#interestshipping

   Anna, meanwhile, pulled herself off the ground. She had flopped down there dramatically after yet another loss against Cathy and her team. Anna had wanted to tussle in the grass, get all dirty, tantrum and cry her little heart out in frustration alongside her own Pokemon but her partners were too tired from that. 

   “It's just…” Anna tried to speak up and she made some hand gestures but there was a complete disconnect between what she wanted to say and what she was saying. Which was absolutely nothing. “It’s just!” She tried again to little success.

   “You just thought things would be different?” Cathy asked as she sauntered closer. “You really are dumb then.”

   “Gee, thanks, Cathy.” Anna grumbled.

   “Only a fool would try the same thing over and over again. The conclusion is foregone. I use Psychic types, you use Fighting types. This is why I’m a Gym Leader and you're not.” Cathy said.

   Anna held her ace partner’s Pokeball in her hand: Medicham.

   The only one of her teammates not weak to Psychic types. Even her non-fighting type partner Revavroom was too (when it wasn’t Terastallized into a Fighting Type but shh).

   Anna held in a sigh. She had really wanted to believe brawn would one day triumph over brains but clearly, she didn’t have a snowball’s chance in Hell if even her part-Psychic type was going to struggle. 

   Cathy hummed thoughtfully and tapped her cheek. Then she sat down, her skirt fluttered with a flomp as she joined Anna on the grass and that made Anna at least a little bit happy. She smiled cheekily as Cathy still continued to think over whatever it was she was thinking.

   Though Anna had a good guess.

   See, she and Cathy, they went way back. Like childhood friends pre-kindergarten way back. They were the best of friends and the worst of rivals. They were usually rivals these days, however, but once a blue moon, they had a friendly spar with a wager on top.

   Winner could make the loser do whatever they wanted.

   Given the track record being fully in Cathy’s favour, it usually meant that Cathy would have Anna do jobs around the Gym for her as unpaid labour. She had officially sanctioned Gym Trainers for that! But Anna didn’t mind. It gave her an excuse to hang out with Cathy which was nice.

   And outside of doing odd jobs at the gym, previous wins in Cathy’s favour had made Anna do other things, too. Things she wouldn’t normally do. 

   Anna was a good friend. If Cathy asked, she would just do jobs around the gym as a favour, completely off her back but Cathy had a devious streak. It just appealed to her more if she got to ‘force’ Anna to do something.

   Like wearing make-up and dresses, for example. They had gone shopping a number of times on Cathy’s win and Anna’s bank account. Oof. 

   But it was all in good fun. 

   When they weren’t locked in a battle, of mind over matter, they were perfectly capable of putting aside teasing and competition. They talked all the usual things. The weather, their other friends and their families, too. It was all very warm and nice and, well, normal.

   Yet it left Anna with Butterfree in her stomach at times, she didn’t know why.

   Cathy was in demand as the unsociable yet bewitching diva of the beauty world: the title of Gym Leader weighed heavily on her head like a crown but she took it in stride. She was the seventh overall target by Gym goers for a good reason. 

   A lot of people wanted Cathy’s time, attention, and dare Anna say it but affection too but she was highly selective. She only played and toyed with people who could keep up with her talon sharp rhythm. She had a long trail of broken hearts behind her: romantically, platonically, and even professionally.

   Yet Anna could uniquely say that she had Cathy all to herself. If she rang, Cathy would drop anything and everything, regardless of if it was an emergency or just a goss sesh that Anna was after. That was pretty special.

   Cathy was… really special.

   Beautiful, yes, duh, of course. They didn’t call her the Bewitching Beauty for nothing but in other ways, too. Her dark and eclectic sense of fashion, her sharp tongue. She was completely unafraid to speak her mind and even hiss at people whom she disliked. Her love and her ire freely worn on her sleeve.

   It was in that regard that she and Anna, who seemingly had nothing in common, had a lot in common. Anna was explosive. Loud. couldn’t keep a secret to save her life and yet, everyone knew where they stood with Anna.

   Everyone except Cathy, who felt like she could lord over Anna in ways other people couldn’t. Anna wasn’t even sure why she let Cathy think that. Maybe it was because she felt like she had to earn Cathy’s time since it was a precious commodity in this day and age as adults.

   So it felt like time slowed as the sun beat down over them both. They sat in the grass, backs to that warm, yellow sunshine and Cathy sighed. The noise of it was pleased, pricking on Anna’s ears.

   “I thought of what I want from you for my victory this time, Anna.” Cathy said.

   “Oh? Really? What’ll be this time, your royal highness?” Anna asked sarcastically. “Want me to clean your floors? Or do your grocery shopping-”

   “No, I want something else.” Cathy said and she leaned in, so that she could whisper, “I want to kiss you.”

   “Wh-What?” Anna exclaimed, startled.

   Her face blushed and she felt her temperature increase a hundredfold. Her heart began to pound so hard, Anna could feel her chest quake trying to keep it from leaping out. Cathy, nose to nose with her, giggled impishly as she relished Anna’s reaction.

   “Why?” Anna asked.

   “Just ‘cause.” Cathy said, shrugging. “I want to see what it feels like.”

   “We’re not teenagers a-anymore,” Anna sputtered, “we shouldn’t be experimenting like this.”

   “Don’t care.” Cathy said. “Now shut up and kiss me, fool.”

   Anna squeaked in protest but there wasn’t much point in doing so. Cathy had made up her mind and they had done a spit-promise on it. Whenever they battled, the loser did whatever the winner wanted. No exceptions, no limits, either…

   And so, Anna leaned in and she did it.

   She kissed Cathy on the lips and they were so… soft and calm. Nothing like Anna’s which were coarse and burning up but it was still somehow a kiss they could both get lost in. The exchange beguiled them both and they kept kissing. Seconds passed, maybe too many but it just came too easily to them. They knew each other too well, even in this way somehow despite it never coming up in conversation before. It was just that kind of natural chemistry.

   The kiss only ended when Cathy wanted it to and she did make sure to push Anna just enough so that she would be breathless. Then, when she exited the kiss, Cathy smirked. But didn’t say anything, not giving Anna any hint as to how she went. 

   “Well?” Anna said, brows furrowed as she implored ever so seriously.

   Her heart still pounded as a chasm began to widen between what Anna felt and whatever it was Cathy was thinking. All whilst her own thoughts began to dawn somewhere in the back of her head as emotions coursed and raged like a storm. No wonder Anna let Cathy boss her around, do whatever she wanted, why she so badly wanted to be Cathy’s number one and would do anything to keep it that way.

   Why she entered obviously losing battles with her Fighting types against Cathy’s Psychic types…

   It was because she was in love with her.

   She had just been too stupid to realise until now.

   Cathy clicked her tongue and leaned in again, “I think you should kiss me again.” Though this time she initiated, Anna let her. They kissed eagerly, less than chastely and it felt so, so good. Anna could swear she heard whistles with steam coming out her ears as Cathy kissed her. Speaking up, intermittently, just to whisper, “You’re an idiot,” another kiss, “but you’re my idiot.”

—-

Before Cathy, Anna hated working in the bakery with her Uncle Judai. The guys stared at her breasts and some bothered her, and she actually had to apologise to whoever she had attacked after her uncle ripped her off them. Despite the free confectionaries, Anna had thought it sucked.

Past tense, of course, because ever since the petite girl, Cathy, walked into the bakery, Anna had instantly had her interest taken, especially after Cathy ordered twelve boxes of doughnuts for her group (which Anna learned later were all cats).

After that day of hasty box packing, Anna had started seeing Cathy prowling around the store, more often than not to get some bread or a new cake or tart. She came so often that she knew Anna by name and they had gotten talking. She was, pardon the pun, very sweet.

And Anna got to watch Cathy expand her wardrobe into the plus sizes as she continued her snacking here for months on end. Gosh, she was so cute with her rounded curves and her curly belly and wide, gracious hips~ Ahh~

"And here’s your change." Anna said, handing her favourite customer and friend five dollars." Cathy smiled at her, dimples pushing in like whiskers, making the red-head smiled. "Have a nice evening."

"Ah… I wanted to ask you about that, Anna." Cathy said shyly, pulling her hair behind her ear. "Um… You busy this evening?" She asked, nervously pulling down her shirt over her flabby stomach.

"Hmmm? Not particularly. Why?"

"Ah… Would nya, would you like to go out and get dinner with me?"