"Mom, I'm home!" Ash shouted, closing the front door behind him and Pikachu jumped from his shoulder to the floor.
Ash had just returned home from his journey to Kalos and the memories of it still swirled fresh in his head. He couldn't wait to get to tell his mom about them.
Delia Ketchum came into the hallway and smiled when she saw her son. She came to Ash and hugged this tightly. "It's wonderful to have you home again," she said, and Ash exclaimed, "Mom, let go, you strangle me!"
Delia let go of her son from her hug, laughing. She then squatted and scratched Pikachu, who sits on the floor, behind his ear. "Nice to see you Pikachu too," she said with a smile and Pikachu said happily, "Pikachu!"
Delia got up and watched as Ash tried to straighten his hair in it very unsuccessfully and then said, "So, Ash, are you hungry? I know it's pretty late, but maybe it doesn't hurt so much now"
Ash opened his mouth to answer, but his stomach handled it by growling on his behalf. "So it is," Delia said with a smile. "Come to the kitchen and I'll make something to eat"
****
"So, Ash, what was your trip to Kalos like?" Delia asked as she made herself tea.
"Awesome!" exclaimed Ash's mouth full of food and continued, "I met many great people and the Kalos League was awesome, even though I didn't win it." Pikachu agreed, exclaiming while eating satisfying ketchup from a ketchup bottle: "Pika!"
Suddenly, Ash remembered a fresh memory of the very end of his journey from the airport. The memory of a honey-blond girl running towards him on an escalator.. and... The memory gave Ash a strange feeling he didn't recognize, a special warmth in his chest that really felt pretty nice and he felt a strange warmth in his cheeks when he thought of the memory and the honey-blond girl. Am I going to sick, he thought and Pikachu looked at his trainer with concern when this had suddenly gone silent.
"That's nice to hear," Delia said with a smile as she spins her tea with a spoon and sat down at the table opposite Ash. She noticed that Ash had gone strangely quiet and she asked, a little worried, "Ash, is something wrong?"
Ash didn't answer right away. He suddenly didn't get Serena away from his head and the girl and especially her last act spun in his mind. Ash felt the heat on his cheeks grow as he thought about it.
"Actually.. yeah, there's something that bothers me," he said slowly, wondering why Serena's thinking made him feel that way. Delia listened with interest.
Ash's blushing had not gone unnoticed by her. "Oh, I see," she said, drinking some tea. "Would it be that this 'something' is someone important to you, maybe some girl and you don't get her in your mind?"
Ash looked up at his mother in amazement. "How did you guess?" he asked in wonder and Delia smiled. "I am your mother and mothers know everything," she explained smiling mysteriously. She watched as her son nodded slowly and thought Ash clearly had some feelings for this girl. "Would you like to tell me something about her?"
Pikachu saw it best at this point to leave Ash and this mother of two and he took his bottle of ketchup and ran upstairs to Ash's room, where Ash then later found him asleep and curled up next to an empty bottle of ketchup.
"Sure. Her name is Serena and she's an awesome person! She's a Pokemon Performer and she's awesome in it! (Ash quickly explained to his mom what the performing was) She was really close to winning the Kalos Queen Aria and becoming the Kalos Queen herself. She also likes to bake and she knows how to make really good macarons and Pokepuffs! She also likes fashion and clothes and shopping and she also knows how to sew really well! Her favorite color is pink and she has three Pokemon, Braixen, Pancham, and Sylveon and she loves them really much. And she's also a very good Pokemon battler"
As Ash told it, more and more memories of Serena from his journey to Kalos came to his mind. He continued, "She has honey-blond hair that she cut short after she lost her first Showcase. I think she's actually cuter with short hair and then she has pretty blue eyes that sparkle beautifully. She smells like strawberries and she's cute when she laughs or blushes or when she is happy or... "
Ash stopped. Wait, did he really say Serena was cute? And since when had he realized that Serena smelled of strawberries? The events at the airport were remembered in his mind again and he felt his face heat up again. Seriously, what bothers me, he wondered in wonder.
Delia had listened to Ash's explanation with interest and now she was sure. No doubt, Ash clearly had feelings for that girl.
"Oh, she sounds like a nice person," Delia said with a smile and then realized something. "Wait, was she the girl who had that pink Fedora and a red, long vest?" she asked and Ash nodded.
"She just," he said and Delia thought. "She looked familiar. Just as if I had seen her before," she mused, and Ash said, "She was at one of Professor Oak's summer camps there. I also met her there for the first time."
Delia thought for a moment and then seemed to remember. "Oh, was she the little girl who had a straw hat and you found her in the woods and wrapped that handkerchief around her knee?" she asked again and Ash nodded. "She was it"
Delia smiled and seemed to remember something else. "Now I remember. When the camp was over, you talked about her non-stop and you pouted when she had to go back to Kalos," she said with a smile herself and recalled for a moment the memories of years ago.
****
Ash spun his food on a plate with his fork and suddenly asked, "Mom, why do people kiss each other?"
Delia was a little confused by her son's question but then replied, "Well, usually people kiss each other when they like each other very much," she explained and Ash frowned. "Like each other very much?" he said and Delia nodded.
"For example, when they love each other," she said and Ash stared at her. "But Ash, why are you asking this?"
Ash didn't answer right away. "Because... Serena kissed me before she left for Hoenn. She was about to descend the escalator when she suddenly turned and ran up and.. kissed me," Ash explained and felt his cheeks glow warmly.
"And how did it feel to you?" asked Delia, though she believed she would guess the answer.
Ash thought for a moment. "It felt.. nice," he said slowly, feeling that strange feeling in his chest again. "Admittedly, I didn't have time to think about it properly then, but now that I think about it, it feels pretty nice to me," he explained and scratched his other cheek.
Delia smiled. "Oh, I see," she said, and Ash continued suddenly, "And before she went to land the escalator, she said something that I am her goal, and that when we meet then, she's going to be a more attractive woman, and something like that," he explained and asked, "What did she mean by that?"
Delia smiled and replied, "She must mean by that and with her kiss that she likes you."
"Like me? I like her too," Ash said, but Delia shook her head.
"No, Ash. She meant she liked you more than a friend. I feel like she's in love with you," Delia explained patiently, and Ash looked confused.
"Falling in love with me?" he said and Delia nodded. "But then why didn't she ever tell me anything about it?"
"Admitting crush isn't always easy. I guess kissing you was definitely the bravest thing in Serena's life," Delia explained and Ash said, "Oh."
"How does it feel to fall in love?" he suddenly asked his mother and Delia thought for a moment. "It depends a lot on the person, but many imagine that just mentioning the name of the infatuation causes a kind of itching in the stomach or chest"
"It also wants to be close to the crush, and you don't get that person out of your mind. Many also become shy near crush and blush more easily," Delia explained, and Ash asked, "Have you ever fallen in love?"
Delia laughed. "Many times, especially when I were younger," she said with a smile and one of them led to your birth, she continued in her mind thinking of Ash's father, who had faded many years ago.
Delia looked at her son, who seemed to be digesting everything she had told him this evening. My little Ash has grown up, Delia thought, and smiled a little. And if I'm right, he is also falling in love with Serena.
Delia thought of all the girls Ash had traveled with over the years. First, it had been Misty, then May, Dawn, Iris, and finally Serena.
Delia thought of each girl alternately. She had always seen Misty as a big sister figure to Ash. She may have had feelings for the boy, but Ash didn't seem to like her that way. Then there was May, who had always been just a friend to Ash. Dawn, who was also like Ash's best friend. Iris, who was... Iris. And then there was Serena, whom her son seemed to fall in love with, even though he hadn't yet realized it himself.
Delia smiled to herself. After all, she had known that one day there would come a time when Ash would grow up in this area as well. She lifted her teacup to her lips and drank tea that had already had time to cool almost cold. She grinned into her teacup. Her little Ash had fallen in love, there really was news for a while.
Ash also thought of everything. His mother's description of itching sounded exactly how he felt when he thought of Serena. So was he in love with Serena?
Ash glared at his plate. The idea actually felt pretty nice. He wishes he had only figured it out earlier! Or if Serena had said it before. He didn't blame her for it, his mother was certainly right, maybe it was hard to admire the crush.
One thing he still didn't realize. He looked up from his plate and said to his mother, "Mom, when we were in Kalos, we met a girl named Miette. She always seemed to get Serena annoyed when she was near her. She also often whispered to Serena something that made Serena's cheeks flush and often they blinked at me. Why?"
Delia laughed. "Oh, Ash. Sounds like Serena was jealous of this Miette," she explained and Ash stared again. "Jealous?" he said and Delia nodded.
"Yes, I'd think Serena felt jealous of Miette. She must have thought Miette would take you from her," she explained, then smiled. "And the whispers and other stuff like that... I think Miette liked to tease Serena about you, she must have enjoyed making Serena blush."
"Oh," Ash said, thinking about it. Suddenly everything seemed to clear up for him. That is, Serena was in love with him. That explained a lot. Those blushes, the disappointment that Serena didn't even get to dance with him, the reason why Serena had liked so much about the blue ribbon he gave. And clearly Miette, Shauna, and even Bonnie had figured it out. He, the dense idiot, hadn't seen it, however, until now.
"Mom, I think I like Serena too," Ash said suddenly and Delia smiled gently at her son. "I know," she said and Ash looked at her in surprise. "You know?" he said and Delia nodded.
"Yes, I can hear it clearly from how you're talking about Serena. And I noticed you blush when you tell me about her," she explained and Ash looked at her in amazement. "Oh," he said again and went silent.
Both were silent for a moment and Delia put her teacup and Ash's plate, which still had half-eaten food in the sink. She let her son clear his thoughts in peace and let him sit quietly at the table.
Then Ash speaks again. "What should I do now?" he asked and Delia turned to look at him.
"It's all up to you. You said Serena went to Hoenn. You can call her, or even write a letter. Just the way you want it. You have to decide for yourself," she said and Ash nodded. "I'll do it," she said, but Delia looked at the clock and was startled by how much it already was.
"But not before morning," she said and Ash suddenly felt tired. "Sleep, it's late"
Ash nodded, got up from the table, and went for his own room. He found Pikachu sleeping on top of his bed with an empty bottle of ketchup next to him and Ash threw his backpack next to his chair. Its dismantling should wait until morning. Then he went to the bathroom, took a quick shower, changed his nightwear, brushed his teeth, and went to bed trying his best not to wake up Pikachu.
Ash lay in his bed and felt himself gradually fall asleep. Just before he fell asleep, he still had time to think of Serena, and then he fell asleep, still thinking of the honey blonde haired girl.