Author's Note: I kind of like being vague, it puts a very nice touch in my writing, I think. Well, I'm trying to ramp up updates on this story because it's been more than a year and I only have four chapters, yes, very sad. Happy reading anyhow.

I feel like dancing tonight
I'm gonna party like it's my civil right
It doesn't matter where I don't care if people stare
'Cause I feel like dancing tonight
-I Feel Like Dancin', All Time Low

Dancing

Ever since she was a young girl, Hikari would dance.

She'd dance with everything (but of course she was no expert); the wind, the trees, the every-so-often butterfly that would flutter along, she'd just move with it. It was her own way of throwing everything into the air.

No one knew about this tendency of hers (well, maybe except her trusty Piplup) for it was well hidden away and nothing really seemed to bring it out anymore.

But she never forgot that feeling of the breeze sweeping past her face and weaving through her hair. The way her skirt would flare around her and the feeling of falling, but not really. It was just, she was no girl anymore.

She was practically an adult now, and it just seemed to lessen her will to dance. She supposed it was what came with growing up; a very sad thought indeed.

Nothing motivated her to move the way she did when she was 10 and she felt that if she tried, it wouldn't feel the same. Not the way it did back then.

Sometimes, she'd feel as though her feet were lead, too heavy to lift off the ground –never being able to float again; she supposed it wasn't a bad feeling, it was just a very boring one. Staying at home, after all, was never very fun, especially for a girl –woman like her.

She supposes that it got a bit better when she started following Shinji around. Why he would even let her do it was beyond her, but he didn't seem to care, so she didn't question. After all, at least she was out of the house and seeing the world again.

Still, though, it just felt as though she was his shadow; just attached to his feet (and the ground) and never being able to feel free. Not that she ever complained about it, who knows what he would've done if she even tried, though the way they both saw it, it was a bit of a privilege for him to be taking her on his journeys (not that she'd ever admit it).

Life was very uneventful.

And most importantly, she didn't feel like dancing.

Which, really, is the most important part.

She remembers one moment during their travels when she sighed rather loudly (purposefully of course, she just loved his attention). Of course, he didn't respond as well as she had hoped; just with his usual eye roll she caught in the corner of her eye.

'How long have we been walking?' she had asked.

'Obviously not long enough if we haven't hit town yet.' He responded coolly through almost gritted teeth.

Really, this was almost too easy.

'Can't we take a break?' she whined back (after all, she was carrying her Piplup along with all her belongings). She sometimes amazed herself with how well she knew him (which was more that most people, though maybe not everything).

He continued walking, pretending he didn't hear her.

'This is ridiculous,' she snapped, 'we've been walking for hours and my feet hurt, plus we're almost out of water.'

'If you're so bored, why don't you just go play in a meadow or something?' he drawled back.

And sometimes, it also amazed her how well he knew her (which was more than most people, though maybe not everything).

'Let's go look for Drifloons, I here they're around here on some days.' She suggested, 'I've always wanted to see one; and maybe if we ask nicely, it'll fly us where we want to go.'

'Stupid girl, they're too small to hold both of us.'

She bit her lip, trying to cover a smile, liking how he had said it wouldn't be able to hold both of them.

'I bet they'd look absolutely breathtaking against the blue sky this time of year.' She continued, 'I should probably catch one, just for kicks.' Her Piplup made a noise of disagreement with this knowing that more Pokemon meant less attention on himself.

Shinji didn't respond.

'Hey, hey, let's play in that field of flowers over there!' She pointed, the lush colors of pinks and bright blues intertwining with a symphony of other colors. Piplup chirped in agreement.

'Why don't you go play in the field of flowers?' he stated, 'while I just wait in a luxury hotel in the next town over.'

At least he didn't have any plans of going any further without her.

'This is getting ridiculous,' she stopped and planted her hands (well her one free hand) on her hips, 'even cold-hearted bastards need to know how to relax every once in a while.'

'What's more ridiculous is 19 year-old girls talking about flying with Drifloons.'

'Would you like to bet?'

'Would you like to try?'

She laughed.

It's ten minutes later and they still haven't passed the flowers.

Hikari just continues to longingly look and imagines the soft grass under her bare feet and the breeze making her hair tickle her face.

Pause.

'Let's dance.'

'Let's not.'

She grabs his hand and turns him to look at her.

'I want to dance.'

She stares at him pointedly.

He does his trademark eye roll and breathing out of his nose and she almost thinks that he's actually going to dance with her (which was not the point of her asking, by the way, the point was to say something silly to him and get him annoyed).

Instead, he twirls her once and let's go of her hand.

'There, you've danced with me.'

He turns his back on her and she stares, dumbstruck at the back of his receding head.

She blinks a few times to make sure something like this actually happened, before her closed mouth twitches up into a small smirk –or smile, she's not quite sure, and runs to catch up to him.

The flowers taunt her, weaving a tale of what could've been, what she could've gone back to.

Back to a time when the rustling leaves was her orchestra and the dirt underneath her was her stage. Where the wild Pokemon were her audience and the howling wind their cheers.

She still misses the breeze and her flaring dress; and she definitely misses the feeling of not-really-falling.

But she decides it's nothing compared to the fullness of her heart and the breath that rushes out of her lungs when she's with him.

Yes.

She definitely prefers this dance over that.