I'll be honest with you: I have no specific ideas for how Mirror Ash shows up, nor how he gets back. It's all very handwavey. As that's not the focus of the story, I hope you will forgive that ❤️

It was a lovely morning in Kalos, the sun shining through a few puffy clouds, a crisp breeze in the air.

"Pikachu, let's start with Iron Tail! Hawlucha, get out of the way!"

And, Serena thought with a smile, a lovely morning meant a lovely time to start training for one Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town.

Talonflame and Noivern seemed to be racing, while Greninja was running through the woods for speed and agility training. Since Ash didn't have a sixth team member, she wondered what he would do during the conference. Would he just compete with five?

Well, if anyone could beat the Lumiose Conference with only five Pokémon, she'd bet Ash could. There was no one in the world like him, no one as determined or hardworking, as kind or trustworthy. He was truly one of a kind.

Serena knew she was probably staring at Ash in a way that almost any other person would realize was with love and longing, but this was Ash, and he was as oblivious as they come. He was also so focused on his Pokémon that he probably didn't even know she was there. Bonnie and (maybe) Clemont would notice her doing nothing but staring, though, so she decided to find something else to do to avoid embarrassing herself in front of her friends.

But what was a Performer to occupy herself with in her off-season?

She called out her Pokémon, and they all smiled up at her. Feeling so incredibly lucky to have them, she scooped them all up into a hug. Pancham protested without actually trying to get away, Braixen was patient and resigned, and Sylveon snuggled closer.

"How would you guys like to make some treats today?" she asked them, struck with a moment of inspiration. Her teammates cheered and she smiled at them. "Well, what should we make?"

What followed was a very serious debate about cookies versus PokéPuffs. Before Braixen and Pancham could come to blows, she said they'd try to make both. After all, two treats were better than one!

They decided to make lemon sugar cookies with frosting for Pancham and chocolate-base macarons for the PokéPuffs for Braixen. Serena supervised the adding of ingredients and mostly worked with the puff's macaron bases, as they were generally harder.

The cookies were done sooner, and they whipped up some lemon icing for them, which Pancham had a great deal of fun adding. Serena smiled at her cute little panda as she and Braixen kept an eye on the macarons.

She was getting to a part where she needed more hands than she and Braixen could manage. Then the door to outside opened and closed, and from the corner of her eye she saw the blue of Ash's jacket and his red hat. Perfect timing! "Hey, Ash, would you—?" Then she froze, glancing back at what she had thought she'd seen.

Sure enough, there were, in fact, two Ash Ketchums standing at the door.

"Ash…?"

One of them rubbed the back of his head. "So, long story short, the Ash from that mirror world I fell into a while ago somehow ended up here."

Looking at the other Ash (the Mirror Ash) she saw that he did look a bit different in posture and demeanor, with a somewhat timid and worried expression. He also had a Pikachu on his shoulder, but this one looked incredibly mischievous, snickering and grinning.

"Oh. Well, alright then." What in the world was she supposed to do about all that? Nothing scientific, that's for sure. So she grabbed a plate of finished cookies and held it out. "Want a snack?"

Two eager teens reached out for a cookie. Looks like the Ash Ketchum appetite was a universal constant.

Mirror Ash took a seat, breaking off a bit of cookie for his Pikachu. Ash also shared his cookie with his partner, standing at the counter, asking Sylveon and Pancham how they were doing. Pancham seemed to be telling Ash how important his job was as cookie-froster.

Serena looked at Mirror Ash. He was chewing the last bit of his cookie and blinked up at her with his sad brown eyes. It was like looking at a puppy. "Sorry," she said with a smile and a laugh. "It's weird to have two of you here."

He half-smiled back. "Don't worry about it. I think it's weird to have two of me, too." He licked his finger for a few smears of frosting. "But it's honestly weirder to have a Serena that bakes."

How surprising! "Your Serena doesn't bake?"

"No, she gets bored easy. She says it's too slow. She's much too busy falling off of trees or whatever she ends up exploring."

Serena liked baking precisely because it was slow—it was calming and had built-in breaks while things cooked. How interesting that there was a version out there that didn't like it.

"Did you use zest in the cookies?" Mirror Ash asked, reaching out to take another cookie and examining it.

Serena stopped what she was doing and glanced at Mirror Ash. "Yes, I did! How did you know?"

He nodded. "It's quite sweet. You have a good combination of juice to zest here. I like it."

"Do…do you bake?"

"I mean, a little. I prefer cooking, though." He smiled a little. "I had a friend that said cooking is an art and baking is a science. I'm, uh…not very good at science." The embarrassed little smile he gave her was a mini version of the one she was familiar with from Ash and it set her heart fluttering. It was Ash, but…not at all!

But that was hardly the main worry at the moment! "Sorry, I got a bit derailed there. We'll need Clemont to see about getting you back home. You weren't at the Mirror Cave?"

He shook his head and sighed. "No. We were right here, but…well, you know. In my world." He rubbed the back of his head, then wrapped his arms around himself. "I felt like I got hit on the head with something, and…woke up here."

"Huh." What could have happened? Did it matter? Sylveon came over then, winding one of her ribbons around Serena's arm.

"Wow, a Sylveon," said Mirror Ash. His eyes sparkled the same way Ash's did when he saw a new Pokémon. "So pretty."

Sylveon hid her face behind Serena's arm, but Serena could tell she liked the compliment. She petted the short fur and asked, "Did your Serena not have an Eevee, then?" So many differences!

"No, she did. It evolved into Umbreon." He smiled. "It seems to think it's a fighting type, though. It used to charge right into battle no matter who it was facing, no attacks or anything! Serena managed to get it to calm down a bit, but just recently."

"Does your Serena battle, then? She doesn't do showcases?"

Ash shook his head. "No, she likes battling better than anything else, for sure. She's competing at the Lumiose Conference, and I think she'll do really well." He frowned and his eyes got a bit shimmery. "Will I get back in time to cheer her on?" He took a shaky breath and rubbed his eyes with the back of one hand. "Sorry. I promise I'm trying not to cry so much these days."

Logically, Serena knew this wasn't her Ash. But it was a Ash, and he was in need of comfort. So she walked over and patted his back a little. "It's alright. It can't be easy, being stuck in a new place and not knowing how to get home."

He smiled up at her, a full smile this time, even if his eyes were still shining with tears. "Thanks, Serena. And I got to meet you, so it's not all bad. I'd say it's pretty good, actually!"

Her cheeks flushed in surprise and her eyes went wide. Sort-of Ash, but…charming? This was beyond bizarre!

—

Clemont, having been informed of everything Mirror Ash knew, was hard at work on an invention to send their wayward friend home, muttering about mirrors and resonant frequencies.

Ash went back to training, and Serena was watching him again, this time joined by Mirror Ash. He seemed to be in awe of his counterpart's battling abilities, even calling out his own Pokémon to watch.

After a while, Mirror Ash turned to her. "So what do you do, if not battling?"

"Showcases!" she said, excited to explain a bit. "I made it to the Masterclass Showcase, but I lost to Aria—she's Kalos Queen right now. Next time, though, I'll win for sure!"

He smiled and propped his head up on his hand. "Yeah? What do you like about showcases?"

And so they talked. Serena learned that Mirror Ash, much like Ash, wanted to be a Pokémon Master and was traveling the world. His way of going about it was very different, though: instead of becoming the best battler, he wanted to be the best chef. He was traveling the world to see new Pokémon and get new recipes to feed them. He also met lots of people all over the world, and he started talking about the friends he'd make in Kalos. Then he bit his lip and his eyes darted away.

"What?" she asked.

"Well…maybe…oh, no, it's too dumb."

"What? Tell me!"

He fidgeted a little. "Well, you're…Serena. Not mine, but a Serena."

"Yeees?"

Then she saw the cutest little blush on his cheeks. "Um, if I wanted to…maybe…ask her…" He ducked his head.

Serena grinned and leaned forward. "You want to ask your Serena out on a date?!"

He nodded, still not looking up.

Serena giggled. "Well, your Serena sounds a lot different than me, but I can certainly help you think it through!" She leaned both arms on the table. "So, tell me what you like about her."

It took a bit of prodding, but once he got going, it was obvious how cool and brave he thought Mirror Serena was (now that the other girl had stopped teasing him for crying), how he wanted to be by her side and cheer her on, how he wanted to support her and know she felt the same way he did.

Serena, after taking it all in, started asking questions about where they'd gone, what they'd done together just the two of them, how their Pokémon got along, really just trying to get a feel for how Mirror Serena felt.

In the end, she wasn't able to give much advice. Clemont finished his machine, and with his inventions, they tended to blow up after thirty seconds, so you had to hurry.

Everyone gathered around to say goodbye to Mirror Ash after he rounded up his Pokémon. He thanked them all for helping him, then, surprisingly, wrapped Serena in a hug.

"Thanks," he whispered in her ear. "I don't have anyone to talk to about this stuff."

She hugged him back tightly. "Be brave," she whispered back. "And even if she doesn't feel that way about you, being a friend is just as important."

He nodded, then let go, telling Clemont that he was ready.

Just as the portal appeared, Mirror Ash turned and, faster than she could respond to, kissed her cheek. She squeaked and nearly missed what he whispered to her:

"Take your own advice." Then he walked through the portal, waving goodbye as he went.

The little crowd Mirror Ash had left behind seemed a bit flustered at what he'd done. Clemont cleared his throat. "Sorry, I just assumed he'd want to get back as soon as possible."

"Oh! He did, I know he did!" Serena said while blushing bright red. He'd kissed close to her mouth, close enough that it might have looked like a kiss on the lips to the others.

"You were talking for quite a while," Bonnie said in a teasing voice. "And you looked like you were getting along really well! Maybe the invention should've blown up!"

"B-Bonnie!" Serena squeaked.

"Okay, enough from you. Help me with dinner, Bonnie," Clemont said, grabbing his sister and pulling her behind him. Bonnie complained but went along with him.

Then Serena was left with Ash. He seemed…quiet, which was odd. Was he thinking about the Mirror World? "Ash? You okay? It must have been weird for you to see Mirror Ash again."

His mouth twisted. "Nah. I mean, yeah, but…do you like guys like that?"

"What?" Surprised, she blinked rapidly. "What do you mean?"

He waved his hand towards where the portal had been. "Quiet guys. Sensitive. Not…not battle-crazy."

She was a bit confused by his question. And he wasn't even looking at her! "I like all kinds of people, quiet or not." Surely he knew that about her by now.

"Yeah, but…" He shifted like he was going to leave, then suddenly planted his hands on his hips and almost glared at her. "But you kissed him!"

Oh. He meant like like. Her face heated up again. "He kissed me! That's not my fault! And it was just on the cheek!" It had happened so quickly that she could hardly have done anything about it. "Cheek kisses are fine between friends!" She'd never actually had a friend that kissed her cheek before, but it didn't have to be a romantic thing!

Ash clenched his fists and stomped towards her, then held her chin and pressed his lips to the cheek Mirror Ash hadn't kissed.

Serena inhaled sharply. Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear oh dear.

He pulled away slowly but didn't let go of her chin. She opened her eyes to see Ash just looking at her as if measuring her reaction. Her cheeks were burning and were probably bright red. She licked her lips nervously and his eyes flicked down to her mouth. He leaned forward ever so slightly.

Oh dear oh dear oh dear.

Then he groaned and rested his forehead against hers. "I've never…you make me…" He pulled away and made a frustrated noise, pulling off his hat and rubbing his hand through his hair as he walked away a few steps. His hair stuck straight up, so he looked a bit crazed as he turned back to her and pointed at her with the hat. "Just…just don't…!" Then he covered his face with his other hand and muttered something she couldn't hear.

Serena covered her mouth. Was Ash…jealous?

She'd had a crush on him forever. She'd had fun little fantasies of how a confession between them might go, full of romantic faraway locales and elaborate, well-thought-out professions.

The reality was…not that. They were out back of a standard Pokémon Center and Ash was floundering. It might not actually even be a confession. But it felt like more. Because Ash was very much still Ash, dense as could be but revealing something he obviously didn't know how to deal with.

Most importantly, she didn't like seeing him so upset, no matter the cause. "I think that was his way of thanking me. He has a crush on his Serena, so I gave him some advice on asking her out."

"Then why did he kiss you?!"

She shrugged. "I don't think he meant it like that." Then a thought occurred to her and she couldn't help the little giggle that escaped. Her Ash was hopelessly unromantic and would never do something like kiss a friend on the cheek or chat about date ideas. Mirror Ash, it seemed, did 'romantic' things without realizing how it would be interpreted.

Ash just looked lost now, wide-eyed and agitated like an angry little Rufflet. She walked over, reached up and smoothed down his hair, then took his hat from him and placed it back on his head.

Then, taking Mirror Ash's (and her own) advice, she did something brave: she kissed Ash's cheek. As she pulled away and smiled at him, she said, "You don't need to be jealous. You can kiss me anytime." Then she walked away, her whole face burning at her own audacity. Before she went inside, she stopped and peeked over her shoulder.

Ash stood where she'd left him, his fingers pressed to where she'd kissed, watching her leave. He hadn't moved at all.

She'd used up all her bravery for the day, though, so she quickly fled inside and started helping Bonnie set their table. Ash came in when they called for dinner and behaved normally enough that Serena started to relax. (Maybe tomorrow she'd be brave enough to ask him out. It certainly seemed promising.)

Later, in between muffling her squeals of happiness as she got ready for bed, she hoped Mirror Ash's day had finished as nicely.

—

"I…I was wondering…um, w-would you like to…maybe have dinner together sometime? Just…just the two of us?"

"…are you asking me on a date?"

"Y-yes? I mean, yes. Yes! I am…asking you on a date."

"…huh. Didn't expect that. But yeah, sure, why not? Could be fun. You gotta make the food, though. Your cooking is the best!"