the sooner the better
by S. Muffin

---

Dedicated to my dad, because he's the stressed architect that inspired this fic.

The soft melody filled the room as her fingers danced elegantly over the piano keys, skillfully hitting each note.

Ash Ketchum sat in the back of the restaurant, watching the pianist with interest as he sipped his drink.

He was, to put it simply, captivated. The music that flowed from her fingers entranced him and he couldn't bring himself to look away, to focus on anything else but the soothing music coming from the piano. He had never even been that interested in classical music either, but he could tell that this young woman had such natural talent for music. It was like magic right before his eyes (or rather, his ears).

As a fairly successful and talented architect in New York City, Ash enjoyed going out after a busy and demanding day at the office. And lately, each day started becoming just like the rest; annoying clients, goodness knows how many e-mails in his inbox, and meeting after meeting after meeting.

He was beginning to question his reason for going into architecture in the first place. Initially he was amazed by the many famous pieces of architecture in places like Rome, Paris, and Barcelona. He loved designing restaurants, houses, schools, and the like. He loved tackling an idea, creating a design, and then bringing it to life. And he still loved all that, but now that he was the director of the design department, he didn't design the buildings; the people in his department did.

But now, watching the pianist, he felt all the tension from work gradually melt away until it was completely gone. Whether it was the music or the young woman's presence that relaxed him, he wasn't exactly sure, but a big part of him was definitely convinced that watching this pianist entranced in her music, entrancing him at the same time, was what distracted him from all the stress.

She looked simple. Not plain or boring, but, even from a distance, he could tell that she wasn't overly done, very natural. Her dress, though a vibrant color of red, was also simple, and it looked beautiful on her even though it wasn't overly decorated or revealing.

Her hair, parted into two locks, shielded her face as she leaned closer to the keys, forming a crescendo before coming to a brilliant finish, bringing Ash out of his reverie. When she set her hands down all of the customers clapped, Ash included, and she looked up with a dazzling smile, her deep blue eyes reflecting her happiness.

She sat up from the bench, gave a small bow, and then she walked off the stage, opening the door that read "Employees Only" and disappearing down the hallway behind it.

Ash eagerly sat up from his chair and followed after her. He had to meet her. He couldn't just forget about her now.

---

May smiled as she admired the sunflowers that had just been delivered to her, a small gift from her younger brother that he always sent when he missed a show.

She sighed softly, setting the bouquet down on the vanity table situated before her. She always told Max that it really wasn't necessary. She played at small restaurants, clubs, weddings; not Carnegie Hall. Her "dressing room" was really a storage space that had been cleaned out a few hours before her arrival.

Well, they are my favorite, she thought, smiling again as her fingers lightly played with the bright yellow petals.

Music had been her passion ever since she was old enough to reach the piano keys while sitting on a chair. Her little toy keyboard went with her everywhere until she finally started taking piano lessons at the young age of five.

She had experimented with other instruments, too. In elementary school she played violin in the orchestra, but quit when it began to interfere with her piano practice. Then in junior high she sang in the chorus all three years, but her voice, though it wasn't bad, wasn't exceptional, either, so she decided to direct all her attention to piano.

She continued with her lessons until after graduation, when she got her acceptance letter to Juilliard. Now with a Master's degree under her belt, May worked as a music teacher at a pre-school while she was also working on earning her Doctor of Musical Arts degree.

Where was she heading next? She wasn't sure. She liked teaching four year olds how to sing songs and play the tambourine, but she knew she didn't want to do that forever. She had considered other things, like becoming a college professor for music, or even starting her own music school, but there was always a part of her that wanted a little bit of fame, a little bit of recognition of her talent.

A knock at the door cut off her train of thought.

---

"Excuse me?" Ash asked after knocking on the door. "Can I come in?"

"Um...sure, go right ahead."

Ash sighed, smiling slightly to himself as he turned the doorknob. After being stopped by a waiter, paying him twenty dollars to keep his mouth shut, and then finding the room she was in on his own, he was finally able to come see the pianist that had caught his attention so overwhelmingly.

He pushed the door open and stepped in, smiling a bit wider as their eyes met.

"Sorry to bother you," he began, "but I just wanted to compliment you on a good performance."

She stared at him silently for a moment, surprised, before she shook it off and grinned at him. "Oh, thank you!" she replied happily. "That's so sweet of you to say!" A confused look then came onto her face. "Wait, how did you even get back here?"

Ash smirked and chuckled lightly. "I paid the guy who caught me to keep quiet."

"Oh," the pianist said, laughing. She stood up from her chair and approached him, holding out her hand. "Well, I'm May White, and thanks again for the compliment."

"Ash Ketchum," he returned as he shook her hand. "And it's no problem. You're very talented, Miss White."

May blushed, smiling shyly. "Please, Mr. Ketchum, you're too kind."

"Ash," he corrected as he smiled back at her. "And thank you, but I'm only being honest. How long have you been playing?"

"A long time," she replied. "Since I was five."

His eyes widened slightly with surprise.

May laughed again. "Yeah, it's amazing how time flies."

His mild shock quickly faded, and Ash smiled at her cheerful disposition. She was slightly different than other women he knew, like his childhood friend Misty, who was once a tomboy and came off as a bit rough around the edges though she was still a nice person, or his assistant Dawn, who was always full of energy and sometimes a little too perky in the morning. She was cheerful and happy, but her presence was calming, just like it had been on stage.

"So, what do you do, Ash?" May asked.

"I'm an architect," he replied. "Well, actually, I'm the director of the design department now, but I went to college for architecture."

"So, that means you're a boss?" She looked surprise, as if the very idea was almost impossible.

Ash shrugged. "More or less."

"Wow," she said. "I never would've guessed. Bosses usually seem so old, and you don't look a day over thirty."

He chuckled shortly. "I'll be twenty-nine in July."

May laughed lightly with him. "You must be good at what you do then."

"I guess so," he replied. "I'm no better than the other people in my department."

"C'mon, Ash, I bet you're being modest," she teased, her lips turning into a playful smile to match her tone.

"Just like you were earlier," he said with a smirk. "You haven't seen any of my work, Miss White, but I've heard yours. You have real talent."

"May," she corrected, "and I'm no better than the other people I went to school with."

Ash laughed. "C'mon, May, I bet you're being modest."

"Just like you were earlier!" she exclaimed, and the two of them laughed. "We can argue about this all night, Ash, but I'll tell you right now it won't end."

"Then why don't we?" he offered. "My things are still at my table. How does a drink sound?"

May's eyes widened moment, surprised at the sudden invitation, but she smiled a moment later and nodded. "That sounds great. Just give me a second."

She walked over to the vanity table and quickly checked her appearance, before gathering her belongings and coming towards him again, smiling as Ash opened the door for her.

He gave her a small smile in return, placing a hand at the small of her back as he shut the door behind them.

---

"I still don't believe it," May said as she and Ash walked down the sidewalk. "You seriously designed The Coffee Bean? That's my favorite place to get coffee!"

After sharing a few small drinks, Ash offered to walk May home. May happily accepted and purposely took the longer route so they could continue their conversation.

Ash was one of the nicest young men she had met in a long time. The last serious relationship she had was with her high school boyfriend Drew, but they mutually decided to break up when he left to go to school in California. She did go out with a few guys during her first few years at Juilliard, but once she got a job and started studying for her Masters she simply didn't have the time. That, and all the guys that had approached her then were real creeps.

Ash was like a breath of fresh air. He was kind and charming, he provided great conversation, and he was interested in more than just her legs. She normally wouldn't have accepted an offer for a drink from a guy she had only known for five minutes but there was something about him that made her say yes.

Ash laughed. "For the tenth time, May, yes, I designed The Coffee Bean. Brock is a good friend of mine."

She stopped walking mid-step. Her eyes flew up, wide, to meet his. "Get out of here. You know Brock too?"

Ash nodded. "Since I was ten, yeah. Why, you know him too?"

"He memorized my order!" she exclaimed. "One small hazelnut coffee and a chocolate chip muffin."

He laughed again, the corner of his mouth lifting into a teasing smirk. "What a small world."

"Oh, quiet, you!" She crossed her arms and huffed. "I go there almost every morning before work and now I'm meeting the guy who designed it. It is a small world."

"All right, if you say so," he said, shrugging. "I don't see what the big deal is, though."

"Why?" May asked. She raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what else did you design?"

"Uh..." Ash looked around, before pointing to an apartment complex. "Well, I did the new design when a private client of mine renovated that building."

"That was you too!" she asked in disbelief. "You're everywhere aren't you?"

"Me? No. I don't do that many private projects because of my busy schedule. The department does a lot of jobs though." He slid his hands into his coat pockets to shield them from the cold. "Like the library we passed some time ago, that was us. And the café off of East 57th street is us too."

"Wow," she said, amazed. "Do you make a lot of money?"

Ash shrugged. "Enough to get me by and little extra." He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "Is the teacher's salary really as bad as people say it is?"

May nodded. "Teachers don't make as much money as other people, nor do they make as much as they deserve. I'm able to support myself since I play in restaurants and other places like that, but I can't afford luxuries like a car or exotic vacations. And I'm still working on getting my Doctor of Musical Arts at Juilliard."

"Juilliard?" Ash asked, he now being the one in disbelief. "That's where you go to school?"

"Yep," she replied with a smile. "Is it that surprising?"

"Well, no, not exactly, but...Juilliard." He paused, letting it sink in. "You must be way more talented than you appear to be."

"Oh, stop it," May said, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. "You're flattering me too much, Ash."

"I told you earlier, May," he gave her a slight smile, "I'm only being honest."

"Well aren't you charming," she murmured as she returned the smile, her cheeks growing warmer.

"What can I say? It's a natural habit of mine," he joked, earning a laugh from the young woman beside him.

"I can see that," she agreed. A moment later she added, "Thanks, by the way."

His eyes softened, as did his smile. "No problem."

They arrived at May's apartment some minutes later. Ash walked her up to her floor, having no intention to leave until he was sure that he would see her again.

"Now, be honest," May said as they stopped in front of her door. "Did you come to the restaurant knowing I was there, or did you go there just because?"

"I, uh..." Ash paused, not wanting to offend her. "Okay, I didn't know. I don't really have an interest in classical music, either. But I still think you're amazing at the piano."

May laughed. "I'm not upset if that's what you're worried about. It's fine. All that matters is that you enjoyed the show, right?"

He chuckled shortly. "I guess you're right." He paused again, carefully trying to form his next sentence. "You know, May, when I first saw you on stage...I was really blown away."

May felt her cheeks heat up. "Ash—"

"No, let me finish," he interrupted. "Seriously, May, you're an amazing pianist and a great person too. I really wanted to meet you when I saw you. And I'd also like to get to know you better."

She smiled shyly. "I'd like that too."

He smiled down at her, reaching into his back pocket for his mobile phone. "What's your number?" he asked as he flipped it open.

"237-8904," she replied while looking through her bag and finding her phone as well. "What's yours?"

Ash quickly added her number on his contact list before responding. "329-9692."

"So, we'll get together again soon?" May asked, grabbing her key.

Ash nodded, smiling again. "Definitely."

May returned the smile before turning around and unlocking her door. "I'll see you soon, then," she said, and then walked inside, closing the door.

"See you," Ash replied as she shut the door. He tucked his phone back into his pocket and then turned around to leave.

---

The next morning, right after she got out of the shower, May heard her ring tone playing loudly from her purse. She hurried over to her bedroom and fished it out, flipping it open to look at the screen.

NEW TXT MESSAGE.

She opened it and quickly read through it, a small smile coming onto her face as she did so.

From: Ash (329-9692)

When you said "see you soon" I figured the sooner the better.

What are you doing for breakfast?

So this is an attempt at a chapter story. Hopefully it'll work out.

AU love. Just ignore Ash's OOCness if it bugs you, but yeah, like I said, it's AU. Which means I can do whatever I want :)