A/N: Thank you for clicking on this story! I hope you like it :D

A little note though, I have never written AmourShipping, GeekchicShipping or MesaFanShipping before, so I hope it turns out well. Also, if you love either of these Shippings, and/or PokeShipping, and don't want to see them broken apart, please do not continue reading. Or if you do, do so at your own risk. I warned you :P

This story was written as a late birthday present for reminiscent-afterthought, a friend I met on the Pokémon Fanfiction Challenges forum. (Which is, by the way, a really great forum you should totally check out :P) I hope you like it, Remi! And happy (late) birthday :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the picture used as cover.

About Love

Ash would always return to Kanto in between his journeys.

Just this time, he hadn't returned alone. No, he had brought her with him.

Serena.

His girlfriend.

She had always known this day would come, had always known that Ash couldn't stay oblivious to romance for the rest of his life, and that at some point, he would take an interest in girls.

She had known it wouldn't be her – she wasn't brave, she wasn't strong enough to confront her own feelings, and they were too rusted in their arguing-and-laughing-like-best-friends routine to be able to change that.

And she had thought she had been prepared for that moment. She had thought that she would be ready, that she had gotten over those feelings, that, when he moved on, she would be able to do so too.

But apparently not.

Apparently she had still held some hope that things would stay as they were, that perhaps Ash would choose her, that she would get her fairytale ending… And now those feelings had been crushed and the last flickers of hope had been snuffed out with Serena's appearance.

And as she felt the anger, the jealously, the sadness, the hurt – she knew once more that she didn't deserve him. Because what she felt for him was selfish, those feelings that raged through her proved that. Because surely, if she truly, genuinely loved him, she would be happy when he was so happy, even if that wasn't with her, but with someone else? Even if it wasn't with her, but with Serena?

But she wasn't happy.

She was angry, she was sad, she was jealous, she was so very hurt. And that proved that she didn't deserve him, because she simply couldn't be happy that he had found happiness with someone else than her.

She was selfish, and she didn't deserve him.

Still, when Ash had turned up at her doorstep, genuinely happy to see his best friend again, genuinely happy to introduce her to his new girlfriend – how could she possibly be angry at him? Or at her, for that matter, who hadn't done anything wrong?

And so Misty swallowed the lump in her throat and gave them the biggest, brightest smile she could fake, while it felt her heart was breaking all over again.

She was so very beautiful.

It wasn't the white dress, or her hair, or her make-up. It was in the way her eyes shined, in the way she shined, simply beaming from happiness. Her smile was breathtaking, and for a moment, when she made eye contact with him, he could pretend it was him that smile was meant for, and he could genuinely grin back at her.

And then she turned her eyes away from him to look at Ash, who was standing next to the altar, and his heart shattered. The smile on his face changed, from the true, happy grin to the fake smile he had perfected over the years.

No one noticed the difference anymore. And that was how it was meant to be.

After the ceremony, after the reception and the dinner, when the dancing was starting, he noticed her. In terms of appearance she didn't stand out in the group of women, with her plain dress and simple red hair, but it was her smile that made him notice her.

It was a very familiar smile.

It was the same one he saw in the mirror every day, the same one he saw on recent photos – the same broken smile he was wearing right now.

She saw him, and visibly started, but quickly recovered and walked over.

"I'm Misty," she introduced herself, that smile still plastered on her face. "Cerulean City's Gym Leader, and a friend of Ash's."

"Clemont," he answered. "Lumiose City's Gym Leader, and a friend of Serena's."

Even though he was technically a friend of Ash too, it seemed more fitting to leave that out. Her fake smile morphed into a small genuine one, laced with sadness and sympathy, and he found himself returning in kind.

Involuntary, unconsciously, he turned to look at the dance floor, where Ash and Serena were dancing.

"They're happy," Misty said, following his gaze, her voice just above a whisper.

"They're happy," he confirmed, and her hand slipped in his, and stayed there until the end of the evening.

She had heard it from Bonnie. She doubted Clemont had intended it to be that way, but Bonnie's enthusiastic ways had beat him to telling her it himself.

It was truly great news. Bonnie, despite her age and supposed maturity, was bouncing off the walls upon hearing the news of her brother's girlfriend.

Serena smiled, but it felt rather forced. She knew Clemont and Misty had met during the wedding, and that they had kept in contact, but she hadn't expected it to take such a flight. The two of them seemed so… different.

She was very happy – of course she was happy, why wouldn't she be happy, Clemont was one of her best friends after all – but a small part of her was also slightly worried. Clemont was a sensitive guy, and if he got hurt because of that girl…

She mentally shook her head. Misty was one of Ash's friends, and she could trust his judgment. Besides, Clemont wasn't the kind of guy to take things like this lightly, so if Misty had managed to become his girlfriend, she really must be something.

And so she pushed her worries aside, and when Clemont came to personally tell her, Serena gave him a genuine smile, and hoped he wasn't able to see the concern in her eyes.

Next to him Serena gasped, and he too felt his breath catch in his throat. Misty had appeared in the doorway, now making her way down the aisle.

She was beautiful. Not in the way as Serena had been, who had been beaming and shining; Misty instead looked calm, her happiness contained but slightly radiating through the cracks of her composure, and Ash couldn't help but grin.

She caught his eye, and now she was truly beaming, and he beamed back, extremely happy his best friend had found her so-much deserved happiness with his other best friend.

Misty looked back to Clemont, and strangely, her smile changed back to the calm one. She looked content, at peace, but not as happy as she had looked a moment before.

Serena had mentioned before that she found the relationship between Misty and Clemont odd, but Ash had brushed it off as them having a different way of showing their love. He was still sure that was the explanation, but this was the first time he had seen it for himself.

It was definitely odd.

"She's so beautiful," Serena pulled him out of his thoughts, and the words "Not as beautiful as you were though," were on the tip of his tongue, but he kept silent, because this was not about Serena and him, but about Misty and Clemont.

And so Ash smiled and nodded, because she truly was beautiful, but the smile on his face held a mixture of wonder, as he couldn't quite forget what he had just seen.

Life wasn't fair, and Misty knew that very well. Though, she guessed, that was unfair to life itself, because in the end it had always been her own choice.

When her sisters had asked her to come back to the Gym, she could've said no and forgotten about her responsibilities. But she didn't.

And when Ash had come back with Serena, that too had felt unfair, but if only she had spoken up…

But life hadn't been completely unfair to her. She had known she could never love anyone as much as she loved Ash, so she had resigned herself to a life without romance, because it wouldn't be fair to someone to be forever her second choice.

But then Clemont had come along, and with him it was fine, because she was his second choice too. He loved her, she didn't doubt that, but she knew he would always love Serena more.

Irony is always so lovely.

Still, she refused to let life be even more unfair – or rather, to let her own choices be more unfair. Especially not to Clemont. She was already stuck at the Gym, what was one more reason to stay here, if it made him happy?

He had mentioned the subject once or twice to her, but when he had found out what was her opinion on it, he had shut up about it. But she could still see the longing in his eyes when they passed a playground, or a primary school, or a young family, even though he never spoke about it.

But she wouldn't deny him this. That would be… unfair. She wouldn't tell him, because he would undoubtedly protest, and it would make a nice surprise…

And so, with a small smile, Misty put away the birth control pills in the medicine cabinet, not to be used again.

He couldn't believe it.

"He's so beautiful," he hoarsely whispered.

"He looks like you," she commented dryly. He opened his mouth to disagree, but found he couldn't, because with the few blond hairs and the bright blue eyes, the baby did indeed look like him.

Misty grinned at his expression. "He's still beautiful though."

He nodded dumbly, so many emotions swirling inside of him couldn't and would never be able to word, and in the end settled on a thick "Thank you."

Her face sobered, and she gave him a sad smile. "You're welcome."

It was equally emotionally loaded as his words had been, and he could only hope that he understood her as well as he hoped she had understood him, and that his face would be able to convey the emotions his words couldn't.

And so Clemont smiled, the biggest, most genuine smile he had given her in the whole time they had known each other.

She was jealous. It wasn't something she liked to admit, but it was true. She was jealous of her best friend. Well, not necessarily himself, but more of what he had, and what she didn't have but wanted so very much.

Children.

There, she said it. She was jealous of Clemont because he had kids and she didn't.

Even though she had never pegged Misty as the motherly type – even Ash had said so, and he had known her for way longer than she had – she had given birth to three children, and with number four on the way.

All the while she was getting older and Ash was still holding off any requests about children with the excuse that they still had time, that they were still young. But they – she – didn't have time, they – she – weren't still young. Her biological clock was ticking, and she wanted children.

This was not how she had expected married life to be. She knew it wouldn't be a fairytale, that every couple had their problems, but she hadn't expected it to be like this.

She hadn't expected Ash to not want children.

In the beginning, she had been totally fine with spending most of their time travelling, and only going to their home in Pallet Town for the holidays, but as the years passed, she had wanted to settle down. So she had found a job in Viridian City, and spent less and less time travelling with Ash, and more time alone at their house.

Not that it really felt as if she alone, because the time that wasn't spent working or calling with Ash, she would stay in Cerulean City with Clemont and the kids. Sometimes Misty would join them, but most of the time she was too busy in the Gym.

Thinking of the little family in Cerulean City only brought her attention back to the problem at hand, and with a frown she looked at the package in her hand.

She had done enough waiting around for Ash.

This was lying, cheating, and betraying him in one of the worst ways possible, but she just couldn't wait any longer. She needed this. Ash would never need to know. It would be an accident.

Even though the plain wrongness of the situation was churning in her stomach, Serena couldn't help but smile excitedly as she threw away her package of birth-control pills.

"Our last journey, eh buddy?" He patted the Pikachu on his shoulder, smiling sadly. "At least, for a little while…"

"Pika!"

"But at least it's for a good reason!" He grinned. "I'm going to be a Dad! Can you believe it? It's so wonderful… It'll be a whole new adventure…"

"Pi-pika chu…"

"Mm… you're right, it won't be easy. But I'll manage. I even got a job already, at Misty's Gym!"

"Chu…"

"Yeah, I know I already told you that, but I'm just excited. I haven't properly spent time with Misty in ages, and who knows, maybe Misty will even let me be a replacing Gym Leader for a while. That'd be cool!"

Ash grinned again, and the Pokémon on his shoulder made an affirmative noise. Ash forced the grin to stay on his face, not wanting his best friend to worry about him. Of course he was excited, just not as much as he wanted Pikachu to think. At least, not about the referee work at the Gym.

That Serena was having a baby was absolutely wonderful, and he felt giddy and nervous thinking about it, but in all honesty, the referee work sounded very boring. And he wouldn't be able to travel as much anymore…

But it would work itself out, he decided.

And so, with a grin that was only slightly wavering, Ash marched back to Pallet Town.

"Mareep is unable to battle, which means the match goes to the Gym Leader Misty!"

Her own voice rang through the hall, jolting her referee back into the present. She shot him a glare, but kept silent until the challenger had left the battle arena.

"Misty, I'm sorry-"

He shut up when she held up her hand, and she sighed wearily. "I know you are, and I know you don't do it on purpose, but Ash-"

"I know, I know," he interrupted her, frustrated throwing his hands in the air. "I need to pay attention, I know, but I- it's just…"

"It's boring, I know," she told him. "And I understand. You were never meant to stand on the sidelines of a battle, but Ash… you're my best friend, but even I can't keep you on this job if you keep up these performances."

"I know…" He sighed, and plopped down on the floor. In the silence, Misty joined him, sitting down on the floor as well.

"Ash…"

"I can't keep doing this for much longer, Mist. I just can't. I-" he broke off, and Misty put an arm around him.

"She's almost six, Ash. She can do without her dad for a few weeks. Just go on a short journey, just for a few weeks. The Orange Islands, or Jo-"

"She doesn't want that." His voice was unusually bitter, and Misty started slightly. "Serena… she doesn't want that. She just wants to have this perfect happy little family, and I just can't-"

She opened her mouth to reply, but no sound came out. She didn't trust herself to say something, was afraid that her jealousy would shine through, that her own desires would influence her words. She didn't want to separate Ash and Serena – it would make him unhappy, and she didn't want that.

Her eyes widened with that realization; she didn't mind Ash being with Serena as long as he was happy. That meant-

"I'm sorry, I'll do better tomorrow, but now, I just need to… I need…" Ash interrupted her thoughts, getting up. He looked rather lost, not finishing his sentence.

He didn't need to, because Misty had already nodded, and smiling his thanks, he quickly left.

Misty watched him go, feeling incredibly sad for him, but unable to suppress the small shimmer of hope tugging on the corners of her lips.

"I'm filing for divorce."

"Wh-what?" It had taken him a moment before he was even able to produce that much sound, and he stared at her with wide eyes.

"I'm filing for divorce." This time, her voice wavered slightly.

Questions and feelings shot through his head, too fast to follow and pin down, but he found his first question with absurd ease. "Serena… are you okay?"

There was silence, and with dread in his stomach, he wondered if he had perhaps asked the wrong question after all. Then she looked up, her eyes watering, and a dry sob escaped her. The next moment he had engulfed her in a hug, and she clung to him, now fully crying.

"I miss him so much…" she muttered after an undefined amount of time, her crying now reduced to a few hiccups. "I miss how things used to be…"

"Shh…" he tried to calm her, unsure how to do so exactly and he felt more than slightly awkward. "It'll be alright, it's not your fault-"

"It is." She shot up, looking him straight in his eyes. "It is my fault, Clemont. And you know it."

"Serena-"

"I betrayed him, I lied to him for years. And I can't even apologize, because, you know," she let out something between a sob and a laugh, "I'm not sorry. I don't regret it at all. She… she's so wonderful, I can't regret having her, even if I had to lie to Ash for that. I can't."

She heaved a breath, and stared at him, her blue eyes clear again and her posture determined. She seemed she was waiting for him to challenge her, to judge her, but he didn't, because he could only stare in awe at this strong woman he loved so very much.

When he didn't say anything, she swallowed and he could see she was terrified, but that she would go through with it anyway. "I'm going to tell him."

And Clemont smiled at her, pouring all the love he felt for her in that smile, and he hoped she would be able to see that, and that it would help her. And when she gave him a watery smile, he thought that perhaps he had succeeded.

She had hated the house in Pallet Town. It was irrational and stupid, but it seemed that all her dark emotions were centered around that house, and so it had been easy to move out and let Ash keep the house.

She had considered moving to Kalos for a few moments, moving back to her mother, but had dismissed that idea almost immediately – even though this might not be her home, it was still her daughter's home, and she could not take that from her.

Still, she couldn't stay in Pallet Town, and when Clemont had offered her a place at his house, she had been more than happy to go.

Misty was gone anyway, divorcing and leaving Clemont soon after her and Ash's divorce.

It was strange, because for all that Serena had seemed to be broken up about her own divorce, Clemont seemed to be holding up quite well. Misty had gifted him the Gym – which, after the retirement of Lt. Surge and with the permission of the League, he had turned in an Electric Type-specialized Gym. Misty had only wanted a part of the money so she could travel, and a place to stay when she wanted to see her children, and Clemont had readily agreed to both conditions.

"I'm really sorry about Misty," she said, gladly accepting the cup of tea from Clemont.

It was late at night, the children were in bed, but Serena hadn't wanted to go to sleep just yet. Not only hadn't she been able to properly talk to Clemont in ages, due to the constant worries about the divorces, the children and the Gym, but also because that whenever she closed her eyes to go to sleep, she would relive her last discussion with Ash again.

She shook her head unconsciously, not wanting to think about the hurt and broken look when she had told him about her betrayal, nor about the relief she had seen on his face when she had offered the divorce.

"It's okay," he said simply, pulling her back in the present. "It had been a long time coming."

"It… had?" She had never heard that before, everything had always seemed perfectly fine between Misty and Clemont. With a wave of guilt, she realized that she had never asked him about it.

He simply nodded.

"How do you mean?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"I meant that Misty and I both saw it coming. Our divorce, we both saw it coming," he explained.

"But, but, since when? Why didn't you do anything about it?" Why didn't you tell me? She didn't voice that last question, but something cold coiled in her stomach – didn't Clemont trust her enough to tell her something like that?

He shifted uncomfortably, looking away from her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She pushed on, a slight edge of hurt coming into her voice, unintentionally.

His head snapped up, alarmed by her tone. "I… It's not something I'm proud to admit. It was selfish."

"So was my decision to lie about Louise," she countered. "And I told you that." After a moment, she added in a softer voice. "I won't judge you, you know that."

He gave her a sad smile, and finally answered. "We knew we wouldn't last. We knew that since we met. And we still had children. She never wanted to, but she still did it, for me. It was selfish, and terribly unfair to the kids." He paused. "I don't regret it though."

She didn't know what to say. And when she didn't say anything, he continued.

"Misty is a wonderful woman, and I love her very much, and I know she loves me too. But I also know that if she was given the choice between me and him, she would choose him in a heartbeat. We both knew that."

Serena was still processing all this information, and her eyes widened when realization hit her. "Ash. She loves Ash."

"She does," he confirmed, and she didn't understand how he could be so calm about it. Somehow she wasn't angry that someone else had been in love with her ex-husband for all those years, but that Clemont had been used like that. That he had allowed himself to be used like that!

"She used you," she said, disgust apparent in her voice. "She just used you. That-"

"Serena, please," he interjected her softly. "If you put it really bluntly, yes, she used me. But I used her too. Please, don't be angry at Misty, it's not her fault."

She blinked. Why had he never told her this? Why had she never noticed? Questions and emotions whirled through her, but somewhere in the back of the mind, a conclusion was drawn from Clemont's previous statement.

"You love someone else too." It wasn't a question, but Clemont nodded anyway.

"But this isn't a conversation for right now, Serena," he cut off her question before she could even think of it. "It's too… fresh."

She opened her mouth, but Clemont's pleading look cut her off. She sighed, and took a gulp of her tea.

"Thank you." His voice was soft, and she smiled softly, looking at her cup. Somewhere deep in the back of her mind, she knew that she knew the answer, but she couldn't acknowledge it yet. It was indeed too early.

But still, the warmth inside of her wasn't from the tea, and she looked up at him, giving him a warm smile. And when he smiled back, she found that there was something inherently different in that smile, and even though she didn't know what, she knew she liked this smile much better.

"Misty?! What are you doing here?"

"I'm following you." She smirked. "You still owe me a bike, mister Pokémon Master."

He gaped at her, opening and closing his mouth a few times. Her light-hearted tone seemed foreign after all the seriousness of the past months. What the hell was she doing here? She couldn't possibly be serious, right?

"Misty, I… I appreciate the sentiment, but…" He gestured helplessly. She was acting so laidback, so jokingly, about something she was obviously serious about, if the bag on her back was anything to go by.

And this time she wasn't just leaving the Gym behind, but a whole family.

"What, you don't want your best friend with you?" She crossed her arms, playfully glaring at him.

"I do, I do!" he quickly denied that statement. He doubted he would ever be able to express how much her friendship meant to him. "But you'll have to go back soon, you have your family…" He trailed off as Misty's face grew serious.

She shook her head solemnly. "I don't have to go back."

"Wh-what?" he stuttered out, wide-eyed.

"I don't have to go back," she repeated.

"What about the kids? And Clemont? And the Gym?" He shook his head. "No Misty, you have to go back, your place is in Cerulean City."

But as soon as he had said that, he knew it wasn't true. Even back when they were just kids and travelling together, Misty's place had never been in Cerulean City.

"No Ash, my place is with you."

Her response was met with baffled silence, not only because he didn't know how to word his feelings, but also because there was no denying her statement.

She sighed, and wearily continued, "I love them, I really do, but… Clemont was always so much better with them. I know he'll take great care of them. And besides, I won't disappear; I'll visit and call them."

"And… Clemont…?" He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"We divorced," she simply replied. "My place is with you, Ash, and he understands that. He's truly wonderful, and I love him, but not in the way a wife is meant to love her husband."

He didn't reply, and Misty continued, "As for the Gym, Clemont is going to take over. Arceus knows he missed battling."

"Misty…"

He didn't understand. How could she be so calm about this? How could she give all of that up, just for him? How could he possibly accept? It would be selfish, incredibly, horribly selfish of him…

He wanted to accept so badly. He wanted her by his side.

He didn't have the whole story yet, he knew that, but he found he didn't really care. He would know in time. Still, even if he hadn't had the lump in his throat, he doubted he would be able to express the feelings of gratitude, of happiness, of love, he was feeling right now.

But maybe she could see it in his eyes, because her sad smile morphed in a playful one. "Well, are we going to stand here all day or are we going to travel?"

He smiled at her, and then finally some words tumbled out. "Thank you, Mist."

She gave him a soft smile in return, and grabbed his hand to pull him along. "Let's go!"

And as his eyes locked on their intertwined hands, he found himself truly grinning in what felt as the first time in ages.

A/N: Thank you very much for reading! :D I hope you liked it, especially you, Remi :)

Please leave me a review! This was my first time writing Amour, Geekchic and MesaFan, and I hope I managed it. And without sounding biased on some Shippings. Any advice on those pairings would be very appreciated, though please, keep them in relation to the story, and not just things like "pokeshipping suxx, amourshipping RULES!11!" I don't want to start a Shipping war here.

Of course, any reviews are very welcome, good or bad, I'd love to hear your opinion, so yeah, please review!

Thank you!