Crowds bustled relentlessly throughout the city. From murmurs of Lisia's latest contest victory, to chatter about the sunny weather, to gossip about the silver-haired man in a suit running through the market, the Slateport townsfolk seemed to have all the bases of noteworthy conversation covered.

Steven hustled through the crowds, apologizing as he accidentally elbowed a person or two. Dress shirt sticking to his body from sweat, he was short on breath, but he didn't stop running.

Through parted lips, chapping with each labored breath, he smiled as the lighthouse was within his sight.

His heart was pounding rapidly from running, but it didn't compare to the knots forming in his chest and down to his stomach when he saw her sitting beneath the lighthouse.

Everything seemed gray except for her. Only she could illuminate a dull world with her tranquil radiance. She sat on a bench, staring intently at the ocean in front of her. The early summer breeze slightly ruffled her hair, but she seemed to enjoy the sensation. Steven slowed to walking as he approached May, swallowing a nervous lump in his throat that he felt whenever he saw her.

That's when her head turned to him, her cheeks flushed a beautiful rosy color to match her pink lips that curled into a gentle smile.

"You're late," she remarked.

"I know. I'm sorry." He sat down next to her as he tried to hide his labored breathing. "I've been rather behind on sleep these days. You'd think now of all times, my dad would take it easy on me, but I guess he believes it best to keep me as busy as possible with Devon."

His voice. It felt as if she hadn't heard it in a while. "I guess I can forgive you." Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, she flashed a cheeky grin.

"That's good to hear, because I have something for you," he announced, the Butterfree never leaving his stomach for a minute.

May's eyes followed his every movement, taking in a sharp breath as he reached into his suit pocket, pulling out a long, royal blue velvet box.

"Steven, I didn't - I mean," she cleared her throat, stumbling over such simple words. "Why?"

He couldn't deny it; for such a powerhouse of a young lady, May was adorable.

"It's not a huge deal. Just something that reminded me of you while I was in Sinnoh." He shrugged, quite obviously trying a little too hard to sound nonchalant. He held the box out to her, encouraging her to take it. "Open it."

She nodded, excitement brewing in her eyes. Steven didn't realize that he was holding his breath in anticipation of her reaction.

Lifting the lid of the box, her jaw dropped, letting her mouth hang agape in pure awe of the silver chain bracelet, lined with several light blue gems in series around the entire chain.

May's eyes flickered between the bracelet and the equally stunning pair of eyes in front of her. It sparkled with just too much radiance for something that he merely picked up in a store, and the look of anticipation on his face revealed he was particularly proud of this one. She struggled to find the right words, and she wanted to punch herself for stuttering like a fool. "I … Steven, it's …"
"Aquamarine." Steven finished. "I had it made with a beryl sample I found. This one has a particularly impressive aromaticity in its carbon structure. Naturally, it was very stable even without any synthetic intervention."

From a hypnotic trance, his response snapped her right back into reality. "I was going to say, 'it's beautiful,'" she corrected. She couldn't help but laugh at his overly-descriptive response, especially upon noticing his reddening face. Arceus, she missed him. She handled the bracelet more carefully that she needed to as she held it up, admiring the purest of jewels that dazzled beneath the sun's rays. She handed it to him for a moment, extending her wrist for him to do the honor.

As his fingers grazed the skin of her hand, he felt slight jolts of electricity shooting through him - even at the most chaste, perhaps meaningless of touches. Yet he couldn't deny how warm she felt. At some point during his battle with the ridiculously small clasp of the chain, May seemed to finally process what he had said.

"Wait," her head snapped up to meet his gaze. "Are you telling me you had this made? Just for me?"

"Yes," he answered. "I found the aquamarine stone in Wayward Cave. I asked around, and only a few Sinnoh natives knew much about it, so I knew it would be a worthwhile stop." On perhaps the fourth try, he managed to get the lobster clap through the loop. "It was quite the memorable stop on my trip, actually. I don't believe I've ever encountered so many Zubat in one place before, not even the caves here in Hoenn." He chuckled at the thought, grateful that it was now a memory. It wasn't very funny at the time.

She looked at the silver chain that fit perfectly around her wrist, lips parted slightly as she caressed it with her other hand. Steven couldn't tell what exactly she was thinking or feeling. It almost looked like guilt.

"But, it isn't really much of a big deal," Steven quickly countered her silent protest. He chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "I just," he cleared his throat. "I hope you like it."

"You went to a lot of work for me." She didn't take her eyes off the bracelet. But the corners of her lips turned upward ever so slightly. That's when she turned her attention back to the man sitting beside her. "I really love it, a lot."

Steven returned the smile, internally sighing in relief.

"Although," May continued. "It makes me wonder why you went to this much work for me." Her eyes narrowed, flashing a much feistier expression - one that Steven was more used to on the young lady.

He blinked in a sort of dumb stupor, suddenly feeling like it was maybe just too warm outside to be wearing so many layers of clothing.

"Well, I saw it and I knew I had to give it to you." He responded, finding it harder and harder to look at her.

"Why is that?" She inched closer to him on the bench, hardly leaving any room for modesty. His instinct was to shift away, but it certainly didn't feel so bad to finally have her so close to him…

"That one in particular had formed nearly perfect crystals. Its name comes from 'water of the sea,' and it's practically a treasure with its impeccable crystalline structure. I know plenty of chemists who would probably kill to get their hands on this," he exhaled, pausing before continuing. "Simply put, I thought it suits you."

She kept her eyes on him for moments after he finished talking, processing his words, and perhaps attaching more meaning than what they were worth. Then again, maybe her insight was just enough to see what he really meant beneath the surface of those words.

"A treasure, huh?" May echoed, examining the bracelet one more time before looking back to him. "You're right. That does sound like me."

"Modest one, aren't you?" Steven joked, finally able to make eye contact again.

"You implied it." She winked, nudging him with her elbow. So much for eye contact. He shifted his body in discomfort, not sure if color was rushing to, or draining from his face.

Before he could say anything to defend himself, he froze when he felt her hand on top of his own.

He managed to look at her once more, unsure of what she would say; unsure of what she was thinking. The uncertainty alone felt overwhelming enough to suffocate him.

But the change in her tone was enough to appease his racing heart. "I'm really glad you're back, Steven." May spoke softly, nearing a whisper that was hardly audible over the crashing of the waves against the rocks beneath them.

He hesitated for a few moments, a relentless sense of apprehension halting him from speaking as freely as he'd like to. "Me too." He managed to reply. His fingers curled around her hand, which she took as an invitation to rest her head on his shoulder. Their fingers entwined as he allowed himself to take in her warmth. The sensation slightly choked him; she was so close, yet could never be close enough.

For a while, neither said a word. Eyes were glued to the ocean, feeling more at home than he had since leaving Hoenn, or even since returning. He watched the waves crash against the shore again and again - the only constant force in the world that he could imagine.

"Incredible, isn't it?" She finally broke the silence. "As beautiful as the ocean is, you'd never know how dark it is. How terrifying it is beneath the surface. How much power it has. If you think about it, everything and everyone is at its disposal."

A terrifying beauty with a power too great for its own good. It reminded him of someone, although he thought it best not to mention aloud. "We could go somewhere else. Anywhere you'd like," he offered.

Lifting her head from his shoulder, she shook her head. "No, this is fine. I just like being here. With you."

He exhaled, already missing the feeling of her leaning into him. But that was soon forgotten when he felt her lips on his.

Her hand stayed in his, tightening her grasp ever so slightly as her lips hardly grazed his. All his senses of the world around him faded to white. There were no Pelipper trying to out sing the ocean's roars. No salty air to torment his olfactory senses. No evening breeze to prickle his skin with goose bumps.

Everything turned to May, taking in the feeling of her hand in his and the sensation of her lips that made his own quiver.

It was over in a matter of seconds. He rested his forehead atop of hers, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. Opening his eyes to see her once again was just as rewarding as kissing her.

"I've missed you." He admitted, finding it difficult to elaborate any more.

"I'm right here," May replied, a little too casually. She smiled at him, not stopping even when he didn't smile back right away.

"You know what I mean." He pulled away from her, letting his hand find hers once again.

"You left me first."

Steven cringed. "But I thought you'd be there when I came back," he snapped, immediately wondering if he should have finished that thought. He squeezed her hand, looking up into the sparsely cloudy sky. "Nothing has been the same since you left."

She kept her eyes on him, watching him closely, but not saying anything. They sat in a heavy silence for a few moments before she thought it best to speak up once again. "It's not your fault, you know?"

He didn't respond.

"You didn't know. Nobody knew." She sighed. "I took that upon myself so that I wouldn't burden anyone. Maybe that wasn't the smartest choice, but I still believe it to be the best thing I could have done."

"I would never have left Hoenn if I knew." He forced out, vocal chords already cracking.

May nodded, understanding, but not at all yielding. "I know. But I didn't want anybody to treat me different just because I was sick." His grip on her hand tightened still as if he were afraid to let her go. He could hardly look at her, and she could see the tears pooling up in his eyes. Gnawing at the inside of her bottom lip, she bit back her own tears that wanted to fall from her eyes when she realized how badly Steven was hurting. "I just wanted to do all I could to make the world a better place while I had the chance. It might be wrong of me to call everything that happened with Team Aqua and Deoxys a blessing, but for me, that's exactly what it was. A way for me to make my mark on the world and make my time count. It all happened for a I reason, I suppose."

He kept his eyes on the sky, sunny yet somehow still gloomy. He didn't even caring that he could hardly see much of anything through his tear-fogged vision.

"Why did it have to be you?" Steven grimaced as he spoke. "Why did you of all people have to die?" His teeth gnashed together, hardly noticing the pain that alone was causing him. "Hoenn needs you. I need you."

May sighed, inching her body close to him once more. "We all have a purpose. I was lucky enough to serve mine early enough. Hoenn needed me, but now it needs you. It needs good people to give hope to those who need it most. Like I did."

No bitterness, no regret lingered in her words. May traced her fingers over his clenched fists. The only thing that still pained her was thinking about the grief her premature departure must of brought upon those whom she cared about most.

"We don't have to have this conversation every time." She spoke softly, trying to ease the tension."This is our time together! I want to enjoy it with you." She tried to smile, but her heart broke each second that he didn't return the gesture. "Please, be here with me. We don't have much time left; you'll be waking up soon."

Finally he turned to her, nodded, and used his free hand to wipe his tears away. "I'm sorry." He said, voice trembling with every syllable. She simply dismissed his apology, shaking her head as if it weren't necessary.

Steven pulled May into a hug, trying to take in every bit of her while he had the chance. Maybe he'd be able to remember what she felt like this time.

So many things he never had the chance to say. Or rather, so many chances that he missed to say what he needed to. If this was the only way to be together, then so be it. He would make every moment with May count, and hopefully he could be free of the worldly regret he would forever bear.

"I love you, May." He whispered against her neck. Tightening her arms around him, she clenched her fingers in the folds of his suit jacket.

"I love you too."

This time, he kissed her. There was more fire - more desperation in his movements, but he would cling to this feeling for as long as he could.

May eventually broke away. With all the sorrow and longing she was capable of feeling flooding her eyes, Steven knew it what was coming next. He was plenty familiar with this moment by now.

"You have to go now." May said. She forced a smile to cover what she was feeling, although it didn't fool either of them. Regardless, Steven nodded as he rose from the bench. Her hand stayed in his; it hurt every time she had to let him go.

"I'll be back soon. I promise." He said, encouraging her to let go.

That's what she wanted to hear. Her lips curled into a real smile. "Sleep early tonight for me? We'll have more time together. Maybe even take a nap so you can visit me sooner."

"Absolutely." And with that, her hand fell from his. She wiped away the rest of her tears so she could see him off to the waking world properly. "I'll see you later today!"

"Mmhm!" May hummed. Light surrounded her as his view of her faded into a slate white void. "Be safe! I'll be waiting." Her voice echoed, resonating throughout his mind in a fading song that already resembled a distant memory. The light was so bright, he squeezed his eyes shut as tightly as possible.

Heavy eyelids opened reluctantly to see thin rays of sun peaking through the curtains into his room. His pillows were scattered across his bed, evident of much tossing and turning during the night. He groaned, pushing his messy silver locks out of his face. Pushing himself up to sitting, his head ached with the remnants of a variation of that same dream that visited him night after night.

On the nightstand next to his bed, he looked to the blue velvet box that he never got to give her as the words he never got to tell her played in a distorted loop in his head. All the pain, guilt, and regret flooded into his heart as it did every morning now; it was simply routine since he returned to a Hoenn without May. But he smiled anyway, already looking forward to his next dream. At least he'd be able to give it to her as soon as he slept once more.

Author's Note:I really love music, so often I'll draw inspiration for the tone I want to write from the tone of a song. This particular one is inspired by "0330" by UKISS. It's a beautiful song, so give it a listen if you're fond of kpop.

thank you SamKo for organizing daiharu week! It's been wonderful seeing the community coming together and sharing such amazing work. I wish I could have participated more, but finals got in the way as they always seem to do!

I hope you enjoyed the story, but please be nice regardless. Thank you for reading - best wishes, until next time!