This is just going to be a short, light collection of amourshipping. Who knows how far I'll go with the relationship, but expect another two chapters at least.
The Girl in the Straw Hat
2 years later…
Walking down the Vermillion shore, I watched Pikachu run around in the sand with Gary's Umbreon. He asked me to watch his pokemon while he ran downtown to buy our tickets to Hoenn. We had been doing some traveling for the past twenty or so months—sometimes together, sometimes separate— filling out the Pokedex for the professor in each region. So far, we'd only done Kanto and Johto.
It was hard work, but it kept me busy. I needed that. We always had to be on the move. I didn't get a lot of time to think, which I preferred since, I mean, every time I caught a break I'd just think about her.
I hated thinking about the kiss. I hated thinking about how much I wanted to kiss her again.
"Pika, Pi!" Pikachu began circling around something bright in the sand. He stood up on two feet to wait for me. I caught up with him and crouched down to see what Pikachu had been so captivated by.
There, on the ground, was one of the brightest dragon scales I'd ever seen. It was about the size of my palm and as hard as steel. I marveled at the color. Up close, you could see different variants of blue pixeled together in what seemed like an accidental design, but at a distance the color appeared to be one solid pigment, which changed depending on the light. When I held it towards the sun, the blue materialized in to the hue identical to that of Serena's eyes.
"What do you have there?" Gary asked, coming up from behind me, the tickets in his hand. He snatched the dragon scale from my fingers and began to examine it.
"It's nothing," I snatched it back and tucked it in to the pocket of my jacket.
"Okay then," Gary rolled his eyes and shoved my ticket towards me, "This is your ticket to Kalos,"
I blinked at him. "You mean Hoenn?"
"No, I'm going to Hoenn, you're going to Kalos. Divide and conquer," Gary explained, calling Umbreon towards him.
"Then wouldn't it make more sense for me to go to Sinnoh while you're in Hoenn?"
"Nope," Gary yawned, "you work backwards, I'll work forwards. We'll meet somewhere in the middle and wrap it up."
I took my ticket from him. Sure enough, Kalos: Coumarine City was stamped across the top in black ink right next to my name.
The dragon scale burned within my pocket. I thought about throwing it back in to the ocean.
But I didn't.
xxxxx
"That sounds exciting!" Clemont exclaimed, enthused by the details of my current mission for the professor. I met up with him a little after arriving to Kalos. I had traveled over to Lumoise, where he'd been hanging out as the acting gym leader, and asked him to help me plan my journey in the most effective way possible.
"I was thinking about starting out in the east, up in the mountains and working my way down," I explained, pointing to the Snowbelle area on the map while Clemont followed the tip of my pencil.
He nodded and pushed his glasses farther on to the bridge of his nose, "I mean, you could go either way. I know if you were trying to get through the Pokedex numerically, you're better off staring in Vaniville."
I ignored him. I didn't want to start there.
"Ash!" Bonnie came in to the gym, bouncing in her bubbly way. She looked taller than I remembered, and her hair was cut short under a hat that looked very similar to—"It's so good to see you again!"
She jumped up to give me a small hug. I returned it, grinning down at her. I asked her what she'd been up to, and she filled me in with a few details. She's been hanging around the city, finishing school, but was ready to go out and start her own adventure as a contest performer.
"So you know how Serena's Kalos Queen now, right? You should see her room at the Glorio Palace. It's beautiful. And did you see the dress she wore at the finals?" Bonnie asked, speaking so fast I could barely keep up, "Have you told her you're here?"
"No," I said too quickly. Bonnie and Clemont both looked startled. "I mean, not yet. I-I didn't know she'd become Kalos Queen."
"You mean, she didn't tell you?" Bonnie asked, genuinely surprised, her eyes so full of innocence that it made me envious. To her, the world was still soft colors—half-colored pastels without shade—and it was easy for her to name the things she saw.
I tried to keep my cool, but something about all this was breaking me. I could feel my chest constrict around my heart as though webs were choking the blood from of my veins. I decided to calmly change the subject.
"You okay, man? You look a little pale?" Clemont observed, placing a hand on my shoulder. He looked worried, but didn't press the subject after I shook my head and said I was fine.
Once the conversation moved on, and the two turned back to the map, I felt a sigh of air leave my chest. It was a long, and heavy breath—the kind one lets go just after fear; the one that stands on the edge of anticipation, and regret.
xxxxx
I didn't call Serena. I didn't tell her I was here, in Kalos—how could I? I had walked out of her life and didn't look back. I wondered if she hated me, and I got angry at the thought. It wasn't like she called either. But, maybe, that was still my fault. I wandered around Kalos for about a month, doing my job; trying in some way to make her seem farther away than she was. I don't know why I did that. She was everywhere to me here.
xxxxx
I saw her in Snowbelle, in the middle of winter.
After coming in to the city, as the sun was setting, Pikachu and I had run to the indoor market in the center of town, where most travelers went just to get inside and stay warm. I remember shaking the snow out of my hair and boots. I had grabbed coffee from some vendor close to the door, and hadn't wandered far before a flash of thick, gold hair waved out of the crowd; a ray of sun peeking out from a fog. My eyes immediately sought the source, and they fell upon a slender form; her back to me.
But I had not gazed upon that hair for more than a few seconds to know it was Serena.
Her hair, gold and burnished by the warm indoor light, gilded itself down her shoulders now, falling half-way down her back. She wore tall brown boots and black leggings that disappeared beneath a pink high-waisted skirt; she carried her pink jacket in her arms, which were covered by a loose, black long sleeve button-down, which she had tucked in at her waist. In her dark gold hair, was a black bow, clipped above her ear. I had to catch my breath and wait.
I began to process how different she looked, but also how she looked the same. She was all light before, like fresh fallen snow in the sun, but now she walked with a heaviness, as though footprints had shadowed her white fields, adding a dark complexity to her ivory face—still as soft as the winter light. She had only grown more beautiful, as far as I was concerned. Her eyes still gleamed like crisp ice; frozen orbs of the bluest water.
I couldn't look away.
The next thing I knew, Pikachu was jumping off my shoulder and running full speed towards her direction.
I only watched him, shocked and dazed. My coffee slipped from my hands, and my legs exploded after him.
xxxxx
For a few minutes, I had lost sight of them both in the crowd. I thought about just leaving, and letting Pikachu find his own way to Pallet town. The market was growing more crowded, and I heard someone say something about a blizzard coming in from the mountains. More people were trying to take shelter, I supposed.
I stalked through the thickening throng, and froze when the bodies cleared away for a second, parting like a river, leading me directly to her.
For a moment I just watched her, holding Pikachu in her arms, smiling and laughing with him; as though nothing had changed. She scratched the top of his head, talking to him softly while he relished being cradled and pet in her arms. I felt like two polar ends of the planet, pushing away from each other, arguing over the seasons. I was cold with an irrational jealousy, and at the same time, warmed by a humming sensation buzzing through my blood, melting the snow and the ice still clinging to my skin.
"Ash?"
Her voice snapped me out of some trance. My gazed refocused back on to her; Pikachu on her shoulder, smiling at me and twitching his tail.
She looked at me and preformed a perfect smile, so tender on her reddening cheeks. There was a shallowness to the motion though, and it grew my bones so weak and fragile. I knew she could break me with a breath.
"It's been a while," she continued when I didn't respond, taking a step towards me with that heavy hesitation I knew all too well.
I moved forward too. I could feel my mouth working over invisible sounds, trying to articulate a word. In the end, I could only lip the line, "Too long."
There was a long pause, and the murmuring of the crowd settled between us. She looked at me, as one would watch an oncoming storm roll in to the bay, wondering when the rain would fall.
"I—I didn't know—,"
"How are you?"
Our voices met in unison, but in the end I cut her off and winced.
"I'm okay," she said, and looked down at the floor for just a moment before staring back at me with a degree of disbelief; it was so veiled behind her pretense, I wondered if I was imagining things.
"I—That's great," I scratched my nose then buried my hands in my pockets, "I mean—you look great, and—I guess, I—,"
Serena began to blush, and I reacted likewise after realizing how idiotic I sounded. But I was saved by a couple other voices shouting towards us from the crowd.
"Serena! The scarf you wanted last season is on sale! C'mon, we," Shauna stopped when she saw Pikachu on Serena's shoulder. She then turned towards me and gasped, grabbing me by the arms, "Holy Arceus, Ash Ketchum! How? What? When?"
"Just now," Serena stated bluntly, her tone somewhat cold. It made me grimace.
Shauna didn't seem to notice. She jumped up and down and shook me as she squealed. "My haven't you grown tall and handsome," she stated, giving me a wink.
I immediately watched Serena's reaction, but there was hardly a response. Her eyes only withdrew in to themselves, and I didn't know what that meant.
"Hey, babe," Tierno came stalking up next to the girls, placing an arm around Serena. My first reaction was to throw a death glare at him. "Are we ready to leave, or what?"
My blood gasped with relief as I watched Serena throw Tierno's arm away from her. She rolled her eyes as though she was used to it, but gave her friend a delicate smile that killed me. I wanted that smile.
"Whoa!" Tierno whistled when he saw me staring at him. He gave me a huge grin and extended his hand, which I almost didn't take. "How're ya doing there, buddy? Long time no see."
"Yea, Ash, what the heck?" Shauna laughed and punched me in the shoulder. I was sure it'd leave a bruise. "How long have you been in Kalos."
"About a month," I said, and cursed under my breath when it occurred to me that I should've lied. Serena looked as though she'd been slapped in the face. And she looked hurt.
I hated myself just then.
Shauna and Tierno both asked a bunch of questions. They wondered what I'd been up to, where'd I been, how Clemont and Bonnie were. The two listened animatedly as I told them about the professor asking me to fill out the pokedex. I tried to be friendly, but Serena's silent distance was tortuous. I wanted to talk to her. And only her.
"Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?"
"Shauna, no—," Serena broke in, her voice like a feather.
Shauna didn't seem to hear her. "You know, we're here for the Winter Festival," the tan girl beamed, her green eyes bright with excitement, "Serena has to make appearances at these things; you know how it goes. But why don't you tag along with us?"
"That's right," I breathed, adjusting my hat with one hand, and scratching the back of my head, "I heard you're Kalos Queen now. Congratulations, truly."
Serena's eyes shook within their globes; disks of glass below shallow water. "Thanks, Ash. I—That means a lot."
I bit my lip, frustrated.
"Well, what do you say, Ash? You wanna join us?" Shauna bounced, waiting for my answer. Behind her, Tierno looked just as please to have me come along.
"Guys," Serena spoke quietly again, "he's got work to do, he won't want to—,"
"I'd love to come," I said without a second thought, offering them a grin. Pikachu squealed with delight and I looked at Serena. "That is, if it's okay with you all."
Serena stilled for a moment, genuinely surprised. She realized the decision was hers when no one else said a word. She moved her head in to a small nod, and searched me for some sort of answer. But I had already given her one.
so yes, I decided to follow up with my little one shot. hope you guys like it. stay tuned. R&R
