The day had finally arrived.

Ash woke up early in the morning and left the house as quietly as possible, making sure not to wake anyone up. He walked along the street until the florist's shop came into view.

With a small smile, Ash entered the shop.

"Hello Ash! You're here early this year." said Lauren, the florist as he gave him a friendly smile.

Ash smiled at the woman and replied.

"Yeah, I wanted to be earlier than usual today."

The florist nodded in acknowledgement before continuing.

"So, same as always?" she asked.

Ash had always visited that particular store on this very date, every year. Ash wasn't a frequent customer, but he was a memorable one. He had been visiting Lauren's shop for over 10 years now, however, he would only visit the shop on either the 14th of February, Valentine's Day or the 1st of December, her birthday. Ash had a specific preference of bouquet for each date.

On the 14th, he always bought a dozen roses, six of them being Red, while the other six being White. On the 1st, he would always buy White Orchids.

"Yes please." Ash replied softly.

Lauren gave him a gentle smile as she set about making the bouquet. Moments later, Lauren returned with a wonderfully arranged posy. The red and white were distanced in such a way that it didn't look clustered. Each rose had it's own spot, signifying its own importance in the bunch.

"Here, Ash. That'll be 2599 pokedollars, please." said Lauren as she handed the bouquet to Ash.

Ash gratefully took it and paid for them. He said his goodbyes and was about to walk out of the shop, however, he stopped in his tracks as he spotted something from the corner of his eyes.

Ash walked over to a blue silky thin, yet long piece of cloth. It was rolled up neatly and placed inside of a box. The mere sight of it caused to smile due to the memories he had attached to a ribbon similar to the one in front of him.

Another small smile grew on his face as he thought of the special girl that was waiting for him back home. 'This is going to be perfect for her!' He thought to himself as, without turning around to face Lauren, he spoke.

"Actually, I'd like this too." Ash exclaimed.

Lauren looked at the young man with confusion written all over her face. She had never seen him buy anything other than flowers from her shop. Even though she was a florist, she had a knack for selling those little accessories.

"Oh, sure Ash! Those ribbons are completely free with any set of bouquets." said Lauren as she motioned him to just take it.

Ash smiled and took the blue ribbon. He thanked Lauren once again and walked out of the shop. He looked at the bouquet in one hand and the ribbon box in the other. He thought back to how he had received that very first ribbon box for free too. Just reminiscing on those thoughts caused another smile to grow on Ash face.

'The best things in life really are free.' he thought to himself as he opened the box to look at the ribbon inside. The ribbon shared an uncanny resemblance to the one he had received back in Coumarine City.

Ash closed the box and started walking along the narrow streets of Pallet Town. Being mid-February, it was still quite cold. The trees were bare and the wind was chilly, however, the sun was already up in the sky, and long with the sun came the warmth from its rays.

After a while of walking, he arrived in front of a large iron gate. This was his destination... a place where eternal rest takes place.

Ash's eyes scanned the area from the gate. He couldn't see a single person there. All his eyes could see were neatly arranged rows and columns of headstones.

Ash took a deep breath and entered the cemetery. He walked through the aisles as he mentally regurgitated the location of the headstone he was looking for. After a bit of thinking and walking, he stopped in front of a certain headstone. Ash stared at the engravings on the stone as he developed a sad smile.

"Morning Sere." he greeted his late wife.

"It's been exactly 5 years to this day, that everything changed..." he spoke as haunting memories flooded his mind.

Ash clenched his eyes shut as he tried to eliminate those thoughts, but alas, to no avail. He reopened them only to reveal his dull, Auburn eyes.

"There were millions of people I could have been with... but I had the unfortunate luck of meeting up. I-If I just hadn't met you, maybe, just maybe you would have been alive today..." he said as he sat down in front of her headstone with a guilty look in his eyes.

It was a special day today, so Ash didn't want to ruin it by bringing up the past. He wiped the corner of his eyes, clearing any tears that were threatening to fall. He gave Serena the smile that she always loved, thus brightening up the atmosphere. Ash then started talking to her about anything and everything. He talked about how his training was going and how we was soon going to challenge the Champion.

Ash enjoyed his alone time with Serena. Those little conversations that he held with her were little moments in his life where he could still feel her presence around him. It only lasted a little while, but that didn't matter to him. It there was even a tiny chance that he could be around Serena once again, he would jump at the opportunity in a heartbeat. He knew he was never going to get a reply, however, he firmly believed that Serena could hear him... and that's all he could ask for.

Soon, he finished his talk. Ash sighed and then looked at the bouquet of flowers in his had.

"Do you know what day it is today?" he asked her, almost sounding as if he was expecting a reply... but he knew better.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Sere. Here look, I've brought you some flowers." he said with a bright smile as he placed the bouquet atop her grave.

Ash took a step back.

"Anyway, I've got to head back now. She's probably waiting for me." Ash said with a sad smile as he gave Serena one final look before turning around and leaving.

Walking home from that cemetery was probably the hardest thing to do for Ash. Next to her grave, he would feel enveloped in her warmth, however, walking home, he would felt the cold and the emptiness take over. He felt so lonely without her.

It was difficult for Ash to live without Serena. There had been moments were he had gone a bit off track and had taken wrong paths since her death. There had been moments where he thought about giving up. Where he didn't want to have anything to do with the world anymore. Serena meant more to him than anyone could ever imagine. Having someone to love so dearly and then losing is painful... and Ash experienced the pain firsthand.

However, he didn't give up. He didn't give up because he still had a reason, a purpose to live. As soon as one angel was taken away from him, another came into his life. One that signified everything Ash and Serena were about. One that was the sign of their perennial love.

Ash was so deep in thought that he hadn't even realised that he had arrived at his front door. He slowly opened the door and entered his house. He took his shoes off and was about to walk into the kitchen, however, he stopped as soon as he heard a voice.

"Daddy!" yelled an excited voice.

Ash watched with a bight smile plastered on his face as a beautiful little girl ran through the living room door and jumped into Ash arms.

"Come here Lara, my little angel!" Ash said as he gave her a tight bear hug.

"Good Morning sweetie, and Happy Birthday!" Ash yelled happily as he released her from the hug and gave her a kiss on her cheeks.

Lara giggled as she felt Ash's rough stubble tickle her cheeks.

"Look what I got for you!" Ash said as he revealed the box to her.

Lara looked at the box in bewilderment. She took the box off of Ash's hands and opened it. As soon as she did so, her eyes lit up and a huge smile grew on her face.

"It's just like the ribbon mommy wears in those photographs!" squealed Lara excitedly  while pointing at some framed photographs of Ash and Serena that hung on the walls of the house.

"Yeah, it is." Ash replied while chuckling.

"Thank you so much, daddy!" Lara yelled in ecstasy as she, once again, jumped on Ash and hugged him.

"You're welcome sweetie." Ash said while gently stroking her hair.

At that moment, Ash had a genuine smile of contentment plastered on his face. Here was his reason to stay strong. His reason to persevere through everything life had to throw at him. This little girl with Auburn eyes and Honey-Blonde hair, currently enveloped in Ash's arms, had taken her mother's spot as the source of happiness in Ash's life.

End of One Shot.

Happy Valentine's Day everybody! I hope the day went well for all of you!

With this One Shot, the message I was trying to convey was that it doesn't matter if you don't have a partner or a 'valentine' for today. Just spend the day with the people that mean the world to you. Show them that you really do care for them! :)

Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this One Shot!