A/N: This short oneshot was written as a last minute entry for The Advancers' Advanceshipping Fanfiction Contest, incorporating the theme "music" :D
I hope you all enjoy this oneshot and good luck to all the other participants in the contest!
Lullaby
By S. Muffin
The faint sound of music playing gently coerces Ash awake. Groggily, he rolls over so that he is lying on his back, lifting his arms above his head in order to stretch. The bedroom is still shrouded in complete darkness, the only source of light being the fuzzy, red glow of the alarm clock situated on the bedside table. He quickly glances over in its direction in order to read the time—1:32 A.M.
A small, knowing smile crosses Ash's face when he finally recognizes the song being played, the sound of piano keys now echoing throughout the entirety of the small home. It has been quite a few months since he last heard it, but Ash can never truly forget the melody of the first song he and his wife danced to at their wedding, the song May herself composed especially for the occasion.
He soon realizes that he can easily fall back asleep within minutes as the song continues—the soft tune is already working its magic luring him back into dreamland like a lullaby, making his eyelids grow heavy and his muscles gradually relax—but he resists the temptation, wanting to listen to the song all the way through.
When the song finally does come to an end, Ash sits up. He pauses briefly to yawn, before he then pushes the covers aside, climbs out of bed, and makes his way out the bedroom door, heading down the hallway to the staircase.
He smiles again when he reaches the bottom step, his eyes landing on his wife's back. May is sitting at the antique grand piano in the corner of their living room, a new, hauntingly beautiful melody now resonating from within the instrument's complex inner-workings. This song particularly sounds even more like a lullaby than the previous one had and Ash once again finds himself refusing the urge to close his eyes and fall asleep right on the spot.
A few moments later, May begins to sing.
A single shiver coils down Ash's spine, bringing him out of his stupor. May Ketchum is a woman of many talents and Ash is happy to have had the opportunity to discover all of them, especially her talent for music. Her voice when she sings is soft and velvety smooth, like a sweet honey glaze over her vocal chords. Ash loves it when May sings; he always has ever since the age of ten. When the pair began to date many years ago, he was surprised to learn that in addition to singing May also knew how to play the piano. The acoustic guitar he found in her closet not long after that also took him aback, followed by the flute she used to keep tucked away in her old bedroom at her parents' house. How she found the time to regularly hone her musical talents while in the meantime traveling the world and competing in Pokemon Contests is nothing short of what Ash considers a miracle.
From Contest coordinating to memorizing sonatas, regardless of what she is doing, May simply has a special gift for being able to entertain an audience, keeping spectators fully engaged and unable to focus on anything other than her performance. Ash himself is no exception. He continues to watch her fondly, completely mesmerized by her.
When the song finally song comes to a finish, he begins to clap slowly, moving from his resting post against the wall and walking over to her. Startled, May quickly turns to look at him over her shoulder.
"Oh, Ash! It's you," she says in realization. "I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to wake you up."
He sits down beside her on the piano bench. "It's all right. I don't mind."
She smiles sheepishly at him. "Well, still. I'm sorry."
"Don't be, silly," he insists. He wraps an arm around her shoulders, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. "I like listening to you play."
She giggles. "Even at one in the morning?"
"Of course!" he answers reassuringly. "Plus, you wrote something new. I can't miss out on that, can I?"
"You could tell?" she asks, surprised.
He shrugs. "Well, I guess I can't be a hundred percent sure, but it didn't sound like anything you've played before."
"You're right, it is a new piece," she tells him. "It's been stuck in my head for a few days, so I finally decided to sit down and write it up. See?"
Ash looks up at the scribbled sheet music displayed before them. He smiles when he sees the notes that are hastily penciled onto the lines provided, before reading over the lyrics written underneath.
"These are great, May," he says once he finishes. "It's been a while since you've written lyrics for a song."
She smiles appreciatively. "Thanks, Ash. I'm glad you like it."
"Now that I think about it," he continues, "it's been a while since you last played on this old thing, too."
"It has," May agrees sadly with a brief glance at the piano keys. "I've just been so caught up with working and everything that I haven't had the time."
His grip around her tightens. In preparation for the upcoming Contest season, for the last few months May has been training harder than ever, working nonstop to ensure her success. Her first Contest is quickly approaching and there are only a couple more weeks left until she will take the stage with new Pokemon, a new routine, and a new outlook on the competition. "You have been really busy lately."
"You can say that again." May sighs deeply, leaning against her husband's shoulder. "It just feels nice to do something different, change my routine up a little, and get my creativity flowing again, you know?"
"Yeah, that makes sense," Ash replies. "You work so hard, you deserve some time to do the other things you love."
She smiles again. "Even if it means giving up an hour or two of sleep, I think I do, too."
"Maybe tomorrow we can train together?" he suggests hopefully. "We can have a practice battle, if you'd like. You can show me all the cool techniques you've been working on and we also won't have to give up any free time with each other, either."
"Ah, that would be great!" Ecstatic, May leans over and presses a quick kiss against Ash's cheek. "You're the best."
Ash chuckles. "Nah, that's definitely you."
"Nuh-uh!" May retorts, giggling and sticking her tongue out at him. "You're the best and I mean it!"
Smirking, Ash quickly grabs her hands, leans forward, and guides her fingers haphazardly across the piano keys, causing the instrument to emit a loud, messy, and poorly organized collection of notes. May laughs at his antics, tugging her hands away before giving him a light, playful shove.
"You're the best, May," he says resolutely. "No arguments."
"Okay, okay, you win this time," May says in defeat. "But I'll win the next one!"
"Sure, whatever you say."
"I will!" she exclaims. "Mark my words, Ash Ketchum!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now, come on," he says, giving her a nudge before placing his arm back around her shoulders. "Why don't you play that new song for me again?"
Smiling, May complies and lifts her hands back up to the piano keys. She begins to play the introduction of the song, the sound of the hauntingly beautiful melody once again filling the room, before joining in with her voice.
Within minutes, Ash is fast asleep against her shoulder.