With night fully set, there were only a few ordinary sources of light in the classroom of the Pokémon school, the Ultra Beast threat now averted. The stereo system continued to dutifully play music gently into the party. And while these lights were mostly positioned around the edges of the room and the food table, still decked out with snacks, what caught Chloe's eyes and imagination the most were the stars.

While she had seen them hanging around and placed on the walls before the sun had fully set, looking up at them now, she saw them gently glowing in the dark, giving the room a sort of calm, soft ambiance. Everyone was back, and even wearing their party clothes again instead of the Ultra Guardian uniforms, but the mood had definitely shifted from what was happening before the interruption. Rather joy or sadness being based on your proximity to Mohn and his situation, the entire room felt muted. Joyful, Chloe thought, but muted.

The Alolans were spending time close to their families, and even Ash was telling Professor Kukui and Burnet about what had happened. Burnet no longer carried Lei, who had long since fallen completely asleep and left to sleep, tucked into the baby car seat set on a table nearby. This left Chloe and Goh to stand near the Pokémon quietly. Even the ones that had entered combat against the Ultra Beasts were now quietly relaxing and chitchatting. Eevee and Togedemaru had even buried the hatchet and were both talking, with Pikachu seated in the middle of them.

From the corner of her eye, Chloe thought that Goh might say something, but he mostly kept looking between her and Ash, as though he was expecting something to happen.

Their talk the previous night flashed through her head, and she recalled Goh's promise to her.

'Did he get a chance to talk to him today?' she thought to herself.

Still, she didn't move, herself. It was like a part of herself was paralyzed into indecision. She knew what she wanted to do, and she knew the steps she had to take to do it. She even had everything she needed to do what she wanted here, only…

"...it's like I'm getting ready to bake a cake, only I can't even turn on the oven…"

She frowned at herself in the dark, quiet atmosphere.

Finally, it was Professor Kukui who broke the silence.

"Hey… I get that we just had a pretty stressful event happen, but aren't we here for a party? I think we all need to use Celebrate and Work Up our excitement! Not only did these kids keep Alola's peace and protect us, and not only is Mohn back after all these years, but we have a better pathway than ever that can lead us to having his memories restored! Isn't that something worthy of an Eruption of joy?"

"Professor Kukui's right," Lillie said. "While it may not have been the most peaceful evening, and everything isn't fixed quite yet… there's so much reason for us to be happy!" She smiled and bowed her head "I want to thank everyone who came for this surprise party. I missed everyone here so much, and I even got to make two new great friends! Let's turn this into an incredible celebration for my father and the bonds that all bring us together!"

There was a chorus of agreement from everyone who came to the party, and Chloe felt Goh's hand shoving her forward. She stumbled a bit, now standing in the middle of the 'dance' floor area. She turned and looked back at him, and he smiled and gave her a nod as he turned his attention to Ash.

"Yeah!" Ash said, grinning widely as he approached Chloe. "This definitely is a party, and now I'm gonna do what I would have done earlier if we weren't interrupted."

"Pikapi!" Pikachu gasped, eyes going wide and ears flicking.

Chloe felt her eyes go wide, and the calm, quiet, romantic atmosphere seemed to surround Ash as he approached her, a smile on his face. She felt her cheeks warm up, and she gently held out a hand towards him.

Ash walked closer to her. Then, he was too close.

And he kept going and had walked by.

Turning in shock, Chloe watched Ash hustle up to the snack table and begin picking things off of it to cram in his mouth. He was choosing little cakes that had berries baked into them before he went to down it all with a cup of Pinap Berry juice.

Chloe stood there, shocked but ultimately not surprised. 'Of course he'd fix his eyes on food first,' she thought, her head hanging. 'That's just the kind of guy Ash is.'

There was a part of her mind that wanted to rail against Ash's boorish behavior, leaving her standing alone in the middle of this crowd, but her knowledge of what Ash was like and how he operated held her back from getting too upset. 'I just wish I was surprised by it, is all.'

Goh, an annoyed look on his face, approached Ash and ripped the next cake he was about to bite into from his hands. "Don't you have something else you need to take care of?" he asked through a forced smile on his lips.

Ash grabbed another cake off the table and quickly bit into it. "Showry," he said, talking with his mouth full, which just made Chloe groan to herself. He swallowed the bite before looking back at Goh intensely. "I'm just tryin' to build up my energy. This stuff is way harder than you made it sound."

"You're saying talking is hard?" Goh smirked, leaning in. "You're backing away from a challenge then, Mister Champion of the whole Alola Region?"

Ash leaned back, taking a step away from Goh. The look on his face told Chloe that Goh had successfully thrown him off his footing.

"That's right," Kiawe said, stepping up. "You're a man, aren't you Ash? So go be a man and deal with this head on!"

Both Goh and Kiawe twisted Ash around and then shoved him at Chloe, causing him to stumble towards her. She barely caught his arms in her hands, keeping him from falling over.

Ash chuckled nervously. "H-heh… Sorry, Chloe…" he said, looking at his feet like a disciplined child.

"Pikapi…" Pikachu sighed before looking at Chloe. "Kachu, Kakachu. Pikapi ka pikapika ka chupichupi kakapika." The exasperated look on Pikachu's face told her that he meant something like "Not even I know what Ash's thinking sometimes."

Eevee bounced next to Pikachu cheerfully before tackling into him, mimicking what Ash did to Chloe. And much like Chloe, Pikachu's paws caught Eevee before she could drop both of them to the floor.

Chloe giggled at the sight, which caused Ash to finally look up at her. "H-Hey, what's so funny?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I… I think sometimes we get a little stuck on ourselves, don't we?" she said.

Ash snorted a laugh. "Heh, I guess you're right."

With Chloe and Ash now standing in the middle, Professor Kukui took Burnet by the hand. "If you wouldn't mind, Professor?" he asked, smiling at her.

Burnet's eyes sparkled in the dim light, and she laughed. "Well, of course, Professor. If you insist."

As Kukui led Burnet onto the dance floor, Chloe could see Mallow once again approaching Kiawe. "We didn't get to finish our dance, either," Mallow said, offering her hand to him.

Kiawe smiled and nodded. "Yeah, we didn't," he said. "I don't want to lose to Goh, so you better get ready to cut a rug!"

She giggled. "The music's slow, Kiawe, so if you try to dance too fast, you'll just look silly…"

"Right. But still. Ours will be the greatest dance in all of Alola!"

As Mallow began getting pulled around by Kiawe, the two of them not quite in step, Sophocles approached Lana, hanging his head. Lana looked at him. "Yes, Sophocles?"

He sighed. "You're going to pull me into this anyway, right?" he said, defeated. "Might as well not struggle."

A vicious grin grew on Lana's face, reminding Chloe of a Sharpedo. "Good. We're not losing to Kiawe."

Sophocles groaned as Lana dragged him across the floor.

"S-Say… Goh?"

Goh still stood by the table with the food, and he turned his head to see Lillie standing there. Chloe could easily see the flush on her cheeks, even in the dim light. There was something in her heart that was happy to see Goh getting this sort of attention, though whether it was genuine happiness or schadenfreude at Goh now having to deal with a paramour. Still, another part felt somewhat embarrassed, now feeling like she was looking on the outside at how she must have acted up until somewhat recently.

Goh shrugged and smiled. "Well, it wouldn't do for the two of us not to have dance partners, right?" he said, offering a hand to Lillie.

Lillie could only manage a shy nod as she took Goh's hand, and he led her away from the food table before putting a hand on her and beginning to dance slowly to the music.

"Heh…" Ash chuckled. "Looks like everyone else's already gone, huh?"

Chloe nodded. "Yeah…" she said, looking at him in the dim light. He was scratching his head and not looking at her in an obvious way, like he was trying to avoid her gaze. "Ash… is something wrong?"

When she saw Ash flinch at the question, she knew she had him. "Well… It's just…"

She slowly, gently, took his hand. "It's okay. I promise."

He relaxed somewhat, feeling her hand holding his. "...I'm not really good at dancing…" he admitted.

"Is that all?"

"It's a big deal, though, right?" he said, looking at her. "I-I mean, everyone else is at least a little good at it. I've gotten made fun of for it a bit, and…" He shrugged boyishly. "I… don't want you to make fun of me, too."

She smiled, putting another hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Ash. I won't make fun of you. Let's just… be careful, okay? Take it slowly, one step at a time with me."

Ash looked at her, and she could see herself reflected in his eyes. His anxiety melted, and he smiled warmly at her.

"Sure."

Chloe and Ash were already in the middle of all the other dancing couples, so the only thing they needed to do was begin their slow dance, stepping together and turning as they did. Ash's steps were unsure, and he frequently tried to step with his left when he should step with his right, but Chloe's calm, controlled steps kept the two of them upright, and Ash somehow avoided stepping on Chloe's toes.

It was a quiet, peaceful moment, she thought.

The look on Ash's face was one of deep thought or concentration. Whether he was trying to come up with something to say, or he was merely trying not to hurt her with his clumsiness, she wasn't sure. She did have to admit, however, that watching him have so much trouble with this simple act did a lot to make him seem less like the Champion of the Alola Region and the 64th strongest trainer in the world, and more like the boy she found herself enjoying the company of more and more.

She felt her pulse quicken and her face warm up. Not wanting to have Ash look her in the face as she was so flushed, she stepped in closer to him and put her hands around his back.

From this spot, as they turned, she could see the other dancing pairs easily. Sophocles' parents had joined in, as well as Lusamine and Mohn. Both pairs were more graceful on their feet than Ash was, but Lusamine still had to help Mohn and seemed to even be leading the dance with him.

Her friends were all dancing pretty close to each other. Lillie's attention was fully on Goh, but Goh couldn't help but notice that Gladion's awkward dancing with Mimo was drawing nearby, and that Lillie's brother was appraising him rather than paying attention to his somewhat-awkward play-dancing with Kiawe's sister.

Speaking of Kiawe, he and Mallow were dancing in very quick circles, spinning around each other faster and faster, only for Lana and Sophocles to to continue to spin like a top next to them. From what she could see of their expressions, Kiawe and Lana were locked in an intense battle, but Mallow was getting dizzy and Sophocles was already past his limits.

The strange scene in front of her drew a quiet giggle out of her, just barely audible to Ash's nearby ear.

It took Chloe a moment to realize that Ash was giggling alongside her.

She leaned back and looked at him, and there was a quiet confidence in his features now.

"Ash?"

They kept spinning in the middle of everyone else's dancing.

Ash began to speak.

"It's weird to think about," he said, his steps becoming more sure and confident as they danced. As they spun around, Chloe just looked into his warm brown eyes, unable to pull herself away from them. She had to remind herself that he had spoken to her, and she had to answer.

"What's weird?" she asked.

"Before I left Pallet Town on my journey, I didn't really have any friends," he said. "It was lonely, a lot of the time. I spent my time with the Pokémon in the forest more than any other people, and even then they were afraid of me a lot of the time."

"Oh, Ash…" she whispered sadly.

"Then I met Pikachu, and we started our journey together. I'll never forget the day we met. It was almost like my life didn't really begin until that day. And a funny thing started to happen. I started making more friends. I met more people who I could talk to, who would travel beside me, who liked me for me. I met Pokémon who trusted me, who cared about me, who wanted to be my partners. I set off on this journey with the dream in my heart of being a Pokémon Master, and I'm still chasing it. But sometimes, when I can stop and look at everything I've done, and how different it is around me? It kinda feels like I've already made it."

Chloe felt the tears at the edges of her vision, listening to him speak. The lightly glowing stars overhead gave the atmosphere a strange feeling as he spoke.

She thought for a moment about how she should respond before coming up with what she wanted to say.

"While I might agree with you and say that from where I'm standing, you are a Pokémon Master, I know you well enough to know that the only person who can really tell you when your journey's over is you, Ash."

He nodded, smiling at her. Chloe wondered if he could see himself reflected in her own eyes.

"Do you think winning the World Coronation Series will be the end of it?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No," he answered honestly. "Being a Pokémon Master… it's not something that's easy to put into words…" He chuckled to himself, finally averting his gaze from her. Ash looked up at the glow in the dark stars, smiling to himself. "I guess now that the sun's set, these plastic stars have their chance to shine, huh?"

Chloe snorted out a laugh, trying to hold back her giggling.

Ash laughed alongside her. "Hey, I knew that'd make you laugh," he said to her.

All this time, they continued dancing slowly.

Ash looked back down at her. "Hey, Chloe…?"

"Yeah…?"

"When do you think your journey will end?"

The question, much like every question Ash seemed to ask her, caught her off guard.

"My journey…?"

He looked over, and she followed his gaze, seeing Eevee leaning against Pikachu. The mouse had his arm on her back, and Eevee looked like she was sleeping.

"You're working hard for Eevee, right? You want to help her decide on her own path. You want to help her make the decision that will make her the happiest."

Chloe saw how happy and calm Eevee seemed, and felt the same happiness rise up within her.

"Yeah," she said. "Eevee and I are the same, you know? I want to keep helping her find out what she's supposed to be, and maybe I'll find out what I'm supposed to be along the way."

Ash smiled at her, and their eyes met again.

"This journey I've been on has felt like it's lasted forever, but no matter what ends up happening on it, I'm really glad I went on it." He shook his head. "No, more than just 'glad'. I'm so happy that I went on it, I could just burst, like ba-blam!"

"Like ba-blam, huh?" Chloe chided him.

He shook his head. "I-hold on, I'm tryin' to explain it… It's just hard, you know? Let me try again." He paused for a moment, thinking. "I made so many friends on my journey. More than I can probably count. I used to be alone, and now my life is so full I... "

He looked away from her. "...I guess it's hard to explain," he laughed darkly. Chloe could tell the laughter was aimed at himself.

"You mean to say you're thankful for them, right?" she said.

Ash turned back and nodded. "Yeah…" he said. "And… I think I'm most thankful t' meet you, Chloe."

Chloe felt her heart skip.

"You just…" he tried again before finding himself tongue-tied once more. "You get it. You get me. You understand what I'm trying to say. You listen, or you ask if you don't know. You're here for me because you choose to be. And I… that means a lot to me, you know…?"

She smiled, trying to keep the tears from rolling down her cheeks. She didn't want Ash to misunderstand at this point.

"I get it," she said. "You're… really important to me, too, Ash. You're like… a strong, guiding hand. You aren't forcing me forward. You're walking beside me and encouraging me to take my own steps towards my future. And I…"

She closed her eyes and laid her head on his shoulder.

"I love that."

She felt Ash's breath catch in his chest.

She looked up at him, and she saw his eyes sparkling in the darkness. The happiness she saw in them wasn't one she had seen before. She had seen Ash happy, of course, but his joy usually felt like an explosion, or a wind blowing hard and rushing past her.

This time, his happiness was like a small spark of electricity, lighting a soft, warm light.

"Chloe…" he whispered. "I… I'm sorry if this is selfish, but I never want to stop journeying with you."

She giggled. "If that's selfish, then I'm selfish, too," she said. "I want to stay with you. I want to see what the future holds for us with my own eyes."

Ash smiled, and the dancing stopped.

He released her and took a step back before twisting his hat on his head so that he wore it backwards. He threw his arms open and smiled at her.

"Chloe, let's find our futures together. Let's find the one waiting for both of us, with our Pokémon by our side! What do you say?!"

Chloe realized that she was now standing before everyone, and that it wasn't just her own dancing that had stopped. Every eye in the classroom was now turned towards her, and were it not such a serious situation, she might have just burst into laughter.

Instead, she shook her head, smiling.

"What do I say…?" she asked. "Well… there are some things you can't express with words."

She stepped up to Ash and put her arms around him, and raised her lips towards his.

She could feel the embarrassed blushing on her face, but she didn't care. Her heart thundered in her chest, filling her with a confidence she didn't know she had. Even if he didn't say the word himself quite yet, she knew his heart, and for her, that was enough.

Ash was somewhat surprised at her direct action, but his wide arms closed around her and held her there, and the awkward kiss was returned.

She wasn't sure if it was the rush of excitement or the thrill of her first kiss, but Chloe's knees suddenly felt very weak. Ash's arms kept her standing, and the kiss continued for longer than perhaps they were ready for.

But it ended, and Chloe looked into his eyes, and she saw the love flowing back into her's.

"I… guess this is what it feels like to love someone like this," he whispered to her.

"You didn't know?" she giggled.

"Y-... no," he admitted, chuckling. "I knew what it looked like. I knew how I felt. I just didn't know how it was supposed to feel, you know?"

She buried her face in his chest. "I get it," she said. "It had to be spelled out to me, too."

"For real?" Ash asked, blinking. "Heh… maybe you and I aren't so different after all, huh?"

"Maybe not," she said, fluttering her eyelashes at him. "But to be like the guy I love can't be a bad thing, right?"

Ash's smile just widened into an even more happy and excited one. "Not at all."

"Pikapi! Kakachu!"

"Vui! Vuivui!"

The two of them turned and stepped apart, letting Pikachu and Eevee hop up onto their respective shoulders. They reached over and gave each other a hi-five with their paws, cheerfully.

"I was wondering how long it'd take," Goh said, chuckling as he approached the two.

Professor Kukui was right beside him. "No kidding."

"P-Professor…!" Ash protested.

Kukui put a hand on his shoulder, and for a moment it looked to Chloe like it was a father addressing his son. "It was obvious you liked her since I saw her over the call. I'm proud of you for finally taking this next step. Having someone with you on your journey like this is unlike anything you've ever experienced before."

"Just don't let him distract you too much from your school work," Goh joked, winking at Chloe.

Chloe took Ash's hand and interlocked her fingers with his. "We made a promise to find our futures together, right? I've got nothing to worry about."

"And with Chloe by my side, I've got nothin' to worry about either!" Ash cheered.

Professor Kukui put his other hand on Chloe's shoulder. "Well then! It seems like the things to celebrate just keep adding up! So let's finish this party with a bang, everyone!"

Everyone present raised their hand and cheered with a "Yeah!"

Everyone, that is, except Ash and Chloe, who raised the hand they held together.

It felt like a lifetime had passed by the time Ash, Chloe, and Goh returned to Kanto from the Alola Region, but time waits for neither student, research fellow, nor Pokémon Master, and so Chloe once more found herself at school.

"I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!"

Mika was tearfully holding onto Chloe's arms for balance. The two of them had snuck off to the roof of her school during lunch, and Chloe was in the middle of eating and explaining to her friend everything that transpired since they had left for the Alola Region.

"You finally found the guts to just BE with him openly! You're an inspiration to all of us, Chloe! I only hope my future boyfriend is as flashy and cool as yours is!"

Hearing Ash described as her boyfriend made her cheeks flush, but she didn't let Mika know how much it riled her up.

"He is pretty flashy and cool," she said, popping another dumpling into her mouth from her bento box.

"And it's so romantic how you finally came together! I love it!"

Chloe was sure that if this wasn't actually happening in front of her eyes, Mika would be shedding hearts like dandruff.

"Yeah, well, that doesn't change the path we're on, you know? He's still aiming to beat Leon, and I'm still aiming to help Eevee find a path to her true happiness."

"Yeah, but what happens after he beats Leon and Eevee's all evolved up?" Mika asked. "What's the next chapter in your love story?"

Chloe shrugged. "He'll be continuing towards his real goal of being a Pokémon Master, and I'll be continuing towards my real goal of finding my own path with Pokémon. But the important thing is we're going to do it together. And speaking of."

Chloe looked up, the wing beats of Dragonite audible through the air as Ash landed his dragon on the roof of the school. Dragonite quickly rushed over to Chloe and wrapped her trainer's girlfriend up in a tight hug.

There was a low growling sound, but that only came from Ash's stomach.

"S-Sorry…" he said. "I wanted to eat lunch with you, so I made sure not to eat too much beforehand…"

Upon getting released from Dragonite's hug, Chloe used her chopsticks to pick another dumpling out of her bento and aimed it towards Ash's mouth. "Honestly, you have never once in all the time I've known you been found to ever eat more than you can handle, so don't worry about it next time, okay?"

"Gommit," he said, chewing on the dumpling.

Pikachu shot her an apologetic glance, but Chloe could only do the same. She reached into her pocket and opened Eevee's Poké Ball, and her Pokémon began chirping excitedly at Pikachu, who hopped off Ash's shoulder to sit closer to her.

Mika squealed, picking up both Pikachu and Eevee into her arms. "LOOK AT HOW CUTE THEY ARE!" she shouted. "THIS CUTE PIKAVEE COMBINATION! TOTAL MASTERS OF ADORABLE!"

The strength of Mika's hug seemed comparable to Dragonite's, and Pikachu began to struggle to get free, his cheeks sparking as he attempted to free himself.

"W-Wait, Mika!" Chloe warned, holding a hand up.

"B-Buddy, watch out!"

Ash's warning came too late as Pikachu involuntarily discharged a bolt of electricity into both Mika and Eevee. The girl lit up as the electricity coursed around her, screaming, her blonde hair sticking up and the blue bows in her hair flying off.

But the shock passed as Mika's arms slacked and she fell over.

"M-Mika?! Are you alright?!"

"I'm fiiiine…" she said, dazed but still chipper. "It was just a little shock, right?"

As she said that, Eevee's fur began to bristle and crack with electricity.

Chloe held up a hand in panic. "Eevee, wait-!"

The second electrical discharge left Mika even more scorched than before, but fortunately for Chloe, her friend quickly recovered.

It wasn't as impressive as the skies above Pallet Town, nor as dazzling as those of Alola, but the sky above the Cerise Laboratory was had its own charms, and though many stars were driven out due to the lights of the nearby city, a few of the brightest ones still shone

It was under this sky that Chloe entered Cerise Park, followed dutifully by her Pokémon partner, Eevee.

It was quiet, and the moonlight through the glass ceiling made navigation simple, though Chloe already knew exactly where she was headed.

She was quite familiar with the tree, standing in the middle of a field inside the park. When she found her way to it's base, she looked up and saw a large cloth cocoon curled up on one of its branches.

"Pi?" A familiar mouse's ears perked up and he looked over the edge of the sleeping bag, down at Chloe in the moonlight. "Pikapi, Kakachu?"

The cocoon sat up and Ash looked over. "Hey, Chloe… Didn't expect to see you there." The surprise in his brown eyes belied the joy they held, seeing her. "I thought you went home."

"I asked if I could stay here tonight," she smiled, bringing her sleeping back out from behind her. "Here, with you."

Ash blinked at her. "Oh!"

It was a simple matter for him to slip off the branch and land on his feet, even still cocooned in his own sleeping bag.

"Well, then I'm glad you're here."

She giggled as Eevee dashed out from behind her to run circles around Pikachu. "I'm glad I'm here, too," she said.

The two of them laid the sleeping bags next to each other and crawled in, with Chloe letting her hair down just before slipping inside.

"Heh… I don't think I'll ever get used to it," he chuckled.

"Used to what?" she asked, sitting up. "I promise, having a girlfriend isn't that weird. People everywhere have girlfriends or boyfriends."

"Not that," he said, shaking his head. "I mean, I guess that's new, too, but I'll get used to that. I mean your hair."

And the familiar sensation of blushing returned. "W-what about it?"

"It's always so soft and warm-looking," he said. "Just like how you're soft and warm on the inside."

She giggled. "Well… I guess if you look at me and see someone soft and warm-hearted, I don't have a problem with it," she said. "On the surface, you can look like a disorganized, goofy, completely not serious guy-"

"Hey!" he interrupted.

Giggling, she continued. "-but I know that you're hard-working, passionate, positive, and determined. That's the real Ash that I know and love."

Ash laughed to himself, somewhat embarrassed. "Yeah, well… I love you, too," he said, charmingly befuddled.

"D-did you wanna…?" she asked, trailing off.

Ash chuckled. "I-uh… are you sure? I'm not good at it yet."

"We can't get better at it without trying," she said.

Ash's cheeks were flaring now, but when he looked to his partner for support, Pikachu had curled up in a ball next to Eevee, who had done the same. Without any further recourse, Ash readied his courage. "Alright."

Chloe smiled and sat up more and waited for him to come closer, closing her eyes.

Ash looked at her and took a deep breath before sitting up and moving closer himself.

When Chloe opened her eyes, she saw his blushing face very close to hers. His brown eyes were staring straight into her emerald greens. They inched closer and closer to each other in the pale moonlight. Chloe smiled, giving him a nod and gently parted her lips.

Ash just looked and didn't move, unsure of what to do. "Heh… C-Chloe… I mean…"

"It's okay," she said, taking his hand and placing it where it cupped her cheek. "I'll help you."

Cupping his own cheek with her hand, she pulled him close and closed the distance between them, pressing her lips against his.

Kissing Ash was always such a thrill for her. The intimate feeling of being that close to him made her heart race, and she could feel Ash's confidence surge as well as he kissed her back. They did not make too much of a habit of it (she hadn't even told her parents she had kissed him, yet, much less even tried to kiss him when her father, Chrysa, or Ren was around) so it still wasn't the sort of kiss she saw on TV or in the movies, but it filled her with a secretive thrill all the same.

When the kiss ended, Chloe and Ash pressed their foreheads together. They both opened their mouths to speak, but neither of them found any words, so they just giggled and laughed.

"I guess it's time we get to sleep, huh?" Ash asked.

"Yeah."

Both of them squirmed back into their sleeping bags, and then Chloe wriggled hers closer and put her head on Ash's chest. He put his arm around her and she closed her eyes.

"Hey, Ash?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember that lullaby you were singing that night when I found you out here?"

He chuckled, making Chloe's head bounce. "Of course I do."

"Do you… think you could sing it for me?"

"Sure."

And with that, Ash began gently singing in a quiet voice to her.

"Close your… tired eyes

The gentle breeze...

And the… twinkling stars…"

And as her breathing slowed and she focused on the soothing sound of his voice, Chloe's heart was filled with love. While in her mind, she knew that neither of them knew what awaited them in the future, past the horizon and their more immediate goals, in her heart she knew that there was always a place for her at the Champion's side, and that she would always be his confidant.

The End