It was sunny and serene on Glaseado Mountain, a drastic change after the blizzard that hit the previous day. But it wasn't all quiet. Maya was on the Snow Slope Run with her partner Lapras. The dual type slid down the path, using her flippers to steer herself in the direction of the colored flags. Maya was on her back, gripping one of the knobs on her shell to hold on.

"Yeah!" she cheered. "Go, Lapras! You're doing great!"

Lapras cooed in response, lowering her head to pick up speed. Maya was good at predicting the pokemon's moves, thus leaning with her on every turn to reduce drag. Grusha was waiting at the finish line, bundled up, as usual, and holding a stopwatch in his gloved hand. Maya and Lapras sped to the finish before skidding to a stop. Grusha stared wide-eyed at the time they made.

"Whoa…"

"What is it?" Maya asked, hopping off Lapras and giving her neck a pat. "Did we do well?"

Grusha finally shifted his attention to the pair. "Not only that, you set a new record at 36 seconds."

A delighted grin appeared on her face. "Seriously? Vaultin' Veluza! That's awesome!" She looked up at her partner. "Excellent work, Lapras! I'm so proud!" She hugged the large pokemon's head before returning her to her ball and going over to Grusha's side. "So? Does this prove that I'm ready to try the slopes without a pokemon?"

"I suppose it does. Let's get your gear ready."

The two of them climbed back up the path. Grusha's cabin rested just past the hill from the Pokemon Center near his Gym. Maya bundled up in the layers the former athlete had given her, and put on her helmet, goggles, and boots. Once ready, Grusha led her back out to the slope, watching her closely to be sure she properly used the bindings to keep her boots planted on the board. Without waiting for his approval, the woman tilted herself forward to begin her descent. It really was a lot like surfing. It required excellent balance and strong legs. The only thing that made the experience jarring was the fact that Maya had full control. When surfing, she had to follow the waves, but in snowboarding, she herself had to choose where to go.

It was reasonable that she'd make a mistake. Because of a slow reaction during a turn, the tip of her board caught one of the flags. That tiny hit threw her off balance, sending her tumbling through the snow until she rolled to a stop. Maya laid there on her back, panting softly as she gave her body a brief rest.

"Maya! You okay?!"

Grusha ran to her side, sliding a little on his way to her position. Through the dark goggles, she could see the worry on his face as he tugged his scarf down to repeat her name. It made her smirk a little.

"I'm fine. The snow cushioned my fall." She sat up, dusting powder from her coat. "Were you…worried about me just now?"

Grusha blinked at her before realizing that maybe he did overreact just a tad. "Well…" Turning his head away, he hid the pink tint of his cheeks under his scarf once more. "Yeah. Need I remind you that this mountain can be unforgiving. One false move and you could end up…like me." Maya's amusement vanished. "Winter mountains are dangerous. They can throw your life right off course, easy as that."

Maya stood, grabbing hold of his arm to keep her board from sliding and carrying her away. "That may be true, but I'm not one to back down and quit." Grusha met her fiery gaze. "I'm not afraid to take risks. No guts, no glory, as they say."

A soft, almost inaudible sigh escaped the Gym Leader. "Guess that's one way of seeing things. Come on. Try again. The other slopes are off limits until you can master the Snow Slope Run."

"Then I'll keep trying again and again - as many times as it takes." She smiled with full confidence. "You'll see, Grusha. I'm gonna be as good - no, better than you one day."

He couldn't help chuckling at her determination. "Just don't let it go to your head."

~~~~

Maya was at the top of her steepest, most twisty slope yet. There were a lot of trees along the path, and little hills for the perfect jumps. It had taken her half a week to perfect the Snow Slope Run before she moved on to the next level. That one took her the last half of the week to get right. A full week was spent on the next slope. The previous one took nearly two weeks. Now, she was ready for the final challenge.

Grusha stood by to watch, as he always did. Maya had warmed up to him quite a bit, accustomed to his cool attitude. Maybe it helped that he'd allowed her to stay at his cabin since she'd arrived. And surprisingly, Grusha had been enjoying her company more and more. In between Gym battles against challengers, in which Maya would usually watch and cheer him on, he coached the surfer nearly every day. It was actually fun to have something to do in his free time other than dream of his pro snowboarding days. Not to mention she had gotten into the habit of preparing meals for him most days. He wouldn't have expected a sporty girl like her to be able to cook so well, but it probably had to do with her involvement in her uncle's restaurant.

"You ready for Glaseado's Wrath?" Grusha asked. "This is the toughest of all the slopes."

Maya smirked, making sure her goggles were secure. "I was born ready."

Without another word, she began her descent. She weaved past a few sparse trees and jumped a small hill. Concentrated on her movements, the woman felt a bit of pride at how skilled she'd gotten in only a month of snowboarding. She hoped Grusha was watching closely because she wanted to prove that she could be as great as him. Another small jump boosted her confidence further. She started weaving around the trees that grew denser the farther she went. Another jump was coming up, a bigger one. She took it without hesitating, but that proved to be her biggest mistake. A tree ahead of her had limbs hanging lower than normal due to an excess of snow covering it. There was no time to maneuver. Maya tried to angle herself to go under the limbs and back toward the ground, but she rammed her head right into it. The impact flipped her and she landed on her back.

Grusha, for a split second, saw images flash before his eyes. He was lying in the snow with a broken leg, light splatters of red painting the white, people gathering around to help him. It was terrifying. He took off down the slope, running and sliding until he reached Maya's position.

"Maya!" He knelt next to her to lift her head from the snow. "Are you okay?! Is anything hurting?!"

Maya groaned softly, her eyes struggling to focus as she sat herself up. "I...fi…Gru…a…"

Her voice was fading in and out. There was a combined throbbing and dizziness in her head, and she couldn't quite find her words. With shaky hands, she tried to unclasp her helmet, and after a failed attempt, Grusha helped her with it. He practically threw it to the ground. A gasp left him when a trickle of blood escaped from just under the edge of her hair and slid down her forehead, catching at the edge of her goggles.

The Gym Leader was quick to call out one of his pokemon. "Beartic, we need to climb back up to the house. Quickly."

Lifting Maya onto the pokemon's back, Grusha got on behind her. Even though she was sitting upright, the woman seemed to be disoriented, swaying back and forth. Worried she may lose consciousness and fall, Grusha held on tight to her, allowing his Beartic to sprint back up the slope, his claws built for gripping unsteady ice and snow.

Back at the cabin, Maya was laying on the couch by the fire. Grusha stood by impatiently while Nurse Joy finished bandaging her head and checking for any signs of major injury. She did a couple of small tests to be certain Maya wasn't too disoriented.

"How are you feeling right now?" Nurse Joy inquired. "Any problems seeing or hearing?"

"Just an aching in my head," Maya replied. "Otherwise, I think I'm okay."

The nurse smiled. "That's good. And your speech is coherent now. Grusha said you could hardly speak at first."

"So it's nothing serious, then?" Grusha asked with concern.

"Just a very mild concussion and a small head wound. With proper rest, she should be back to her old self in a few days." Nurse Joy packed up her medical kit. "Now, Maya, I advise you to stay off your feet and limit your activities as much as possible. You might have a bit of dizziness and headaches for the next day or two." She looked at the man. "And Grusha, make sure she's looked after, okay?"

Grusha nodded. "I will. Thank you for the help." He saw the nurse out, but right when he turned around, he saw Maya trying to get up from the couch. "What do you think you're doing?"

Maya met his gaze as he approached her. "Gonna get some fresh air." Right as she stood, the room started spinning and she swayed uneasily.

Grusha moved in time to catch her, watching her nearly fall against his chest. "Didn't you hear what Nurse Joy just told you? You have to rest."

"You're both being dramatic," she replied with a lazy roll of her eyes. "I don't need days of laying around like a Slaking."

Grusha sighed at just how stubborn she could be. "Yes, you do. Maya, you need time to recover. Whether you like it or not, you're gonna lay down and rest." He gently yet forcefully made her sit back down, and fetched her a pillow. "Let me know if you get cold and I'll grab a blanket for you. For now, I'll get something cooking."

Surprisingly, Maya did as told, although Grusha would often peek in from the kitchen just to be sure she wasn't trying to make an escape. She'd quickly realized that she wouldn't be able to argue against the Gym Leader, even if she would rather forget the rest and get straight back to the slopes. Every time she did try to move, her head would ache worse, though. She had to tell herself that maybe it was best she stayed put. After a tasty soup Grusha made for an early dinner, the pair were both on the couch watching TV. Maya had made small shifts until she was laying against his side in order to share the fluffy blanket he'd fetched for her.

"I'll admit, this is kinda nice," the woman said, breaking the silence between them. "You and me, here, watching silly shows while snuggled up under a warm blanket. It almost feels like a date."

Her comment was meant to tease him, and judging by the subtle pink of his cheeks, it worked. "I guess so. But if I wanted to take you out, it'd be way cooler than this."

"Now that makes me curious." She winced when a slight throb in her head flared up, causing her to clutch her head. Grusha wrapped an arm around her shoulders and delicately massaged her temple in a way that seemed to soothe. He might've kept a cool attitude and acted nonchalant, but she could tell at times like that that he was actually quite caring underneath that stoic demeanor. "So…any tips on Glaseado's Wrath that'll keep me from killing myself?"

His fingers retracted from her head. "Tips? Well for starters, give up."

Maya picked her head up, ignoring the dizziness to frown at him. "Give up? Are you joking?"

His expression hardened. "No. I'm dead serious. Give up before you get yourself killed, Maya. You got lucky today, but next time you could wind up far worse."

"Not if I master my jumps. That's what got me. I miscalculated. I just have to try again."

"Absolutely not!" the man snapped. "I forbid you from attempting that slope again! You're not allowed to use my gear for it!"

Maya pouted defiantly at him. "Well, you can't tell me what to do! If you won't let me use your gear, then I'll just go buy my own!"

Clicking his tongue, Grusha's icy gaze was livid. "What is wrong with you? I'm trying to keep you safe, but you're just going to take the risks anyway? Are you insane?"

"I'm a thrill seeker," she calmly answered to avoid further irritating her injury, wondering if this had anything to do with his own accident. "I'm not afraid of taking risks to get the adrenaline rush I crave. I don't care about danger. I've always been this way. My whole family got pretty used to it. As a kid, I always came home with cuts and bruises. That's just…who I am."

Grusha's fist clenched on his lap under the blanket. "I don't…understand how anyone can live like that. Once you've nearly come face-to-face with death, your perspective is bound to change. It did for me. How do you do it? How are you not afraid?"

Maya cracked a smile. "I never said I wasn't afraid. These dangerous situations are terrifying. But I overcome that fear because I don't want to have any regrets. Life should be fun. I don't think anyone should cage themselves because they're afraid to take risks." She smiled sadly. "That's why wasting days doing nothing irks me. Feels like I'm wasting valuable time."

Grusha understood now. She was so much like him when he used to be pro. Brave. Reckless. Adrenaline junkie. There was one big difference, though - she was still going strong while he could hardly bring himself to even attempt the Snow Slope Run anymore. He wished he could be more like her. However, seeing her bandaged head made him think that maybe he was in the right and she was too careless. But maybe that's why they were able to be around each other for a month straight. They complimented one another. Maya was carefree and passionate, and Grusha was a rock to keep her grounded in reality.

Suddenly reminded that she'd been staying in his home with him, cooking him meals, and learning from him made the man a bit flustered. They almost acted like a married couple. Noticing Maya tiredly yawn, Grusha's arm that was around her pulled her a little closer. His hand found the back of her head where he delicately pushed it against his shoulder.

"Believe me when I say the slopes aren't going anywhere," he quietly told her, watching her heavy eyelids close. "Please, rest. They'll be waiting for you once you're better."

Like I did with Brassius before, I just made up a place where Grusha would likely live. Again, just go with it. Besides, I can't be the only one that pictures Grusha living in a cozy cabin on the mountain, right?