A careful creak.
A groggy groan.
A soft sigh.
These were her cues.
After taking a deep breath, Serena whirled around to face Ash with a smile. "Good morning, Ash!" she chirped. Despite how much she had mentally prepared herself, her heart was still pounding violently. Hopefully he was too tired to notice how much her voice was shaking, too. "How do you like your coffee?" Now that they were living together, she wanted to become familiar with all of his morning rituals.
"Good mo-" A yawn cut off Ash's speech. "-morning, Serena," he mumbled as he slipped into his seat at the kitchen counter. "Coffee?" he echoed, once his tired brain processed the question. "I don't think I've ever had it. Isn't it super bitter? It's an adult drink, right?"
Serena seemed surprised, but she just chuckled softly. "Well, we're kind of adults now," she reminded him, "and coffee doesn't have to be bitter. I add milk and sugar to sweeten mine. Sometimes I even add honey."
Ash gazed thoughtfully at the coffee mug in her hands. "That sounds pretty good. Can I taste it?"
Serena's face grew deep red as she passed over her coffee mug. "Uh… uh-huh!" Was this reality? Was Ash taking a sip from her mug? In the kitchen that they shared? The golden-haired girl had to grip the edge of the counter now to keep her hands from shaking. "Well? How is it?"
Initially, Ash didn't react much. However, as he took another experimental sip, his eyes were now growing wide as they flooded with life. "Wow! That is pretty good!" He began to set the mug back down but ended up taking another sip first. "That seriously woke me up, too! Can I have more?" Was he shaking now?
Maybe giving Ash Ketchum caffeine wasn't her greatest idea.