Someday

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. I do, however, own this story.

The moon hung high in the sky, clouds sporadically blocking its light and keeping the streets of Goldenrod City covered in darkness. Not a single star could be seen twinkling in the inky black abyss above. The picture was, overall, quite somber.

The scene inside the Goldenrod Pokémon Center was anything but, however. Cheers erupted from inside the well-lit building, as a group of friends had gathered around one of the center's tables in celebration.

"That was so awesome, Dawn! I can't believe your Piplup was able to beat that Minun in the end. I mean, you had a total type disadvantage, but you still managed to come out as the victor."

"Thanks, Ash. I really appreciate you saying that," a slender blue-haired beauty replied.

"You should be really proud, Dawn. It's not easy to win all five ribbons in a region and to be able to partake in the Grand Festival, but you've been able to do it in Sinnoh and now Johto, too," a tall, tanned young man said.

"Thank you, Brock. I am feeling proud," Dawn responded.

"Well, you sure don't look proud. You've hardly touched your club soda, and when I gave you a high five you weren't as enthusiastic about returning it as you usually are. What gives?" Ash asked his female friend and traveling companion.

"Huh? Oh, nothing."

Ash raised an eyebrow in return, prompting Dawn to respond further, but she didn't take the bait. Instead, she simply stared rather despondently into her club soda, swirling the contents of her glass around with subtle movements of her wrist.

"Are you sure everything's OK, Dawn? You don't seem very happy for someone who's just made it to the Johto Grand Festival," Brock said, slightly pushing his longtime friend to open up about what was troubling her.

Dawn replied by smiling at Brock, but he could tell that the girl's heart wasn't in it.

Ash could hardly bear to see his friend acting like this any longer. Suddenly he stood up and addressed her.

"Come on, Dawn! Tell us what's up!"

"I…nothing. I just need some air."

Dawn grabbed her bag and began heading towards the Pokémon Center's door.

"Dawn, wait!" Ash cried, but Brock grabbed his arm before he could follow the coordinator.

"I think it's best to give her some space, Ash," Brock advised his friend.

"What do you think is wrong with her?" Ash asked the aspiring Pokémon breeder.

"No idea. What do you think?"

"Hmm…well, the food at Goldenrod's Pokémon Center is pretty bad. Yeah, that must be it; she must be upset about the bad food. Come to think of it, I'm not too happy about it either."

Brock couldn't help but roll his eyes. He certainly didn't know what was wrong with Dawn, but he knew it had nothing to do with food. Ash would never understand women.

***

Dawn could feel the cool breeze tousling her long blue hair as she stood outside the Pokémon Center. Though the air was quite cold that night, she couldn't help but think that she didn't mind it at all; in fact, it felt rather good. She brought a small hand to her face and sighed rather dramatically.

"Piplup?"

Dawn glanced down to find that Piplup, her very first Pokémon, had followed her outside.

"Oh, hi, Piplup," she said, greeting her penguin friend.

Piplup looked up at his trainer sadly. "Piplup?" he asked again.

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine," Dawn said, attempting to reassure her beloved Pokémon. "I just wish she had been here," she added softly.

"I was here."

Dawn nearly jumped a mile as an all-too familiar voice addressed her.

Turning around, she found herself face to face with fellow coordinator May.

"May? What are you…How did you?" The sight of May had nearly rendered Dawn speechless.

"Did you really think I would miss your final contest, Dawn?" the brunette asked.

"But…but you're traveling in Sinnoh," Dawn said, still slightly aghast.

"Well, I'm not bound to stay there by some spell. I can leave, you know," May said with a bright smile.

"I…I can't believe it. I didn't think for a million years that you'd come," Dawn said.

"Dawn, you know how much I care about you. Of course I wanted to be here for your win...and I did know that you would win," May said with a quick wink. "I was watching from the stands the whole time."

"I…I know you care about me. It's just that, well, you know," Dawn replied softly, trailing off slightly at the end.

May's smile turned into a frown. Yes, she did know.

"Dawn, I…I'm so sorry," May said quietly, hanging her head low.

"I know."

When May raised her head she found that Dawn had tears in her eyes.

"Don't cry, Dawn. Please don't cry," May begged her fellow coordinator. She walked over to the other girl and tenderly wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I just love you so much!" Dawn cried.

May wrapped her arms around the blue-haired girl, bringing her into an embrace.

"I love you, too, Dawn," she said slowly as she stroked Dawn's hair.

"Then why can't we be together?"

May slowly loosened her grip on Dawn. "Dawn, you know why."

"Because of him…I know."

"Drew's a good guy, Dawn, and I just don't want to hurt him. I don't know how to break it off with him yet," May explained.

"You're hurting me, though!"

"I know, and that's something I'll never forgive myself for," May said sadly.

The two girls stood in silence for a few moments until Dawn mustered the courage to speak again.

"Do you love him?" she asked May.

"No…I think I did at first, but I don't love him anymore. I don't love him anymore because I met you, and I love you," May said.

"Then why can't we be together?" Dawn asked again.

"There's more to it than Drew, Dawn. I won the Johto Grand Festival last year, and, well, the public has suddenly taken an interest in my life, and I just don't know if I'm ready for them to know about us yet. Then there are my parents…" May trailed off, knowing that what she was saying would only upset Dawn more.

"May, you shouldn't care about what other people think! We love each other and that's all that matters!"

"I…I know. I'm sorry, Dawn. I guess I'm just a coward. You must hate me." May sat down on the hard pavement, covering her face with her hands. Dawn knew she was crying.

"May, I don't hate you. I could never hate you!" Dawn sat down next to the brunette and placed an arm around her. May leaned into the blue-haired coordinator, crying softly.

"All I do is hurt you, Dawn. I don't know why you stick by me. You should date Zoey or Kenny; they both seem interested in you," May said in between sobs.

"I don't love Zoey or Kenny, though. I love you," Dawn said gently. She slowly cupped the brunette's face in her hands, cradling it gingerly. Soon both girls were leaning forward and sharing a tender, innocent first kiss.

Neither girl knew what to say. It was May who finally broke the silence.

"Thank you, Dawn. Thank you for everything."

Both girls stood up slowly.

"Do you think we'll ever be able to be together, May?" Dawn asked.

"Dawn, I promise you we will be together. I don't know when, but we will be together someday."

"I can wait for someday," Dawn said.

"Well, I guess I'd better get going then," May began. "Knowing Ash he's probably eaten all of your food by now."

"That's OK. The food here wasn't that good anyway," Dawn said with a smile. "Besides, I wouldn't have missed this moment for the world."

"Me neither. Goodbye, Dawn."

"Goodbye, May."

***

Ash and Brock were just about to head to bed when they saw Dawn reenter the Pokémon Center.

"Dawn, you practically missed curfew!" Ash scolded. "What were you doing?"

"Just gettingsome air," the coordinator replied.

"Are you OK now, Dawn?" Brock asked, concern etched across his face.

"No, not really. I will be, though…someday."

Author's Note: I'm sorry if that's terrible. I know it's corny and cliché and possibly OoC, but I did the best I could. I have never written for this couple before (obviously), and I don't know how this turned out. I'm sorry that it's short and rushed, too. I wrote this for SPPF's Secret Santa and ended up writing it, like, the night it was due (long story), so that's my excuse for why it's so short and rushed. I know it's crappy, but I thought I'd post it here in case anyone wanted to read it.

Anyway, I'm mostly a Contestshipper, but I think Sapphirepearlshipping is pretty cute, too. Sure, it'll never happen (Contestshipping's pretty much canon, after all), but I think it's rather sweet.

I'm going to try to update "Wonderwall" soon (maybe tomorrow?). I know I've been slacking horribly with my fics. I'm at a loss over what to do for the next chapter of "Alphabet Challenge" (which is "N"), so if you have a favorite word that begins with "N" let me know.

Thanks. Oh, and I hope everyone had a good Valentine's/Singles Awareness Day. :)