Belated Happy Valentine's Day! Hah, forever alone me. So alone that I celebrate months of loneliness: Single September, Only Me October, Nobody November and Don't Date December. [I is lonely :( ]

So, I'll explain a few things in this fic, just for clarity. There's something in psychology called the Michelangelo Phenomenon where each partner in a couple bring out the best in each other. The opposite of this is weirdly called the Blueberry Phenomenon, where each partner brings out the worst in each other. I read about the Michelangelo Phenomenon and simply thought of these two, which is where the inspiration for this came from.

Recommended music: something bittersweet. Track I listened to: Susato Mikotoba ~ Serenade - The Great Ace Attorney Music Extended

BLUEBERRIES

"Mommy…? Mommy, why are you crying?"

The older woman took notice of her child and quickly dried her tears. Forcing a smile, she said, "Don't worry Ash, I'm not crying anymore. See?"

A large grin broke on the child's face. "Okay mommy, I don't like it when anybody cries. Ever since daddy left…" he trailed, his face becoming solemn at the thought.

She grabbed her child for the biggest hug. "Don't worry Ashy, don't worry. I'm here for you. Mommy's here for you…"

He eagerly returned the embrace, a small smile breaking onto his face. He promised never to hurt his mother, or anyone else just as his father had.

"Blueberries?"

He eagerly nodded, an innocent laugh escaping his lips. "Yes mommy!"

Grabbing a fistful, he stuffed as many as he could into his tiny mouth. Only to have his face contort and his hands pinch his cheeks tightly.

"Sour! So sour!"

"Ash? Aaash? Hellooooo? Anybody there in that thick skull?"

"Cut it out Bonnie! You don't want to give him scare when he's done thinking!"

Ash suddenly snapped out of his reverie. Only to find the face of a 7-year-old girl right in front of him. Staring him down. And rapping her knuckles against his forehead.

"Gah!" he exclaimed as he fell back. Still feeling slightly disoriented, he slowly took notice of his surroundings. Clemont to his left, scolding Bonnie for scaring him. Bonnie sitting on the table, laughing at him, ignoring everything Clemont was saying. And Serena to his right, sporting a cute and concerned face.

"Pika?"

He turned to see his long-time partner looking at him with a worried face. Petting him on the head and chuckling slightly, he consoled it. "I'm fine Pikachu, just got startled."

"Blueberries, Ash?"

Ash turned to see the beautiful honey-blonde offer him a basket full of the delicious fruit. " 'Beautiful'? 'Cute?' No, I can't fall into this position!' he reprimanded himself, after accepting some.

Stuffing a few into his mouth, he resisted the urge to twist his mouth.

"Sour! So sour!"

His friends laughed at this, alleviating their concerns.

However, Serena was still worried for him.

He ran his hands along the railing of the balcony, gazing at the starlit sky. But his mind paid no heed to the night sky, opting instead to replay the afternoon's incident.

"Beautiful…cute…" he spoke to himself. "Step it up Ash, you cannot let this happen to you."

Giving himself a quick slap on both cheeks with his hands, he turned back to the night sky.

"Ash?"

He jumped a few feet, only to realise that Serena was standing behind him, rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes. "What are you doing out here, so late at night?"

He offered her a hand, which she accepted before seating herself next to him. Taking a deep breath, he looked back at the sky and replied. "Couldn't sleep. I just have a lot on mind right now."

She was concerned once more but didn't press further. She knew him well enough to know that he'd open when he wanted to.

They sat in silence for some more time before he spoke again. "The blueberries today. They brought back an old memory that I've tried to bury."

She slipped her hand into his and motioned for him to continue.

"Way back in the day, before even Oak's Summer Camp, I had a pretty rough childhood. Things were always unstable at home. Mum and Dad had a lot of arguments. They would make up, but only occasionally. From the time I woke up to the time I went to bed, all I could hear were angry phrases and verbal insults. It was something no 5-year-old should go through."

"And then one day, Dad simply left. And never came back," he broke down.

She rubbed his arm soothingly and whispered words of encouragement. "It's okay Ash, I'm here. Let it all out."

"Father… he simply left us. No care about how Mum felt. No care about how I felt. He never thought about speaking to Mum or making up. He just left..."

She held him for a few more minutes. As she saw him composing himself, she asked, "Do you… do you still miss your father?"

He offered her a weak smile. "Not anymore. Mum and I made peace with his departure several years ago. What worries me I guess is that I don't want to become like my father. I don't want to hurt anyone like he did to my mother and I."

Serena was impressed with his declaration. "Ash, trust me, you'll never be like him. You're smart and brave and are never scared to face a challenge. You've inspired all three of us. There were several times I wouldn't have blamed you if you got upset or fed up with us and just left, but you stuck through to the bitter end. You always have your faith in us to do our best. I wouldn't have found a dream without you, I wouldn't have made it so far in Performing career without you… I know for a fact you'll grow to be a better man than your father!"

Ash looked surprised by her outburst. She was panting slightly, almost she wanted to get that off her chest for quite a while. The blush on her face made her even more attractive to him. He couldn't help but feel more enamoured by her.

"I… thank you. Thank you, Serena, I really needed that."

"No problem, Ash. I meant every word I said. Now let's put this behind us. Blueberries?"

He readily accepted before tossing a few into his mouth. And they were the sweetest blueberries he had ever eaten.

As he savoured the taste, he reflected on something else. He hadn't told Serena but as a result of his father's actions, he had promised himself to never fall in love. He didn't want to bring the same pain onto someone else.

Now, he wasn't so sure he wanted to stick to that promise.

Noticing how she'd fallen asleep on his shoulder, he gave her forehead a light kiss.

"She's a keeper."

So funnily enough, I didn't even remember yesterday was Valentine's Day. I was minding my own business until I saw TPCI's post. Their Instagram and Twitter posts had depicted the lovely kiss scene from XYZ 47, which I thought was amazing.

But I guess, maybe they didn't expect or maybe they didn't care because the comments erupted into a ship vs ship war. Everybody had to voice their opinion on Serena and their favourite ship, until that caused further controversy and they started fighting amongst each other.

And then there was me who thought it was awesome that they shared this on their public accounts and then I couldn't stop laughing at the war they had invoked into their comments.