Eh, it's a little early for a Valentine's fic, but I don't care.

Ash had his hands stuffed in the pockets of his dressy black pants as he walked to the Hearthome City Contest Hall. He had a frown on his face as a gland of sweat appeared. He adjusted the cuffs on his coat and tipped his fedora back a bit as he entered the backstage area.

"Boy, this is nerve-wracking," he muttered to himself.

"Pikachu," his best friend, Pikachu, agreed from his usual perch on his shoulder.

"We've been planning this for months," he said. "The closer we get, the more nervous I get."

"Whataya mean by that?"

He turned to see a familiar face looking at him with a curious look in her blue eyes. "Oh hey, Dawn," he smiled at her, trying to hide his anxiety. "I'm just nervous about this whole event, that's all."

"I don't blame you," she grinned, taking a look at herself in a mirror as she adjusted her hair, which was up in buns for the event. "Being one of the chief staff for a dance is no simple task. Why did you sign up for this again?"

Ash sighed. "Well, the last Valentine's Day May and I have had together was pretty lousy. She said she forgave me for blowing it, but I'm pretty sure she's still sore about it."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I overheard her talking to her mom about how she was upset last year and that she's worried that I'll screw up again this year. That's why this year, I'm helping make this Valentine's Ball extra special to make it up to her."

Dawn blinked in surprise. "You're doing this for her? To make it up to her for last year?"

"Yeah. Is that odd?" he asked innocently.

Dawn giggled. "Maybe a little. I mean, I can see your logic here, but most guys wouldn't try to set up a ball to make it up to their girlfriends."

"They wouldn't?"

"No."

Ash put a hand behind his head, blushing sheepishly. "Great, just great. Now I'm not just nervous, but I feel stupid, too."

"Aw, don't feel that way," Dawn said, finishing her hair and coming up to him. "She's gonna love this. Trust me."

"But what if she doesn't?" Ash said. "Or even if she does, what if she thinks I'm weird for doing all this just to make up for a lousy Valentine's Day last year?"

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Ash," she said. "She adores you. When she realizes what you've done, she'll just love you even more...assuming that's possible."

Ash looked at her with uncertain eyes. "You really think so?"

"You bet I do. No need to worry! Now, if you don't mind, let me fix that bowtie of yours."

"All right," he sighed. He didn't bother to mention that in order to maintain the secrecy of the event, he spent the last two weeks avoiding his girlfriend May. She was starting to get angry at him, possibly even thinking that he didn't love her anymore.

The Hearthome Valentine's Ball began, and pairs of people dotted the floor. Some were dancing, some were sitting to the side and chatting, some were eating the food the event offered, and others were simply hanging around either doing nothing or supervising.

Ash's eyes darted around the large ballroom, trying in vain to locate his guest of honor. "Doggone it!" he cursed under his breath. "Where is she?"

"Pika?" Pikachu suggested.

"No, she said she was coming," Ash said. "She wouldn't change her mind and not tell me...unless she really thinks I don't love her anymore." He shuddered, but then he shook his head. "No. Even then, she would still tell me. She's got to be around here somewhere. Or maybe she got held up? Or maybe…"

As he played every possible scenario through his mind, he continued to wander throughout the room, occasionally asking a guest if they'd seen her about. Every answer came in the negative, even from his close friends: Brock, Misty, Iris, Serena, Cilan, Clemont, and so on. Eventually, he ran into Dawn again.

"Hey, Dawn. Have you seen May?"

Dawn shook her head. "No, I haven't."

Ash sighed and hung his head, downtrodden. "Maybe she didn't come after all."

"Pika…"

"No, I'm pretty sure she's here," Dawn assured him. "She texted me earlier and said she would be here." She didn't mention anything else about those text messages.

"Then she's here?"

"Probably," Dawn nodded. "But I haven't seen her."

"Thanks," Ash said, and the two went their separate ways. "Of course she'd be here," he said to himself. "But where is she?" He scanned the couples on the dance floor. "I don't see her dancing."

"Pikachu," Pikachu muttered.

"Yeah, no kidding," he agreed. "Maybe she's eating the food. She loves food." To his disappointment, he didn't see her there either. "Aw, nuts," he grumbled. He checked to see if she was talking with anyone, or if she was just doing nothing.

It was useless. May was nowhere to be found.

"Oooooh!" Ash clenched his fists. "Where is she?! If she decided not to come she would've told somebody, and they would've told me! Where could she be?!" He put his face in his hand. "I gotta think outside the box."

"Pika," Pikachu muttered. Then something caught his eye. "Pi? Pika! Pikapi!"

"Huh?" Ash looked up and saw Pikachu pointing to a small hallway to the side, barely noticeable. His eyes lit up. "Oh, I get it. Thinking outside the box! Okay, let's head over there and take a break."

Pikachu facepalmed. Why am I always stuck being the only sane man in the room? he thought.

Ash slipped into the hall and followed it down. "I don't remember this hall being here during setup," he said. "I guess I just didn't notice it before."

"Pikachu," Pikachu shrugged.

When they reached the end, they found themselves on a rooftop balcony overlooking the city. With the night lights on and the moon high in the sky, it was enough to make anyone stare in wonder. There were even some golden rails on the edge to keep one from falling off. It was a lovely sight.

But for all the beauty that surrounded them, it wasn't what caught their eyes. Rather, it was the figure that leaned on the golden rails overlooking the city: an all-too-familiar figure that they'd never seen before.

"Oh my," Ash breathed, jaw dropping.

"Huh?" the figure turned around. "Ash!" she exclaimed.

"M-May?" Ash barely whispered. Pikachu slowly crawled down from his shoulder.

It was true. It was May, but she looked completely different. Her trademark bandana was gone, as should be expected of a formal event. While her hair wasn't dolled up like many other girls had done, it glistened in the light. She wore pure white gloves that extended to her elbows. But what really stood out was her dress. It was a simple, sleeveless bright violet with no hoop skirt, and it fit her figure to a tee.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, hands clasped on her chest. She held a white rose.

Ash didn't answer. Instead, his mouth continued to hang open as he slowly walked towards her.

When he didn't answer, she went on. "Ash, I want to know what's going on. You've been avoiding me for the past two weeks, and I don't know why. You keep saying it's a secret, but I keep feeling like you're trying to leave me. And...and...I'm tired of it! I want to know what's going on, Ash. If you don't love me anymore, that's okay. I understand. Just be honest with me, please?"

All this time, Ash didn't say anything. His expression didn't change as he slowly walked towards her. He was very close to her now. "Ash, stop it!" she snapped. "Stop looking at me like I'm some kind of two-headed freak and just say something. Anything! I don't care what, just tell me what's going on! Can you even hear me?! SAY SOMETHING!"

She was trying hard not to yell, but as she contained her feelings, they threatened to leak through her eyes. Ash was standing directly in front of her now, expression still unchanged. Finally, he brought his trembling hand up and placed it on her cheek, stroking it slowly.

"You..." he finally spoke, his voice beneath a whisper. "You look...amazing…"

May blushed as he stroked her cheek, dropping the rose. "Ash," she breathed, her heartbeat accelerating.

Slowly, Ash lowered his hand from her cheek and pulled her into a soft embrace. May gasped a moment, slightly caught off guard for a moment, but then she returned his embrace. Her head rested on his shoulder, and she closed her eyes, a soft smile forming on her face.

"I'm sorry about the last two weeks, May," he said as his heart beat in tune with a love song. "I wasn't trying to avoid you because I didn't want to be with you. I was helping plan this."

May's eyes opened, and she slowly eased out of the embrace, though her arms remained on his shoulders while his remained on her waist. "You helped plan this?" she asked, eyes wide.

"Yeah," he said. "I signed up to be one of the leading coordinators of the event. I didn't want you to know, so I had to keep it secret. That's why I was avoiding you."

May took in what he said for a moment, then smiled that wonderful smile of her's. "That's so sweet of you, Ash," she said. Then her smile disappeared as she continued to process what he said. "But...why did you sign up? You didn't have to, you know. They were planning it anyway. You could've just bought tickets for us"

"I know," he replied. "But you were pretty upset about last year's Valentine's Day being lousy. I wanted to make it up to you, so I signed up to help. That way I could get you a free ticket."

She blinked. "You wanted to make up for last year?"

"Yeah."

She giggled. "Ash, you didn't have to do all this just to make up for that," she said.

"Yeah, I know," he nodded. "Dawn told me that earlier." He sighed. "I guess I was trying too hard, huh?"

She shook her head, her smile unchanging. "Maybe, but you made today a wonderful day because of it." She embraced him again. "Thank you so much, Ash."

"No problem, May," he smiled as he reciprocated. "And next year, I won't leave you out of the planning."

She giggled. "I think that's a good idea."

After a moment, they eased out of their embrace once again and looked deep into each other's eyes. Then, slowly, their faces drew closer to each other. Their eyes slowly closed. Their lips were only millimeters away from each o–

"Pikachu!"

The two of them jolted. Pikachu stood on a stool between them, dressed in a priest's collar. "Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika pika," Pikachu smirked at him, pointing at May. He was saying, Come on now, let's keep going.

"Uh, okay," Ash shrugged. He put his hands on her waist while she put her's on his shoulders.

"Pika pikachu," Pikachu went on, "Pikapi, Pi Pikachu. Pika Pikachu Pika."

Ash laughed softly at his best friend's antics. When he explained to May what he said, she laughed, too. Then, they came together and shared a tender, quiet, but passionate kiss. They spent the rest of the night up there, on their own little balcony, dancing to their own music. During that time, the two of them had one common thought running through their minds:

This was the best Valentine's Day ever.

Well, I hope you enjoyed that. Personally, I don't think this is my greatest work (not to say it's necessarily bad, though). It was kind of a jab at myself, since the last two Valentine's Days that I had a fanfiction account for, I didn't post anything that was explicitly Valentine-themed.

Also, May's dress design was inspired by "Prom Night" by AdvanceArcy on deviantart. She's a strong Advanceshipper, so if you're looking for some awesome Advanceshipping artwork, check her stuff out!

As for future projects, I haven't officially begun writing my next major project yet. School's my main priority, so I need to focus on that. However, I do want to start writing the next big thing soon. With a little bit of luck (and a ton of diligence), I should have at LEAST some of it posted before summer hits.

Until then, keep your eyes peeled...and leave luck to heaven!