May leaned against the railing on the balcony, staring up at the silent night sky with the sounds of people enjoying a party behind her. She looked down at her Poketch: it was about 11:45. She smiled to herself as she looked back up at the sky.

"Only fifteen more minutes," she said quietly to herself.

"Until what?"

She turned around to see a familiar face behind her. "What do you think?" she winked at him.

"I dunno," he shrugged. "A second dinner? A gourmet dessert? Or maybe we pop the cork and chug down some –"

"Until the new year, silly!" May giggled. "Haven't you been paying attention?"

Her friend just chuckled as he leaned against the railing next to her. "Of course I have," she smirked. "I was just messing with ya."

May giggled and placed her hand on top of his as it rested on the railing. "So whatcha doing out here, Ash?"

"Just checking up on you," Ash said. "We're all getting ready to watch the Pokeball drop. You're gonna come in to join us?"

"I dunno," she shrugged, looking back up at the sky. "I kinda wanna stay out here."

"Why?"

"Well," she sighed, looking back at him, "it's much more quiet and peaceful. I can think about the year we're leaving behind…and look forward to the future."

Ash smiled at this. "I guess that makes sense." He looked up at the sky with a soft sigh.

"You know, you can go back inside if you wanna watch the ball drop," May said. "I don't wanna keep you out here, worrying about me."

"I appreciate that," he replied, "but I was kinda getting tired of all the noise in there. It's nice and quiet out here. Besides," he grinned, removing his hand from the railing and slowly extending it around her shoulders, pulling her close in a light embrace, "why would I pass up the chance to spend time with you?"

May smiled, warmed by his touch, and leaned in closer to him, happily nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck. He leaned over and planted a gentle kiss on her head as they stared up at the sky.

"So, what are you looking forward to next year, Ash?" May asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I dunno," he said. "I usually just take everything as it comes and make the best of it. Everything works out sooner or later, doesn't it?"

"I guess so."

He blinked and pulled away slightly to look her in the eye. "You guess so?" he repeated.

"I mean, yeah, things usually work out," May explained, "but you know how crazy things got almost two years ago, now. Things still haven't worked out."

"Not exactly, no," he agreed.

"Personally, I'm just gonna focus on making my next year better than this year."

"Better?" Ash blinked. "What, was this year not a good one?"

"Of course it was!" May smiled. "At least, for me it was. I can't really speak for everyone."

"Neither can I," he said before looking out at the sky. "I wonder if anyone else feels the same way."

"Yeah," May sighed. They looked up at the sky as they laced their hands together, the two rings on their fingers gently grazing each other as they did so.

"How much longer now?" Ash asked after a few minutes.

May looked down at her Poketch. "Five minutes," she said.

"Seriously?" Ash blinked in surprise. "Have we been out here that long already?"

"Time flies when you're enjoying yourself," May winked back at him.

"Yeah, I know," he said, "I just didn't think it would fly that fast."

"Me neither," she shrugged before leaning into him again. "Might as well make the most of it while we can, right?"

He smiled softly and wrapped his arms around her. She reciprocated his embrace and leaned her head on his shoulder. They stayed that way for a minute or two, saying nothing as they once again stared up at the night sky.

"Hey," he said, noticing something, "are you cold at all?"

"Hm?" she blinked, pulling out slightly to look at him.

"It's kinda chilly out here, and you don't have a coat. I was just wondering if you were getting cold."

May simply smiled and leaned back into his embrace. "How can I be cold if you're holding me like this?" she asked softly. "You're so warm and comfortable. I don't think the cold can get to either of us."

She felt Ash chuckle at her words. "That sounded really corny," he said, "but at the same time, it's probably completely true."

"Yeah," she shrugged, snuggling closer to him.

"Pikapi!"

The two of them looked up from their embrace and found a familiar little Pokemon bounding up to them. "Hi, Pikachu!" May giggled.

"Hey, buddy!" Ash grinned as Pikachu scampered up to his shoulder. The two of them chuckled at his antics, as well as the cute little party hat he was wearing. "Are you having a good time?"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded, giving him a thumbs-up.

"Good," he said, scratching him under the chin. May reached forward and stroked his fur.

"Chaaa," Pikachu cooed, clearly enjoying the affection they were showering on him.

"You better be careful with this little guy," May giggled. "You're gonna end up spoiling him."

"Oh, we're way past the point of spoiled," Ash said, laughing with Pikachu. May joined in their laughter as she looked back out at the night sky.

She looked down at her Poketch. "Only a minute and a half left," she said, leaning against the railing again.

"I can't wait to see what the new year has in store for us," Ash grinned. "I just hope it's great all around, and I'm gonna work hard to make it that way."

"Same here," May nodded. "But remember: regardless of what the new year brings, we can say with certainty that we'll be getting at least one good thing out of it."

"One good thing?" Ash chuckled. "I think we're gonna get something better than just 'good.'"

May raised an eyebrow at him, then smiled softly to herself. "You know what?" she said. "You're right. We are getting something better than good. We're getting something…beautiful." As she said this, she placed a hand over her stomach, gently rubbing it as she looked down with a tender smile. Ash smiled and placed his hand next to hers.

"Is she kicking yet?" he asked.

"Ash," May giggled, "I'm only a month along. Kicking doesn't start until much later."

"Aw," Ash moaned.

"Pika," Pikachu said, hopping down Ash's arm and pressing his cheek against May's stomach. "Chaaa," he squeaked happily, prompting the happy couple to chuckle at him again.

"Careful, Pikachu," May said. "I don't want you shocking him before he's even born!"

"Ah, don't worry," Ash chuckled again. "At least she'll be used to it before she knows how to talk."

"Mmhmm," she nodded, then playfully glared at him. "And what makes you think we're having a girl?"

"Daddy's intuition," Ash smirked. "What makes you think we're having a boy?"

"Mommy's intuition," May smirked back. They chuckled with each other and started to come together again for another embrace when the sudden sound of a firework going off made them jump back slightly. They looked up and saw that the previously-silent sky was now filled from east to west with a colorful array of fireworks.

"I think it's midnight," Ash chuckled.

May looked down at her Poketch…only to find it blank. "Oh, come on!" she groaned. "I literally just replaced the batteries this morning!"

"Hm?" he blinked. "Oh. That's unfortunate."

"Oh well," she shrugged. "I guess we can consider this a fresh start."

"Sounds good to me," Ash said before wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him so that her nose was touching his. She smiled as she gazed into his eyes, leaning her forehead against his.

"Happy New Year, Ash," she said with a smile.

"Happy New Year, May," he replied. Then, they leaned forward, closing their eyes, and pressed their lips together, sealing the new year the only way they could.

Pikachu, meanwhile, decided to leave them to it and walked back inside, hoping to catch some champagne.

There ya go: a little Advanceshipping fic to start the new year right!

Early last year, I said I had high hopes for writing in 2021, and it seems my hopes were rewarded! I posted quite a few stories and completed a multi-chapter story for the first time in five years! Not bad...not bad at all.

As for this year...eh, I'm not sure what to expect. I'm hopeful things can get back to some kind of normal soon, but right now, we just have to wait and see.

Anyways, feel free to rate and review, but be civil about it. With that, thanks for reading, and have a Happy New Year!