Hey I'm back! I haven't really had the time to write anything, because I've been caught up with schoolwork, but here's a quick one-shot. This fic is inspired by a picture, so I guess that you could call it a, um, picture-fic? Eh, w/e, I don't really give a damn what you call it. Pure pearlshipping (as always) in this one with fluff.

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN POKEMON. EFFING PERIOD.

Now onto the story!

The Magic of a Winter's Night

A few things to know:

Ash and Dawn are older, like 15ish, as is the case with all my other fics. I am generally uncomfortable with the thought of two 10-year-olds having a roll in the hay with each other.

Brock isn't traveling with them in this one, he recently left.

Dawn and Ash had been traveling all over Sinnoh together for the past few years. Their companion, Brock, had recently left the Sinnoh region to go home to his native Kanto region, leaving the trainer and the coordinator alone for the first time.

"How much longer do we have to walk?" a tired Dawn asked. "My legs are killing me, and the snow isn't exactly helping either."

Ash stared at the map. "Um... I dunno, maybe a couple more days? Snowpoint City is at least 50 or 60 miles away."

Dawn sighed. "I wanna rest. NOW."

Ash looked at his companion and rolled his eyes. "Fine," he muttered. "We'll camp here tonight. But get ready to haul ass tomorrow or I'll kick it."

Dawn merely stuck her tongue out at the raven-haired boy. "You wish you can kick my ass," she grinned. "Go get the firewood."

"No, you go get it. You wanted to camp here."

"But my legs are tired."

"I don't give a damn. Go get the wood, Dawn, or we won't have a fire, and if we don't have a fire, you're gonna get cold, and if you get cold, you're gonna get sick, and if you get sick, we can't get to Snowpoint City in time for my gym battle with Candice and your Snowpoint contest," Ash replied coolly.

"Come on, please?" Dawn asked. "I'm so tired."

Ash laughed. "No way."

Dawn had nothing left, so she had no choice but to use her ultimate weapon. She took a deep breath and looked at Ash with the cutest and saddest puppy eyes he had ever seen.

"Pretty please?" Dawn asked. She smirked to herself inside as she saw Ash falter. She kept up the face until Ash finally gave in.

"Alright, alright," Ash groaned. "I'll go get the damn wood." He kicked himself for falling for Dawn's charm. But then again, she is kinda cute, Ash thought to himself.

"Yay!" Dawn squealed as she gave Ash a quick hug. "Now I can finally get some rest!"

"Shut up," Ash growled in a friendly way as he started to walk off.

Ash took some time to reflect on his feelings for his companion as he walked in search of suitable firewood. He knew that they were good friends, even if they argued sometimes. But do I like her more than just a friend? Ash asked himself. I mean, I've never felt this way with Misty or even May. There's just something about her that makes everything click for me. And we saw that school of Luvdisc* together too. Wait, what the hell am I saying? Even if I do like her, she probably doesn't like me back. Man, I'm all mixed up! Just as he finished his thought he spotted several branches that were perfect for firewood. Ash gathered the branches and started heading back to their campsite, still wondering about his feelings for the blue-haired coordinator he was traveling with.

Back at the campsite, Dawn brought out her Pokemon and started setting up a tent for the night. As she worked, she began to think about her harboured feelings for the boy. God, he's so perfect, he's everything that makes me happy inside! He's so caring to both his Pokemon and his friends! I just don't know if he loves me back.

"Bun! Buneary!" Dawn's Buneary shouted happily, jerking her trainer out of thoughts.

Dawn looked up to see Ash returning with some wood in his arms. He grinned at her.

"So, what happened to getting some rest, huh?" Ash laughed.

"Well, asshole, if I didn't put up the tent you wouldn't have a roof to sleep under," Dawn replied. "So you'd better be thankful."

Ash dumped the wood on the ground and arranged it into a teepee shape. He took out a Pokeball.

"Chimchar, come on out!" Ash shouted.

"Chimchar!" The chimp Pokemon screeched his name as he appeared in a flash of light.

"Chimchar, be a pal and use ember for me," Ash said.

"Chim! Chimchar!" Chimchar cried as specks of fire flew from its mouth. The flames hit the wood dead on, creating a crackling fire.

"Thanks buddy," Ash smiled. "Return." Chimchar disappeared in a flash of red light.

Later in the evening...

"It's beautiful, isn't it, Ash?" Dawn asked her companion. The pair were sitting against a fallen log in the snow as night fell.

"What's beautiful?" Ash asked.

Dawn shook her head, exasperated. "The stars, smart boy."

Ash grinned. "Yeah, they sure are."

"It would be nice if it wasn't so cold out here," Dawn said.

"You're right, I'm getting cold," Ash said back with a sly grin. "I think I'll borrow your hat." With that he snatched the coordinator's beanie and ran off with it.

"Give me back my hat, Ketchum!" Dawn yelled as she ran after her friend. "Gimme!"

"You can get it back if you catch me!" Ash taunted, making Dawn even angrier.

"You idiot! Give it back!" Dawn yelled, but she couldn't help laughing with Ash.

"Kiss my butt and I'll give it back!" Ash taunted.

"No way!" Dawn jumped and tackled her friend into the snow.

"Ow!" Ash yelled in pain as he landed with the coordinator on top of him. She grabbed back her hat as he lay on the ground and put it on her head.

"I'll take that back, thank you very much," she giggled. "Idiot."

Ash was breathing hard. "Dawn, you can get off now," he wheezed.

Dawn let out another giggle. "I don't think so," she whispered slyly. Ash's eyes widened in fear.

"No."

Dawn simply giggled evilly. "Yes," she said as she started to tickle Ash's ribs.

"No! S-s-s-stop it!" Ash spluttered between laughing fits.

"Not until you promise to never steal my hat again," Dawn laughed.

"Okay! I p-p-promise!" Ash laughed.

Dawn stopped tickling her friend and lay on top of him while they caught their breath. Out of instinct, she wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled up close to him. She realized what she was doing, but was curious about what Ash's reaction would be like.

Ash's heart started thumping harder and faster as he realized that the girl of his dreams was lying on top of him. Hesitantly, he put his arms around her waist and held her close.

Dawn felt her companion's hands snake across her body and her heart jumped. Oh my god, is this actually happening? she thought.

Ash was extremely nervous. Should I just tell her how I feel about her? he asked himself. What if she doesn't like me back?

Dawn looked down straight into Ash's eyes. "Ash?" she whispered.

Ash finally spoke. "Dawn, I've been wanting to say this for a long time. Lately, I've been getting these weird feelings when I'm with you. Like, I always get this rush whenever I'm with you, and everything just seems to click when you're with me." He stopped for a second, then spoke again. "Look, what I'm trying to say is, I like you Dawn, but as more than a just a friend. I... I love you, Dawn."

Dawn just looked into her friend's shimmering eyes. She waited for a second, then slowly lowered her face towards his, inch by inch, closing the gap between them until their lips met for the first time.

The pair held that position for a few seconds until they had to come up for air.

"I love you too, Ash," Dawn whispered as she snuggled on top of him.

Ash could only smile as he marveled at the magic of a winter's night.

As usual, please review and comment, and I hope that this story has as much success as my other story Wanna Bet?. If you haven't read that yet, PLEASE read it, as well as my other stories. Once again please review as they make me want to write more. Also, I'm kind of blanking on ideas right now, so if you have an idea that you'd like to see published just review/message me. That's it from me, peace out!