winked at Mae and placed her back in her seat.

Oh I see... Thank you Roy.

Mae's parents were a bit confused by Mae's actions, but believed Roy's lie. A clap was heard from Mae's mother. She grinned widely and let out a cry of joy.

"That makes me so happy you two! Mae, your father and I have been waiting to hear this for a long time."

"Roy, you will make an excellent husband. I can tell you two have a great relationship already," said Mae's father.

Mae tried her hardest not to walk away from the scene. She felt Roy's hand place over hers and pat her to calm her down.

"Dinner is now served," announced the senior butler. Almost instantly, a line of maids and butlers began to run their dinner out in an orderly manner.

Roy leaned over to whisper in Mae's ear.

"We just need to get through dinner without you storming off. That's it and they're gone. It will be fine."

She nodded and patiently watched as food was placed on her empty plate.

Great, now I'm not hungry anymore...










Roy and Mae had spent the last hour trying to relax after her parents departed from the mansion. They sat comfortably on the large living room sofa.

"So now they expect us to make wedding plans later, you think that was smart?" scoffed Mae.

"Well, does it really matter? At least I got them off your back for a bit."

"Are you kidding me? That's all they talked about the rest of the night. Well-I'm so glad they're gone now. I can start planning my trip. I expect you to fix the mess you just made."

"Mae.."

Roy's eyes were kind as he addressed her.

"I know.. I basically lost the fight for you with Nero, but I have a favor to ask."

Mae crossed her legs and arms and sunk herself into the corner of the sofa. She looked displeased.

"And what's that?"

"I'd like to fight Nero one more time."

"Like- fist fight? Or what?"

"No," Roy sighed, "There's no need for that anymore. I would like to arrange a one on one battle with him. That gives me one more chance to win. I don't want to come out as a complete loser for this."

"What are you planning, Roy?" Mae was curious. It sounded like Roy was brewing up a plan.

"You'll see, Mae. I want to be here for you as a friend now. I can't force you to change your mind and I am still deeply sorry about before. I have no idea what I was thinking. I'll make it up to you. I'll bring you to Nero myself, but, we're going to have to keep it a secret. Let's plan on leaving in a couple of weeks. You'll be over there for Valentine's day. This is what I'm willing to do for you- to truly make you smile, in an genuine way. I will promise to make things better, but do you think you can promise me you won't spill the beans?" He smiled and held out his pinky finger.

Mae could see the sadness in his silver eyes, but knew he still wanted to appreciate their long friendship. She lit up with happiness, grinned and hooked her own pinky onto his. They shook their pinky fingers while they held each other. Roy placed his forehead on Mae and she did the same to his-- an action they used to do when they were very young and too innocent to know what true love was. Mae felt a load of heavy stress lift off her chest.


"I promise, Roy Blackwell," she whispered. "Thank you."