Grace knocked on the door.

"Come in," came the reply.

As Grace turned the knob, she saw Serena hunched over a table, hand on her chin and inspecting two pieces of headwear, a pink felt hat with a black strap running through and a baggy, maroon cap with a cute white snowball on top. Across Serena's bed lay a number of hats. Blouses, skirts, dresses, halter tops and many more articles of clothing were spread over the headboard, across a vanity or piled unceremoniously at the foot of a full length mirror. Grace quirked an eyebrow. Her daughter normally kept her room very tidy and organized.

"Going out, sweetheart?"

Serena blinked, as if just noticing the fact Grace walked in the room. "Hey mom," she said and held both hats in each hand. "Which one should I wear?"

"Hmm," Grace hummed. "I'd go with that," she said, pointing to the maroon number.

Serena nodded. "This one it is," and she promptly threw away the aforementioned hat before donning the pink one.

Grace's eye twitched. "If you already knew, why did you ask?"

"Whichever one you didn't pick is the cuter one. That's why," Serena explained as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"I see," Grace said, unamused as Serena made her way over to the vanity and critically inspected her appearance. "So where are you going?"

"Lumiose city. To see professor Sycamore and get my very first Pokemon."

"Oh?" Grace couldn't help but notice something was amiss. "Are you... sure about this, honey?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Indeed, Serena sounded very sure of herself, responding quickly and with confidence in her voice. Grace's eyes narrowed. She closed the door behind her and approached Serena, now petting the Fletchling perched atop her head. Serena's eyes darted to her mom's reflection as she loomed over her in the mirror.

"Don't you think this is a little sudden?"

"Not at all. After all, most trainers begin their journey when they're younger than me, right?"

"True..." Grace admitted. "But I've never seen you so enthusiastic about being a trainer. What brought this on?" Grace then recalled back to the previous night, how Serena's eyes lit up when she saw that kid on the television. She'd never seen such a look of admiration and, dare she say, infatuation on Serena's face. And now, Serena suddenly deciding she wanted to become a trainer and go to Lumiose, fretting over her wardrobe and appearance... "Is this about a boy?"

The way Serena all but froze for a moment before running her hands through her hair cinched it for Grace.

"What makes you say that?" Serena replied in an attempt to sound casual.

"A mother knows these things," Grace said smoothly. "Now spill. Who is this boy that won my baby girl's heart? Is it that kid from the news last night?" It was all she could to keep from laughing as Serena blushed.

"W-wha? That's not... yes," Serena admitted, slumping in defeat. Fletchling chirped and fluttered down to Serena's folded hands.

Grace nodded sagely. "I see." She pulled a little stool to sit next to her daughter. "This boy must be something special for you to want to pack up and leave."

"I met him once," Serena said after a pause, stroking Fletchling's feathers much to the Pokemon's content. "Back in Pallet town."

"Pallet town..." Grace recalled back to the time she and Serena visited the place, to go to Oak's Pokemon camp. She remembered how Serena had been escorted back to her by a little boy, not much older than her. "Is that the boy who found you in the woods?"

Serena nodded. For a while after their trip to Kanto, Serena had bad dreams every now and then about getting lost in the woods. "His name is Ash."

"And you still know his name after all this time."

Serena nodded meekly and from her vanity, she pulled out a little piece of cloth, old but well cared for and blue in color. She cradled the little piece in her hands with care. "I wanted to give this back to him, If I got the chance. I didn't know whether I'd ever see him again, but now..."

Grace didn't know how to feel. Even now, after all these years she had never seen Serena so taken with another person. It was only natural that growing up, children would develop crushes on each other, but Serena had nursed this infatuation for all these years, and ever since last night, after shutting off the television after a few hours of newscasting, Serena seemed to have been possessed by a vitality and spirit Grace had not seen before. Whether this was childish infatuation or something else, Grace did not know, but she knew that either way, Serena was driven to meet with this young man she'd briefly met long ago. She would have thought of it as romantic if not for a little issue.

"And if you see him again, what will you do?"

"Huh?"

"If you go to Lumiose city and meet this Ash, what happens then?"

For the first time uncertainty clouded Serena's mind. "Well... I was hoping he'd remember me. A-and that I give this back to him," she tightened her hold on the handkerchief.

"And after that happens, you'll both go your separate ways?" Grace asked, watching her daughter closely.

"I... I hadn't..." Serena nervously wrung the towel in her hands. What would she do once she saw Ash again? "I don't know."

Her mother did not immediately respond. Rather, her eyes took on this faraway quality, recalling back to the memories of her youth and the feelings she'd harbored and the choices she'd made. Grace breathed out softly and she caressed Serena's honey blonde locks. "Then you should go and find out." She smiled as Serena's surprised gaze locked on hers. "I don't know much about this Ash, but I can see he's a good person. If you feel you need to see him again, then you should go, and decide what it is you want to do after that."

Serena petted Fletchling's head. "Are you sure?"

"Of course, honey. I can see how much this means to you."

"Thanks, mom," Serena said and pulled Grace into a heartfelt hug.

Grace was all too willing to enjoy the moment, but soon enough sighed in resignation and pulled away. She adopted her stern mom look and braced herself for what she knew would be a very tense and awkward talk. Truth be told, Grace was a bit of a romantic herself and while a part of her couldn't help but be taken with Serena's determination to see this Ash, she'd also rather not be a grandmother at such a young age.

"So... honey. How much do you know about boys?"

Question. Would you guys prefer shorter chapters and quicker updates or larger chapters and lengthier updates? Let me know in the review section.