The human body is just incredible. Excluding revisions and author's notes my fingers hit just over 320 thousand keys in this fic alone. I'd love to see the count on some of the far longer fics. But you guys don't care much about that do you? Well of course as promised here is the final chapter. It's quite a bit longer than my usual chapter length, in fact it's officially my longest, but I just couldn't figure out a satisfactory place to split it. So in the end my loss is your gain. One last thing that I should mention is that time isn't completely linear in this chapter; each of the page breaks overlaps some of the one that came before it. Of course a big thanks to all who took the time to review the last chapter.
After leaving Dawn and Ash alone to enjoy the rest of the festival, May had set out on a rather similar fashion of watching the different stalls that were available to everyone. Normally many of them would have caught her interest for quite some time but the thoughts of Ash never left her mind. The only thing that she was truly thankful for at that point in time was that she still had Eevee with her.
With night having completely fallen by this point she had retired into the forest a little ways just to clear her head. Not too far off of the path she found a small crystal clear pond with a clearing around it. Near the center of it was situated a small wooden shrine set on a large rock, probably the reason that the festival was located around this area in the first place.
Sitting down on the grass May couldn't help but lie back and watch as the sky continued to fill up with stars. Eevee, as per her usual, was right next to her mother, curled up on her stomach resting her eyes as May's breathing slowly raised her up and down. That, in combination with her soothing voice, would normally have made the little Pokémon fall asleep right then and there but there was still plenty to do that night considering the preparations needed for tomorrow morning.
"I can't help but wonder if one of them has popped the question yet Eevee," May said as she looked to the sky. "Even if it hurts to think about it the fact still remains that I am truly jealous of Dawn at this point. Ash is a great guy and any girl would have been lucky to call him their own. In my years traveling I've never met another person like him, he's definitely one-of-a-kind. Although he may not act like it all the time he is one of the smartest people that I know and it truly comes to shine when he's around Pokémon, not just battling them but almost every aspect of it he has become a true master of." Giving off a large sigh as she continued to reminisce about the boy who had captured her heart May couldn't help but have him continuously come to mind.
Unconsciously nodding her head Eevee couldn't help but agree with her. She may not have that good of an eye for humans but even as a Pokémon she knew that there was something different about him. Possibly due to his relationship with Pikachu.
"But then again why would he choose me of all people? Sure I'm a good coordinator and everything but I'm clumsy at times, soft-spoken, and not truly all that brave. He's been the one to save me on several accounts and I probably come off as nothing but a burden to him. The whole time that we were together all I can remember is him helping me. Everything from contests, to how to treat my Pokémon, consoling me after a loss, and even having to risk his own life to save mine after I did something stupid. I mean that must be at least part of the reason why we parted ways after Kanto. Sure I wanted to prove that I could do everything on my own as well but part of me didn't care if I proved anything, as long as I could stay by his side."
Looking back towards the sky the large crescent moon caught her eye.
"It actually reminds me of a story that my dad used to tell me when I was little. A long time ago a small boy told a girl he liked that one day he would give her the best and biggest gift he could find. After days of thinking about what to actually give her he looked up into the sky and seeing the moon declared that that would be his present. So he found the tallest tree on top of the tallest hill in his village. Climbing to the very top the great disk seemed so close that one could just reach out touch it." As she told the story May unconsciously raised one of her arms and covered the moon with an open hand before closing it into a fist, as if trying to grab it herself. "Reaching out he tried his hardest to grab what appeared to be right next to him, but no matter how far he stretched his arms he never could quite grasp it. Finally his footing gave way and the small boy tumbled to the bottom, getting hurt quite bad in the process."
During the whole story Eevee couldn't help but watch May as she lay there, hand still outstretched and a few tears making their way to her eyes.
"The little boy tried to obtain the impossible and only got hurt from it. I can't help but fell as though I'm in a similar situation with Ash. The best gift that I could imagine right now would be for him to return my feelings, but he loves Dawn and the more that I try to get close to him the further that I will fall in the end. That's the reason why I need to get away from it all."
"But even though I should be happy for Ash I'm not sure if I can do that. Mom said that the biggest happiness is in seeing someone you really like stay happy. I keep telling myself this but even then the tears still come. I should be happy for him, and yet as they fall I feel as though I'm betraying my own feelings for him."
Wiping the tears from her eyes May picked up Eevee and set her on her usual perch before standing up and dusting herself off.
"But enough with the sad thoughts. How about we go grab some cotton candy before we leave? We can even bring it back here to eat, I don't know what it is about this place but for some reason it just feels peaceful and calming."
"Vee." Nodding her head slightly Eevee couldn't help but feel down as well, no matter how much she loved cotton candy.
Walking back towards the edge of the forest it didn't take long for the two of them to get back to the festival and try and find a cotton candy stall.
"I love you."
After she said those three words Dawn couldn't even work up the courage to look Ash in the eye. The silence that surrounded them before once again filled the air after she said those fateful words. What was even worse was that it seemed to dig into her like daggers, the seconds seemingly feeling like hours.
"Dawn, I…I don't know what to say," Ash told her with a slight stutter.
The coordinator inhaled sharply as he said those words breaking the silence. Small beads of sweat began to appear on her brow as he opened his mouth again.
"Except that I'm sorry."
Her eyes shot open as those last two words escaped his lips, but it only lasted for a second before their true meaning came to her.
"You're sorry?" She asked, her entire body shaking slightly.
"Yes Dawn, I am. I should have realized your feelings earlier but the idea just started to come to me a couple days ago. Don't get me wrong or anything I love you very much, but it's not the love that you are hoping for."
"What do you mean by that?" She asked with only a slight tinge of hope in it.
"You are like the younger sister that I never had. I had so much fun with you during our travels it got to the point where I truly did feel as though we were family. But I can tell that this isn't what you would be wanting me to say."
Ash felt like the worst person in the world at that point. He too couldn't even look at her and tried to avert his gaze from the coordinator, unable to even think about how she would take something this devastating. Somewhere in his mind was the thought that Dawn was harboring these types of feelings for him but he just couldn't bring himself to truly think about it. And even worse, if he would have outright asked her if it was like that it would either come out completely wrong and she would just think of him as some weirdo or she would think that he felt the same way that she did.
Trying to hold back the tears as much as she could, Dawn could barely believe her ears. She was so sure that he felt the same way about her, so sure that it hurt at times just knowing that they both loved each other and yet neither had the courage to ask. And yet in only a second it was all crushed, bashed, and torn into tiny pieces by only two words.
"So then me holding your hand, the festival, the ferry, it was all…"
"You seemed so insistent on doing those things I didn't have the heart to tell you that you couldn't. As I said I love you as a little sister and because of that I wanted you to be happy. It's just that this one thing is something that I can't give you."
"It's May isn't it?" She quietly asked turning away from him.
Shocked at her sudden question Ash could feel his face heat up instantly. "What? No, of course not! What would make you think of that? There's nothing…"
"Please don't lie to me Ash. I saw you buy that locket and I know that it wasn't for your mother. If it wasn't for me then there is only one other that is with us."
"You saw me?" The red in his face quickly turned to a pale white. "No Dawn it…" He stopped as he heard her start to sniffle. "Yes," he stated quietly.
Not clearly hearing him but still wanting to hear it directly from him she had to confirm it, even if she knew she would hate the answer. "What was that again?"
"Yes," he repeated, this time louder. "But I beg of you, please don't tell her. I thought that she would possibly feel the same way but as of the last few days I can't help but second guess that. For no reason whatsoever running off away from us, going into full mood swings, and I know that there is something bothering her and yet she won't even tell me. I've started to think that she doesn't care for me the same way that I do, and even if she does I don't think that I could actually tell her."
Nearly laughing at the irony of the situation Dawn knelt down to pick up Buneary. "I wish you the best of luck Ash. I'm not sure what's going to happen right now but I'm heading back to the hotel. I just suggest that you find May."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Never mind, I'm going back. Goodnight."
Without even waiting for a response Dawn hurried off into the crowd, eager to get away from his sight. It took everything she had to hold the tears back as she moved through the sea of people trying to make her way back to the relative safety of the hotel.
"Dawn?"
Realizing that the voice wasn't Ash's, the blunette looked up to see May standing there with Eevee on her shoulder and a sick of cotton candy in one hand.
"Where's Ash?"
"Oh he's back there; I just had to run back to the hotel for something," she told the other coordinator as tears finally began to well up in her eyes. She couldn't look at May's face at this point, knowing full well that all the resistance that she was using would break down right then and there if she did.
"Okay," May's voice started to fall as she too looked down at the ground. "So did you tell him?"
"Yeah."
"Oh," raising her head again with the best smile she could muster May couldn't help but let a few tears fall from her own eyes. "Then congra…"
"Congratulations," Dawn interrupted her as she brushed past her friend to make her way back to the suite, leaving a completely confused May in her wake.
It didn't take long for her to get back to the room and she jumped down onto her bed.
As the tears finally came she couldn't help but laugh. "I was right; he did like her more than me. My own thoughts blinded me. My mom used to warn me all the time 'sometimes what you know isn't as limiting as what you think'. I never understood it until now. Every sign was there that she still liked him, as well as the signs for the other way around, but the fact that May wanted to help me find love and not impede it made me overlook them just enough."
Feeling a tugging on her sleeve Dawn looked up to see Buneary standing on the bed with tears flowing out of her eyes as well.
"I guess I never truly asked you even if it might not be the best time, were you able to win over Pikachu?"
Not even answering the Normal-type just walked into her trainer's arms, wanting nothing but to feel the security that her embrace held.
"Buneary…" Smiling slightly as the tears began to come even more Dawn just comforted her partner. "I'm sorry. Looks like in the end neither of us were able to achieve our goals this time. We were both bested out of their hearts, but it's not all that surprising that if one of us lost the other did as well."
Feeling her Pokémon weeping even more than she was at that point Dawn tried her best to try and stop crying, no matter how hard it felt to keep herself from losing herself in them.
"It doesn't matter how bad I feel right now I need to stay strong, if only for her sake." Turning back to her Pokétch Dawn started to scroll through the numbers stored in memory until she found the "O"s. "Let's just hope that he's still awake. I'm really going to need someone to talk to for support after tonight and he's the only other one I could count on."
As she finished hitting the number and the dial tones began to punch in only one thought ran through her head. "May if you break his heart I swear that I will never forgive you. He may not feel the same way about me as I do him but that doesn't mean that I'll ever forget about him."
"Dawn!"
Watching as she disappeared into the crowd Ash couldn't help but feel absolutely horrible at that moment. She was still very important to him but she wasn't his "special person" as Brock once put it.
"I want to run after her and try to comfort her but I get the feeling that the last thing that she wants to see right now is me of all people," he muttered to Pikachu as he sat back down on the bench again.
"I just can't believe that she followed me to the jewelry store and saw me buy that. What if May found out about it?" Groaning at the thought Ash just let his head fall down into his arms.
"Pika pika Pikapi?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry that I've been keeping you out of the loop so much Pikachu but I haven't even been all that sure about it myself. I know that out of everyone you were the only one who knew that I had someone on my mind but I never actually told you who it was. For a while I was thinking that if I never told anyone about it that it would just kinda fade away. Of course it seemed like that was the last thing that happened in the end. The more I tried to ignore it the more that it just came back stronger, of course her showing up in Pallet didn't help that either. It was during our battle a few days ago that everything started to fall into place. Seeing May standing there confidently after beating me I knew that her journey to become better without anyone's help was a success. Hearing her voice, her laugh, and seeing her smile only made everything come back tenfold."
"Pikachu pika pika chu?"
"Yeah the locket was meant for her. I bought it to try and set my resolve about telling her tonight." Reaching into his breast pocket he pulled out an elongated light blue felt jewelry case, sighing as he looked at it. "I paid a fortune for it and even if it was worth every penny it still doesn't even come close to comparing with her. I even had it air-lifted in from another one of their stores because they didn't have the perfect one. But I know that this is one that would be ideal for her, even she didn't feel the same way as I do."
Putting the case back Ash just gazed upwards towards the stars. "As I told Dawn, my confidence has begun to falter. I thought that she came back here so that we could travel together again, and just so that we could relive that moment I practiced what I wanted to say to her countless times. Over and over again I said it in my head until I found myself saying them even when I wasn't thinking about it. But while she did seem happy to see me at first her entire mood began to change as the trip went on. Now I almost get the feeling that she's avoiding me for some reason."
At suddenly hearing Ash's confession to him Pikachu perked up immediately. Even if his Pikapi never officially told him who his crush was, he had a hunch that it really was May and not Dawn. As the gears in his head began to turn there were a few things that he still needed to get straight before taking action.
"Pikachu pi pika chu Pikapi?"
"Of course I really care about her Pikachu, just seeing her smile is enough to keep me going for days on end. Out of almost everyone I have met during my travels she would be the one that I would be least willing to forget."
"Pika pikachu?"
"If only it were that easy Pikachu. If I all of a sudden bring this up to her no matter what it'll change our friendship forever, for better or worse. I'm not sure if I can handle that right now. The last thing that I would ever want is for her to become uncomfortable around me. And now that I think about it I don't think that I'm ready to take that risk. We still have a few nights left of this vacation; hopefully I can build up my confidence again and ask her before we leave."
Instantly looking up at Ash, Pikachu started to get very worried. He finally figured out that it really was May that Pikapi was attracted to and all of a sudden his trainer was backing down from telling her, the night before she was leaving. He had made the painful decision of choosing between Pikapi and Eevee, but if he didn't have to carry through with it then he would take any risk to make it so.
"Pikachu Pikapi!"
Jumping off of the bench Pikachu went into a full out run straight into the festival.
"What the, hey Pikachu! Where are you going?" Ash called out as he ran after his starter.
Running just fast enough so that he knew Pikapi could keep up Pikachu darted between the various visitors around him. For the first time he was the one out searching for the one of the two that would always be searching for him, and he knew just the way to accomplish this. Even while they were gone he was almost always able to catch a faint whiff of that smell, her smell. It may not have been her usual smell but for at least a little while longer he would be able to find her from even a mile away. And he knew for a fact that wherever she was, May was. All he had to do was follow his nose, and even through all the foods and different people and Pokémon he was able to find it. Turning left or right he just continued to head in the direction that it continued to grow stronger, all the while hearing Pikapi calling from just behind him.
Eventually it led him to the edge of the festival and into a large forest, but he knew that there was still some distance before he found them. Without slowing down he dove into the brush, continuing to follow the trail until it led him to a clearing. Stopping suddenly he looked behind him to see Ash just barely making his way through the trees, not quite out of breath but definitely breathing heavily.
"What the heck was that for Pikachu?"
"Pi," the little Pokémon said quietly while holding his paw to his lips. Pointing around the bush he showed his trainer the reason that they came here.
Ash's eyes shot open as he saw the reason for himself. There sitting on a small outcropping into a pond was May with Eevee on her lap. Floating all around her and across the water were tiny lights, slowly flying every which way. And if it wasn't enough what caught his eye as he looked out onto the water was the large crescent moon that he was admiring not too long ago. The reflection was nearly perfectly situated as to create a ring of light around May in the water. He couldn't help but just stare at the scene, taking in every detail. The only thing missing from the picture was a pair of angelic wings flowing out of May's back and Ash could have sworn he was in heaven.
Snapping back to his senses he jumped back behind the bush to rejoin Pikachu, letting out a sigh of relief that she didn't see him. Turning back to his partner he could see that the mouse had an instant look on his face.
"Oh no, I know what you are thinking Pikachu," he whispered. "I told you I'm not ready yet!"
"Especially after seeing her like that," he added silently.
"Besides she seems to very happy just sitting there without anyone interrupting her. Not to mention that winning her over won't be as easy as you had with Eevee."
It was Pikachu's turn to be caught off guard. He never said a word to Pikapi about Eevee so how did he of all people figure it out?
"Surprised aren't you? I'm not as dense as people take me for, I just get distracted easily. I had all that time in the world while I was with Dawn to consider it, and once I had most of the pieces sorted the rest filled themselves in. You were never one to allow any other Pokémon to be that close to you, you're even picky as to the humans that you fall asleep next to, so to sleep alongside Eevee like that it didn't take much longer to put two and two together. Even if I may not know much about romance I do know that it's not the same with people as it is for Pokémon."
"Pikachu pika pika Pikapi," he finally told Ash insistently.
"Like I told you, no. I need more time. Besides why would she be leaving us this early? It just doesn't make any sense. Now let's stop bothering them and head back to the festival."
Getting up to leave Ash felt a small tug on his kimono, as he looked down he could see Pikachu holding onto it with his teeth, his eyes pleading with Ash to reconsider.
"I'm sorry Pikachu. Don't get me wrong, I do want to but I'm just not ready for it now."
His patience finally running thin Pikachu decided to fall upon his last resort as he let go of Ash. Words weren't going to get through to his thick headed friend at this point, so there was only one other option. Upon lowering his head to the ground and raising his tail in the air his trainer recognized the posture immediately.
"Take it easy Pikachu…" He said as he backed away slowly. "Easy now, there's no need to…"
It wasn't until the sparks started to fly that Ash abandoned the negotiation and began to turn and try to make his escape.
After her encounter with Dawn, May returned to the pond that she found earlier. To her surprise she found the entire area lit up by small glowing lights as they danced around the clearing and on top of the water.
"Wow," she whispered as she looked out on the view. "It's beautiful."
Even Eevee was impressed at the sight before her. They weren't Pokémon like Volbeat or Illumise but much smaller. May remembered overhearing some of the locals talking about these things, calling them fireflies. Alone they probably weren't all that impressive but en mass it was a sight to behold. And with their reflections from the still-as-glass pond it only made it look like there were even more of them.
"Definitely a good way to end our trip, huh Eevee?"
Sitting down on an outcropping that jutted out into the lake a small ways May just took in the beauty that was around her, trying to lose herself in the moment. Though it wasn't long before reality reeled her back in.
"Guess it's about time to figure out how to tell Ash that I'm leaving," she said sadly, stroking Eevee's soft fur. "I might as well keep with the lie that I told Dawn today, at least that way it shouldn't look like I made it up. But I don't think that I would be able to face him and Dawn tonight after what they have already done, it's hard enough just thinking about it. It may not the best way of going about it but I think I'll just wake up early and leave a note for him in the suite. I just hope that Pikachu explained things well enough to Ash about him leaving with us."
Eevee's ears perked up as she thought that she heard something coming from the bushes off to their left. Watching them closely she couldn't detect anything so she just went back to enjoying her mother's gentle touch.
"I already feel bad enough for taking him with us and leaving Ash, but I just could never bring it up to him in person." A sad smile started across May's face as she thought about the boy. "Well we better head back, it would be best to make it there before Ash and Dawn do to keep the questions to a minimum. Besides we have an early morning tomorrow."
As she began to prepare to get up an extremely bright flash of light sprung out from their left and a scream of pain wasn't far behind.
"Pikachu what the heck was that for!" She could hear followed by a few hard coughs.
Letting her eyes adjust to the darkness again there flat on his back with several small electrical burns, was Ash.
Rushing up to him May quickly helped him up into a sitting position.
"Ash are you okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine. It's just that Pikachu was acting very weird just a moment ago."
Peering back at the bushes the Electric Mouse was standing there still in his battle posture, excess electricity flaring from his cheeks and a fierce glare aimed right at his trainer. It wasn't long before he started to charge up again, charring several patches of grass around him as the powerful lightning arced off of his body. The whole time his eyes never left Ash.
For the first time in his life Ash was actually scared of his own Pokémon, and of all of them Pikachu nonetheless. Sure he had been hit countless times over their years together but the shock that he just received was full force, several of his muscles were still spasming uncontrollably from the massive voltage he just received. It was at that point that Ash knew Pikachu meant business, and for whatever reason he wasn't going to let his trainer off the hook until he got what he wanted. Of course it didn't take a genius to figure out what he wanted after their discussion just moments ago.
"Oh." Attributing the reason to him telling Ash what was going to be happening the next morning May helped her friend to his feet before turning around. "Well I'm heading back to the hotel, I'm feeling a bit sleepy so you should back and find Dawn before…"
May stopped as she felt a hand grab onto her wrist.
"May," Ash stuttered slightly. "There's something that I feel I should tell you."
Her mind nearly going numb with expecting the worst May tried to pull away from Ash's grasp without forcing her way out of it. But even with the jerk of her hand his grip held firm.
"I'm really tired Ash, I just want to head back," she pleaded, desperate to not hear what he had to say.
"Please just hear me out, okay?"
Looking back to the sincerity in his eyes she knew that there was no way she could say no. "Alright Ash, I'll listen." The words came out more harshly then she expected and the trainer flinched slightly as if they were a complete smack to the face. But undeterred he continued.
"I just wanted to give you these." Using his other hand he reached into his kimono's pocket and pulled out two items; one a light blue velvet case, and the other was seated right on top of it. A single, long stemmed, white rose.
May was completely speechless. Expecting the absolute worst, having him present her with two gifts like that was the last thing on her mind. Looking straight at her, Ash didn't hesitate at all as her presented her with the two, a smile still evident on his face.
"The case I was planning on giving you anyways but the rose…well let's just say that you haven't been yourself these past few days. I've tried several times to cheer you up but none of them have seemed to work, and when you came out of your room after crying this morning I knew that I had to find another way. I couldn't help but remember how much you loved getting these during our travels together and thought that if nothing else this could work, even if I had to resort to using his methods to do it. So today while you and Dawn were still shopping for kimonos I went looking around town for this. Originally I was going to get a red rose just like what you used to get, but after the lady at the shop told me the meaning behind each color and I thought that white was far more appropriate. The white rose is the symbol of purity and innocence, which is exactly what I think of when I see you as you are now. It also is the mark of a new beginning, which is the main reason that I wanted to get it. I wanted you to put whatever was making you feel down behind you and start anew. I wanted to see you like I remembered, the cheerful friend that could brighten anyone's day."
"Ash…" May couldn't believe her ears. All this time he did notice her turmoil over her feelings for him and was trying to cheer her up. As she looked back on it all, it seemed almost too obvious; all the compliments, not complaining through the shopping, the time at the beach, the battle. He even went out of his comfort zone and bought her a rose. That alone was enough to make all of the barriers she was trying to put up between them come collapsing down, or at least all but one. "No I can't…"
"Before you say anything else," he interrupted her. "I want you to look at my other gift."
Thinking the rose alone was more than enough May opened up the light blue case and nearly fainted at the contents. Inside was a pure gold locket and chain surrounded by a combination of small sapphires and diamonds in the shape of snowflakes. In the center was a single contest ribbon of red and green made from a single small ruby and emerald.
"Turn it around," he insisted.
Not even able to think as she did so, the final wall was broken as she looked on the back. Engraved in beautiful detail was an Eevee, happily looking up at the viewer.
"I don't care how you feel after I tell you this but no matter what you have to promise me not to lose that locket; no matter what I want you to keep it for as long as possible." After a half-nod from her Ash continued, his face grew all the more red as he continued. "May, when we traveled together it was some of the best times that I've had in my life and I wouldn't trade them for anything. I got you this locket to help represent those times and my hope that you will never forget them as well. But there is another reason that I purchased this, more for myself than anything, but it was to help me build up the courage to finally tell you. May Maple, in my time away from you I found myself missing you being there with me every morning and every night; but not just yourself, your smile, your laugh, your personality, your smell." The blush he was already sporting grew even fuller at those two words. "To put it simply May I missed having you next to me," taking a big gulp he finally bit the bullet and said it. "I love you, and I don't want to lose you again."
"This is the locket. This is my locket," she told herself, only catching small portions of his speech. "And it's for me, not Dawn. He meant it for me, not her. Which means…"
"Oh Ash!"
Tackling him to the ground May just buried her head into his chest as the tears came full force for the first time since last night. But these weren't the same tears that she cried before, this time it was only for joy. Happy that after all this time it was her that he loved and all the pain she put herself through was over something that she already held.
"Ash I'm so sorry…" She whimpered into his kimono. "I thought that you liked…and so I helped…then I realized…Eevee and Pikachu…last night…I couldn't help it."
Surprised at her actions Ash still couldn't help but feel for her as she lay there, seemingly helpless right on top of him. Putting his arms around her he tried to stop her crying at least.
"Shh, shh. Calm down," he told her in a calm and soothing voice. "Just take a deep breath and then let it out."
Just hearing him say those words made the tears come even more, but she couldn't help it. Having the secure feeling of his arms around her only partially helped things, but it was enough to at least enough to allow her to make sentences that he could understand.
"Ash I'm so sorry, it wasn't until last night that…I thought that you didn't like me like that. It killed me inside to see you say that to someone else. Without anybody there I cried the whole night, the nightmare turning around and around in my head. I've never felt something that horrible before, I was actually wishing that I would have never met you. I was even ready to leave without you…and not to mention Pikachu…"
"Shh, that's enough," he whispered to her as he brushed his hand through her hair, smiling at the ribbon so thoughtfully tied there. "You don't have to talk about all that right now if you don't want to."
Ash may not have understood everything that she had said but he caught enough to realize why she was like that.
"Don't worry May; I'm sure that everything will definitely be alright. Just give it time."
There was something about those words and the way that he said it that made May begin to calm down. Looking back up at him she could see that even through all of it that he was still there, his trademark smile never leaving his face.
Even with tears still clouding her eyes May searched for the locket that she had dropped when she grabbed onto him. Finding it not far away, she slowly took it out of the case and put it on.
Ash could only gaze in wonder as he saw her with it on for the first time. As he originally thought, it matched everything almost too well. With her kimono, the locket around her neck, and their ribbon in her hair he could honestly say that he had never seen her look better in his life.
Staring at the locket that was without any doubt hers, May could only feel complete and utter joy as she turned it around in her hand admiring every aspect that it held. Both inside and out.
Finally wiping the last few tears out of her eyes she turned them back to the one who gave it to her.
"You're probably wanting to know my answer to your question," she stated simply. "And my answer is this."
Taking the last step up to him she gently took his face in her hands and brought him in for what was her first kiss. Back when they were still traveling together she had dreams of this moment, but they all paled in comparison to what was going on around her. Here she was in the most beautiful place she could imagine; with the man that after a full night of turmoil had found out she loved without any comparison, sharing her very first kiss.
For Ash the moment was a little different. Sure he had thought of the possibility of this happening but in all of his planning he had not prepared himself for this, and yet it was everything he had hoped for. Her lips felt so soft against his and the sensation he was feeling was incomparable.
As their trainers shared their own feelings with each other Eevee calmly walked up to Pikachu, who by this point had relaxed his posture long ago, and rubbed her way along the entire length of his body. Paying special attention as their cheeks rubbed against the other she let out a content purr as a light wave of electricity flowed through her body. Stopping as her tail flicked past his nose she could tell that he was enjoying it all.
Looking back at her mother she knew that there was going to be something growing between the two of them and she was happy beyond all belief that May's wish came true. But there was also something that she could tell, that wasn't the only thing that was growing. Somehow, someway, she knew that there was something growing within her as well, and while the reason could be traced back to him she knew that it was more than just her relationship with Pikachu. But that was still a ways down the road, and by that time everyone would be ready for it. All five of them together, like a big happy family.
As Ash began to regain his senses and his brain caught up with what was going on May was already pulling away, leaving him feeling somewhat cold.
"My answer is greater than words can describe. For the longest time I have felt this way about you Ash, but until recently put it off as nothing more than a childish crush. It wasn't until I felt the greatest pain of loss that I was able to understand. Ash Ketchum, I love you as well. I know this now more than ever." Lying back down into his chest May just made herself comfortable. She had felt it before while she was crying but there was something about it that just made her feel…
Wrapping his arms around her again Ash could see that her tears had completely stopped.
"The reason she was on just a mood swing was because of me. So then does that mean that I was the one to cause her all of that pain?" Shaking his head Ash knew he had to stop thinking like that. "No, either way that grief she felt before won't come back. I hesitated and nearly destroyed the one person I cared so much for. That is one thing that I will never do again."
Noticing her smile as she snuggled into his chest further Ash couldn't help but smile as well. "So, how are you feeling now?"
"Safe," she told him without looking up. "When I'm with you I feel so safe. Like I'm home."
I hope that you all enjoyed reading my story. The white rose really was what I saw as the best color to give her for this situation. But I purposefully left out one last meaning, which is probably also its most famous one too. It gives a nice bit of future insight for them, bonus points to those who know the answer. And not just the fact that it's also known as the "bridal rose". Heck you could even consider the color of the case as a nice addition if you think of it as another rose.
I feel I should mention that many portions of this story were influenced, both intentionally and unintentionally, by one of my two top anime. While it is slightly embarrassing to say it, it's Cardcaptor Sakura. While the relationships in there are a bit more complex than this one (no true shape could define that one) many elements were incorporated here, including several quotes. In fact the title of this chapter is not influenced by Dawn/Hikari as some of you might have thought, but this anime. "Zettai Daijoubu da yo" translates as "Everything will definitely be alright" and is one of the most major quotes for Sakura.
Finally I couldn't resist adding in that last little bit for the two Pokémon. I couldn't let their hard work go to waste now could I?
I want to thank everyone for reading this; it's always nice to see people taking interest in my work. Not sure when the next piece will come out but we'll just have to see.