Hello again! Sorry that I didn't update yesterday but I got Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and it is addicting. FACT. Anyways, here's another chapter, and it's surprisingly long. Not 3,000 words long, but still the second longest of the story so far. I'm starting to fall behind in writing, I've only got up to Ch. 19, starting on 20, so my updates will be a little less frequent unless I get a good idea and write a lot. So, sorry about that but I'm also really busy cause of Homecoming coming up and I've got some people who I need to hang out with cause of conflicts on HC night. ;) Anyways, that's been happening and schools ramping up a bit, so I've got less time to write even though it's done on Google Docs. So, I'm really sorry if my updates are getting less predictable. If you like the story, drop it a favorite and a follow and review if you want. Your support is always appreciated!

Thanks,

Court

Chapter 14

Sleepless Nights

Ash and Dawn shook hands with Mary and the producer before they teleported with Meoletta back to the hotel room.

"So, where do you want to go tonight, Dawn?" Ash hugged her from behind, kissing the back of her neck. Dawn shuddered in ecstasy, holding his arms around her waist.

"Sunyshore, same place." Dawn smiled at Ash. Ash looked upset.

"I haven't been there with Meoletta yet though. How about Twinleaf?" She smiled at the suggestion he was making.

"Naughty boy. Don't bring the condoms." She said slowly, turning so they were facing each other. She nodded, blushing at what she was going to do. She held up a pack of pills. He nodded.

"Where in general do we want to do it? Your mom probably will be suspicious if we show up out of the blue and both go to your bedroom." Dawn nodded, thinking of another place. She gasped.

"Remember when I visited you in Unova?"

"Yeah?"

"The place where we stayed was for the Sinnoh Champion. Not Cynthia in specific." Ash smiled.

"And Jervis?"

"He was her servant, he left when she did." Ash nodded and told Meoletta where they wanted to go. She agreed, happy to be back in Unova.

Ten minutes later, they opened the door to the master bedroom and marveled at everything in it. From the massive bed, to the large vaulted ceiling. Ash was looking up to see how far it went. Suddenly, Dawn tackled him onto the bed, finding his lips with hers. They rolled around in bed almost wrestling as they kissed each other. Dawn rose, placing a hand on Ash's chest. Ash was completely floored. Dawn was sitting on his lap as he was lying down, slowing unzipping her midnight blue dress. She slowly lowered it until it was barely covering her nipples. She stopped, sliding onto the bed.

"Ash, th-this is my first time." She was silently crying. Ash rose and put his arm around her. He knew how she was feeling. He was feeling it too.

"Dawn... Me too." She looked up, tears shining in her disbelieving eyes.

"What?" She whispered to him. He nodded, eyes shining.

"Ever since Sunyshore, I've been in love with you. Iris tried to seduce me a couple times during my travels with her. And ever since I beat Alder, girls have been throwing themselves at me." He gathered the blankets up and wrapped Dawn in them.

"But, five years... Really?" He pulled his shoes off. He nodded.

"And these weren't any girls. Models, some Gym Leaders, real beauties. But I never felt the sparks, like when we kissed. Now if you want to do this, it is your choice. I am not going to force you to do it. I'm going to go get our luggage from the hotel room. We can stay here for a few days before we need to go anywhere." He got up and called for Meoletta.

"Ash, wait." Dawn called out. Ash looked back.

"Thank you." He smiled, barely noticeable.

"I will see you soon." Meoletta had landed on his shoulder. They disappeared in a flash of light. Dawn lay back. What a predicament. I guess I'm just not ready. She thoughts strayed to Ash and what he said.

Why couldn't I move on? I thought he had. But after all this time, he never got involved despite the opportunities. Why? Huh, I'm one to talk. I kinda did the same thing. I never trusted anyone else as much as him, so I guess that's why I waited. I love him. Did I really say that? He said it. I... Love... Him. Ash Ketchum. The one who took me under his wing. He shaped me and I shaped him. But did I? I saw him use a spin move in the Unova final. He called out Oshawott with 'Spotlight'. I smiled. I love Ash Ketchum. It felt right. Like a meal when you don't know about a missing ingredient, but when you try it, it's so much better.

A bright light flashed from under the door.

"Ash?" She called out. The door opened and Ash tossed in her bag.

"Put some pajamas on and come out here, I've got a surprise." Ash's voice came through the now closed door. She got up, her dress sagging low since she had unzipped it. She walked over and pulled her favorite pajamas out. She slipped out of her dress, hanging it on a chair. She pulled on the t-shirt she stole from Ash's drawer. It was to small for Ash but it came down low on her, around her midthighs. She slipped her moccasins on, tied her hair up in a ponytail and walked out of the bedroom. Ash had left a trail of breadcrumbs. Her stomach grumbled, unhappy. She jogged along, following the oddly romantic trail. She walked into the living room and saw him with his back turned. She had an idea. She crept up and tapped his shoulder. She dodged out of the way as he turned around. He reached behind him with both arms, trapping her against his back. She giggled.

"I knew you would do that." He laughed as he released her.

"How?" Dawn snuck under his arm.

"That's the first thing you did to me in Unova. I realized that we hadn't had dinner, so..." He gestured towards the table. "I called in a favor." The table was packed full of delicious smelling dishes and various bottles of liquid, ranging from clear to amber colored. Dawn's jaw dropped.

"Oh my god! That looks so good! But... how will we eat it all?" Ash laughed.

"Who says we are eating alone?" At that, May walked out of the kitchen, pulling a reluctant Drew behind her. Dawn squealed when she saw her best friend. May squealed too. They embraced. Drew walked over to Ash laughing.

"Well, here we go." He said, pulling out a bottle of whiskey. Ash grinned.

"Let's eat."

"Uhhhh." Ash flopped down on the table, full.

"Whatsh yoush doin, Ash?" Dawn layed down on him. He slowly removed himself from under her. Someone had a bit to much to drink. He looked over at May who was pulling Drew onto a chair.

"Need help with him?" May nodded, sighing with relief. Ash walked over after propping Dawn up on a chair. She sat there, hiccuping. He put Drew's arm over his shoulder while May did the same on the other side. They stumbled over to one of the many guest rooms. They dropped Drew onto the bed, snoring.

"You guys might need to stay a while. This is the worst I've seen him, and we drink together lots." May nodded.

"Yeah, there aren't any big events scheduled for a week or so, and Max can cover it. Ash, thanks." May drew closer to him, and gave him a hug. Ash patted her back.

"Hey Ash? Could I try something?" He looked down at her.

"Umm, yeah, what's umph...!" She kissed him abruptly. He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away. She had traces of alcohol on her breath. He shook his head, as she backed away, bowing her head.

"May, I'm sorry, but you're the sister I never had. I love you, but not that way." She looked mortified, aparently just realizing what she had done. She gasped.

"Ash! Oh my god, I'm sorry!" She started sobbing.

"I just remember when you and Dawn denied having something between each other, and it made me think. You probably hate me now..." Ash hugged her again.

"No May. I don't. You're slightly drunk. Your actions were not yours." He felt her nod, her head bobbing up and down against his chest.

"I'm going to check on Dawn. Come with me?" She nodded again, sniffling.

"Okay." He walked over to where he left Dawn, half carrying May. As the approached, Dawn looked up and drank from a bottle filled with a clear liquid.

"Hey Dawn. You should get to bed, okay?" She held up the bottle signaling him to take it from her. Ash let go of May, steadying her. He grabbed the bottle and sniffed it. He handed it to May, laughing.

"Here drink this." She took it from him, sniffing it like he did. She laughed and took a swig. Ash had picked up Dawn, bridal style, her head lolling as she snored, and turned to May.

"You should finish that, it will help with the hangover tomorrow. I'm gonna put Dawn to bed. If you want to, I'll come back down and give you some company after she falls asleep. Okay?" May nodded again, tears soaking her cheeks. Ash slowly made his way up the stairs, cradling Dawn in his arms. He opened the master bedroom with his foot, walking over to the bed and setting Dawn down. He pulled the blankets over her and tucked her in. She was asleep and had just mumbled something.

"Love...Ash Ketchem...I...l...love...You." Ash smiled sweetly as he bent over and kissed her on the forehead.

"How is she?" May had come up and saw Ash sitting on the bed next to her best friend. His mouth twitched in a small smile.

"Nothing a good night's sleep won't fix. Same with Drew." May sniffled, slowly nodding. She put her arms out wide, silently asking for a hug. Ash walked over and instead of a hug, he picked her up and set her on his back, piggy back style. May giggled, covering Ash's eyes with her hands. He laughed back, using a hand to uncover one eye. He walked down stairs with May giggling on his back. He walked into the living room and fell down heavily on the couch, May falling off his back. May recovered first, sitting on Ash's back. He pushed himself up, May sliding off. He sat up and grabbed the remote.

"Anything in particular?" She shook her head, so Ash just began flipping through the channels, finally settling on a replay of a League Title battle. May shook her head.

"Boys." She grabbed the remote and looked for a soppy romance movie. When she selected it, she opened the back of the remote, removing the batteries. She threw the batteries away.

"Ha. Now you're stuck with this." She stuck her tongue out, blowing a raspberry at him. Ash sighed.

"Ok, you win." They sat in silence watching the movie. After about an hour, Ash heard May sniffling. She was crying.

"Hey, it's just a movie." Ash said tenderly, laying a hand on her shoulder. In response, May leaned her head up against his shoulder.

"Dawn told me about Sunyshore." She looked up at the pokémon master. He nodded, May was her best friend, he'd expected that.

"And?" He responded, putting an arm around her comforting her.

"It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard. Even now I can't believe that you, the densest person I ever knew, pulled that off. And I'm jealous. Drew never did that for me." She started sobbing.

"May, it's okay. Just visit somewhere romantic and he will catch the drift. Besides what about the roses?" He pulled the rose out of her hair. He heard a slight sigh from May. It turned into a snore. He slowly extracted himself from her, picking her up and putting her in another guest room, tucking her in. He looked at the clock. No point in going to sleep, I guess I'm on clean up. He walked out to the kitchen. He picked up the empty liquor bottles. Well, definately the cleanest party ever. He pulled out his cell phone, dialing.