Ash had the biggest grin on his face. Paul had changed, of that there was no doubt. He was much calmer than he used to be, and his treatment of his Pokemon was a hundred times better. At the same time, he was obviously still as skilled at battling as he was the last time he had seen Ash. He had a natural talent for battling, one Ash didn't have. Where Ash had had to practice, train, and fight for months and years, Paul seemed to manage it so much easier, so much smoother. It seemed like it came to Paul naturally. Reggie had once mentioned that Paul had always been a naturally skilled battler, and Paul often seemed to have a calm confidence that went along with it, which bordered on arrogance. But that much had changed. Paul was confident, but he had been humbled in the years past. He wasn't the same person he was in Sinnoh.

But that didn't mean their rivalry had dimmed even slightly.

In fact, quite the opposite was true. Their rivalry seemed to have reached a new height of ferocity. It seemed that when they heard about the others accomplishments, their Pokemon, their training methods, and their goals, it helped spark another fire in their rivalry. Although, this was different. Ash was reminded of other intense rivalries he had had previously. People like Stephan, and Trip. These rivalries were intense, but they had all had respect between the two trainers involved. Some had been friendly, others had been savage. Paul's really had been his most heated rivalry, and the mutual respect they held for one another now had strengthened it. They wanted to prove their strength to the other, over the other. Fierce glares were exchanged between the two.

Their rivalry burned even stronger than before.


Serena simply shook her head in disbelief, smiling, amused. She was sat, opposing Ash at two opposite sides of the flat surface, circular table for two they sat as. She grinned at Ash, smiling smiling, amused at all of this.

"What?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow, concerned.

"Where to start..." Serena smiled. "Mostly... Well, mostly I'm just amazed. The odds of us being partners..."

"Its pretty damn amazing, huh?" Ash nodded, agreeing with his tag team partner. Pikachu cooed in its own agreement, poking up from the bottle of ketchup it was currently enjoying.

"Second, theres Pikachu." Serena smiled at the electric mouse Pokemon, patting its head lightly. She found its newly displayed, at least in front of her, fondness for ketchup to be absolutely adorable. "And finally, theres Miette and Paul."

Ash's eyebrows raised slightly, tilting his head lightly. "What about them?"

Serena struggled to stifle her own laughter. She found the entire thing amazingly ironic. She could see the two of them behind Ash. And she knew for a fact Miette was acting in a matter similar to how she acted around Ash. She had to admit it, it surprised her. She had never taken Miette for the romantic type, at least not for herself. Trying to set other people up in some sort of game she liked to play, maybe, but for herself? This was a first.

"It'll be fun being able to tease her for a change." Serena commented to herself.

Ash was now completely confused. "What are you talking about?"

Serena smiled at her own crush. "I think Miette might have a crush on your old friend."

Ash turned around to observe the two sitting a bit away from them. Like Paul had said, he was getting to know Miette. He seemed to be nodding as Miette spoke to him about who knew what, but he was certain it wasn't strategy. Miette didn't stop smiling no matter how much she spoke. When Paul spoke, for however briefly that was, she listened intently. She actually looked interested in what he had to say.

"A crush on Paul?" Ash repeated to himself, louder than he had expected it to be. He was surprised, but Miette did seem to be interested in Paul. He wondered if that would last. "Well thats... Surprising."

"Paul not a romantic type?"

"I... Have no idea." Ash stated bluntly, his eyes widened slightly when he realised he knew little about Paul on a basic conversational level. Outside of battling, what did they know about each other? He decided to answer Serena before he looked weird. "We never really got onto that topic. Hell, we never ever got past the topic of 'Im going to beat you down'. We were too busy being at each others throats."

Serena's eyes seemed to blunt for a second. "I thought you two got along?"

"We... Get along okay now." Ash stated. "Publicly anyway. I doubt we're 'friends'." Ash states, bringing up two fingers on each of his hands and making quotation marks with them along with the word 'friends'. "Our philosophies are way too different for us to be close like that. I mean, we aren't enemies... Anymore. We really hated each other when we first met, kinda like you and Miette. Only we were hostile towards each other for a lot longer. Months. Close to a year. But we respect one another now. Well, I respect him, anyway. He's tough, but he seems to be... How do I say... Lighter natured now. So, asking him about romance?" Ash shrugged. "Definitely off the table for me."

Serena simply nodded. She had assumed Ash and Paul were friendly rivals, but their relationship was much more bitter than she had believed. She reminded herself not to pre - judge, or make assumptions. "I see..."

Ash's glare turned fierce, and he grinned to himself. "I'm still gonna beat him. Ill show him just how much stronger I am!"

Serena smiled. "Remember, this is supposed to be a tag team battle."

"Yeah, speaking about partners." Ash said, bringing his hands together, and looking at Serena, half serious, half joking. "You said that it'll be nice to tease Miette for a change? That mean she teases you about someone?"

Serenas blood suddenly ran freezing cold. Her eyes widened and her breath came to a halt. For a brief second, she thought Ash had missed that, that he was still as dense as he was a few years ago. No such luck.

"There is?" Ash asked, with a raised eyebrow, and a smile. Before Serena could make any protests, he help up his hand. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna pry. Thats your business."

Serena become incredibly embarrassed all of a sudden, blushing a dark red colour, and struggling to speak. He had figured that out so quickly? What was worse, he was the person she was teased about. Right there, right now. But then, her eyes widened. Suddenly, a thought hit Serena.

This was her chance.

She didnt think she could ask for much of a better scenario to tell him, or at the very least, drop him a clear hint or indication of her feelings towards him. The situation had been set up completely by him, so it wouldn't seem weird or awkward if she brought it up out of nowhere ten minutes from now. And it was a direct question. No guessing, no risk of the topic relation being wrong. It wouldn't make her seem stupid or insane if it turned out he was talking about a place or a piece of artwork or something equally ridiculous. She knew that idea of hers was just paranoia, but paranoia was still a block no matter how ridiculous or self imposed it was.

In addition, it was him asking. The person she liked. Her crush, directly in front of her, asking her the question.

Could there be a better scenario?

At least to get an idea how he felt. She could drop an obvious hint here, and that would spark a reaction. That reaction could tell her what he felt. It didn't even have to be a hugely flirtatious hint. It could her just answering 'perhaps', while looking at him. Thats all it had to be. Even a wink would suffice. Just something. A step is a step, no matter how small.

Serena found herself gathering all the courage she had. This was her chance. Her big chance. She steeled her nerves, and calmed her breathing, Gathering every single scrap of strength she had, she went through with it.

"...No, not particularly. Miette just likes... Making me embarrassed." Serena said finally. She couldn't do it. She just couldn't do it..."...What about you?"

"Maybe." Ash answered simply. He had a smile on his face though, indicating he did, in fact.

'Great...' Serena thought to herself. She had to fight every single cell in her body to not burst into tears right there and then.

She had missed her chance.

He liked someone else.

"Well, I dunno." Ash said. Serena's shattering heart suddenly repaired itself, metaphorically using hope as glue.

"You don't know?"

"Its complicated." Ash said with a sigh. "I dunno. I'm hardly an emotional guy, am I? I'm not sure what to feel. What I feel. I don't know." Ash bit his lower lip. "When I get a while to myself, I always wind up thinking of someone in particular. I cant get her out of my head." He then looked at Serena. She wasn't sure where he for the idea that he wasn't emotional from. She was seeing plenty of emotion right now. "But lately its become more... Warming, welcoming, if that makes sense? This first happened years ago, and it got warmer over time. Like... I really don't know" Ash finished, with, surprisingly, a chuckle.

Serena nodded. "Um... Can I ask... Who is it?" She then held up her hands in defence. "Im not trying to pry. I just... I might be able to help..."

Ash sighed and said nothing for a few seconds, internally debating weather or not he should. He had one hand as a fist, and his other was holding that fist in its palm, and was drumming its fingers along the fist.

"Ash!" Both of them heard Mitte call Ash over. "Can you come confirm this?" She had humour in her voice. Apparently Paul was telling her a story or something like that.

"Uh, you should go." Serena said, quickly. "We can talk later." She couldn't look him in the eye, though.

"Yeah." Ash nodded in agreement, standing up and walking over.

Both of them had the exact same thought process. Their own thoughts spat at them.

'I'm a coward.'


"You're kidding."

"Nope."

Ash had told Miette everything. After they had retired to their rooms, Ash and Miette had found each other still awake. Her, Ash and Serena all shared a large living quarters, because it was cheaper to set up mattresses than to get whole other rooms. Additionally, the quarters they were sharing were larger, with different rooms for eaxh person, and a distinctly separate room for a kitchen and living space. Miette was going over combinations she could use in the next battle, and Ash had woken up simply to get a drink. The two of them conversed, resulting in a talk about their talks with their partners.

Miette hit her forehead with the side of her fist. "Of all the stupid... Im so sorry, Ash. If I'd known, I'd've kept my mouth shut." Miette swore, hitting her forehead again and again.

"Its okay, relax." Ash told her, stopping her from hitting her forehead. She hadn't been doing it too hard, but still, Ash felt like he should stop her all the same. "I... Don't think I could've anyway..."

Miette stopped herself and looked at Ash. "Why not?"

"I told her I didn't know what to feel. A complete lie. I just... Didnt have the nerve, thats all that was." Ash sighed. "I was afraid."

"You? Afraid?" Miette asked, half amused, half amazed.

"Im only human, Miette." Ash sighed.

"I had you down as some sort of God." Miette sarcastically replied, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work. Miette huffed. "You know... I... Don't know what to say. I always thought that when the time came, you'd have no problem."

"You don't remember out tent talk?" Ash asked the blue haired performer, a slightly hoarse tone to his voice.

"I kind of thought it was nerves..." Miette blinked, and shook her head. She then looked at the raven haired boy. "You're serious, aren't you."

"Huh?"

"About Serena. About being afraid to tell her. This isn't nerves. You're serious. You're actually scared to tell her."

It was something Ash was ashamed to admit. But he nodded. He was honestly scared of telling Serena what he felt towards her.

Miette sat back and sighed. "I... Wow. The fearless Kantoean, afraid of a blonde Kalosian girls feelings to him."

"She's told you how long we've known each other, right?" Ash asked.

"Yeah. A camp, right? Years ago. Nearly, what, ten years?" Miette counted the years on her fingers.

"Yeah, roughly ten years." Ash nodded, confirming Miettes guess.

"Falling in love with someone you've known for ten years..." Miette nodded. This just got more and more complicated. "I can see how... How this would conflict you." Paul had been right. The more you knew the situation, the more you needed to know. She could only curse. "God damn it..."

Ash smiled weakly. "Hey, listen, you don't need to worry about us. Its our problem. Well, my problem. You don't need to lose sleep over it."

Miette nodded at Ash. "You're right, I don't. But I want to. I want to help." She then glanced at the table, which had a clock on it. 22:35. There would still be a self service checkout available. "I think I'm gonna get some food from the place downstairs. You want anything?"

"For the first time in my life, no thanks, I'm not hungry. Im gonna try and get back to sleep. I've got to be at the top of my game tomorrow. Don't want to disappoint Serena." Ash replied, standing up and yawning.

"Okay. Good night." Miette said, smiling.

"Hey." Ash said. "Thanks for talking with ms. It helps."

"Anytime."

"Night."

"Night."

Ash retired to his bunk, and Miette escaped the room and into the brightly lit corridor. She understood Ash's reluctance, his fears, much clearer now. She began walking down the corridor.

Ten years. An entire decade Ash and Serena had known each other. That was a long time. Most of their lives. No, they hadn't been in contact that entire time, but they were still friends throughout it. And Serena had loved him throughout those ten years. Miette couldn't even begin to imagine what that was like. That was loyalty in it's absolute purest incarnation. There was simply no denying that.

Turning a corner, Miette passed two trainers, discussing their strategic plan for tomorrow. She paid them no heed. Despite being in two regions across the sea, miles apart, they still cared for each other. It was honestly, beautiful, Miette thought. It was beautiful. But they wouldn't make it into what it could be, because they were scared of the others reply.

She made her way down the stairs, skipping a step or two with each drop. She couldn't understand it. The two were close, so close. Closer than people she had seen who were actually dating. How they could even feel doubt was beyond her understanding. She reached the bottom of the stairs.

Should she just tell one of them, push them to confess? It seemed preferable to letting the two drift away with heartache for the rest of their lives. She hated being conflicted about things like this. She felt like she had to do something. Like it was her duty as their friend. She bit her lip again. The taste of iron seeping through.

She stepped into the cafeteria. There were a few people still eating, some grabbing late night snacks. A few talking strategy. Miette grabbed a cup of instant noodles, filled it with hot water, and stepped outside to eat. She liked the cool night wind. It helped her cool off. After all her planning, her talks, and the heat of her food, it was exactly what she needed to relax. She let out a sigh of content and carried on eating her food.

"Weavile, Blizzard!"

Miette heard a familiar voice issuing battle commands. Pauls voice. This late at night? She quickly finished her food, and threw the containing cup in the garbage, and made her way over to the voice. She followed it to one of the battlefields. The others were empty, the trainers who would have occupied them most likely retired to their bunks. Paul was running drills with his Pokemon. His Weavile was fighting against his Ninjask. The task seemed to be for Ninjask to...

This shook Miette a bit. He didn't let Ninjask use its vastly superior speed to avoid the Blizzard, Ninjask instead was enduring the hit, with clear difficulty. Miette watched for a few seconds, momentarily furious, before thinking about it, and realising that technically, it made sense. Ninjask were weak physically. Enduring hits would condition it to be able to withstand those hits. It was a brutal method of training, but one Ninjask would have to endure to be able to become stronger for it.

This particular Blizzard seemed more like a combination of Blizzard and Ice Shard, with the large chunks of ice being thrown at Ninjask. It was a testament of Weavile's strength at least. Ninjask was buffeted by these several times, but it forced itself to keep going, to endure the hits. It took several hits, before one final strike sent it flying across the battlefield.

"I guess thats your limit." Paul said to his Ninjask in a neutral tone of voice. "Its an improvement." He said, nodding at his bug type, before returning it to its Pokeball. A red light emitted from the capsule contraption, recalling the speedy bug type. "Weavile, do you still have the energy to keep using Blizzard like that?"

He knew perfectly well that Weavile was running on willpower and nothing else. And it was clear he knew Weavile wouldn't give up while there was still training time. His Ice type let out a sigh of exhaustion, and then brandished its claws again, ready to let loose again.

"Good." Paul simply stated. "Hold nothing back on this one. Use all your strength."

Before Paul could release his next Pokemon for its brutal conditioning training, Miette decided to make her presence known. She was drawn by need, not by want. She approached the battlefield by simply walking towards it. It was Paul's Weavile that noticed the performer approaching them first. Noticing his Pokemon's reaction, Paul turned his head.

"I seem to run into you a lot." Miette greeted the trainer with a smile.

"Looks that way." Paul replied calmly. His expression hadn't changed a bit, static and calm. Pail was a stoic character, for certain, Miette had discovered, only rarely showing emotions of pleasure, or of rage.

She would have made small talk. She would have asked him what he was doing. But nit this time.

The blue haired performer sighed. "I... Need your help."


And so ends this Chapter of Loyalty, Uncertainty.

For everyone who is saying, yes, I know, Paul X Miette is a crackship. A particularly popular crackship in the Tumblr fandom I'm entangled with, but nonetheless, a crackship. But come on, lets be honest, how many Ash X Serena V Miette stories are gonna be out there at this point? I find Miette a very interesting and often hilarious character, so I'm not gonna depict her negatively just because its easy to do. Thats the entire point of this site, isn't it, to slightly twist certain characters personalities or have certain events occur, and tell a story the author finds interesting. Thats how i came up with One Day Off. You don't have to like it, its your opinion - besides, this story is heavily Amour focused. Miette x Paul is just a background thing. Never fear, I've not forgotten that ^_^

Loyalty still has a long way to go, so don't worry about that guys.

Also... Another note... Do these ending authors notes annoy you guys? Not a lot of writers do them, so, do you guys like them, hate them, should i move them to the start, or leave them out entirely? Its up to you guys.

Also, I have had an idea for another Amourshipping story that would focus heavily on Xenophobia, or a fear of foreign people. Seeing as i have a large multi national following, I wanna ask, that sound interesting to you guys?

At any rate, i hope you're enjoying Loyalty as much as I'm enjoying coming up with stuff for it. Let me know what you think guys, i love hearing your feedback. As always, see you next time. See ya!