As soon as she entered the apartment with Fennekin, Serena walked to the bedroom to plop onto her bed front first and covered her head with her pillow. With her blanket covering her mouth, she cried, letting out how she lost the family she grew to love and who loved her back, how she hurt them by letting the facade go on as long as she did, but most all, she wept over how she lost Ash.
She looked back on the time she spent with him and thought of ways she could have told him earlier. Her first thought was telling him when they were first in Calem's apartment instead of relying so much on luck. Her second idea was telling him when he came to her apartment to apologize or share her secret when he confessed to being a Pokemon trainer. Maybe when Sonia told Serena that she found out and that she shouldn't tell the family anything, Serena would have requested that Sonia at least helped her tell Ash. Better yet, she should have told the family straight out when she had the chance the day Calem fell, and they would invite her to Christmas anyway for saving his life, and she would have Ash that way. Anything that would have kept him from finding out right as she was about to marry his brother.
But she didn't do any of those things. She played along to the very end. She let her desires for a family and a man offering everything she ever wanted to get the better of her, and she paid the price for it. She accepted that she will never see Ash, or Delia, or Mimey, Dawn, Piplup, Grandpa Ramos, or Sonia ever again. There's nothing left but her everyday life with Fennekin and her job as a token fare conductor. She had her week and a half of happiness, but now it was time to face reality.
Fennekin hopped onto the bed and walked over to lick Serena's hand. Serena lifted her pillow from her face to look at her Pokemon, her eyes pink from crying. The fox Pokemon walked over to sit beside her, cuddled up in a ball. Serena half-smiled and pulled Fennekin closer to her for a hug.
The honey blonde woman and her Pokemon continued to lie down on the bed for a few hours, eventually falling asleep. When Serena woke up, it was late in the afternoon, and she felt hungry.
"That's right. We didn't get a chance to eat before we left," she thought.
Serena got up and changed from her wedding dress to a pink sweater and gray sweatpants. She went into the kitchen and heated up some leftovers. She poured a bowl of Pokemon food before eating just in time for Fennekin to come in, having woken up. After two of them ate together, with Fennekin sitting on the table while eating its food, Serena sat back on her chair and furrowed her brow, thinking about what to do next.
"Hey, Fennekin, why don't we take down our Christmas tree?" She suggested. "No sense in keeping it up when Christmas is over, and we have nothing else to do."
"Fennekin," Fennekin answered.
Serena put the dishes in the sink, and together, she and her Pokemon began taking down the Christmas tree decorations. For the next twenty minutes, they worked together to take down the ornaments and lights and put them back in their boxes. When they were half done, there was a knock on the front door. For a brief moment, Serena dared to hope that Ash or all of the Ketchums were on the other side as she walked down, but her hopes were quickly dashed when she found Tierno instead. The heavy-set man was giving her a nervous smile while scratching the back of his head.
"What do you want, Tierno?" Serena asked, uninterested in seeing him.
Tierno turned his head away for a moment, thinking of what to say before he looked back at Serena.
"Look, uh, my old man found out from someone near the hospital, and, well, I'm sorry that it didn't work out with that guy," he said. "I imagine right now that you're upset and you want some comfort from all of the pain, and…" he snapped his fingers a few times. "Don't go off eating cookie dough and whip cream, and blowing up like my Uncle Robert while watching corny romance movies or something like that, cause you deserve better. Okay?"
Serena kept an unamused look for a few seconds before she smiled. She took a step forward to hug him, and he smiled as he hugged her back. Serena broke the hug and patted Tierno's cheek.
"Thank you. I appreciate the effort," she said.
"You're welcome," Tierno said. "Took me a half hour to practice that with Pop."
Serena snorted out a snicker, and Tierno chuckled with his cheeks turning pink. The two of them were silent for a moment until Serena looked at Tierno with a playful smile.
"So, how are things with you and Cathy from the third-floor?" She asked.
Tierno flinched and shrugged with a "Pfft" and a wave of his hand, trying to act cool. He looked up and pointed at the third-floor above before he suddenly burst into tears hysterically.
"Oh, no. What happened?" Serena asked.
"Nuthun," Tierno sobbed. "We had a nice dinner, she called me cute, I called her pretty, and then the next thing you know, her ex comes running in wanting her back, and…"
Tierno began to cry harder, covering his face with his hands. Serena frowned and pulled him into another hug, patting the back of his head as though she were comforting a child.
"I'm sorry, Tierno," she said.
"I-I-I guess we've both had romance going bad lately, haven't we?" Tierno whined.
"Yeah, I guess we have," Serena said with a sad smile. "Wanna eat some cookie dough? I have plenty of leftover from making Christmas cookies."
"S-s-sure," Tierno said. "You got any whipped cream?"
"No, but I have some leftover frosting. How's that?" Serena asked.
"O-okay," Tierno replied with a sniff.
*Clank*
*Slide*
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It's been a couple of days since the wedding. Iris allowed Serena to go back to work after taking time to recover. Serena was thankful to be working for once because she thought it would keep her occupied, but she came back on a slow day to her disappointment. The first five hours of her eight-hour shift have gone by, and only a little more than a dozen people have come to take the train with their Pokemon. She had started to play with what tokens she had, stacking them, making letters out of them, setting them up in a straight line, anything to occupy herself. Shauna watched her friend worryingly as a couple more people put tokens in the slot under Serena's window, and the honey blonde woman would slide the coins to the counter where her collection was without looking at the passengers.
*Clank*
*Slide*
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"Serena, are you sure you're okay?" Shauna asked.
Serena didn't respond. She was lost in her own world, playing with the tokens on her counter again. Shauna furrowed her brow and walked over to her from her seat.
"Hey!" Shauna shouted while shaking Serena's arm.
Serena snapped out of her daze, shook her head as though she had fallen asleep, and looked up at Shauna.
"I'm sorry. Did you say something?" Serena asked.
Shauna huffed and said, "Are you sure you're okay? Should you be working again?"
Serena frowned and looked away from her friend, resting her head with her arm.
"What else can I do?" She asked. "I've stayed in my apartment for so long that I'm gonna go crazy if I stay another whole day there. Even Fennekin wants me to go out for my own good."
"But I thought you were in love with that Ash guy," Shauna said. "Shouldn't you be taking at least a week to grieve over losing him?"
"I guess not," Serena answered, still not looking at her friend.
Shauna grew more concerned with how dispirited her friend was. She looked at the look clock to find that it was three minutes past two, and neither of them has gone on their lunch break yet. She put her hand on her chin in thought for a moment before she snapped her fingers.
"Okay, how about this?" She said. "I'm gonna go take my lunch break, and I'll sneak some macaroons on the way back for you. I won't tell Iris if you don't."
Serena was motionless for several seconds, making Shauna uneasy. The honey blonde woman sighed again until she turned her head to look at her friend again with a weak smile.
"Macaroons from Gemma's Bakery off of Dazzle street?" Serena asked.
"The best," Shauna answered.
Serena's smile grew slightly, and said, "Alright. I won't tell Iris."
"That's my girl," Shauna said. "See you in fifteen."
She went out of the booth and happily left the platform. Serena kept her smile for a moment, amused by her friend's enthusiasm before Shauna was out of sight, and her frown returned. She slumped against her chair and started staking the tokens again. Her mind drifted back to her loss of Ash and his family, and she wondered how they were all doing. She lifted her left hand to her face and imagined the wedding ring Calem almost put on her finger.
"Funny," she thought. "All of that attention and none of the Ketchums noticed I didn't have an engagement ring."
Serena briefly chuckled with her mouth closed, thinking about the family's oversight, before she felt gloomy again. She continued to stare at her hand, wishing that she did have an engagement ring on her finger. She let out another heavy sigh as another round of passengers put tokens in her slot.
*Clank*
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*Ding*
Serena made a confused face and turned her head to find a thin, golden ring with a small diamond lying at the center of the slot. Serena stood up from her seat and picked up the ring to check if it was really there before she looked up and gasped.
Standing in front of her window on the opposite side was Ash. He was giving her a warm smile while Pikachu was standing on his shoulder, smiling cutely. She looked past them, and her eyes widened at the sight of Delia, Mimey, Dawn with Piplup in her arms, Sonia, and Grandpa Ramos. Everyone in the family was smiling at Serena, with Delia and Dawn trying to control their excitement. Serena covered her mouth with the hand that wasn't holding the ring, unable to believe that they were all there, showing no contempt against her at all. She turned back to Ash, who opened his mouth before Grandpa Ramos interrupted him.
"Get down on one knee," the old man suggested.
"Grandpa Ramos, Serena can't see Ash if he gets down on one knee," Dawn said.
"So? It's more romantic," Grandpa Ramos said. "Your grandma loved it when I proposed to her."
"Ramos, Ash is proposing, not you. Let him do it," Sonia said.
"I am letting him do it," Grandpa Ramos claimed.
Ash chuckled and scratched the back of his head, embarrassed by his family, interrupting the moment. However, Serena moved her hand from her face to show her smiling, accepting that the people she adored were really there. Ash felt comfortable again from how Serena reacted before he moved closer to the window to get Serena's attention.
"Serena, I need to ask you a question," he said.
"Yes, Ash?" Serena asked with goosebumps all over her arms and legs.
"Can I come in?"
Serena's smile faltered, having expected a different question. She then gave Ash a smug look and scratched her chin, pretending to be thinking.
"I'm afraid I can't do that," she said.
Everyone outside of the booth looked at Serena, confused. The honey blonde woman waited a moment to keep them in suspense until she spoke again.
"I can't let anybody in without a token."
It took a second to realize what she said before Sonia, Dawn, and Grandpa Ramos chuckled, and Delia sighed in relief. Ash let a "heh," and shook his head before putting a token in the slot. Serena's smirk turned back into a heartfelt smile as she took the token and pressed the buzzard. Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulders just as the raven-haired man went through the gate. Delia, Mimey, Dawn, Piplup Grandpa Ramos, and Sonia moved closer to the window in anticipation.
With the ring still in her hand, Serena turned her chair to the door just in time to see Ash come in. She felt butterflies in her stomach as her ocean blue eyes stared at his brown eyes. Ash leaned his upper body close to her, his hand against the wall behind Serena. Serena's cheeks heated up, finally understanding what Ash said on New Years'. He had accepted that he wanted to be with her. Ash leaned closer until his head was close to Serena's, and her cheeks turned from pink to beet red.
"Hi," he said.
"Hi," Serena said.
"Guess what?" Ash said.
"What?" Serena asked.
"I love you."
Serena's heart skipped a beat, and she beamed, saying, "I love you too."
Ash smirked and took the ring from Serena's hand before holding it up in front of her.
"Marry me?" He asked.
"I will," Serena replied.
Ash gently took Serena's hand and put the ring on her finger. The honey blonde woman felt goosebumps on her body again as she lifted her hand to look at the jewel. She looked back at Ash, and the two of them leaned closer until their lips connected. Delia and Dawn squealed with joy while Mimey, Piplup, Sonia, and Grandpa Ramos cheered, but Ash and Serena were too focused on their first kiss to notice.
Serena put her hand wearing the ring on Ash's cheek and started caressing it while they slowly moved their lips against each other. The kissing then sped up, with Serena wrapping her arms around Ash's head and pulling him closer. She didn't care that the family was watching. She wanted to let out how much Ash meant to her. No misunderstandings, no lies, nothing but her feelings made clear and true. Her heart raced when Ash wrapped his free arm around her back to show that her feelings were acknowledged and returned. Eventually, their lips separated, and Serena stood up from her seat so that she and Ash could both be standing with their arms around each other.
"Hey, can we come in yet? We wanna hug too!" Dawn shouted.
Ash and Serena broke their hug, laughing, and Serena pressed the buzzard, saying, "Come in! Come in!"
The family went through the gate while the new couple got out of the token booth. Dawn put Piplup down so that she could hug her future sister-in-law. Grandpa Ramos hugged Serena next, and she and Sonia took a moment to look at each other with warm smiles before they embraced. Mimey, Piplup, and Pikachu ganged up on Serena by hugging her all at once, making the honey blonde woman laugh. When the Pokemon backed away, it was down to Delia, who looked at Serena sweetly before pulling her into a tight hug. Serena felt a tear running down her cheek as she hugged Delia back.
"I'm sorry, Mom," she said.
"It's alright, sweetie," Delia said, petting Serena's head as she hugged her. "We know you didn't mean any harm."
Serena felt as though a great weight was lifted off of her by Delia's forgiveness. The two women broke the hug, and Ash took the opportunity to pull Serena into a side hug.
"So, what happened to Calem?" Serena asked.
In an instant, Delia's face went dark, and she looked down at the ground with a murderous look in her eyes. Serena felt a chill down her spine, and Dawn leaned into her ear, saying, "Let's just say you're still forgiven as long as Calem doesn't get a plus one for your wedding."
"That bad, huh?" Serena asked.
The blunette woman replied with a nod while Delia shook her head and brought back her blissful demeanor.
"Well, nevermind about that," she said. "We have more important things to do, like planning your wedding."
"I agree," Grandpa Ramos said. "And not something so quiet like the last one. You two deserve a real wedding."
"For once, Ramos and I are in agreement," Sonia said. "And Dawn and I will help you get a real wedding dress, Serena."
"Oh, yeah. And I would love to be a bridesmaid this time, please," Dawn said.
"And I insist that you let me plan it," Delia said. "I've been looking forward to this since Christmas Eve, and I want the best for my son and daughter-in-law."
"Mr. Mime," Mimey said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Piplup," Piplup chirped.
The more the family talked about the wedding, the more excited Serena became. She turned her head to Ash, who pulled her closer with a toothy grin.
"I guess if Mom is taking care of the planning, then all that's left is the date," Serena said.
"I've been thinking about that, and I think some time in late February would be great," Ash said.
"Why February?" Serena asked.
"Did you forget? The Kalos League is next month," Ash replied. "My Pokemon and I should compete before you and I get married and travel to our honeymoon."
Serena felt butterflies in her stomach again and said, "Yeah, we should talk about where to go for that."
"Oh, that won't be necessary," Ash said.
"Why not?" Serena asked, confused.
Ash turned Serena around so that they were facing each other. He put his hand on her cheek, making her blush again, and said, "It's a surprise."
The next several weeks were a time of bliss for Serena. True to their words, Delia worked hard to plan the wedding, and Sonia and Dawn helped Serena pick out her wedding dress with Shauna tagging along. Shauna was still Serena's maid of honor, while Dawn was going to be her other bridesmaid. Pikachu was assigned to be the ringbearer again, and Calem was asked to be Ash's best man, with everyone making it clear that Miette could not come. Calem reluctantly accepted the terms but hoped that the family would eventually accept that he would still marry Miette as soon as she and Pierre were officially divorced.
But when Serena wasn't at work or helping out of planning the wedding, she was spending as much time with her beloved fiance as possible. Ash and Serena started going on dates from going out to dinner, to ice skating, the movies, to anything else Serena wanted to do. Whatever she wanted, Ash was willing to do, knowing it made her happy that she could do those things with the love of her life. When they weren't on dates, they would just go to the outskirts of Lumiose City so that Serena can watch Ash train his Pokemon.
After a month had passed, the Kalos League started. Ash and Pikachu were thrilled beyond expression that they were finally going to compete in a Pokemon League, much to Serena's amusement. The whole family came to watch the tournament and cheer for Ash. Calem brought Miette with him out of hopes that everyone would ease up with her cheering for his brother too. In the end, Ash made it all the way to the finals before he was beaten by a trainer named Alain, but he was happy that he made it so far in his first Pokemon League, and he was thankful that Serena and the family were there to support him all the way.
Two weeks later, it was Ash and Serena's special day. The wedding took place at the Ketchum's church with a different priest officiating the ceremony. Joy, Iris, Cilan, Maynor, Axew, Dratini, Mr. Walken, Emolga, Tierno, Squirtle, and extended members of the Ketchum family were the guests. Delia made sure that Ash and Serena were getting ready at opposite sides of the building to see each other before the ceremony. After Serena put on her wedding dress and looked at herself in the mirror, the honey blonde woman was so excited that Dawn, Shauna, Piplup, and Fennekin struggled to keep her calm.
At the beginning of the ceremony, Grandpa Ramos walked down the aisle with Serena and gave her away. While the priest spoke, Ash and Serena held hands and occasionally glanced at each other, their excitement growing by the second. They said their "I do"s with Serena squeezing Ash's hand hard. The priest then pronounced them man and wife, and Ash lifted the veil covering Serena's face before they had their first kiss as husband and wife.
The reception took place in the church's courtyard. Everyone spent the first half-hour eating and drinking before a DJ named DJ Leo started playing music. Ash and Serena had their first dance with Ash's arms around Serena's waist and Serena's arms around his neck. Soon after, everyone began dancing with Ash dancing with Delia, Serena dancing with Grandpa Ramos, Iris dancing with Cilan, and the Pokemon danced together. Sonia offered Maynor to dance with her, and the young boy shyly agreed, feeling bashful with Sonia's looks despite her age, much to her amusement. Tierno and Squirtle danced by themselves, not knowing that everyone else thought they looked silly, much to his father's embarrassment, but then Joy offered to dance with Tierno, finding his energy on the dancefloor charming.
After an hour, the time had come for everyone to drive to Thom Avenue station, where Ash, Serena, and Pikachu were going to take a train to Lumiose City airport. Before Serena changed into her regular clothes, she tossed the bouquet, and Sonia caught it. The peach-haired woman laughed triumphantly, taking it as a sign that she would find a man who would spend her remaining years with. Everyone carpooled to the train station and went up the platform, where Ash, Serena, and Pikachu began hugging everyone goodbye.
"Be good while Ash and I are away, Fennekin," Serena said as she hugged her little partner.
"Fennekin," Fennekin replied.
"Don't worry, big sister, Fennekin is in good hands," Dawn said while Serena put Fennekin down.
"Piplup," Piplup said, standing next to its partner.
"I'm counting on it, little sister," Serena said as the two women hugged each other tightly.
"I hope you don't forget about little old me while you're away," Grandpa Ramos said before hugging Serena.
"Don't worry, Grandpa Ramos. I could never forget you in a hundred years," Serena replied. "And I want to hear all about the Malie Garden when we get back."
Grandpa Ramos stepped back, feeling bashful from the young woman's compliments. Sonia then stepped in and took a moment for her and Serena to fondly stare at each other before they hugged.
"You better take good care of Ash out there," Sonia said.
"I will," Serena promised.
They broke the hug, and Serena then turned to Delia. The auburn-haired woman was smiling with tears in her eyes as she gave her daughter-in-law the biggest hug she's given her yet.
"Take care, sweetie," she said. "And don't forget to call to let us know how you and Ash are doing. You're a Ketchum now."
"Yes, Mom," Serena said, tearing up as well.
"Serena, the train's here," Ash said.
Serena and Delia broke the hug and turned their head to see that the train was coming. The women took a moment to hug again before Serena stood next to Ash, who had Pikachu on his shoulder. As the train arrived, however, Serena felt a tap on her shoulder, and she turned her head to see that it was Calem.
"Serena, can I talk to you for a second?" He asked.
"Sure, Calem," Serena answered.
Calem and Serena walked a few feet away from every one, with Ash watching. He saw Calem whispering something into Serena's ear, and she smiled before she whispered back to him. Calem looked at her, confused for a moment before he smiled, satisfied with what Serena said. The two of them hugged, and Serena walked back to Ash's side just in time for the train to stop in front of them.
As the doors opened and the couple stepped in with Pikachu, everyone said one last goodbye before the doors closed, and the train began moving again. Ash and Serena sat down, and Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder to sit next to them. Serena lifted her hand to look at the golden band on her finger until she felt Ash's arm around her shoulder.
"Happy, Mrs. Ketchum?" He asked.
Serena turned to her husband and said with a smile, "Very. Although I still would like to know where we're going."
Ash smirked and said, "I was hoping you'd say that."
He reached inside his coat and took out two plane tickets. He handed them to Serena, and she looked to see that they were tickets to the Sinnoh region.
"What made you decide for us to go there?" She asked.
Ash's smirk turned into a toothy grin, and said, "Well, I had to pick a place where we can travel while I collect badges to compete in another Pokemon League, and I discovered that the Sinnoh League takes place in Lily of the Valley Island where your mom won the Grand Prix. So, I thought we will spend our honeymoon at Oreburgh City, where I'll collect my first Sinnoh gym badge, and then travel our way to Lily of the Valley Island, where I'll compete in the Pokemon League, and then we'll get to see the stadium where your mom competed. Sounds like a perfect place for the first stamp on your passport, don't you think?"
Serena stared at Ash with her heart melting before she smiled and pulled him into a firm kiss that he returned. When they parted, Serena looked at her husband lovingly with her hands on his cheeks.
"Yes, I think that's perfect," she replied. "And we'll see so many new things and meet all kinds of people and Pokemon along the way. Right, Pikachu?"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu replied cheerfully.
Ash gave his wife another toothy grin, pleased with her reaction.
"I thought so," he said. "By the way, what did Calem say to you?"
Serena's smile grew, and she said, "He asked me when it was that I started falling in love with you."
"Oh, yeah? What did you tell him?" Ash asked.
Serena gave Ash another loving look, and with her hands still on his cheeks, she pulled him into a soft, tender kiss. When she parted, she wrapped her arms around Ash's arm and rested her head on his shoulder, smiling with her eyes closed as she answered his question.
"I told him, 'it was while you were sleeping.'"
The end
Author's note
Hey, everyone! Thank you so much for reading While You Were Sleeping! I really hope you ultimately found it to be an uplifting and cheerful Amourshipping story during the end of this horrible, horrible year. Also, for those of you who don't know, I do have one more story planned that is an OC/Pokemon/Amourshipping story. It's a adaptation of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame called The Hunchback of Lumiose Cathedral. Basically, it involves my OCs, Timothy and Markenel as Quasimodo and Frollo respectively, with Ash and Serena has Phoebus and Esmeralda, Pikachu and Sylveon as their partners and the second romance couple, and Sonia as Clopin. I just finished a full draft of it yesterday, and I am both excited and nervous for it. Much like the Disney version of Hunchback of Notre Dame, it's going to be a mixture of dark and dramatic while having some cheerful and romantic moments. It also will tackle more of some of the religious themes and the corruption of the villain based on my personal interpretation of Judge Frollo in the Disney film. I'm really nervous on whether or not you guys are going to like this one, but I am happy that it is complete. At this moment, I plan to begin publishing one chapter of it per day sometime in late January. Until then, thank you once again for reading While You Were Sleeping, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and the Lord be with you all!