After a whirlwind of a week, everything in Lumiose City was once again back to normal. The Lumiose Conference was over, Team Flare was gone, and peace was restored to the Kalos region. Many of the trainers who participated in the conference had left by now. There was, however, at least one trainer who was still in town: the runner-up, to be exact, a veteran trainer from Kanto. His name was Ash Ketchum.

Although he wasn't terribly upset about losing at first, his demeanor had worsened after everything blew over. His friends tried to cheer him up, but nothing seemed to work. Clemont's inventions didn't shake him, and Bonnie's perpetual cheerfulness fell on deaf ears. Even Serena, who was arguably closer to him than the other two, could do nothing to bring up his spirits.

One gloomy morning, with a sky overcast in gray, Ash walked into the main lobby of the Pokemon Center with his head down and his hands in his pockets. He walked up to Nurse Joy.

"Good morning!" she greeted him with her usual cheerfulness. "Here for breakfast?"

"Yeah," he said simply. She responded by giving him a bowl of cereal. He ate it slowly, without his usual ferocious appetite.

"Will you be leaving soon?" Joy asked.

"Probably," he sighed.

"I see," she nodded sympathetically. "Well, don't be too hasty. There's someone here to see you!"

"Tell them I'm not available," he replied somewhat curtly.

"I don't think that'll work," she said. "She was expecting you to say that."

He looked up in surprise. "What?"

"She said she wouldn't take that for an answer. After all, she came all the way from Hoenn to see you."

"Hoenn?" Ash's eyes were wider than they'd been in a while as he stood up. "Where is she?" he asked.

"Over here," she said, pointing to a small room. Ash quickly walked over and entered the room. When he saw who was there, his mouth hung open.

The girl had simple brown hair that hung at her sides. She wore a red tank top and simple shorts. A red bow was tied in her hair. When she turned around and stood up, he saw that she had bright blue eyes. She was also smiling.

"Hi, Ash," she said simply.

"May?" he said in disbelief.

"That's right," she winked. She walked up to him and hugged him. Ash was taken aback at first, but he quickly relaxed as he returned the affectionate hug. For the first time in a while, a small smile appeared on his face.

"What brings you here, May?" he asked after they separated.

"I wanted to see you in the Lumiose Conference," she replied. "But my boat got delayed too long, and then that whole fiasco happened, so I couldn't get here until last night."

"Oh," he said. "Well, I lost...again."

"I know," she nodded sadly. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right," he faked a smile. "We'll do better next time."

May folded her arms and frowned slightly. "You're not fooling me, Ash," she said.

He blinked, feigning puzzlement. "What're you talking about?"

"I know you're upset."

"Upset? Why would I be upset?"

May didn't respond. She just looked at Ash with a gaze that was at once knowing and compassionate, the kind of gaze that only the closest of friends can give. Seeing this, Ash let his facade drop and looked down, his eyes shaded by his hat.

"Okay," he said. "You win. Yeah, I'm a little disappointed."

"That's better," she nodded with a smile.

Ash looked back at her, frowning. "Is this funny to you?"

"No, not really," she shook her head. "It's just…" she trailed off.

"Six losses in the league is nothing to laugh at," he grumbled. "At least, not like it's an intentional joke. I was so close...victory was right at my fingertips!" He extended his arm to the window as if he were reaching for something. "And it slipped away." He shook his head, placing his outstretched hand on the window. "It wasn't like my second-best performance back in Sinnoh, where the only reason I lost was because of an S-tier Darkrai who swept the competition. I had a chance: a real chance! I could've done it...and I failed."

May looked at her closest friend with sympathy. She put her hand on his shoulder and began rubbing it comfortingly. "I know how you feel, Ash."

"Yeah, right," he muttered.

She frowned. "Excuse me?"

"I don't want to hear any of those sappy cliches that everyone says to a friend when they're down," he said, glaring at her and raising his voice slightly. "I've heard them dozens of times, and I don't want to hear them again. If you can't be honest with what you say, then it'd be better if you didn't talk at all!"

He turned away again. May's frown deepened, and she firmly but gently grabbed his chin and turned him so he faced her again. "You think I'm just spouting words to make you feel better?" she asked, sounding slightly angered. "Is that what you think I'm doing?! You and I have been together for nearly two years, standing by each other and supporting each other through thick and thin! And yet now, in your moment of weakness, you have the audacity to think that I'm just throwing empty words at you?!"

He blinked as her glare bore into his eyes. His expression softened when she stopped speaking. "I'm sorry," he said, looking away again. "You're right. That was stupid and selfish of me."

Her expression softened as she moved closer to him. "It's okay," she said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know you're struggling right now, but you don't have to struggle alone. The thing is, I wasn't just saying empty words when I said I knew how you felt."

"Huh?" he said, looking back up at her.

"Did you hear about my Grand Festival performance in Alola?" she asked.

"Alola," he said. "I heard you were there, but I never got a chance to see how you did."

"I was at the same place you were at."

His eyes widened in interest. "Really?"

"Yup," she nodded. "I made it to the finals, and like you, victory was right at my fingertips." She gently placed her hand on the window beside his. "But in the end, I couldn't take home the trophy."

Ash's eyes changed from looking interested to being sympathetic. "Oh," he said. "I'm sorry you lost."

"It's okay," she smiled. "At first, I was upset, and even cried a little." She reached into her fanny pack. "But then I remembered what you taught me about taking losses and victories with stride." She pulled out a half of a ribbon. "And I figured that if you could bounce back from a loss like that, then so could I."

Ash looked at her, and his face changed to a smile. "Yeah...I guess you're right," he said, shuffling through his pocket and pulling out his half of their ribbon. He held it out and connected it to her's. After a moment, they let their arms drop. As his arm dropped, he looked away, eyes shaded by his hat again, though he was still smiling. "It still hurts, though."

"I know," she nodded, taking her arm off the window and putting it on top of her other hand, which was still on his shoulder. "But that's why we have each other, right?"

"Right."

She dropped her arm again and raised an eyebrow. "You keep your half of our ribbon in your pocket?"

"Of course," he smiled. "Didn't we promise each other that we would always carry our half with us?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "but I was worried you might've forgotten."

"Not a chance," he smiled warmly, placing the tip of his hand on her chin. "You're way more important to me than any championship."

May's face heated up at his affectionate touch. She leaned forward as she closed her eyes and pecked him on the cheek. When she leaned back, Ash put his hand on his cheek and rubbed it. The two of them just stood there, lovingly gazing into each other's eyes.

"Ash?"

"Ah!" they jumped at the sudden voice. A girl with honey-blonde hair and bright blue eyes looked in with a puzzled expression.

"What are you doing up?" she asked. "And who is this?"

"Oh!" Ash exclaimed, smiling. "Serena, this is my friend, May."

"May?" Serena said, eyes wide. "May as in, the coordinator from Hoenn?"

"That's right!" he nodded, then turned to May. "May, this is Serena. We met at a Summer Camp when we were kids, and then we ran into each other again in Kalos! Is it a small world or what?"

"Hi, Serena!" May grinned, extending her hand out to the girl. Serena blinked a moment before hesitantly taking her hand and shaking it.

"Hello," she said simply, a tinge of jealousy in her voice. "Ash has told me quite a bit about you and your adventures together in Hoenn and Kanto."

"Aw, he probably exaggerated a lot of what he said," May giggled.

"Yeah, right," Ash chuckled. "I'm glad you two got to meet each other. I think you'd make great friends."

"Yeah!" May smiled. "I've heard quite a bit about you too, Serena. Ash told me about your showcases and how similar they are to contests!"

Serena's eyes widened as she forgot her jealousy for a moment. "Huh? You told her about me, Ash?"

"Of course!" Ash grinned. "Seeing your performances always reminded me of her contests. I always thought that if you two ever met, you'd be calling each other sisters before 24 hours passed!"

Serena looked at May with her eyes still wide. "You know," May said, "if you want, I could show you what we do in contests."

"Then maybe I could show you what it's like to be in a showcase," Serena said, a small but sincere smile forming on her face.

"Maybe later today, how about it?" May asked.

"Sounds good!" Serena replied. Then her stomach growled. She blushed slightly. "Well, maybe I should get breakfast first."

"Go ahead," May nodded.

"Okay. It was nice to meet you, May."

"Nice to meet you, too!"

"You coming, Ash?"

"Oh, that's okay," Ash replied. "I already had breakfast."

Serena's smile disappeared again at that. "Oh," she said. "Okay." She walked away, her expression once again one of sadness.

Ash leaned against the wall and smiled to himself. "She's a nice girl," he said. Then his expression turned neutral. "I hope you two get along."

May blinked as she looked at him. "Well why wouldn't we?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. He walked up to her and took her hand. "Hey, would you like a tour of Lumiose City?"

"A tour?" she said, eyes wide like a kid in a candy store. "I'd love that! Are there any shops in town?"

"Uh, yeah," he replied, tensing up a little due to May's shopping habits. "But don't forget about Serena. I want you two to have some time together this afternoon."

"Oh, don't worry yourself," May giggled. "I won't get carried away."

"You better not," he said, nudging her. She nudged him back harder, only for him to fall to the ground. He grunted as though in pain.

"Ash?" she said, bending down. "Oh no, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you? I didn't mean to –"

She was silenced by his lips connecting with her's. After a moment, he pulled away, grinning cheekily. "Gotcha," he said.

"You stinker!" she laughed. She helped him to his feet, and they stood there laughing for a moment.

"Hey, May?" Ash said after they stopped laughing.

"Yeah, Ash?" May replied, gazing into his eyes.

He slowly placed his arms around her waist and pulled her into an embrace. "Thanks for cheering me up," he said softly, his mouth by her ear.

May smiled as she wrapped her arms around his back. "Don't mention it," she said. "It's the least I could do after all those times you cheered me up after a loss."

Ash chuckled lightly and closed his eyes. "You know what?"

"What?"

He sighed. "Being second-best isn't really that bad when I have someone like you standing tall by my side."

May blushed again, and she tightened her grip on him. A soft sigh was her response to his words, and so they stood there, isolated from the rest of the world for a brief moment.

"So, Ash," she said after a moment of silence, her arms still around him. "When are we going on that tour of the city?"

"Whenever you want," he winked.

What did you think? Feel free to rate and review, but no flames please!