"Just... friends..." Dawn muttered, utterly disappointed.
"Never mind that. Let's go home!" Ash reached out to Dawn to help her onto Charizard's back.
"Okay..." Dawn climbed onto Charizard's back, and the two headed home.
After they returned, Dawn put extra thought into dinner to thank Ash for the day, preparing an unusually lavish meal. Ash, of course, enjoyed every bite.
At bedtime, they snuggled beneath the same covers again, but even after yesterday's experience, neither was used to sleeping beside an attractive member of the opposite sex.
After dinner, Ash quietly reflected on his feelings for Dawn. At first, he had simply liked her lively voice and her never-give-up spirit, but without realizing it, he had been drawn to her. He had never forgotten Dawn in all those ten years, and now she was so close to him again.
"Even though I saw you yesterday, you're still so beautiful..." Ash marveled.
"...What's gotten into you, Ash...? Saying something like that all of a sudden..." Dawn could no longer meet his eyes.
"I'm complimenting you," Ash said.
"You asked me today whether I felt anything special for you. I didn't then, but I do now," Ash said.
"Wh-what kind of feeling...?" Dawn grew even more nervous.
In the moonlight, Dawn's slightly flushed cheeks made her look especially delicate, stirring Ash's desire to protect her. But he knew a momentary impulse wasn't love. To him, love meant something steady and lasting, two hearts in harmony. Yet Dawn's beauty, her bell-like voice, her cheerful personality, and her constant companionship drove his impulses straight through the wall called reason.
"I... suddenly feel this urge... to protect you for the rest of my life..." Ash told her exactly what he felt.
"Ash..." Dawn looked at him, her face crimson. With the moon as her backdrop,