~Sometimes the snow comes down in June,
Sometimes the sun goes 'round the moon.
I see the passion in your eyes.
Sometimes it's all a big surprise,
'Cause there was a time when all I did was wish
You'd tell me this was love.
It's not the way I hoped, or how I planned,
But somehow it's enough....~

    My voice caught in my throat.  I couldn't speak.  I stared at James, looking utterly dumbfounded.  So many years I had hoped and prayed that James would tell me he loved me, or that I would work up the nerve to tell him my feelings.  But it never happened.  Never, that is, until tonight.

    It had been an ordinary day.  James had seemed a bit.....odd, like something was on his mind.  He had been unusually quiet all day.  After getting blasted off by that twerp and his goddamned Pikachu, we set up camp and ate dinner.  Then we all sat around the campfire.  Virtually nothing had been said since blasting off earlier.  We had all been kind of down and depressed.  But then, James broke the silence.
    "Jessie?  May I speak with you,..." he shot a glance at Meowth and blushed a bit more than he already was.  "....uh, privately?"
    I could fell *myself* start to blush, and was grateful for the warmth of the fire on which I could pass it off.  "Uh, sure," I replied, sounding more than a little speculative.  He took my hand and pulled me up, which I didn't find strange because he does that all the time.
    We walked a ways away from camp.  As soon as we stopped, James took my hands in his and stared hard, yet gently, into my eyes.
    "Jessica," he began.  "I--we have known each other practically our whole lives.  We've been through so much together, and over the years I--I mean, um....well, what I *want* to say is that...."  he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.  "I love you, Jessie."

~And now we're standing face-to-face.
Isn't this world a crazy place?
Just when I thought our chance had passed,
You go and save the best for last....~

    Finally, I found my voice.  Tears welled up in my eyes as I whispered, "I love you too, James.  I--I always have."
    James smiled and kissed me, and I happily kissed back, still not really believing that this was all happening.  But in my heart, I knew it was.  We talked for a while before returning to camp.  When we got back, Meowth was waiting for us.
    "So, are yous two tagedda yet, or is Meowth gonna hafta take some action?" he joked, grinning from ear to ear.  I wrapped my arms around James's neck and we kissed passionately again, answering the cat's question.  "Ok, ok!  Geez, I only asked a simple question!"  Seeing that we were ignoring his remarks and still deeply lip-locked, he waved a paw at us and added, "Ugh, get a room."
    The rest of the night was wonderful.  We watched the fire a bit longer, and James put his arm around me as I rested my head on his shoulder.
    When James went to bed (Meowth had gone to bed early to "give us two loveboids some privacy."^_^), I stayed up and thought about the sequence of events that had played out earlier, and reflected back on my past with James.  I thought about some of the girlfriends James had had.  They were never serious, and the longest one lasted about three days.  James could never understand why things didn't work out, whether he had been the dumper or the dumpee.  He'd get upset, and I'd comfort him.  Earlier though, while we were talking, he had told me that finally he'd realized that the problem with all those girls was that they weren't me.  The reason he didn't love them is because he loved me.

~All of the nights you came to me,
When some silly girl had set you free.
You wondered how you'd make it through,
I wondered what was wrong with you?
'Cause how could you give your love to someone else,
And share your dreams with me?
Sometimes the very thing you're lookin' for
Is the one thing you can't see....~

    The fire is dying now, and the chill night wind is blowing a soft lullaby past my ears, causing me to shiver.  I turn my attention from the past to the present, and wonder how long I've been sitting here thinking.  I stand up, stretch, yawn, and change into my pajamas and brush my teeth.  James and I have zipped our two separate sleeping bags into one big sleeping bag, and I climb in next to him.  James stirs, then puts his arm around me.
    "I love you, Jess," he murmurs, still asleep.
    I smile and whisper back, "I love you too, James," as I drift off.
 

~~Dat's it!  Hope ya liked it!!!  Youse guys know where flames go!!!  Straight ta Yugure!!!  Dat's riii-iiiight!!!!!!~~