It was always so cold outside. There was never a hint of warmth, or a ray of sunshine. It was always just so...cold; cold and alone.

"That's what you get for buying a cabin on the outskirts of Dendemille Town, you idiot...what gave you the inspiration to decide celebrating Christmas here would be a good idea?" I asked myself as I watched Talonflame do his best to keep his flame alight. He was tired. He'd been running that fire for three days straight now, and he had barely gotten an hour of sleep a day, if that. My soldier.

"T-Thank you, Talonflame, but that's enough. Time to get some rest now, bud."

He turned to me and shook his head. It was admirable that he cared so much about me, but I could see his eyes begging for sleep. I couldn't keep him up when I knew he was suffering. His Pokéball made its way into the shivering palm of my hand, shaking along as I brought it to Talonflame's face. I was too deteriorated to remember that I had to press the button in the middle of the ball, so I just waited for Talonflame to let himself in or for my arm to fall off; whichever came first.

"Please...r-return, Talonflame..." I wheezed feebly. He pecked the Pokéball from my weak grasp and watched as it bounced onto the floor.

"I'm not sleeping while you and Serena freeze. You have no say in this, Ash. Either go get some food, or go get some sleep," Talonflame commanded. We didn't need words anymore, a simple glance told me exactly what he was saying.

I obeyed, finding no weakness in his intimidating stare. Rising to my feet, I praised him silently as I staggered into the living room, where she had crashed out on the sofa. Her silky honey-blonde hair was strayed all over her face and her skin was a strange pale; not lifeless, but getting close.

I allowed myself a moment of selfish pleasure before I gently shook her out of her slumber. I could feel a small amount of blood rush to my freezing cheeks as I watched her stretch and yawn cutely. It was almost as if she'd forgotten the hellish situation we'd gotten ourselves in.

"Morning, Ash..." Serena mumbled. What with snow covering all of the windows and barricading the door, there was no actual way to discern whether it was morning, night, or something in between, but it was a ritual I had grown accustomed to, so I played along.

"M-Morning, Serena. Sleep w-well?" I replied, doing my absolute best to keep my eyes on hers. It was tough, being as cold as it was in here...I'd nearly been caught slipping up a few times.

"Yeah, I guess. The sofa's pretty comfy, actually." She sat up and patted a cushion next to her, gesturing for me to sit. I slumped next to her and immediately regretted not staying by that fire for a moment longer.

"Ooh, you're cold..." she shivered as I felt goosebumps run up and down her arms.

"S-Sorry...Talonflame's doing his best..." I attempted, before deciding it would be best to just stop talking.

Serena smiled and moved closer to me, leaning onto my chest, dangerously close to my heart. I prayed that her hearing was slightly ineffective as she responded, "He's doing the best he can with no firewood...besides, I can keep you warm for a little bit."

"Is it wrong if I hope Talonflame doesn't start a fire?" I pondered, blushing madly. Quickly thinking of an excuse to move the topic, I blurted out, "Have you heard from Clemont?"

Serena's glowing smile withered, "No. I haven't heard from him since he sent that call through the radio yesterday."

"He was coming back from the Pokémon Centre in Dendemille, wasn't he?" I frowned, doing my best to remember the past few days' events.

Serena nodded, looking up at me with hopeful eyes. "He is coming back soon, right?" I didn't want to lie to her, but lying was the only thing keeping me going right now, so what was the harm?

I plastered a fake smile onto my face and replied with gusto, "Of course! He's probably c-clearing the snow from the door right now, with Bonnie at his side cheering him on. Just wait, you'll see."

Serena got up and sat on her knees in front of me, gently caressing my face with her hands. Her warm, soothing hands immediately gave me a boost of adrenaline, as well as making my blush that much more obvious. "You don't have to lie to make me feel better...but thanks, Ash."

I smiled to myself, too comfortable to bother arguing back. We awkwardly stared at each other for a few seconds before looking away in opposite directions.

"That...was weird..." I muttered.

Serena nodded, "Y-yeah..."

We managed to glance back at each other before shaking our heads. I got up and made my way to the kitchen, being careful to avoid looking directly at Serena.

I couldn't remember when it happened, but a while ago things started getting awkward around us. I started seeing her differently after she told Tierno she wasn't really interested in him, following a confession from the dancing prodigy himself. It was almost like...I was happy she'd turned him down.

I scoffed, "That's s-stupid...why would I be happy because of t-that?" But even as I said it, I could feel a small knot twisting in my gut. My body could tell that I was lying, and wasn't going to let me feel guiltless.

As I stumbled into the kitchen, I spotted the window Clemont had shattered to escape. At the time, the snow was only blocking the door and the lower windows, but the kitchen window was still high enough to escape through. None of us could find anything to climb with or stand on, but Clemont had his Aipom arm to boost him up. He took Pikachu and Hawlucha to help him find his way to the Pokémon Centre around three days ago. I would've sent Talonflame too, but he can't see too well in the blizzard. At least Pikachu could supply some light for Clemont, along with his Luxray.
Most of the other Pokémon that stayed either conserved their energy by sleeping all day or tried their best to help out with the fire and food. Speaking of which...
I checked the cupboards desperately, searching for any scrap of food left. I had forgotten to restock the cabin before I left the last time, and as a result, we only had what we'd brought with us for sustenance. I managed to find a can of beans and four bottles of water left, not that water was a problem.

I took the can without a second thought and grabbed a spoon. I calmly strolled back into the living room and held them out to Serena.

"Eat."

She slowly took the spoon and can from my shaking hands and asked, "How much do we have left?"

"Eat," I repeated, defiant in my actions.

"How much is left, Ash?" Serena answered, her tone rising quickly.

"Enough..." I lied. The sooner she opened that can, the sooner I could walk away. "Now eat. You need your energy."

Serena put the can down angrily and stood to her feet, wobbling slightly as she did so. "If that's the last of the food, I'm not gonna let you waste it on me! You eat. You need it more than I do."

"I'm fine..."

As if on cue, my stomach rumbled furiously.

"Damn it, gut. You couldn't shut up for two minutes, could you?" I groaned to myself. Serena smiled matter-of-factly and opened the can, pushing it and the spoon back into my hands. I tried to give them back, but she wasn't having it. She turned and gave me the cold shoulder, waiting for me to start eating.

I took a deep breath, suppressing my anger as best I could. She wasn't going to eat it any time soon, and I couldn't put it back now, so I decided to do the only other thing I could.

I returned to the kitchen and found the biggest bowl I could. I poured the contents of the can into the bowl and took it to the fireplace, bundles of spoons in my grasp. I met Talonflame's tired eyes as he spotted me approach him; the flame was barely alive.

"Time to eat, bud," I smiled. I learned a long time ago from an old friend that your Pokémon can feel your emotions, and react accordingly to them, so acting strong and positive was what my friends needed right now. Talonflame didn't argue; he was too weak to do so.

I sat down near the fireplace and began spoon-feeding him small portions of the massive can. I released Greninja and Noibat as well, making sure they got some energy before I sent them back to sleep.

"S-Serena! You should get your Pokémon in here, too!" I called out, too lethargic to get up and find her. I watched as a deteriorated Pancham, Braixen, and Eevee approached me with begging eyes, followed by the Pokémon Clemont had left too - Bunnelby and Chespin. I fed them without blinking, not stopping until they had some sort of motion in their eyes.

I scraped the last of the beans into Dedenne's mouth and placed the empty bowl into the kitchen sink; my portion control being lazy up until the point when I realised the difference between Talonflame and Dedenne's sizes. I returned everyone to their Pokéballs, even a reluctant Talonflame. I escorted Serena's Pokémon back to their Trainer, where they, too, returned to slumber, and returned all the other Pokémon to their Pokéballs to rest.

I slumped next to Serena on the sofa, physically exhausted.

"Everyone's...fed..." I managed, as I groaned from recent stomach pains.

Serena turned directly to face me and shook her head, "Only you would give up the last food you had for your friends..."

"That's not true," I argued quietly, "You'd do that, too."

Serena shook her head again. Tears began rolling down her soft, supple cheeks, staining them with streams of despair. She embraced me swiftly and sobbed woefully into my shoulder. I hugged her tightly, feeling my heartbeat quicken. She had gotten colder, but her mere presence was still incredibly better than that fire.

"Don't worry, Serena...Clemont'll be back soon. He's just...trying to drag Bonnie away from a potential wife, that's all..." I joked; a rarity for me, considering the situation.

Serena sat up and smirked, "He'll be telling her off for the millionth time..."

I grinned, "There you go! There's the smile I wanted to see."

"You wanted to see me smile?" Serena asked.

I thought it was kind of a dumb question, but still, I replied, "Yeah...so what?"

Serena leaned closer towards me, "Why did you want to see me smile?"

"It makes me happy, I guess..." I muttered, a little louder than I had expected.

She continued to lean towards me, our faces getting closer and closer by the second. "It makes you happy to see me happy?" she asked.

I nodded; my breathing beginning to sharpen as she got even closer.

"You know what would make me really happy, Ash?"

I swallowed nervously as the tips of our noses grazed each other. "What?"

She brushed past my cheek and whispered into my ear, "An early Christmas present."

I sighed, "I haven't gotten you anything yet, sorry."

Serena giggled, "You didn't have to get me anything. You're more than enough."

And with that, she kissed me. It was a slow, adoring, gentle kiss; one that I wish could've lasted forever. Her lips caressed mine delicately, possessing me for a moment that felt like an eternity.

We continued to lock lips until a loud cough brought us back to reality. Our attention immediately shot to the open door, where a blue jumpsuit owner stood outside with a Pikachu on his shoulder and a small girl by his side, eyes covered by her brother.

"I should've known better than to leave you two alone together..." Clemont chuckled, as if we'd only been separated for a few minutes. "C'mon, time to go. We've got rides back to Dendemille Town."

I looked at Serena, who had turned a deep shade of crimson. I smiled and took her hand, escorting her from the cabin to freedom.

I knew now why I wanted to spend Christmas here; I wanted to be with Serena. It just took me three awful days to realise that I didn't need some special winter cabin to fulfil my dream of a Christmas with Serena - I just needed to be with her.

But now that my goal had been achieved, I needed a new one to set myself onto; I needed inspiration...and it just so happened that my inspiration was two metres opposite me, climbing onto her snow ski with the assistance of a rescue member.

"That's perfect..." I murmured to myself, "I can't believe I didn't think of that sooner..."

"What was that, Ash?" Serena asked, apparently hearing me.

"Nothing, Serena. Just rambling to myself..." I grinned.

"She's gonna look so good in that wedding dress I bought her from back in Courmarine City..." I told myself as we rushed into the blinding light of the gentle snow.

_________________________

Found this one shot on fanfiction.net (MetekinGiant) so make sure to check it out!

Sorry but still another week before I get into my rhythm of writing chapters, until now merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas 🎄

-Amourcanon