TDBigJ's message: *Fingers typing at a thousand miles per hour* Come on, come on, got to get that… one… last… word… in… there! Got it! Little exhausting but I got it in there. Okay, how can typing be exhausting? Is it just me, or am I the only one that it actually happens to? Beats the hell out of me. Okay, let's get to important matters… Now that I think of it, I don't really have anything newsworthy to point out. In a way, I've kind of lost my muster to write. I don't know what it is, but some of my motivation has gone away. I know this is not something I should be pointing out, especially here on Fanfiction, but don't worry, I will keep writing this story until it's over, I will find some way to motivate myself. I want this story to go on until chapter fifteen is posted. I'll do it. Stay with me. Now let's get to the responding of the reviews.
Wolves22 (Guest #1): Good. I'm glad. Thanks for the review!
Espeon44: I'm not quite sure yet. We'll see. Thanks for the review!
Oliverqueen01: Daniel Bryan's theme for Amourshipping becoming canon is perfect. I agree, nothing with the other girls can top it. Wow, that many times? I don't blame you. I would do the same thing (I said that before did I?). Yeah, I had a feeling someone was going to like Serena's reaction to Ash's build. This chapter, well, you'll like it. Thanks for the review!
Pinkrangerfan: I hope so too. Thanks for the review!
ManleyTogekiss: Oops! Should've known that one. Thanks for reminding me and the review!
Roger1119: Well, we'll see if your prediction is true. Thanks for the review!
Shadic4566 (both reviews): Oh, okay. I almost got scared there. I thought I did forget. Thanks for the review!
Brig nodrm2347: I like how they're getting closer. It shows that them getting together is improving. It's good that we got some closure for the two of them but like I said before I don't think this will be the last we'll see of Serena in the anime, but I can't be too sure. Thanks for the review!
Guest #2: I will keep it up. Thanks for the review!
TheAztecKing: That makes my day. Someone telling me this is one of their favorite Amourshipping fanfics is music to my ears. Thanks for the review!
Jpr123: Ooh, sorry you didn't like the chapter. If it seemed cringe worthy to you I apologize if it made you feel that way. Thanks for the review!
DarkAura808: No man, don't need to apologize. If your review comes before the release of the next chapter it isn't late, even though I don't care if it's late. I wanted to make Ash grow up and mature and not be dense anymore in this story. I mean, he's twenty six, I doubt his density would still be pretty extreme at that age. Write about Grace moving back to Kanto? I don't know, I'll think about it. Thanks for the review!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or it's characters, they are owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and… whoever else.
It was time for the big night. The people who were going were getting dressed in their sharp tuxes or appealing gowns. It was going to be a great night for most, but for some, it would be magical. Only time would tell for our potential couple which it would be for them.
Ash had looked in the mirror in his bathroom to see if anything was off. Since he had grown up he took more pride in his looks than he did when he was young. He didn't take it to the point where he would be vain, but at least to make it look like he had some respect for his appearance. Even though Ash knew that inner beauty was more important than outer beauty, it didn't hurt to look good once in a while. He just wondered what Serena would think of him in a tux. She hadn't seen him in one since that dance party when they journeyed together. Of course, he was a kid then, but now that he was an adult, she might have a whole new opinion of him in one. If she ogled at him when he was just wearing swimming trunks, he just thought would what she would think of him in this.
He made sure the tux fit properly. Since he now had muscles some articles of clothing were tighter on him now. It wasn't uncomfortable, but there was some restriction that he didn't care for. Pikachu was on the counter next to him, wearing a bow tie. Pikachu wasn't one that wanted to look good on most occasions, but he did when the opportunity arose. Ash took some cologne that was next to the sink and sprayed some on his neck. Ash had started spraying cologne on himself in his teenage years. It was one of the few things about him that caught on as he aged. He felt that if he didn't want to smell worse than a Trubbish, he had to do something about it. You know boys these days, they could smell bad and not give a damn. Girls on the other hand always smelt nice. They were better at that. Don't get me wrong, some guys took initiative and tried to improve themselves in any way they could, but the others, did it really need to be said?
He thought about tonight. When he asked Serena to come with him to this ball, he had to admit, he was pretty nervous. He didn't feel attracted to Serena, even though he did think she was pretty. But something caused Butterfrees to float in his stomach. He wasn't sure what they were, but he thought he would find out at one point.
He asked her to come with him because he wanted to give her the one dance they couldn't have when they were younger. He knew that he would have never have caught it when he was a kid because he admitted he was a bit dense when it came to the subject of romance when he was young, but he knew a lot more about it now and he remembered when she seemed upset when they didn't dance together at the dance party when they travelled Kalos. Right when they were about to dance together, the music stopped and he remembered Serena's reaction afterwards…
"That's it. So did you have a good time, Serena?"
"I guess I did. I wish I could've danced more."
At that time, he didn't know what it meant. Believe him, he was looking forward to that dance too, but it was halted due to bad timing. He felt bad for her, she was his childhood friend and he would do anything to make her happy, no matter the circumstances, so that was why he gave her a second chance to have that one dance with him. He felt like he owed it to her.
Pikachu looked up at his partner. He knew he was reflecting on that one day many years ago. Even he remembered that day. But there was one part of that day he didn't care for at all. It was when he danced with Miette's Slurpuff. She had been swinging him around too much and Pikachu literally felt like he was going to vomit after that. That was something he thought he was better off forgetting.
Ash sighed. "Well, I have to make this night memorable for her, right Pikachu?" Pikachu nodded his head. He had a feeling that his best friend wanted to make a special night for his longtime friend. Pikachu thought it was well overdue, since he himself knew that Serena harbored feelings towards his trainer. For crying out loud, he wouldn't be surprised if the whole world knew before Ash did, or should he. Ash was the only one out of everybody that didn't know that his childhood friend still had a crush on him. Everyone else figured it out over the years but Ash still didn't know. I guess that's one thing he was still dense about.
Ash looked at the clock. The ball didn't start for another hour so he had plenty of time. He looked at himself in the mirror one more time to see if anything was out of disarray. Nothing appeared out of place so he was ready for the night. He walked down the stairs and went towards the front door. The sun was setting so a dark night was on the horizon which was perfect for the night to come. Ash put his hands in his pockets and took a deep breath.
"Can't screw this up." He said to himself. He had a feeling inside him that he rarely ever felt: self-doubt. He felt as if he was going to mess up at some point in the night tonight. Why was he feeling this way? Ash was not one to think he was going to screw up at any point during his day. The last time he ever felt this way was when he lost that six on six battle against Paul at Lake Acuity a long time ago. He got his butt whooped that day six to two and doubted himself as a trainer afterwards. Ash had never lost a battle that bad before and he felt as if he let his Pokemon down that day. Sure, Chimchar evolved into Monferno during that day but that was the only plus that came out of it. Defeating two of Paul's Pokemon that day felt like nothing compared to that. But he was glad that Dawn did something to cheer him up that day. She was that one friend (Other than Serena) that had been there for him through the thick and thin. Yeah they got in their squabbles when they were young but they always had each other's backs. Dawn had always considered Ash a brother but out of all of Ash's friends, which one didn't consider him a brother?
A lot of his friends now thought of him as a role model since he became World Champion, especially Max and Bonnie. Ash was Max's top inspiration (Besides May and his father Norman of course). The two had their battle that Ash promised him once Max became a trainer when he was ten. Ash won that battle but had to admit that Max had become a great trainer in such a short amount of time. Ash fulfilled his promises that he made to his friends once he got the chance to. Max learned a lot from that battle with Ash and was one of the reasons why Max looked up to Ash a lot. Even when he travelled with Ash, he did learn a lot but that battle only got him more experience than he had before.
Bonnie on the other hand had been a fairly decent trainer when she started. She learned most of her stuff from Clemont due to the fact that he was a gym leader (And still is) but what she saw from travelling with Ash was more than enough. She saw Ash as a second brother and had watched almost all of his battles in recent years.
Ash often credited his past companions after some of the battles he had. He didn't want to think that he got all of his success on his own, no, he wasn't like that. Everyone that he travelled with had a major influence on him as he grew as a trainer. A few of the ones he learned the most from were the gym leaders. Brock, Misty, Cilan, Iris, and Clemont. When it came to Brock, since he travelled with Ash more than anybody, Ash considered him one of the biggest helps of his life. Cilan in his food talk during Ash's battles were a bit unorthodox but Ash in a way knew what he was talking about (Sort of). Clemont was a young gym leader at the time but Ash saw him grow as one as he travelled with him but Ash learned a lot from Clemont as well seeing his talent grow. Misty was a little overbearing but gave Ash some pointers here and there to help him out, and Iris, despite her always calling him a kid (Which Ash thought wasn't that clever of an insult), had given him some good tips and advice. It was fascinating travelling with those guys.
Ash looked at his watch. It was only forty minutes until the ball so Ash thought he better get a move on. He grabbed a jacket, his house keys, and went out. He locked the door behind him and started making his way over.
The sun had set a little more since Ash last saw it. The sun was barely visible and only a small orange aura could be seen in the distance. The sky was now merely dark blue just like the ocean. Ash looked down at the ground and put his hands in his pockets. This was going to be one nerve wracking night. It had been a while since Ash danced, at least in the form he was going to tonight. He wasn't sure if he was going to remember how to dance in the graceful way he did with Denise back almost six years ago. Believe it or not, that was the last time he danced, and that's what stressed him out. He didn't quite remember exactly, so that made him panic a bit. He didn't want to mess this up, especially in front of Serena. He knew she wouldn't make fun of him if he did, she wasn't that kind of person in any way, that kind of relieved him in a way. He then thought that he didn't really have anything to worry about if he was with him. Maybe throughout the night, she would help him move his feet the right way if he ever felt like he screwed up, she was helpful in that sort of way. She did help Clemont when they were younger from what he remembered. She probably knew more about dancing than he did, so she might be a big help.
Ash blinked a couple of times to snap back into reality. He shouldn't have felt so nervous for this. He realized who he was going to this ball with. It was one of the few times he shouldn't feel it.
Ten minutes later, he arrived at the ballroom. Serena wasn't there yet, so he waited patiently. He walked around. There were already so many people there. It was kind of like the dance party when he was young.
"Man, Pikachu would've liked this. But I doubt dancing is really his thing." He said to himself.
"Hey I'm here. Sorry I took so long."
Ash knew who that voice belonged to. He turned around to see Serena there. But when he saw her, he was awed by her appearance. She was wearing a white long sleeve dress with a red sash around the waist, and she was wearing her hair down longer than usual. Ash admitted she looked incredible.
"Hey. You look really beautiful."
"Thank you. You look very handsome."
The two of them then stood in silence for a minute. Ash was finally the one to speak.
Ash held out his hand. "Would you like to dance?"
Serena grabbed his hand. "I'd love to."
Ash then led her to the dance floor. He then thought to himself. "No screwing this up Ash. You wanted to do this for her so be calm and don't mess up."
The two got to a suitable place on the dance floor. Ash took a deep breath and put his left arm around Serena's back and his right hand in her left. He looked into her eyes. He felt a little unsteady.
"You okay, Ash." She asked.
"Yeah. It's just been a while."
"Ash, don't be nervous. Just remember the last time you danced with someone and do it to the best of your ability. Don't worry, I'm not going to judge you." She explained. Ash knew she was right. When he was around her, he felt a little more calm, still nervous but a little more calmer. Once he regained his cool, he started moving at a steady pace. Now that he was more relaxed, he realized that he wasn't making any mistakes, which eased his nerves a bit.
As the two of them danced, Serena realized that Ash wasn't really making a mistake. That was odd. When they were young, Ash had always been an unbalanced dancer. The guy had cinderblocks for feet it seemed like, but tonight, Ash had been flawless in his dancing. He must have improved over the years.
"Wow Ash, I've never seen you seen you dance this well. What changed?"
"Before Denise and I got married, I told her that I was a sloppy dancer, couldn't carry a move, so we took lessons every so often so I could better myself. When our wedding came around, I never once stumbled. I felt pretty good about myself for improving." Ash explained.
"Well, I'm proud of you Ash. You don't have a pair of left feet anymore." The two of them shared a laugh.
"Believe me, I even surprised myself."
Ash probably surprised everybody when they found out he could dance well. Although only her, Bonnie, and Clemont knew he couldn't dance well. But he did now and that's all that mattered.
After the current song was over, the two of them thought they would take a break for now. Ash went to the men's room while Serena went upstairs and went out on the balcony outside. She was on the second level so she had a nice view from where she was standing. The night sky was painted blue with little white crystals embezzling it, and there was a nice simple breeze that lightly blew Serena's hair. Serena had wished that she had brought her Pokemon along for this, they would enjoy this, but bringing Pokemon to the ball was forbidden so there wasn't a way she could do that.
She had been out there for five minutes and she was pretty sure that Ash was done using the men's room. Maybe he was looking for her. She didn't tell him where she was going but maybe she should have. But Ash was smart, he would look all over the place for her until he found her.
"Maybe I should go look for him and bring him back up here. Probably would be a good idea." She turned around but as soon as she did Ash had just appeared in the doorway.
"Hey, I was wondering where you went." Ash said.
"Sorry, I should have told you where I was going." She replied. He walked up to her at the railing of the balcony, looking out at the horizon. It was a nice view since there were no buildings they could see from where they were standing.
"Beautiful night out, isn't it?" Serena asked.
"Definitely." Ash responded.
"Thanks for bringing me here tonight. I'm having a great time." Serena stated.
Ash grabbed her left with his right and looked at her. "You're welcome. I'm having a great time too, especially since it's with you."
Serena faintly blushed a little red. "Yeah, I'm happy that I'm with you here too. I couldn't think of anyone else to spend this night with."
"Same here."
The two returned their gaze back to the horizon. It was silent between them for a minute. Serena then looked back at Ash. A thought came into her mind. But was it too soon? She wanted to know.
"Hey Ash?"
"Yeah?"
Serena then took her hands off the railing and took a couple steps toward Ash. She looked down before making her decision. She took a deep breath and looked back towards him. His amber orbs were hypnotizing, which made this more difficult. But now was as good as time as any, and she didn't want to waste it. She took another deep breath and inched closer to him.
But she then halted herself. Was this action too soon? Maybe it was. She thought it over once more. She then pulled Ash into a tight embrace, nearly squeezing the life out of him, but not to the extent of him barely being able to breathe. She then pulled her head away from his shoulder and kissed him on the cheek and released from the hug. Ash was a little surprised at this, especially by the kiss on the cheek. Serena didn't notice, but Ash had a faint red blush on his cheeks.
"That's just my way of saying thanks."
Ash at first couldn't find the right words. "O… o… okay. You're welcome."
Serena checked her watch, which showed that it was midnight. "Well, it looks like I should be heading home. It's pretty late. I'll see you later."
"Hold on, I'll walk you home. It's pretty dark. I'm pretty sure you won't want to walk home by yourself in this."
Ash grabbed his jacket and the two left. When the two of them left, Ash realized that no one was around. But just to be safe, he wrapped his left arm around Serena and pulled her close, so she felt like she was safe. Serena looked at Ash. Now she was the one with a faint red blush, and Ash didn't notice. But some thoughts were running through her mind. But she was feeling pretty tired so those were thoughts better left for tomorrow. She laid her head on his shoulder and the two walked home in silence.
Not a bad night was it?
Author's note: Aww, that was nice. They finally got their dance. I bet you all wish those last few moments turned out better, but I felt as if they did something bigger that it would have been too early, so that's why I went for the next best thing, but don't worry, bigger things could happen as the story progresses, because remember, I've got big plans for the rest of the story. This story is only just about half over so we've still got some time. What else could happen? If you want to know, read the preview.
"Okay you two. It's time for bed. Go get ready." Ash told his kids, pointing upstairs.
"Aw, daddy, do we have to?" Bellamy asked, whining a little bit.
"Yes, now please go. It's nine, I want you two to get some sleep before tomorrow."
Tristan and Bellamy sunk their heads and slowly walked up the stairs.
"I'll be up there in a few minutes to tuck you guys in, okay." He called out.
"Actually, how about I go do that?" Serena suggested.
"Oh no, you don't have to. You've done it the last six times."
"It's okay, Ash, I'm fine with it. Besides, it saves you the trouble."
Ash smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. "All right. If you're fine with it."
A few minutes later, the kids had gotten in their pajamas and crawled under their sheets. They were still a little reluctant, but they didn't have the need to argue, not like they could anyway. Ash's word was final. Serena came up and properly adjusted the sheets so that they were completely covering the two of them up to their shoulders. Bellamy then yawned, which then convinced her and Tristan that they really were tired.
Serena giggled. "You two look like tired little cubs to me."
"Tired? I'm not tired." Tristan stated, who right after, yawned as well. Bellamy looked right at him. Seeing as he couldn't argue, he just laid his head back on the pillow.
"You two sleep well, and have good dreams too, okay?"
"Okay."
Serena smiled and leaned down and kissed Bellamy on the forehead. She walked over to Tristan, finished tucking him in, and kissed him on the forehead.
"Night Tristan."
But then the next thing that came out of his mouth was sure unexpected, and it wasn't something you would normally hear from a four year old.
Author's note: Ooh, looks like a cliffhanger, doesn't it? Sometimes I don't like leaving one but I only do when it feels necessary. What do you think Tristan said? I bet you can't guess correctly. Well, he could've said anything, but I'm the only one who knows. Hehehe! If you want to find out, drop and give me fifty (No, not fifty dollars), and sit and wait until the next chapter. I'll be sitting here patiently until I see you guys in the next chapter. Until then…
TDBigJ out!
"The tape was supposed to break."
-Doug, Wild Hogs