Ash and Serena rested on each other for a few hours before they decided to return to Clemont's home. They walked hand in hand, and no words were conveyed on the way. None were needed, either. It was a comfortable silence. The locals greeted them kindly and made a path for the two "royals", who quickly made their way to the house, embarrassed by the Kalos region's cordiality. Ash opened the door and was greeted by a familiar face. "Clembot?!"
"Hello Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. Do you remember me, Clembot?"
The couple was dumbfounded. "How did it remember everything?" Serena asked her boyfriend. Ash simply shrugged. "Clembot, can you take us to Clemont?"
"Of course Ash Ketchum, Serena Yvonne. Master Clemont is just down the hall."
Ash and Serena made their way upstairs to Clemont's room and opened the door, unfortunately just as one of his explosions went off, covering the entire party in black soot. Bonnie, who had been playing with Dedenne and Poliwag on the top of their shared bunk bed, was the first to respond.
"Clemont! The explosions HAVE to stop!"
Clemont, who had his hair in a disheveled afro, coughed out a "Sorry!" as he wiped the soot off his glasses. Serena and Ash were covered head to toe in the dust, sighed. No matter how many times the young inventor tried, his inventions went out with a bang, in some cases, several. Ash then spoke up. "So Clemont, We've been wondering. When did you find time to repair Clembot? And when did you restore its memory?"
Clemont smirked. "Well, fixing Clembot wasn't that hard. His chest piece was still intact, and his head was in perfect condition. All I needed to fix were his limbs. Unfortunately, the cost of fixing the whole machine was much too high, so I had to keep an eye out for the parts. His memory card was still functioning in the old one since I was able to recover it from the chestplate, so all I had to do was reprogram it into this new unit that I was able to purchase a few days ago when we got here."
"Wow science is so amazing!"
"When it doesn't blow up, mind you," Bonnie coughed out. Just then, Meyer called. "Dinner's ready, kids!"
"We better get changed and explain all this," muttered Ash. Clemont mutely nodded in agreement.
The four friends made their way downstairs to the kitchen area for dinner. Meyer was already waiting for them. On the table lay a grand feast, with all kinds of foods which were native to the Kanto region. Ash looked surprised. "I didn't know you specialized in Kantonian cuisine," he said, his mouth already watering.
"I didn't. Serena gave me a list of your favourite dishes a while ago when you were still competing in the Kalos League. Don't ask me where she got them from, 'cause I got no idea. I was out shopping for them with Ampharos today, so that's why you didn't see me."
Ash turned to Serena, who was hiding herself with her short hair, trying but failing to conceal her blush. Ash gave her a soft peck on the lips, causing her to yelp. "Thank you, Serena." The others watched in amusement. They all then got into their seats. "All right then, dig in guys!" Meyer announced.
As usual, Ash lunged for the various dishes, piling a ton of food on his plate. Meyer sweatdropped. Clemont had told him before that Ash ate a lot, but he had never imagined the extent of the boy's stomach. The others acted as if it was normal, patiently waiting for the plate to be passed around. Ash, after gobbling down half of the contents on his plate, then decided to speak up. "Wow, dish ish great! Where'd you get the reshipes Serena?"
Serena chuckled at his attempts to speak properly with food in his mouth, before responding. "Well, remember when you called your mom after winning the Kalos League? After you had left, the rest of us decided to have a friendly chat with her. She gave me a list of your favourite recipes, and I held onto them until now, because you'll need that extra energy for tomorrow, you know?"
Ash smiled. "So that's why you took so long in there."
Bonnie then piped in. "Ashhhhh, you still haven't told me how you and Serena got together! I know you told Clemont, because he seems to know every little thing there is to know about this subject. I wanna hear it from you, so pleaseeeeee?"
"Bonnie, please mind your manners, we're not here to embarrass everybody here, OK?" Meyer chided.
"No, no, it's OK. It's about time we tell you. It was way back, to the time of my Snowbelle City gym battle..."
The snow was falling slowly, blanketing the entire forest in white. Ash was sitting on a fallen tree trunk, his cap hiding his face. He radiated a different aura than his happy-go-lucky attitude this time around though. He was depressed. He had just lost his battle with the gym leader, Wulfric. His Greninja ended up gravely injured, confining it to a recovery bed after it was given the necessary treatment. Ash huffed, his breath visible against the backdrop of the snowy forest. Why couldn't he do it? Were his Pokémon not capable? Or was it him? Was he not capable of bringing out the potential of his partners?
No one was there to comfort him, not yet at least. He had left his friends back at the Pokémon Center, refusing to tell them where he went. Even Pikachu was not there to console him. The tiny Pokémon knew that he needed space, so he opted to rest with Bonnie this time. "I'll be back soon," was all he could say. However, upon noticing the saddened expression of one of his friends, Ash longed to stay. He knew Serena was upset that he had left so suddenly, and she would probably be looking for him if he did not return soon. There was something about her that made his heart ache upon seeing her. Ash did not know when he began to develop his feelings towards the girl. Maybe it was when he realized that she was the same girl he had loved back in Professor Oak's Summer Camp. Maybe it was when he remembered her after all those years. Maybe it was when he noticed how devoted she was to him. Either way, Ash knew, deep down, that he loved her deeply, and that it would hurt to see her distraught face should he return. "Maybe a few more hours," he thought.
The faint noise of feet trudging through the snow could be heard in the distance. "Ursaring or Stantler, probably." he thought. If it was an Ursaring, he was prepared to run, as he stood up and looked around, lifting his cap up so he could see. No one. The raven haired trainer sighed and sat back down. Wild Pokémon watched in the distance, not daring to approach the human, as they had seen others get snatched up by Pokémon poachers before. All was quiet, but Ash could hear the footsteps getting closer. Whatever it was, maybe it would see him and turn around, as the Pokémon living in the area were particularly wary of humans.
The footsteps got closer still, leaving Ash puzzled. However, when he looked up, all his confusion faded away, as he lifted his cap bridge to see who it was. It was her. She was panting slightly, and standing in front of him, a worried expression on her face. Serena bent down so that she was on eye level with the sitting boy. "Ash?"
"I-I'm sorry for making you worry, Serena."
The honey haired girl looked into his auburn eyes. She could see the cheerful vibe drained from them. She could see all the negative emotions swelling up in him, just by looking into his eyes. "Tell me what's wrong Ash. I won't judge you, you know that. Please, maybe I can help you," she pleaded with him. The raven haired trainer could only look away. "You don't understand, Serena." He felt terrible for pushing her away, but right now, he didn't want her to know. Serena, however, was not intent on giving up. "I know what its like to lose, Ash. My first performance ended in failure. I cried long and hard, but I remembered the words of a great trainer: Never give up 'till its over! Your words helped me overcome that obstacle, and look where I am now," she said softly, trying to console him in any way she could. Ash apparently wasn't listening, but when he heard the words "I know what its like to lose", he lost it.
"You don't have a clue about how I feel Serena!"
The honey haired girl took a step back. Had he even heard her words? Shocked, she let her emotions take over. "This isn't you Ash! The Ash I know never gives up! If he were with me right now, he would be on the battlefield training for his next match! The Ash I know doesn't ever give up! He may stumble, but he picks himself up and continues, not sit there pouting in the past! That's not the Ash I know. That's not the Ash I love!"
Upon saying those words, Serena instantly cupped her mouth, realizing what she said. Had it been a normal situation, she would have blushed, but instead, she formed a snowball and chucked it straight at Ash, hitting him square in the face. The raven haired trainer fell backwards, hitting his head on the soft snow. Serena continued throwing snowballs; however, Ash picked himself up and started to walk towards the weeping girl. Serena backed up, continuing her barrage, until she realized that none of her snowballs were hitting him. Ash's cap still blocked his face, rendering her unable to guess what he was feeling. However, she was startled out of her thoughts when she felt Ash bring her into his arms. Serena stood there, still as a statue, barely managing to take it all in. Was Ash hugging her? Did that mean...
"I-I'm sorry Serena...sorry for making you worry. Sorry for doubting myself. I-I know I'm gonna win that gym battle. For you." he spoke with confidence, instilling a sense of pride in her. She had been able to snap him out of it, and that itself was good enough. However, Ash continued to speak. "So...Y-you love me?"
Serena blushed madly. Thankfully he could not see it. Slowly, she brought her arms around Ash's back and rested her head on his shoulder. "Y-yes. I've loved you for a long time, Ash. Way back in summer camp. You were so kind to me, caring for my every need. Then when you left, I couldn't stand it. I longed to see you again, because...I wasn't happy without you! Then, when I saw you after all these years on TV, I knew that I had to find you! I just had to! I-I understand If you don't reciprocate, but I'll still-" Suddenly she was shushed by Ash putting a finger to her lips.
"I-I love you as well, Serena, though I didn't realize it at first. You always gave me confidence, y'know? Way back when I had my first Kalos gym battle, I wasn't sure I was gonna make it. But then you showed up, and you helped me win it! You always support me, and hearing you now...You remained loyal to me the entire time we were apart? That's amazing Serena! Lately I've been getting these weird feelings, like butterflies in my stomach or a longing to hear your voice or see you smile. I've finally come to realize, that I too, l-love you..."
Serena held Ash tighter as she heard his confession. Never in a thousand years would she have guessed this would happen. She sniffled, clearly overjoyed with this new revelation. Ash rested his head on top of hers, and the two continued to hold each other. Eventually, Serena gathered the nerve to ask one last thing. "Ash?"
"Hmm?"
"Could I-Could you...close your eyes?"
"OK..."
Serena took this opportunity to gently place her lips on his, causing a jolt of electricity to run through them. Ash's eyes shot open, but they gradually closed as he kissed her back. He never understood why people kissed, until he did it himself. The feeling was new, but pleasant. Her lips were soft and gentle. Eventually the two broke apart for air, but they continued to hold each other as the snow continued to fall in the background.
Hello everyone! I'm sorry for the lack of uploads last week, as I was very sick, with a fever of 104. Also, exams are coming up, so I don't know if that'll affect my schedule. Anyway, Thank you all so much for the continued support of this story. Recently, we hit 50000 views! And it's my first story too! I'm thankful for all of you viewers out there. Thank you for reading my story! I'll see you guys next time, hope you enjoy the longer chapter to make up for the lack last week!
