A/N: Welcome (back)! As per usual, here's the daily upload!
Unfortunately, I'll be losing interwebz tomorrow for I don't know how long. I'll continue writing, of course, but I don't know when my next update will be. Sorry for any inconvenience. =[
The day has been pretty eventful for our heroes back in Goldenrod City. Ash and Misty made their first stop back at the battle tower where Ash turned in both his and Mason's passes and received a substantial sum of points. After a lot of deliberation, the prize he chose was a limited edition "Champion of the Day" hat, which he wore proudly. Unfortunately for Ash, that was the most enjoyable stop he made for the rest of the day. Misty managed to drag him around to shop after shop, searching for just the right thing to wear to the dance. Ash was able to shop around a few department stores while Misty tried on the different outfits, but that was the extent of his free-roaming. After some time, Misty finally decided on an outfit, while also taking the liberty of choosing an outfit for Ash.
Dawn was more than happy to help Brock in choosing an outfit having brought her own in her contest attire, though they settled on the simple tuxedo and bowtie that Brock had worn on previous occasions. Dawn was excited at the thought of being able to continue her shopping, however she was cut off on multiple occasions, forced to interrupt Brock in his foolish attempts at wooing girl after girl. They did manage to make a successful stop at one of the medical supply depots where Brock restocked on a lot of the supplies he and Chansey used. After Dawn had had enough shopping and headaches, she dragged Brock back to the hotel and called it an early afternoon.
May had also already brought her contest outfits and had something to wear. She was also quick to pick something for Mason to wear. They spent a few hours bouncing from shop to shop, enjoying the day. Oddly May wasn't on quite the shopping spree she had earlier in the day and Mason found it pretty easy to carry the things she had bought. After a few hours they took a break, sitting on a bench in the middle of a crowded park. Mason began playing with Noone before giving her her favorite treat, a few scratches behind the ears. May released Glaceon and Munchlax to join in on the fun. Before they knew it, Mason and May were surrounded by wild pokemon all investigating the noises coming from the bench. It was quite enjoyable until a snorlax began making his way over with intent in his eyes. May quickly recalled her pokemon and they took off, fleeing from the giant pokemon.
The sun began lowering in the sky, preparing to cast its final light on the city. At the hotel, the group had all found their way to their rooms and were getting ready for the dance.
"This place is amazing!" Dawn was running around the room looking at everything. "It's even better than I had imagined! Mrs. Ketchum really knows what she's doing!"
The other two girls were busy making their preparations for the dance. "Dawn, shouldn't you be getting dressed?" May called out from her room.
"I will, don't worry!" Dawn yelled back, "This is just so exciting! I never thought I'd be staying at the Yamada!" She continued messing with things all around the room. Meanwhile across the hall an identical scene was taking place. Ash was very preoccupied with all of the features of the room, finding it hard to focus on just one thing. Between his trips across the room, he made frequent stops at the refrigerator that was stocked to the brim with delicious food.
Brock emerged from his room, straightening his bowtie. "You know, Ash, Misty's going to kill you if you miss this dance."
Ash turned bright red and his face froze in shock. "W-Whaddya mean?"
"Wasn't she the one who paid for your outfit?" Brock chuckled, "She won't be too happy if you don't do anything with it." Ash eased up and his face returned to normal.
"Oh…right." He finished the sandwich he was eating and took his bag into one of the rooms just as Mason was coming out. He was wearing a maroon tuxedo with a white tie and black slip-on shoes, the one thing he had requested when May had chosen his outfit.
"Wow, looking good! Nice choice!" Brock gave a thumbs up.
Mason chuckled, "Thanks, but the compliments go to May. She's the one who picked everything out." They laughed as Noone began sniffing around Mason's feet. She had never seen him dressed up before. "Whaddya think?" Mason said to Noone. "She did a good job, huh?" Noone sat down and gave a big smile and Mason ruffled the hair on her head.
A few minutes later Brock and Mason began getting worried about Ash missing the party as he still hadn't come out of the room. Just as they were about to force the door open and drag him down to the party themselves, he came out of the room wearing a white tuxedo with a matching white bow-tie. Misty had also picked out a black top hat with a white band around it for him to wear.
Brock was honestly surprised to see Ash dressed up as well as he was. "Wow, Misty really knows what she's doing!" He and Mason laughed. Ash was nervously fidgeting with his tie and his hair.
"I look like an old man going to some important meeting…" Pikachu whined nervously, looking in the mirror as Ash adjusted his outfit. He tilted the bow-tie to both sides before settling it in the middle again.
"You look like someone about to go to a dance, now come on!" Brock threw his arm around Ash's shoulder. "We don't wanna be late, do we?" Silently and secretly, Ash thought to himself that it might just be better if they were late. Mason joined them and they left the room, headed downstairs to the ballroom.
In the ballroom guests had already been arriving for the last hour and were mingling amongst themselves. Everyone was there from trainers that had just started their journeys the day before to Pokemon Breeders and even some of the trainers from Whitney's gym.
The girls all arrived together, walking into the ballroom at the same time. Dawn arrived wearing a bright white dress with thin strips of fabric running all the way around from the waist down. She wore her hair down as usual, only without a hat. On her wrists she wore white cuffs and she had white flat-bottom dress shoes on her feet. May was dressed in a sparkling red kimono trimmed in gold along the seams. Her hair was done in her normal double-ponytail reaching down to her neck where she wore a shining ruby necklace her mother had given to her. She wore matching gloves and shoes. Misty wore a light-blue sleeveless dress that went down just past her knees, embroidered with red swirls. Her hair was down, the fiery orange complimenting the blue tear-drop earrings she wore. Her shoes were black with a slight heel on them.
As they had expected, the boys had yet to arrive, so they waited by the snack table for the dance to start.
With only a few minutes to spare, Ash, Brock and Mason ran toward the counter and lined up, presenting their tickets one at a time. Ash stepped into the ballroom and laughed excitedly. The decorations were astounding, with pictures of the different starter pokemon pasted on every wall and ice sculptures of cydaquil, tododile and chikorita in the middle of the punch bowls, keeping the drinks cool. That's when Ash noticed the girls and gasped. He'd seen May and Dawn dressed for contests before, but he had never seen Misty dressed as nicely as she was now, and rarely did he see her with her hair down.
"Wow," Brock commented, "they really did a great job in here, didn't they?" Neither Mason nor Ash replied. Mason had also noticed the girls at the table and was stunned. Noone realized Mason's trance and gave him a shove from behind, causing him to stumble forward a few steps, snapping him and Ash out of their stares and making Brock laugh. "Easy guys, don't get drool on your suits."
They made their way over to the snack table. "Wow! Look at that!" Misty called out and the other girls turned. "Someone has good taste in clothing!" She said, gesturing to Ash's outfit. The other girls giggled as Ash blushed. "Brock and Mason don't look too bad either!"
"Of course not, they had the help of professionals!" May and Dawn high-fived and everyone laughed.
After a few minutes of chatting, the lights dimmed and a man appeared in the middle of the dance floor with a microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the third annual 'Starter Kickoff Dance' here at the Yamada!" The crowd erupted in applause and cheering. "As with last year, we'll be kicking it off with a fun dance number for everybody! So everyone put on your dancing shoes, let your pokemon out and let's have some fun!" The crowd cheered again as colorful lights and spotlights lit up the dance floor.
"What are we waiting for?" Brock yelled, "Let's go!" Brock threw his pokeball into the air and released Chansey. Dawn followed and threw a pokeball into the air and let Buneary out onto the dance floor followed by May's munchlax and Poof. The pokemon all gathered around each other as others came to join them. The group took the dance floor and began dancing and enjoying the music. All throughout the party people and pokemon alike were swinging and swaying to the beat. Buneary took Pikachu's hand and began twirling him around while Chansey and a blissey danced together. Munchlax found his way to the snack table and began making off with plate after plate of food.
The night goes on and the group is having the time of their lives. Soon the party slows down a bit as people tire out. Mason has been taking breaks to dance with Noone and the other pokemon, becoming quite popular amongst them much to everyone's delight. Brock's ear was bright red and throbbing after being pulled countless times by Misty while Dawn and May giggled. Ash had run into a few newbie trainers and took great pride in telling them all about his adventures.
Suddenly everyone was on the dance floor again as Caramelldansen came on over the speakers. The entire dance floor was caught up in the dance and at one point the spotlights shone on a group of three girls who seemed to perfectly mimic the song move for move.
When the song finished, everyone was in a wonderful mood, but slightly exhausted. The DJ eased things up with a slow dance number. As soon as the music started, Ash and Misty turned and faced each other across the dance floor before quickly looking away, blushing. Brock took the liberty of "accidentally" shoving Ash while Dawn did the same with Misty. They both stumbled a few steps forward and met face-to-face on the dance floor. They both blushed as Misty giggled. After a few moments, Misty held her hand up. "Would you…honor me with a dance?" Ash was stunned for a moment, and then slowly took Misty's hand into his and began dancing as well as he knew how.
Elsewhere on the dance floor, Mason was stuck deep in thought as he watched May dancing by herself. Sensing his doubt, Noone turned to Poof, who simply snickered and disappeared. Suddenly Noone rammed into Mason, sending him back out onto the dance floor. Across from him, May came floating his way once more, carried by the invisible Poof. He slowly released her in front of Mason. For a moment they simply stared at each other, before Mason slowly held his hand out for May to take. He lead her toward the middle of the dance floor where they begin slowly dancing.
"You know, Ash," Misty began, "even with all of our usual bickering, I have to say, this is…nice." She smiled at Ash who gave a nervous smile back.
"I…guess…" Ash was still slightly uncomfortable being so close to Misty, even though it felt so natural. She hoped that by the time the song was over he might actually mature a little and dance with her the way she wished he would.
"You know Ash…I…" Misty stopped, afraid of what might come next. "I…" Before she could finish, the lights all around them went dim. A spotlight turned on and shone toward the center of the room where a crowd had begun gathering around. Although he's waiting to hear what Misty has to say, Ash can't help but become distracted by all of the commotion. After a few moments, he lets go of Misty's hand.
"What's going on…? Let's check it out." He walks off as Misty watches and mutters a single cry, rendered breathless at how close she was. After a moment of reliving the few precious previous seconds, she makes her way next to Ash to investigate, followed closely by Dawn and Brock.
Each of them is speechless as they witness the sight in front of them: Mason and May, slowly dancing all across the dance floor, perfectly in step, their eyes almost never leaving each others'. The feeling in the room is strong and heavy, the chemistry between the two in the spotlight commanding attention from everyone.
Ash and Brock continue to watch, amazed. "I didn't know…wow, they really know how to dance…" Ash mutters.
"Yeah…" Brock says absent-mindedly, still staring, as if they might take off and fly away at any moment.
Misty and Dawn are still speechless. The one thing they've noticed this entire time is the intensity between the two. Almost never breaking eye contact, completely unaffected by anything going on around them. Misty suddenly feels a sharp pain in her heart as she imagines herself in May's position, which could have been possible only a few moments ago. She turns away and wipes a single tear from her eye while Dawn continues staring.
As the music goes on, Mason and May seem to grow more and more enveloped with one another, completely lost in each others' embrace. She feels his hands grasping her waist, pulling her closer and closer with every step. Their dancing intensifies, the two of them moving without a single thought but those of the person across from them, every note and every beat accentuating their movements.
With no hesitation, Mason wraps his right arm around May's waist as he holds her hand up with his left. The two of them are almost moving as one person, gliding from one point to the next. People and pokemon alike continue to watch the spectacle unfold, almost convinced that this had been planned by the hotel staff from the beginning. It was far too perfect to have been so spontaneous.
The music enters its final decline, steadily slowing to its original melody. Mason and May slowly return to the middle of the circle. The air in the room is completely still as they simply stand and stare at each other, closer than ever before. As the music begins to fade, Mason leans May back, pulling her closer and closer until he can feel her breath slide across his nose. She closes her eyes and prepares herself for what's to come next…
Suddenly the crowd roars and applauds the two, bringing them back to reality. Mason quickly looks around and notices the circle around them. He pulls May back up and takes a bow as he blushes. May simply smiles and waves, attempting to catch up with her thoughts, which all suddenly came flooding back. The two of them leave the dance floor on separate sides, followed by their pokemon. The announcer thanks them over the speakers for their wonderful performance and continues on to the next song.
Misty has since taken a seat, retracing the few moments she had had to dance with Ash. She looks up and notices him back on the dance floor enjoying himself. Brock looks over to her and she forces a smile. To her relief he buys it and continues flirting with one of the party-goers.
Nearly an hour later the party comes to a close with only half of the people still there, the other half having already left. All of the pokemon are returned to their pokeballs as everyone says their goodbyes. Misty makes her way out the door and up to the room as soon as she can while Dawn continues chatting excitedly with May about what had happened.
Mason and Noone are sitting down resting when Noone lets out a small sigh. "I hear you. Come on, let's go." The two of them join Ash and Brock and they all return to their rooms. The ballroom clears and the hotel crew sets about the tedious task of returning it to its clean state. For many people throughout the city, tonight will be a night to be remembered.
Mason, Ash and Brock had all changed into night clothes and now sit around the bar in the kitchen picking at the food on the counter. They've all been sharing stories of past adventures with one another. Brock tells them all about his progress in becoming a Pokemon Doctor, Mason retells his stories of the few gym battles he's had, and Ash and Brock both tell Mason all about some of the times they managed to save the world, much to Mason's astonishment.
"I remember that…" Mason thought back a few years, "the weather was crazy for a few days and a whole bunch of pokemon kept flocking through town in the same direction." He looked toward Ash, "You're saying you were there?"
"Yeah!" Ash said excitedly, "There was a whole legend with my name in it and everything!"
Mason was a little skeptical and looked toward Brock. "That really happened?"
"I wasn't there, I was…somewhere else…" Brock shuttered, then snapped out if it, "But with the adventures we've been on together, I don't doubt it for a second." He slapped Ash on the back. "Ash and I have been through things most people don't even imagine in their lifetimes." He and Ash chuckled.
"Wow…I've gotta say, that's amazing." Mason took a bite out of his sandwich, then broke a piece off and threw it to Noone. "So you've got quite a few pokemon, huh?"
Ash laughed, "Yeah, though most of them stay with Professor Oak. Someday I want to be a Pokemon Master and catch every kind of pokemon there is!" He paused for a second, "So you've only got Noone, Poof and Seven?"
"Yeah, but that's alright with us. Well, actually…" He thought for a second, "Back at home there's a dratini that my neighbors are taking of. His name's Red."
Brock and Ash gasped, "You've got a dratini? Why is he at home? Why don't you train him?" Ash began spewing questions.
"Woah," Mason held his hand up, "hold on. I did catch Red, but he's not mine." Brock and Ash just stared. "Well, he found my house one day. I tried to show him the way back into the wild, but he was pretty persistent on staying. Eventually he broke one of my windows and jumped through." Mason laughed, "He was really friendly but very shy around others. When he didn't leave, I decided to catch him and help him find his real owner. He just…doesn't belong to me. I can't really explain it any better than that."
Ash laughed excitedly, "That's awesome! Maybe he belongs to me?" Everyone shared a laugh as Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and grabbed an apple from the table.
"I'm sure I'll know someday. Until then he's a great pal and fun to have around." After a few more small side conversations, Ash and Brock continued telling Mason all about their travels. Mason and Noone continued to listen, becoming more and more amazed as they went on. Eventually they explained how they had split up a year ago and how it was great to be together again.
"Ah…Man, that sounds great." Mason began dreaming about traveling all the way to Sinnoh and Hoenn, visiting places all around the world. "And it's awesome that you've all been such good friends this entire time."
"The best of friends," Ash corrected, "till the very end." Ash and Brock both nodded toward each other.
"Wow…" Mason was still lost in thought. Brock smirked and seized the opportunity.
"So Mason," he started, "where'd you learn to dance?" He grinned toward Mason.
"Oh!" Ash remembered the dance less than an hour ago, "Yeah! You were great, the spotlight's were shining and everything!"
Mason turned red began laughing nervously. "Well, to be honest I didn't know I knew how to dance." He said, still laughing.
"But you and May were so great!" Ash had yet to pick up on the insinuation Brock had made, making Mason ease up a little.
"Yeah, you and May were really great together!" Brock added, laughing. Mason blushed again.
"Eheh, yeah…" Mason wasn't sure what to say. Ash finally picked up on Brock's heavy hinting and grinned.
"Ahhh…May's pretty good at dancing too, isn't she?" Ash snickered, "In fact, I've never seen her dance like that before. Not until she was dancing with you."
Mason continued to laugh nervously, still unsure of what to say. He remembered everything from earlier, and had absolutely loved the few minutes that he and May were dancing. He hadn't even realized the crowd that had formed around them until they started clapping.
Just then Noone gave him another nudge, she had really been enjoying herself lately. He looked down at the big smile on her face. "Not you too. Traitor." Everyone laughed as Mason grabbed a grape from the tray in front of them and threw it to Noone. "To be honest, it just happened," he said, "We bumped into each other on the dance floor with the help of a certain ninetails and a certain haunter." He sighed, "The next thing I knew we were completely lost in the music. I didn't even know you guys were watching until the music stopped."
"Everyone was watching," Brock said, "you guys took half the dance floor." They all laughed again. "You guys definitely looked happy though."
"Yeah…" Mason kept reliving the night in his head. Across from him, Ash was also lost in thought as he recalled what was happening just before he had stopped to watch Mason and May. He remembered his short dance with Misty and how it had felt. Suddenly he remembered what Misty had been saying, and that he had cut her off before she could finish. He kept running through all the things she could have said had he given her just a few more seconds. Then he realized that he hadn't really seen Misty at all for the rest of the night.
"What's wrong, Ash?" Brock startled him with his question, and then he realized that both Mason and Brock were looking his way wearing confused looks.
"I…I think I'm gonna go to bed…" Ash got up from his chair and walked toward the bedroom as Mason and Brock just watched in confusion. They had all been laughing and enjoying themselves only seconds ago. Pikachu hopped off of the counter and ran after Ash, making it into the room just before Ash closed it.
"What…was that?" Mason asked. Brock didn't answer, he just watched as Ash left, thinking about what could possibly be wrong. He's hit with an epiphany when he remembers the few moments before Mason and May's dance. He felt like an idiot for not having noticed it earlier, remembering seeing Misty sitting at one of the tables during the dance.
"Let's just give him some time," Brock said finally, "I think he's got a lot to think about." Mason grunted in agreement. A few moments later the kitchen was cleaned up and Mason was laying on the couch with Noone while Brock and Chansey read some of the manuals they had picked up earlier today.
Across the hall in the girls' room, May was still trying to change the subject as Dawn continued to gush about her dance with Mason. Misty sat across the room on the couch, attempting to get her mind off of the dance with some T.V.
"It was just so amazing!" Dawn was sitting at the bar with a drink in front of her. "You guys were so great! The music, the lights, the dancing!"
May was standing across the way from Dawn with a drink in her hand. "Yeah, I remember," May said for the tenth time, "It was amazing…" She chuckled lightly, telling the truth. She was taken by surprise bt the entire thing, and was almost mad at herself over it, considering how things had turned out with Drew. The one person she let herself get close to after so long and he tossed her to the ground. Now she found herself in almost the same position over the course of a single day.
"Gahh! It was just…" Dawn's face beamed, "You know!" Dawn turned and leaned over the counter toward May. "So what happened? I mean you only met him yesterday and from what I saw tonight it seemed like you two have practiced that for weeks!"
May wasn't really sure how to answer, she was still a little confused herself as to how it had all happened. She just shrugged and giggled. Dawn turned back and looked up toward the ceiling, clasping her hands. "I wish something like that could happen to me!" Across the room, Misty was trying as hard as she could to ignore them, but this statement brought her full attention to the kitchen. "To be whisked away and caught in such a passionate embrace, all in the blink of an eye!"
May suddenly remembered exactly what had happened before the dance. She smiled and closed her eyes. "That's right…the song came on, and I was just dancing by myself on the dance floor." Dawn's face lit up even more and she turned and faced May. "That's when I bumped into him. We didn't even say anything…we didn't have to. He just held up his hand and led me to the dance floor. For the next few minutes there was nothing but the music, the rhythm, and his eyes."
"Ahh…" Dawn continued to stare.
"I didn't even have to think about the dance, it just flowed out step-by-step." She giggled, "I didn't even notice you guys watching us. Not until you started clapping. I was just so caught in the moment…"
"Wow…how romantic!" Dawn's face beamed once more.
"More like rude." Dawn and May are surprised to hear Misty from across the room. "The two of you took up over half of the dance floor all to yourselves." She stood up from the couch with a stern look on her face, looking toward the T.V. still. For a moment none of them say anything. Misty suddenly grows concerned and looks over to the other two, who are still staring at her. "I-I'm sorry…I mean…what I meant…" She stands in silence for another few moments before shaking her head and running to her room.
For just a few more moments, the other two simply stare at the empty space in front of Misty's door. Finally they turn to each other and exchange an uncomfortable smile. The mood had been slightly disturbed, but Dawn's still infatuated with the thought of the entire thing.
"You know…tonight was only missing one thing." Dawn said softly as she put her glass away. "One thing and I think it might have been perfect…"
"Hm?" May was caught off guard again by Dawn's sudden statement, and how calm she had become. "What's that?"
Dawn sat for a moment, simply looking down in front of her. She nodded, agreeing with herself, then turned to May. "A kiss." May's face began turning red as she gave the idea some thought, something she hadn't done yet. Dawn smiled at her, sure of what was going through her head now.
"Well, I'm going to get some rest," Dawn said as she walked toward her room, "I'll see you in the morning." May nodded to her and sat in the kitchen for a few moments longer. Eventually she cleans her glass and puts it away, retiring to her own room.
As the minutes drag on in the darkness, May's mind is pestered by an undying urge, a request that had gone unfulfilled. She continued to replay the night in her head over and over, enjoying every moment she had shared with Mason but the last. Her mind was finally eased when she found the words to say exactly what it was that she had wanted: "Why didn't he kiss me…"
Hidden underground, far from prying eyes, Giovanni read through the different reports being filed by the different branches. Each one causes the grin on his face to grow just a little more sinister until he's finally laughing with himself. A beep is heard and he hit's a button under his desk, activating the screen in front of him. Maxie is shown standing in a large room with multiple henchmen working in the background.
"Giovanni, we've just received reports of strange happenings in the oceans between Kanto and Hoenn." He looked at the paper in his hand, then back to Giovanni. "Cyclones and whirlpools of immense proportions have been appearing within 50 knots of each other."
"It's happening…" Giovanni couldn't help but laugh again. His genius was finally being utilized to its fullest. "Excellent. Contact Archie and tell him to have his men ready all along the coastline. Have yours assemble on land and be prepared. And remember, remain incognito for as long as possible. We don't need any more troubles than what the pokemon are going to give us."
"Understood." Maxie turns to leave, but stops and returns his sight to the screen. "Also, what's to be done with Jirachi?"
Giovanni remembered the wish granting pokemon they had awoken a few nights ago. "We've gotten what we need from it. Do with it what you wish."
"Got it." The screen flicked off and Giovanni returned to the reports in front of him, starting back from the beginning simply to gleam over his accomplishments once more.
A/N: And that's why I call it Danceshipping. =] Hope you guys enjoyed! I'll update as soon as I can, I promise! Please read and review!
EDIT: So someone pointed out to me that apparently there's already a DanceShipping. That was my bad. o.o;; I've changed the name to OneDayShipping (MasonxMay) representing the short time it took for the two of them to become so close.