In this story, Ash and Serena were sixteen at the end of XYZ. It's been two years, so they're now eighteen. Goh and Chloe are both ten, maybe eleven—they've just started their journeys.

—

Serena smiled up at Ash as he stood on the ferry. He was leaning on the rail, his arms folded, smiling back at her. It was so good to see him! It was so good to see him happy to see her! He had a new outfit—very sporty looking—and Pikachu was there, as always, perched on his shoulder.

And Ash's eyes sparkled with the same passion he brought to everything, so excited to be doing what he loved—the two kids traveling with him were sure to have a fun time. She wondered if there was such a thing as a traveling gym leader, someone who roamed the world helping and teaching people and battling whoever wanted to for a badge. Maybe Ash could make that a thing. He certainly was friends with enough people that were champions and scientists that held some amount of power to make that happen.

"Serena helped me enter a contest," Chloe was telling him, holding her Eevee close. "It was so fun! And she's such a great performer!"

Chloe reminded her of herself a bit, even if Chloe had gotten started on her journey earlier than Serena had. All that meant was that she had some more time to figure herself out, though. It took a lifetime, after all!

Ash laughed and petted Eevee, who barked happily. "Yeah, that sounds about right. I've never seen a better performer than her!"

Her cheeks flushed. It had been almost two years since they'd seen each other in person and she still got flustered if he gave her a compliment. Well, even if she was so pleased that she just wanted to twirl around, there was still so much to say! There would be time for twirling later!

Or not. Then the ferry horn blew, signaling imminent departure. Ash's smile fell, as did Serena's. Their journeys weren't over. There was still more to do—their dreams were within reach.

But…couldn't she have just a few more minutes…?

She swallowed and closed her eyes for a moment, then mustered a smile for the young man she still cared for so much and ran to the very edge of the pier. "Good luck, Ash! I'll see you later!" She tried to pour her whole heart into those words, insufficient as they were.

He looked down at her for a second without doing anything, before grinning and spinning his hat around. Pikachu hopped down from his shoulder, obviously taken by surprise. Then Ash jumped down the stairs and vaulted over the railing! At least he was still holding onto the railing and hadn't jumped into the sea!

He was right there in front of her, hanging from the boat, so close that she flushed in surprise. "There's just one more thing," he said, brown eyes shining in the light of the setting sun.

What did he…?

And he reached out and held her chin, and then his lips were pressed against hers for a few seconds. Soft, warm, and he was smiling a bit, she could feel it.

He pulled away—or rather, the ferry pulled away. Serena was left standing there, blinking in shock, as Ash grinned at her. "You were right, Serena!" he called, still holding the stair railing, braced against the side of the ferry with his legs. "I do like the person you've grown into!"

Her whole face burned. He'd—he'd—! Then she laughed and covered her face. He'd kissed her! He'd remembered her kiss from two years ago and he'd kissed her back! So she looked back up and smiled wide and even blew him a kiss. "You can do it, Ash! I believe in you!" she shouted to him, waving and watching until he was out of view.

"Sylvi?" Sylveon cooed, wrapping a ribbon around her arm. Then the little fox pranced around a bit—could she feel how happy Serena was?

—

Ash climbed back onto the ferry deck once the pier was out of sight and was accosted by two very excited preteens.

"You have a girlfriend?!" Goh squeaked.

"Your girlfriend is Serena?!" Chloe squeaked as well.

Even Pikachu sounded surprised as he jumped onto his shoulder. "Pikapi?!"

Ash adjusted his hat back to normal. "Well, we're not dating. I think." Two kisses hardly made a relationship, right? They hadn't even talked about it.

"You think?!"

"How do you not know?!"

"I didn't know you liked girls!"

"I didn't know you liked anyone!"

And on and on.

Ash shook his head and scratched Pikachu under the chin. Had he been so dramatic at that age? Surely not.

He missed Serena already. He had a goal to finish, though—world champion, and he was so close.

Wait for me, Serena, he thought. Keep improving, keep making the world smile, keep helping people find their dreams. Keep being you.

And please, wait for me.

—

As long as it takes, I'll always believe in you. I'll be ready whenever you are.