When Serena finally woke up the next day, there was a genuine moment where she feared the previous day had been a joke. A prank. An imagination devised by her subconsciousness. There was a small panic when she thought that maybe that perfect night had been just that little bit too perfect. What reassured her of its credibility were the clothes she had actually worn that day, lazily throw at the foot of her bed, since she couldn't be bothered to fold and put them away properly.

She had been absolutely exhausted when they finally got back to the Pokemon center at God knew what time. It was late, no doubt about that, and the fact they'd been walking around all night hadn't helped her fatigue. But considering how that night had ended, and the fact that she'd gotten to hold hands with him all the way back, she would have happily walked that same amount seven times over if it meant that she got to experience it all over again.

Her heart fluttered and she sighed happily once she remembered the kiss the two of them had shared. It had been short, electrifying, and not at all something she had expected, but she'd be damned if it didn't make her heart race.

Two years she had waited for that moment, and last night, it had finally arrived. She couldn't be happier. It just wasn't possible for the blonde Kalosian to be any happier right now. Part of her wanted to remain in bed all day, just so she could relive it, again and again in her mind, while basking in Ash's warmth. Or her bedsheets warmth, more accurately, but she had a good imagination.

So for a while, that's just what she did. Snuggling into the comfortable heat that her duvet gave her, closed her eyes once again, and imagined that she was back at that spot with Ash. That that moment lasted forever. That it didn't have to end. That it would last forever.

It wasn't until she remembered that everyone else was probably up and waiting for her to wake up and join them, and that Ash was one of them, that she finally decided to throw her duvet aside and change into her travelling clothes. No doubt Miette was going to have some choice words and jokes at her expense, but she couldn't care less about those wisecracks at her expense. She and Ash were dating! If it was possible for someone to literally get high on life, Serena would most likely be the most stoned person on the planet right now.

Not wasting any time, she threw on her red over jacket, completing her outfit, and after packing away all of her clothes and belongings into her bag, ready to head out, she threw open the door to her room, practically humming.

Until she saw Miette leaning against the wall, looking smug as smug could possibly be.

"What the - " Serena jumped, surprised to see her friend literally waiting for her to show up. "How - How long have you been waiting there?!"

"Long enough to hear you singing a happy tune." The blue haired girl smirked. If she could have made it any more obvious she was teasing her performing friend, she would have no doubt made it more obvious. It left Serena wondering just how much she knew about what had happened the previous night between her and Ash. "I take it the date went well, huh?" More than she was pretending to know, apparently.

Closing the door and forcing herself not to get giddy about the interactions the two of them had shared, Serena smiled and replied simply, "Good."

"You know I'm gonna press this until I know what happened, Serena." Miette reminded the blonde girl, falling in line alongside her, with that knowing look in her eye. After travelling with the baker for so long, Miette had displayed a very good ability to know when something was on Serena's mind, or when she was hiding something. And when she wanted to know something, she was probably the most persistent person Serena knew. She'd once pestered her over a text message for over two hours. "Come on, out with it. Hand holding? Hugs? Kisses?"

"I'm pretty certain that you know anyway." Sighed the girl, shooting Miette an expecting look. the expression Miette had basically confirmed it. She wasn't even going to attempt to deny it in the slightest. She knew. Miette knew exactly hat had happened. She must have forced it out of Ash before coming up to wait for Serena.

"Maybe I want to hear it from the source herself."

"Why?"

"Mostly because it amuses me." Typical.

"Why else?" Serena couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Part of her did actually sort of want to brag about what had happened. Normally she wasn't vain in the slightest, but there was a big part of her that wanted to rub in that she had won their 'Race' For Ash's affection, even if that race had ended via forfeit over two years ago.

"Well?"

"We kissed." Serena revealed, blushing lightly while she did so. It was a bit embarrassing to have to relent to her friends demands, but she felt no shame over doing so whatsoever. Quite the opposite, actually. She felt pride. Joy. She relived it yet again, for just a second.

"About time!" Miette smirked, patting her friend on the shoulder. It was the closest she was going to give to a congratulations. "Now you just have to make sure you don't set your own standards and you'll be walking down the wedding isle in no time."

"Wh - What the heck do you mean by that?! Setting my own standards?"

"So in that sentence, you choose to focus on the set standards thing as opposed to the marriage thing?" Miette smirked again, this time brighter, showing her set of white teeth in satisfaction of having caught out her friend. When Serena's eyes widened slightly in surprise and embarrassment of the baker pointing this out, Miette grabbed her into a sort of headlock. "You've really fallen hard, haven't you? I mean I knew you had before, but this is a whole new level for you, Serena."

"Why can't you just be normal and say 'I'm happy for you''?" Serena asked, struggling to get any oxygen into her system. With the way that Miette had a hold of her, Serena's windpipe was blocked, preventing her from breathing normally. She noticed that Miette was seeming to be behaving a lot more tomboyish than she normally would act, which was any level of tomboy at all. Maybe she was just enjoying having Serena at her mercy a bit too much.

"No fun in that, Serena." Miette let go and grinned, practically beaming for her friend at this point. Really, it was her way of showing that she was actually happy for the blonde Kalosian girl.

Serena readjusted her clothing and let out a sigh. She had to remember to watch Miette's actions around Paul today, as some ammunition for the next time she decides to try and tease her. To give her a little taste of her own medicine.

The two friends made their way into the Pokemon centers foyer, the usual meeting spot for whenever the group needed to get a move on, to start travelling for the day. Serena remembered what it was like two years ago, with Bonnie and Clemont during their original travels. How each time she'd go down there, Bonnie would excitedly greet Serena, and Clemont would be tinkering with something that would either solve all their problems, or cause an explosion. She'd always miss them, she knew. She'd miss the original group that they had, and there wasn't much else that there was to be said about that. Maybe one day they could all go and explore another region together. She knew it was unlikely. clemont had responsibilities as a Gym leader now, and Bonnie was gathering the experience she'd need to become a trainer in her own right. But she could hope.

She had Ash now though.

And there he was. Pikachu by his side, she saw the Kantoean with a duster, cleaning the Pokeballs his teammates resided within. She always knew that he took proper care of the equipment that he had, but she didn't want to disturb him right now for some reason. Smiling, she was rather content to let him finish up before announcing her presence.

"Hey, Ketchum, your girlfriend's here!"

And just like that, Miette had thrown that plan out the window.

she could have sworn that Ash's head shot around to face her far faster than it would have done on any other day, but upon seeing her, he couldn't help but beam at her. It was clear. He was in the same frame of mind that she was. Any lingering doubts about the authenticity of the previous nights events were well and truly dashed now. "Morning." Was all he said, his voice full of that warmth she was so in love with.

She couldn't help but beam back.

This was all real.

This was all fine.

This was how things were.

And this was how she wanted things to stay.


OKAY, I know I'm a little late in updating this, AND I know its short... No real excuse if I'm honest.

This kind of got thrown onto the wasteside due to a lack of motivation with Serena leaving the group... And then XY140 Happened. Holy. Shit. I was wrong, I will HAPPILY accept this. It's rare for me to feel well and truly satisfied with an ending to a show. Pokemon is a franchise. They need to keep things as ambiguous as they can so they can keep going forward... But based on previous experience, we all know what happened. That was a lip kiss. Not a cheek one. They'd've shown a cheek one.

So I'm satisfied with XYZ. I don't need more of it. This is how it ends. And if this is how Pokemon has to be, then I couldn't have asked for a better way for it to end.

So thank you to The writers. Thank you for proving Cynical me wrong.

I wont make promises on this story getting weekly or bi weekly updates anymore, because that's unfair. It'll be updated when it's updated, but with me now focusing my efforts, I may be able to get out better chapters for you all. I'll do my best.

So for now, let's just enjoy the satisfying calm of the end of XYZ.

We'll see you soon, Serena. I'm sure of it.