"Where'd she go, now?"

"Pika."

Ash rolled his eyes. "You're not helping, Pikachu."

"Pika Pikachu."

Ash sighed as he pushed another branch out of his way while he pushed his way through the dense undergrowth. "I wish I knew where she was. If she's really gonna leave soon, I want to make the most of the time we have left."

"Pika Pikachu Pi," his best friend insisted.

"No, but that's because Misty had to leave so suddenly," he said as he took another slow step. "I didn't have a chance to relish any last days with her like I do now with May."

Pikachu nodded in understanding, and the rest of the trek through the dense undergrowth was devoid of dialogue. The only sound to be heard was the crunching of Ash's feet against the forest-like environment, along with the occasional pushing tree branches out of the way. Finally, after a while, they emerged into a much more sparse area, though not out in the open yet.

"Ugh!" Ash grunted, itching his arm a moment. "This concealment is a lot denser than I remember it being!"

"Pika Pikachu, Pika Pika."

"Yeah," he chuckled. "I guess you're right. Man...it's been a long time since I was last here!" He stepped out of the hollow area and out into a beautiful clearing that overlooked the ocean right next to Pallet Town. The sun was setting in the west, casting a glorious array of oranges and lavenders across the sky.

But to his astonishment, he discovered that he and Pikachu weren't the only ones here. Another figure already stood there, gazing out at the ocean.

"What the –?!" he exclaimed.

"What?!" the figure also exclaimed in a feminine voice, whirling around. "Oh, Ash! What brings you out here?"

"What do you mean?" he replied, coming up to her. "And how did you find this place?!"

"You showed it to me when I first came here," she grinned.

Ash blinked. "I did?"

"Yes, dummy," she pushed him, still grinning. "You don't forget that easily, do you?"

"Oh, that's right!" he remembered. "Wow, I completely forgot about that? That's dumb."

"Well, I'll forgive you," she smiled warmly at him, then her face became stern as she held up her finger. "But just this once." Ash blinked. Then she let the act drop and laughed, while he and Pikachu joined in.

"So why are you out here, May?" Ash asked, sitting down at the edge of the meadow, staring out at the ocean view. Pikachu sat by him.

"I just wanted to watch the Kanto sunset one more time...before I go home tomorrow," May said, sitting down next to him.

Ash's throat constricted slightly. "Then...you really are leaving?" She nodded, her smile disappearing. "But...I thought you said that you never wanted to stop travelling with me. You said that these past two years have been the best of your life."

"Pikachu?"

"They have," May smiled again as her mind drifted through the memories she shared with him. "And I wouldn't give them up for the world. The contests, the gym battles, the Grand Festival, the Ever Grande Conference...Jirachi, Deoxys, Lucario...the Battle Frontier...Manaphy…"

Ash's mind also wandered through the memories, a smile coming across his face as he remembered everything as she mentioned them. "Yeah," he nodded. "We've been through a lot together."

"Yeah," May nodded, and continued, "When Pikachu fried my bike on that first day, I could've easily pegged you as just another one of those annoying boy trainers that I never wanted to be like. But something told me that wasn't who you were. Even though that bike, to me, was a symbol of independence and freedom, I soon realized that travelling with you was more than anything I could've hoped for if I stuck to my original plan of simply travelling the world while using my Pokemon as an excuse."

"Do you still want me to replace that, by the way?"

"No," she giggled. "I forgave you for that long ago."

"Okay," she shrugged, relieved, while May looked at him longingly.

"Believe me, Ash, I would rather travel with you and experience life by your side than see the world on my own. After all, joy isn't all it's cracked up to be if you have no one to share it with."

"Then why are you leaving?" Ash looked intently at her.

Her smile faded as she looked up at the sky. "Well, I…" she started, but she didn't go on.

Ash raised an eyebrow. "May?"

"I…" she started again, but her words trailed off again.

"Come with me."

She started and turned to him. "What?"

"Pi?"

"Come with me to Sinnoh!" Ash eagerly suggested. "There's no telling what will happen out there! Who knows what adventures we'll have? It'll be even better than what we've already experienced. I promise!"

May's smile returned, but her gaze didn't change as she listened to him. "Experiencing Sinnoh with you...Ash, I would love to."

"Great!" he jumped up. "I can't wait to –"

"But I can't."

He abruptly stopped and sat back down, confused. "Why not?"

"I…" she started again, but this time she finished, "I can't be selfish."

He blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Pika?"

"I mean," she continued, "that I can't keep you to myself. You've met so many people, made so many friends...I'm merely one of those. Misty, Brock, Pikachu...I know they mean the world to you. I wouldn't want to keep you from them."

"May," Ash interrupted, "you're not keeping me from my friends. You're one of my best friends. I would never think of you as keeping me from them."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed.

"I know," May nodded, "but I've noticed that I've relied too much on your support recently. I can't be selfish with that...I need to get my confidence from within, not from without. You gave me this confidence, and I need to nurture it."

Ash stared at her a moment as she finished, his expression unreadable. Pikachu, sensing his trainer needed some time alone with his friend, quietly scampered off. May's throat constricted as she gazed into his eyes, her own eyes glimmering. It felt like an eternity before Ash finally spoke:

"Then...you're leaving because you want to be independent? You want to make your own way?"

She nodded. "I just...I don't want to be an obsessive clinger," she blurted. Tiny buds of water formed on her eyes. "I want to find my own way." Small tears trickled down her face. "I can't be with you all the time, I...I'm sorry." She buried her face in her hands, rubbing her eyes. As she did so, she felt a gentle but firm hand on her shoulder. She looked up and stared deep into the brown eyes that also stared into her's.

"If you really feel that this is the path you need to take, then you take it," Ash said in a low voice. "I won't stop you. I'll be sad, but I won't stop you."

She smiled weakly at him. "You mean the world to me, Ash."

"You mean the world to me, too, May," he nodded. They stood up and looked out at the horizon. The sun was gone by this point.

"You still got your half of our ribbon?" May asked.

"Of course I do," Ash grinned, shuffling for it in his pocket. He pulled it out. She pulled her half out as well, and they connected them once again.

"It looks like the sun when it's together like that," she said.

"Yeah, it does." He looked back to the horizon. "Who needs the sun when you got a ribbon?"

They put their ribbons away and looked once again into each other's eyes. "Ash?"

"Yeah?"

She folded her hands in front of her, as though nervous. "I...I'm really gonna miss you in Johto."

He smiled, putting his hands into his pockets. "I'll miss you, too. In fact, I don't know how I'll cope if I don't see you again soon."

"Yeah," she sighed. "Maybe we should get together after our competitions are over."

"That sounds like a good idea," he nodded. "But when?"

"We can work that out later," May giggled. "For now, let's enjoy what time we have left."

"That sounds like a good idea," he nodded.

She smiled brightly at him, then slowly pulled him into a deep embrace. Then she remembered that Ash was never one for this kind of affection, but before she could pull out and apologize, she felt his arms wrap around her to return the embrace. She blinked a moment, then smiled as she remembered: he didn't mind so much anymore. Without another thought, she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, sighing in contentment.

Ash, meanwhile, slowly rubbed her back as he inhaled the sweet perfume from her hair. He knew she was stronger than she looked, but when he held her in his arms, he couldn't help but feel like she was so small, fragile, delicate...yet she'd already come so far, become so strong. He instinctively tightened his grip on her, stroking her hair a bit.

Their bodies gave off a beautiful sense of warmth from the intimacy they shared, as they each held someone dear to them. They continued to embrace each other for a full minute. When they finally did break apart, Ash looked amazed.

"What?" May asked, curious.

"Nothing, just…" Ash stammered, "I never knew that hugging a girl could feel so...so…"

She put a finger to his lips and just smiled. "I get it." She turned to leave. "You coming?"

"Yeah," Ash nodded as he started for her, but he stopped abruptly and turned back towards the horizon.

"What now?" May asked again, coming to see what he saw. Her eyes widened when she saw it: an island floating in the sky, a magnificent temple standing tall on it, illuminated by the last light from the set sun.

"Isn't that…?" she started.

"Yes," Ash nodded, "it is." He sighed wistfully. "We'll see them again real soon." He turned to her. "In fact, I need to talk to Professor Oak and Gary about them. I don't want them being treated like Pokemon."

"Yeah," May agreed. "I guess you can do that once I'm gone, huh?"

Ash didn't reply. He and May made their way over to the undergrowth leading back to the main area. "Here," Ash offered her his hand. "Let me help you through here. It's really dense." May nodded and gratefully accepted his help, while thinking to herself.

I never thought I'd say this, but I actually think that this is denser than you are. And this time around, that's a compliment.

I guess you could say this is my Valentine's Day fic for this year. I know it doesn't quite fit the bill, but it's still a nice fic.

I wish there was more artwork of Ash and May hugging than there was of them kissing. I like it better when they share a deep embrace.

In other news, I just got a job. Putting that together with school means I'm basically working full-time, so the time I have to write for leisure is now minimal. Hopefully I can motivate myself to work on some of that stuff I said I had planned for this year.

Okay, that's all from me. Feel free to rate & review, but no flames please! (unless they can be respectful. Can they?)