Some dialogue and plot elements from this chapter are taken from the anime episode A Battle By Any Other Name.
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things." 1 Corinthians 13:11
The next morning, much to Brock's surprise, Serena was the first one to join him for breakfast in the Pokémon Center's cafeteria. Realizing that her early appearance was probably indicative of nervousness about the upcoming contest, Brock decided to give her a bit of reassurance.
"Morning Serena. Must say I'm surprised to see you up and about this early."
"Yeah," she said, expression blank, "I didn't sleep very well."
Brock nodded in understanding. "Perfectly reasonable. I'd tell you not to be nervous, but that probably wouldn't do you any good."
This elicited a brief chuckle. "Yeah, probably not."
"But I do want to say I have every confidence that you'll do great today. I can tell you have great passion and real talent for this."
"Yeah, I guess." At this her expression clouded. Pausing, she put down her fork. "The thing is Brock, I'm still really unsure what I want to do with myself. I mean, I love baking and am getting to enjoy cooking. I also really like doing PokéVision videos. But I'm not sure I want to pursue any of those things full time. And then there's Ash…"
"What exactly do you mean?"
"I don't know…seeing him on TV saving Garchomp is what spurred me to finally leave on my journey. And until I have a path of my own, I plan on sticking by his side. It's hard though…sometimes I worry that my life will be wasted if I don't find some great career or dream of my own. But other times I feel like the greatest thing I could do is support Ash in his goals."
Brock put up his hand. "Slow down Serena! You're still young; you've got a long time to think about these things. Don't get too far ahead of yourself."
Serena sighed. "Yeah, I know you're right. But being a girl isn't easy Brock."
Brock nodded. "After taking care of four younger sisters, believe me I know. But being a guy is no picnic either. The challenges and pressures are different, but they're still there. But the grass is always greener…"
"Did I hear someone mention Grass types," said a familiar voice from behind them.
Turning, the two caught sight of Ash and Pikachu standing not too far away. Ash was holding a tray laden with food. Apparently he'd only caught the very end of their conversation, something for which Serena was immensely grateful.
"Not even close Ash." Brock smiled and gestured for Ash to join them. Nodding his thanks, Ash took a seat next to Serena and began digging in. Bonnie and Clemont joined them a few minutes later and made it a quintet. Although everyone was expecting Miette to show up at some point, she never did. Before heading out the group briefly debated about whether to wait for her in the lobby, but with Round Two due to start soon, the group had no choice but to leave and head for the competition, trusting that she could handle herself.
By the time they arrived there was already a decent sized crowd. Recognized as one of the finalists, Serena was admitted to the performance area where, with a start, she saw that Miette was already present. Waving goodbye to her friends, Serena headed to her workstation. Calling out Fennekin, she began to unpack and organize her things.
Before long the starting bell sounded and the competitors began to prepare their entries. With only Serena, Miette, and the Berrybaker kids left, the mood was noticeably different from the day before. All the remaining competitors had already proved themselves to be quite skilled and there were only four of them left. This meant that the audience, which was basically the same size as the day before, could closely scrutinize each participant. Yet after the first few minutes, none of this really mattered, at least to the competitors. All of them were so engrossed in baking that they lost track of everything else. Ash and his friends in the audience however had nothing to distract them from the tension in the air, a tension that grew thicker as time wound down.
While the others tried to calm themselves by making small talk, Ash was lost in his own world. His nervousness was really starting to get to him. During the first few minutes of the competition he had of course been dominated by worries about how the contest would turn out. He was definitely hoping that Serena would win, although he didn't want to hurt Miette's feelings by making his support obvious. This line of thinking started him considering the sticky situation in which he had somehow become entangled. While he'd sorted out his feelings, he was still anxious about what exactly to do now. Nothing in all his prior experiences prepared him for how to deal with one girl liking him, let alone two. He needed a plan if he wanted to avoid, or at least minimize, hurt feelings.
A stampede of thoughts raced uncontrolled through Ash's mind and he seemed as powerless to rein them in as he was at stopping his own herd of Tauros. The tension was growing, and it must have begun to manifest itself physically because a sudden electric shock jolted him back to reality. Looking down to his lap at Pikachu, Ash realized with a stab of guilt that he must have been gripping Pikachu far too tightly.
"Sorry buddy," he murmured, stroking Pikachu's head. "Guess I have a lot on my mind." Pikachu looked back, clearly confused. It wasn't like his trainer to act in this way. From yesterday's training session he'd gotten the sense that Ash's weird behavior had something to do with Miette and Serena, but what it was about them that was making his trainer act this way escaped him. The only thing he could think of was it might have something to do with Ash and Brock's talk yesterday, although why Ash should be so worried about feelings that were perfectly natural escaped him.
Ash took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. Putting his hat back on, he stared intensely at the competition. Focusing in on Miette, with a start he realized that, once this competition was over, they would probably go their separate ways. At first relief coursed through him…but this was immediately followed by a wave of guilt. Avoiding the truth wasn't fair to anyone, especially not to Miette. "I have to tell her before she leaves," Ash realized. It wouldn't be fair after all to give her false hope. At this his stomach gave a lurch. Letting out a deep breath, he turned his attention back to the competition, hoping that this time it would help distract him, even if temporarily, from thoughts of the confrontation to come.
As the last minute of Round Two ticked down, all the competitors hurried to make sure everything was "just so." As skilled bakers, all of them had finished their Poke Puffs with enough time to spare. However, that didn't mean there wasn't always something else to tweak. They all wanted to win and they all knew that, in a group so talented, the smallest thing could mean the difference between victory and defeat.
With a buzz, the timer sounded and the competitors ceased their activities. The finished Poke Puffs were collected and the competitors began the process of cleaning up. Unfortunately for Serena's nerves, this didn't take nearly long enough. In fact, she finished just in time to see Gina move from evaluating the Poke Puffs' appearance and presentation to actually sampling their taste. Her heart rate accelerated as Gina made her way from Miette's plate to hers. She watched Gina intently as the Poke Puff pâtissier gave her Poke Puff a delicate sniff and clenched her teeth as Gina took a bite. Unfortunately, Gina's face betrayed nothing, maintaining the same blank expression she'd had since the judging began. When she finally moved on to Berrybaker kids' entry Serena the tension lessen…slightly.
Turning away, she looked out to the audience, scanning the crowd for her friends. She had been so focused on the practice of her craft during the competition that she hadn't really paid attention to anything else before now. She quickly located her friends, seated front and center, roughly in the same position as yesterday. When she caught Ash's gaze he smiled broadly and waved. The others, noticing this, did the same. Serena smiled at this and gave a small wave of her own. Just knowing that they supported her took some of the metaphorical weight off her shoulders.
"Would the competitors please come to the stage," the emcee announced. Heart rate increasing again, Serena turned away from the crowd and made her way towards the stage, hoping that she at least looked calmer than she felt. Once the competitors were all assembled, Gina began sharing the results of her evaluation, giving each entry high praise. It didn't escape Serena's notice that while her own Poke Puff was best suited to Fennekin and other Fire types, Miette had prepared one that would appeal to both her and Ash's number one partners. "Can't think about that now," she told herself silently.
Finally the moment had come. The attention of every single person in the contest area was fixed on Gina as she paused, letting the anticipation and tension build to a crescendo. Finally, she smiled and extended her hand towards the winning contestant: the Berrybaker kids. The faces of the brother-sister pair lit up with identical expressions of excitement at their success. Serena and Miette also had identical expressions on their faces, but theirs manifested not the triumphant exuberance of victory but rather the shock and disappointment of defeat. Although neither of them would have admitted it, their surprise was in part due to the fact that they had both been so focused on their own rivalry that they'd practically forgotten the other finalists.
Ash and his friends were surprised at the outcome as well, though of course they weren't nearly as crestfallen as Serena or Miette. No one quite knew what to say as Gina presented the Berrybaker kids with their prize. Finally, Brock broke the silence by stating the obvious.
"Well, that was unexpected."
"I can't believe Serena didn't win," Bonnie pouted.
"Actually, the outcome may not be so surprising after all," Clemont observed.
Everyone turned to look at Clemont, startled that he would say such a thing. "What do you mean," Ash said a bit defensively, "Serena's an awesome baker!"
"Yeah big brother, are you saying you don't like her Poke Puffs?" Bonnie had an upset look on her face.
"No no," Clemont responded, waving his arms to emphasize the point, "that's not what I meant. Gina's comments said it all; Serena's Poke Puffs were best suited for only one specific type of Pokémon; Miette's were suited for two. But the Berrybaker kids made a recipe without such a narrow type focus. Perhaps that's why they won."
Brock nodded his head in understanding. "Makes sense. It's a bit subjective of course, but the entire process of judging food is pretty subjective anyways, so I guess we can't be too upset."
Bonnie understood, but still huffed in disappointment. "Still, she should have won."
"Don't worry Bonnie," said Ash, placing his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture, "she'll win next time! And until then, we'll just have to help her by test-tasting all her recipes."
Bonnie brightened at this suggestion. "Sounds good to me!"
Brock stood. "Looks like everyone is clearing out. Let's go over to Serena and Miette, I'm sure they could both use some encouragement."
As the crowd began to melt away, Serena turned to look at her rival. Honestly this was an outcome that she never had considered. She had no idea what to say. Apparently Miette felt the same. An awkward silence hung between the two of them as they each stirred in their own recriminations. An excited voice broke the moment.
"Hey guys, are you alright?"
The two girls turned and looked into the eyes of Ash Ketchum. He stood at the head of the group of friends, Pikachu perched on his shoulder and an encouraging smile on his face. The sight of it made losing almost bearable.
Serena attempted a smile. "Hey Ash, hey everybody. Everything's alright I guess. I'm disappointed of course, but there's always next time."
Miette nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I was definitely hoping to win. But I know I did my best. I guess I'll just have to keep working hard."
Ash pumped his fist. "Exactly! Both of you will keep doing your best and getting stronger. You can't let losing stand in the way of your dreams."
"Thank Ash, that means a lot," said Serena.
Miette nodded in agreement. "Ash, everyone, I really enjoyed spending time with you. But I have my own journey to take. Hope to see you all again sometime soon."
"Sure Miette," Ash nodded. He didn't want her to leave without him having a chance to speak to her about his feelings, but couldn't see a way to do it right now. "It was nice to meet you."
"Indeed," supplied Clemont. Everyone, even Serena, echoed the sentiment.
"But before I go, I hope you don't mind if I grab a word with Serena alone."
Ash's nerves went into overdrive. It took him a second to realize that it was Serena, not him, Miette wished to speak with. This calmed him down a bit, but he was still worried. He hoped that they would actually part as friendly rivals and not as enemies.
"Sure, no problem," Brock said. "Serena, we'll wait for you just over there," he continued, indicating a spot not too far away. The group walked there, leaving Serena and Miette to their conversation. As they stood around waiting, Brock and Clemont starting chatting, but Ash tuned their conversation out. He kept his attention fixed on the two girls, hopefully without being too obvious. It's not that he wanted to hear what they were saying word for word, which would have been impossible anyways given the distance. Instead, he was watching their body language, hoping to discern whether or not they would part as friends. As the conversation unfolded, it looked like they were going to. The only thing that was potentially troubling was Miette drawing close and whispering something to Serena…but after she pulled back both of them were still smiling, so it must not have been too mean.
A stomach grumbled, and for once it wasn't Ash's. Blushing in embarrassment, Bonnie smiled at the group. "I guess all the Poke Puffs made me hungry. Hope we can go find some lunch soon."
Brock nodded. "Don't worry, as soon as…"
But Ash didn't wait. He called out to Serena, telling her that it was time that they got going. When Brock shot him a look, Ash had the good grace to look somewhat sheepish. "What, Bonnie's the one that's hungry, not me."
With one last wave, Serena turned and within a few strides had resumed her place among the group of travelers. Miette started off in another direction. Realizing that this was his only chance, Ash steeled his resolve.
"Guys, uh I just remembered that there's something I got take care of before we head back to the Pokémon Center. Mind waiting a minute?"
Realizing from the tension in Ash's voice that it must have something to do with Miette, Brock jumped in before anyone else could respond. "Sure Ash, we'll wait." Turning to Clemont, Brock continued. "After lunch let's have that battle. Carbink and I could use some more practice before we go up against Grant."
As Ash trotted off, with a start Serena realized that he was heading in the same direction Miette had departed in. Noticing that Brock and Clemont were distracted by Bonnie grousing about the delay, Serena took the opportunity to slip away in pursuit of Ash, the painful memory of finding him alone with Miette in the forest yesterday still fresh in her mind. What exactly she intended to do she didn't know; all that she did know was that she had to make sure that, whatever Ash was "taking care of," it didn't involve Miette. Even though she'd parted with Miette on good terms, Serena wanted to be the one to take care of Ash. Hearing two voices ahead, Serena came to a stop and crouched behind some bushes. From her vantage point she could just make out Miette and Ash standing around the corner.
"So, you see, the thing is, I am actually kind of interested in someone else. I didn't want to let you go without saying anything, but I figured you wouldn't want me to bring this up in front of everyone else."
"Oh no," Serena thought to herself. While at first she'd felt a surge of gladness that Ash wasn't after Miette, her emotions came crashing down once she realized that there was someone else.
"Well, I have to say I'm disappointed of course," started Miette, a hint of sadness evident in her tone. "You seem like a really great guy. You're cute and brave. Whoever this girl is I'm sure you'll make her really happy when you let her know."
Ash chuckled nervously. "I hope so."
"Well, if it doesn't work out, you know how to find me." Miette had shared her contact details with the group yesterday evening.
"Uh, sure." There didn't seem to be anything else to say.
"Well, I guess this goodbye then Ash. It was so nice to meet you." She closed the distance between the two and gave him a hug. Serena felt queasy at the sight of it.
Ash returned the embrace, being sure to keep it brief. After they parted, he said "Nice meeting you too. Best wishes Miette!"
"Same to you Ash."
Miette turned to go and Serena started to stand up, but she jerked to a halt when Miette stopped mid stride. She turned back and then looked at Ash. "Just one more thing. If you were able to pick up how I feel about you, you must have realized that Serena feels the same way."
"Oh no, has he known how I feel all this time? If so, why hasn't he said anything to me? Why tell Miette about his feelings for someone else but not tell me?" Confusion swirled in Serena's mind. Nothing made sense.
"Uh, yeah, I kinda figured that out."
"You'll need to tell her how you feel as well."
"You're right," Ash sighed, shifting uncomfortably, "but it's not that easy."
"Well, after all you did fighting those weirdos and their giant robot, I know you can do it."
Ash nodded. "Thanks Miette."
"You're welcome. See you later Ash."
Realizing she would get caught if she stayed any longer, Serena rushed away, trying and failing to keep the tears from flowing. At the next fork she cut down another path, one that would take her the long way back to where she had left her friends. This way she could avoid Ash as he walked to rejoin the group and have some extra time to gather her thoughts.
"Stop blubbing," she said to herself, "So he doesn't like you. It's not the end of the world." Yet at that moment it felt very much like a big part of Serena's world was indeed coming to an end. Her heart was breaking…surely that was worth some tears. "Not in public. It wouldn't do for someone to see you, especially not him." Resolving to hold everything in until they made it back to the Pokémon Center, she blinked, wiped her eyes clean, and then resumed her trek back to her friends, willing herself to be strong...at least for a while.
As she approached the group she noticed that Ash had already rejoined the others. Steeling herself for a fresh wave of emotions, she made her way to them, determined to not to give any sign of what had happened.
"Hey Serena," Bonnie said as she walked, "Where'd you run off to?"
Glad it was the young girl that was asking the question and not the trainer from Pallet, she plastered a smile on her face and placed her hand on Bonnie's shoulder. "Nowhere silly, I just wanted to stretch my legs a bit, work off some of my nervous energy. So it's back to the Pokémon Center guys, right?"
"Yeah," Brock responded, "I think we should be able to grab a late lunch. Then Clemont and I are going to do some training for my battle tomorrow." He noticed Serena looked a bit out of sorts after her mysterious walk, but couldn't do anything about that now without embarrassing the girl. He resolved to try to find some time after lunch to talk with her alone. "She's probably just disappointed about losing the contest."
"Cool," interjected Ash, "I probably should do some training too! We've got to keep getting stronger if we want to win our next Gym battle, isn't that right buddy?" It would also give him a chance to avoid thinking about Serena for a bit. Letting Miette down had been harder than he'd thought and, despite having every confidence that Serena liked him back, he still wasn't ready to share his feelings with her just yet. Plus, after yesterday's disastrous attempt at training Ash knew that both he and his Pokémon could use a confidence booster; who knows, it might even help him gather up the resolve to talk with Serena.
"Pika!" Ash's number one partner, as always, shared his trainer's enthusiasm for battling.
Clemont turned to Serena. "Will you be joining us? I bet Fennekin could use some training too."
Having the group's undivided attention fixed back on her caused Serena's resolve to buckle. Summoning as much self-control as she could muster, she turned to face Clemont and made a reply. "I don't think so guys, not today."
"Oh, okay." Clemont responded.
Internally Ash sighed in relief. Having her around would serve as a constant reminder of what he was avoiding; while ordinarily he would encourage her to train, this time he was relieved that she wasn't interested.
At this the group turned and headed back to the Pokémon Center. Their talk was spirited and amiable; everyone was looking forward to a good afternoon spent with friends. Clemont immediately engaged Ash in a conversation about one of his new inventions, sharing his ideas for improvement with the excited trainer. While Brock was having a nice discussion with Bonnie about making Pokémon food, he did notice that Serena was unusually quiet. In fact, she had hardly said three words since she refused Clemont's invitation to train. Now sure that something was wrong, he resolved to speak with her after they finished lunch.
While it was a bit late for lunch when they finally arrived back at the Pokémon Center, the cafeteria was still open. After grabbing food and sitting down, the five friends continued their conversation, appetites fueled by the day's excitement. Or rather, four friends conversed and ate while a fifth sat, pushing her food around her plate and saying little.
At first Ash attacked his food with the usual gusto, ignoring everything else around him. After a few minutes though, as his feeding frenzy slowed, he began to pay attention to his surroundings again. It didn't take him too long to realize that not only was Serena not talking, but she had hardly eaten anything. Concerned for his friend, Ash finished chewing, swallowed, and then turned toward her.
"Serena, is anything wrong? You've hardly touched your lunch. And you haven't really said anything."
Brock mentally facepalmed. While Ash noticing Serena's distress was certainly a sign of progress, he still had a lot to learn about sensitivity. "Hopefully that's one of the many things that rubs off on Ash when these two finally get their act together."
Serena on the other hand looked like a Deerling caught in the headlights. Even though she had no food or drink in her mouth, she made an exaggerated gulping sound. "Wrong? Nothing's wrong. What could possibly be wrong?" Her tone and the increasing speed of her speech belied the reassuring message her words tried to convey.
"Come on Serena, if I noticed something is off, you can bet everyone else has too." Ash gave a nervous chuckle. The boy from Pallet meant well but attention was the last thing Serena wanted just then.
Pushing her chair back forcefully, Serena stood. "Nothing is wrong," she shouted, throwing her arms up in the air. At this loud outburst the rest of the cafeteria patrons turned towards her. Though at this time of day there weren't many other people still eating, in Serena's mind's eye it felt like the eyes of the world were upon her. She needed to get out of there, now. Bring her arms back down and schooling her expression, she continued. "I'm just tired. I'm going to the room to take a nap. I'll see you guys later." With that Serena turned and fled the scene.
Shocked, none of Serena's friends knew how to react at first; they just watched her go. Brock, being the most mature, was the first to recover.
"Ash, you're going to need to go after her," Brock intoned calmly.
"What? Why me?" Ash was shocked at Brock's suggestion. While he wanted to make sure Serena was okay of course, the last thing he wanted right now was to be alone with her. In her emotional state he was bound to say or do the wrong thing, and the thought terrified him. Plus what if they were overanalyzing things and she really was just in the mood for a nap.
"I think we all know why it has to be you," Brock continued calmly, taking another bite from his sandwich.
"Well it's about time!" Bonnie said. "I thought you would never realize…"
"Bonnie!" Clemont moaned, trying to cut her off from revealing their friend's secret.
"Don't worry Clemont, Ash already knows about Serena's feelings for him," Brock soothed.
"What," Bonnie exclaimed. "When did that happen? What are you going to do? Tell me tell me tell me!
"Bonnie, calm down," Clemont said nervously. "This is sooo embarrassing," he continued, bowing his head in act of apology.
"I still don't get why anyone has to go," Ash griped. "I mean, she clearly wants to be left alone. We should respect that."
"She wants to be left alone sure," Brock said, "but what she needs is you."
"What am I supposed to say?" While Ash had had many female friends over the years and had occasionally had to deal with them when they were distressed, he'd never faced a situation anything like this.
"I think you know that too," Brock replied.
"Brock, she's upset at something, I don't really think this is the time…" Ash started.
"This is exactly the time," Brock interrupted.
Ash had rarely seen Brock act so forcefully, but when he had it meant you better pay attention. Straightening up in his seat, Ash fixed his gaze straight at his friend.
Noting Ash's change in posture, Brock continued. "There's only one thing, or rather one person, that could have made her react like that. Getting it all out in the open is the only way to resolve things. Now get going buddy and make Brock proud!" With this he clapped Ash gently on the shoulder in a gesture of encouragement.
"I guess you're right." Ash got up and put his hat back on his head, adjusting it nervously. "Pikachu, you stay here. This is one battle I need to face alone." Turning, Ash strode determinedly in the direction of their room.
"Can we go too Clemont, can we," Bonnie implored. After waiting for this moment for so long she didn't want to miss it.
"No Bonnie, we can't," Clemont said, exasperation evident. "This is a private moment for Ash and Serena. It's not some TV drama for others to watch."
Bonnie pursed her lips in annoyance. "Fine. I guess I'll just have to focus on finding you a wife."
Brock laughed. "How about we finish our lunch and go get a battle started instead?"
"That's okay I guess," Bonnie said, resigned to the fact that her search for a wife for her brother would have to wait for another day. Besides, watching them battle would be fun.
Ash stood in front of the door to the room he and his three Kalos companions were staying in. One hand gripped the room key firmly, the other hovered just above the door handle. All he had to do was slide the key in the lock, turn the handle and he could open the door and walk in. But instead of doing that, he was frozen in place, unable to take the plunge but unwilling to turn back. Dimly he realized that he was standing at the threshold not just of their room, but of a major change in his life. By sharing his feelings, by allowing romance into his life, nothing would ever be the same again. It both thrilled and terrified him.
A mournful sob shook Ash out of his paralysis. Pressing his ear to the door, he could now distinctly hear the sounds of crying coming from the room. Part of him wanted to run far, far away from this sound, as it was as scary a sound as he'd ever heard. Concern and love won out over fear and, before he could get short-circuited by any second thoughts, he inserted the key, flung open the door, and ran in.
Finally getting back to the room, Serena let loose a huge sigh and let her mask of composure fall away. As soon as the door closed behind her she ran to her bed. Hurling herself headlong onto it and burying her face in her pillow, Serena's emotional dam finally burst and she let her tears flow freely. Gripping her pillow tightly, she mourned the loss of a future that might have been, one that had been so abruptly snatched away. At that moment it felt as if she could fill an ocean with her tears.
A sudden slam snapped her focus away from her inner turmoil back into the wider world. Lifting her head from her pillow, she saw with a start someone standing in the doorway. Squinting, she quickly recognized that it was the last person she wanted to see right now.
"Go away Ash," she half shouted, half pleaded. "Just go!"
Ash would not be dissuaded. Although he'd been reluctant to follow her initially, opening the door and striding in had committed him to this path. He wouldn't back down now, not for anything. He walked over to her bed, stopping right at its foot.
"No," he said purposefully. "I'm not leaving. I'm here for you." The determination in his voice was obvious.
Rolling over and sitting up on the bed, she fixed him a pained look. "Don't you have somewhere else you'd rather be," she said bitterly, not bothering to hide the tears now. "Or rather someone you'd rather be with."
"What are you talking about," Ash asked, genuinely confused. "There's no one else I'd rather be with right now."
"Oh yeah I forgot, this is Ash the great I'm talking to," Serena snapped back, venom clear in her tone. "I'm Ash, I'm so great, I can smash a girl's heart no problem, but because I'm so noble I'll make sure I tape the pieces back together again. That way I can go guilt free and tell my precious May just how I feel about her."
Ash was even more confused. "What does May have to do with anything?"
Serena scoffed. "I overheard what you said to Miette, that there is 'someone else' you have feelings for. So, if it's not May who is it? Dawn? Misty? Iris? The world is dying to know!" she concluded bitterly. Anger exhausted, she broke out into a fresh round of sobs.
Realization dawning on Ash, he chuckled nervously. He took a few steps closer to her. Seeing Ash approach, Serena deliberately buried her face in her hands, not wanting to see him. After a moment, he gently gripped her hands with his. She was surprised to feel Ash's bare flesh on hers; apparently he'd removed his gloves. Although strong, his hands were softer than she'd expected. She was so surprised at his touch that she offered no resistance as he gently lowered her hands from her eyes. However, even as she let him bring her hands away from her face, she forced her eyes shut, still having no desire to look at him, afraid of what she might say or do if she did.
"Serena," he said gently.
She ignored him, not moving an inch.
"Serena," he said again, "look at me. Look at me please."
Reluctantly, Serena opened her eyes. Ash was staring right at her, his brown eyes the shade of her favorite chocolate and filled with an intensity that mere candy never could hope to match. It was a sight that sent her heart racing.
Ash felt nervous. This was it. There really was no turning back now. And as he stared into her eyes, eyes that were the color of the Southern Sea, eyes so sad and yet so beautiful, he realized that he didn't want to turn back, not for anything.
"Serena, it's true that there's someone I like. That someone," he chuckled, "Serena, it's you." He squeezed both her hands as he said it, hoping to convey some of the warmth he felt.
It took a second for the words to register in Serena's mind. When they did a surge joy came rushing into her heart, melting away her sadness in an instant. "Ash, do you mean it?" Her voice was hopeful but tentative.
Nodding, he said, "Yes. I only realized it yesterday, but yeah, I really do."
"Oh Ash," she said, unable to contain her joy. She let go of his hands and, leaping up from the bed, flung her arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. They relaxed into one another, letting the emotional tensions that they'd both felt over the past few days wash away in their embrace.
They were like that for some time, neither willing to break the moment. Looking back on the on it later, neither one of them could clearly say how long they stayed like that or what prompted them to finally let go of one another.
When things finally settled down, Serena was the first one to speak. "So where do we go from here," Serena asked.
"No idea Serena…I was kinda hoping you would know."
Serena just smiled. While Ash may have made a quantum leap in maturity by realizing his feelings and sharing them, it was oddly reassuring to see that in some respects he still had a ways to go. "Just like me," she realized.
"I guess we'll just have to figure it out together," she said, smiling.
"Yeah, guess so." Ash smiled back, adjusting his hat. "But we should go find the others. They're bound to be wondering how it all turned out."
"You told everyone you were coming to confess to me!" She swatted his arm playfully. "I can't believe it."
"Not exactly, but basically they all knew. Bonnie even wanted to follow and watch."
Serena laughed, shaking her head. "She sure can be a handful sometimes." Getting up, she moved to go. After a few seconds she paused, realizing Ash wasn't with her. Turning, she saw him rummaging through his backpack. After watching him for a few seconds she saw him suddenly halt his efforts, a smile clear on his face. Pulling something out of the bag, he turned and then walked over to her. Serena looked down, smiling as she recognized the object.
Taking the handkerchief that she had returned to him at the start of their journey together, the very one that he'd been so careful to hand wash the night previously, Ash smiled nervously, motioning to her face. "Uh, I cleaned this last night. Do you mind if I…"
Serena's smile broadened even more. "No, I don't mind."
Ash moved slowly, using the handkerchief to gently wipe away the evidence of Serena's tears from her face. Their hearts were both racing at how close they were to one another as Ash completed his work. After a few seconds he lowered his hand, satisfied that he'd gotten the job done. "There, all better."
Both of them were lost in thought for a moment, caught up in both their present closeness and in the memories of a moment like this long ago. Reluctantly, Ash broke eye contact. Smiling, he moved to fold the handkerchief up and replaced it in his bag.
"Hey, remember Brock and Clemont said they wanted to go train. They should be on the field by now. Let's go, I don't want to miss them battle!" Ash turned and began to race out the door.
"Aren't you forgetting something," Serena said, determination in her voice.
Stopping for a second to think, Ash quickly realized what she was getting at. "Oh yeah, my gloves. Thanks," he said, walking back towards his gloves, which he had dropped on the ground soon after he'd first entered the room.
"Not that," she said, gently slapping his arm again. "This." And with that, she placed herself squarely beside him and, reaching out with her left hand, gripped Ash's right hand and interlocked their fingers. Blushing at her boldness, she looked down for a second before glancing back up at Ash. There was confusion on his face for a second, but it quickly morphed into a smile. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. And with that, the two trainers walked hand in hand out to of the room and into the world.
This is the chapter we were all waiting for and hopefully it turned out well without too many clichés. After the long journey here figured it would be torture if I inserted a cliff hanger in the middle of this. Let's just say I've experienced one too many of those myself. I realize there's a bit of OOCness at a few points in this chapter (Brock is entirely too clever for his own good) but I didn't want to drag us through a few chapters of angst before everything got sorted.
It's fitting that this chapter comes on the heels of a big bit of good news. If you don't know what I mean and don't mind some spoilers, check out Bulbapedia. I won't say any more out of respect for people who prefer to be surprised (though I guess I've tipped you off a bit). I'll just say it almost makes me want to jump ahead of the dub…almost.
Of course, this chapter isn't the end, but we're in the home stretch. There's still more fluff to come, along with a bump or two in the road. Plus we're due for a showdown between Brock and Grant. It's about time the perennial sidekick gets the spotlight. However, there is another (short) chapter before we get there, which (as you might guess) deals with the aftermath of our hero and heroine getting together. And for you Brock fans out there you'll be happy to know I've (literally just) started on a somewhat short "sequel" to this to give our boy his due. All I'll say is it's Luckshipping.