Both had wandered around aimlessly for a while now, so it could be considered an inevitability that Ash and Serena would cross paths eventually.
They stared at each other momentarily, neither really knowing how to start the conversation.
"How are you?" Both eventually asked, almost simultaneously. Both chuckled quietly to themselves soon after, internally baffled at how in sync they just were.
"Exhausted," Serena answered first. "And a little sick of this maze of a laboratory." She added.
"Tell me about it." Ash shared his agreement.
The duo shared some laughter for a while, the internal storms within them still surging relentlessly, but growing ever so slightly calmer thanks to the other's presence.
"Ash..." Serena started, her eyes avoiding eye contact with the boy in front of her. "...What am I going to do? I don't know what to do..."
"I don't want you to go, Serena." The boy from Kanto responded quickly. He kept a neutral tone, though Serena suspected he was trying his best to maintain it. "I'm sorry if this sounds selfish but... I've waited so long for you to come back. I don't want to lose you again."
She couldn't resist the urge to smile greatly at the reply. While she noticed his words had manifested a crimson blush on her face, Serena decided not to worry about him noticing. "When... when did you become such a sweet-talker, Ash Ketchum?" She mustered the will to tease him a little.
Serena had noticed subtle differences in the boy's body language and overall attitude ever since she woke up. He was still the same Ash she knew, of course, but there was some interesting differentiation in the things he said and did that she was beginning to really adore. The Kalosian girl noticed much during their conversation earlier in the day.
Naturally, she didn't like hearing from the others about how depressed he had been during her coma. They shied away from saying anything else about that time period, which she understood as it was a time of suffering for many. She felt nothing but guilt, even if she knew none of it was her fault.
Serena wasn't unfamiliar with an Ash that had lost his composure and confidence. She had seen it once before when he lost the Snowbelle City gym battle. However, from what she had heard, he had been struggling with her condition a lot more.
She wondered how he'd respond to her comment.
She also wondered to herself why she was feeling a lot more confident around him.
Weeks ago, she wouldn't even think about teasing him.
Serena didn't want to remember her dream life, but she suspected there had been a positive effect on her confidence because of it.
"Sweet-talker...?" Ash murmured, nervously scratching his cheek. Serena ever so faintly squealed at seeing the familiar gesture. "Sorry... I didn't mean to sound weird, or anything."
"N-no, you weren't!" She quickly reassured him, some uneasy laughter leaking out of her voice. Her eyes diverted from his face, unwilling to look him in the eyes with what she had to say next. "Um... I don't think it was weird. I... thought it was cute."
"Serena..." Ash spoke softly. Serena noticed that he too was avoiding locking eyes with her, but she didn't know if he was doing it intentionally or not. "Can I confess something to you?"
His choice of words sent her heart suddenly skyrocketing.
"Y-Yes?"
"I just wanted to say that being with you makes me extremely... happy. I know I've said this before, but I'm really, really glad you're back with us." He revealed his confession. Serena watched him brush his finger under his nose, yet another habit she had grown to adore.
As much as she really wanted to continue smiling, she couldn't.
"...I won't be back for long." She spoke quietly.
Regret filled her mind instantly. She didn't want to ruin the current atmosphere at all, yet she had to let her thoughts slip. Serena bit her lip and closed her eyes, not wanting to see the look on his expression change.
But curiosity got the better of her, and she looked.
Surprisingly, his expression hadn't changed. If anything, he looked happier. She watched as he even chuckled to himself.
"Never give up until the very end, Serena!"
The performer's heartbeat began to grow at an exceptional rate upon hearing those words.
He was saying all the right things, yet she couldn't tell if he was doing it all on purpose or not. Part of her was in doubt, unsure if she was interpreting all the things he was saying incorrectly, but regardless, she was in love with their current conversation.
"You're not going anywhere." Ash continued, maintaining the same enthusiasm, which was miraculous in the eyes of Serena. "We'll convince your mother. I'm certain of it."
Serena wouldn't admit to him that she believed her fate was unchangeable, but just hearing the energy of his voice made her begin to change her mind.
There was no point in giving up. Ash had taught her that already.
"Have you had time to think?"
Serena had decided it was best to deal with the inevitable straight away. Though they were a little lost in the lab, Ash and Serena managed to find their way back eventually, crossing paths with the latter's mother once more.
Grace didn't seem surprised to see them together. She showed no sign of shock either when the duo asked for a private chat. All she offered was a smile before standing up from her seat, which the trainers interpreted as an agreement. She followed the duo to a private room that would allow them to speak in peace and quiet.
As they sat down, Serena was greeted with a question she wasn't sure how to answer, a question she should have really expected. Thankfully, her companion did.
"Can we try to convince you not to take Serena home?" Ash calmly asked, deciding to answer with a question.
Grace's expression didn't change for a while, but she soon sighed. "You can try."
"Thank you." He replied, and he really meant it. Both were unsure if Serena's mother would be willing to even give them a chance.
Now their objective was not to ruin this opportunity.
Ash folded his arms and locked eyes with the older woman. He took a deep breath and spoke from the heart. "I will look after her. You have my word. When she wakes up and she doesn't know where she is, or even who she really is, I will be there to help her." He paused to scratch his cheek. "I... can't put it better than that."
Serena watched her mother's expression closely and was shocked to find it grow positive. A soft smile appeared on the woman's face.
"I know you would look after her, Ash." Grace responded, her smile never fading. "You are a wonderful boy. I have no doubt you would do anything to keep her safe."
Ash took a moment to respond, only offering a look of bewilderment. "Then... what's the problem?"
Grace mimicked the trainer's movements, folding her arms as well. She locked eyes with the younger boy, noticing the slight fidgeting in his body movement. "Let's say have a gym battle to go to, but Serena is suffering from her nightmares. What do you do?"
"I won't go." Ash answered without even a hint of hesitation. "I'll stay and look after her. The gym battle can happen another day."
"Alright." Grace replied, initially looking happy with the trainer's answer, but her tone suggested she had more to say. Serena paid close attention to her mother, taking particular notice of her body language.
"Then-" He began.
"What if it's a league battle? Those can't happen another day." Grace interrupted him.
Ash was quick to open his mouth again, but no words came out. Serena slightly frowned at seeing the slight smirk grow on her mother's face. Ash saw it too, and it told him that she very much noticed his moment of contemplation.
He took a deep breath to regain his composure, believing no further damage could be done if he took a few more moments. He was not going to let the older woman get to him that easily. He knew it would take more than that to beat him. He locked eyes with the mother and smiled. "Then I won't go."
"You took longer to respond to that one." Grace noted, a hint of a smirk forming on her face. "And I'm glad you did, Ash."
Serena knew immediately what her mother's next move was and felt a compulsory need to intervene, an eagerness to defend her crush filling her with the confidence she needed. "That's unfair, mother!" She said, slightly raising her voice. "Winning the league is very important to Ash!"
"I know."
"T-Then why-"
"Ash should not sacrifice his dream for you, Serena." Grace answered, taking a far more serious tone than before, directing all attention towards her. "It is easy for him to say he will look after you, but you will be a burden to him for the next year."
"She won't be-"
"Yes, she will be, Ash." Grace interrupted him again, her tone increasingly getting more authoritative as she gave the trainer a soft, but noticeable glare. "Besides, while you're perfect at keeping others safe, Ash, you are not so good at looking after yourself, are you?"
Ash said nothing. He only lowered his head.
Serena wanted to hurry to his defence once more after seeing him look suddenly down, but as she began to contemplate what her mother exactly meant, she paused.
The performer's confusion was not unnoticed by the mother. Grace returned her focus towards Ash and sighed. "When were you planning to tell her, Ash?"
"Tell me what?" Serena rejoined the conversation, but her question was not aimed at Ash, but rather her mother. Grace noticed her daughter's stern look but still kept her attention focused on the male trainer's movements. She watched as he opened his mouth to speak a few more times, but sound refused to come out.
After a few more moments of silence, Grace sighed. "The boy is in pain, not just mentally, but physically. He sustained a great injury when fighting Team Flare, yet pushed himself beyond his limits to chase after you when you ran away. Frankly, I'm a little disappointed you didn't tell her, Ash."
Serena said nothing.
"It's fine, Serena." Ash finally spoke up, quick to defend himself and eliminate the worry he knew was being conjured in her mind. "Those injuries will heal."
"In time, yes, but time is not on our side." The mother replied, deciding to now speak with a softer tone. "if you took Serena with you, it is likely her first... lingering effect, for lack of a better term so far, will occur while you are still recovering. You will undoubtedly chase after her if she runs away again, but what if your body decides to give in?"
"It won't." The young boy was quick to object to her claim.
Grace had lost count of how many times she had sighed. "Ash, I'm not taking Serena away just to protect her. I'm doing it to protect the rest of you as well."
"You keep assuming things like that will happen. They won't, I promise you." He responded, fragments of desperation leaking from his voice.
"I'm sorry, Ash, but I'm not willing to take those chances." Grace's response was swift, as if she had practiced the entire conversation beforehand.
"I-"
He was cut off once again.
He was getting tired of being interrupted.
"I will take care of her." Grace reassured him. "I have the finances; I have the time. You enjoy your journey, Ash."
Neither of the two trainers said anything. Neither could think of what to even say.
Grace let out a long sigh, stood up and left the room.
Serena's attention was not focused on how disastrous the talk with her mother had gone, as Ash figured.
Ash had expected it to be concentrated on how he had never told her about his injuries. He was expecting her to rightfully scold him.
He was only partly right. Serena was completely panicking over his injuries, but she barely told him off for not telling her.
"You dumb idiot..." was the harshest thing that had come out of her mouth. Even then, she said it with a hushed voice. The rest was variations of "How badly do you hurt?" and "Will you be okay?"
He tried his best to reassure her and thankfully managed to calm her down quite a bit. He only hoped he had convinced her to not worry about him.
They were still in the same room as before. Neither had left their seats since entering. Silence reigned once again for a while, a type of atmosphere they were beginning to grow too accustomed to.
Then everything sunk in all at once.
Ash felt his heart shatter when a small tear escaped Serena's eye.
"What do I do now?" Serena asked the inevitable question. He wanted to answer, to at least reassure her that things would be okay, but his mouth wouldn't open. His mind was occupied with the conversation they had just had with Serena's mother. It played back in his mind countless times.
He had lost that battle. Grace knew exactly what to do to dismantle their argument. What hurt the most is that he knew she was right.
However, he never had the chance to tell her that he simply didn't care if he had to make sacrifices along the way. He didn't even see his body being damaged as an obstacle in his path. There was a possibility he'd regret that thought, but it didn't matter to him at the moment.
"Ash?" She called out to him, noticing the trainer was deep in thought.
Ash still wanted to answer. He still wanted to reassure her, but he knew it was pointless. Even if he could tell Grace his true thoughts, she'd know the perfect counter-argument.
The phrase he had grown to love then suddenly echoed throughout the room.
"Never give up until the very end, Ash." Serena had called out to him.
His eyes widened and he jolted to his feet, forcing the back of his hand to his face, awakening him from being consumed by his mind. Serena watched as the boy groaned and then stretched his muscles. A chuckle, albeit an uneasy one, escaped from his lips.
"That phrase is powerful." He couldn't help but laugh.
"You're the one who invented it." She joined him with her own laughter.
"You're the one who made it powerful."
The two enjoyed their brief moment of tranquillity before it naturally died down. "Ash..." She called out to him with a somewhat nervous voice.
"Yes?" He responded immediately.
"I... don't want to go home with my mother, even after that conversation." She admitted. "At the same time, I don't want to disrespect her but not doing as she asks... she's my mother, after all. I know she cares deeply for not just me, but you too. What she wants will for sure keep me safe but... but... I also feel like this a decision she shouldn't make for me. I think I've grown up quite a bit ever since leaving home to go on my journey with you..."
"Then what do you plan to do?" He couldn't help but ask after she paused. He watched Serena's giddy expression with the utmost curiosity.
"This is going to sound very selfish but... I want you to take me on an adventure! I want to go with you to someplace new, someplace not even in Kalos. I want to be with you every step of the way. I don't want to be stuck at home for an entire year. My condition... we can deal with it. So... if you'll have me, then..."
"Of course!" He instinctively raised his voice, a massive grin appearing on his face. "Let's go on an adventure, Serena!"
The two knew they would encounter some unavoidable hurdles along the way, but it didn't matter to them.
After all, they had each other.
