I originally wrote this Jan 27, 2017. I've polished it up and changed a few things, then decided it was time to share it!

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Ash waited by the airport taxi pickup, moving around to try to stay calm. Pikachu was much more relaxed. The electric mouse was perched on the edge of one of the planters around the airport watching a Wingull hop around, his tail twitching. A square box sat next to him, safe in the shade of the palm growing in the planter.

Ash sat next to Pikachu and sighed. His stomach was all kinds of knots and fluttering, which was new. What if she'd decided not to come after all? She'd called at the airport to say she was on her way, yeah, but maybe she'd changed her mind after that and didn't want to tell him. Or what if she was completely different now? It had been a year. Maybe they wouldn't get along anymore. Maybe she thought he was dumb or silly for trying out the trainer school when he was older than the other kids, even if he had been offered and accepted the position of TA instead, or maybe she thought he was a bad trainer, or—

He hated this. When had he ever worried this much about meeting a friend?

Well. He'd never had a friend who kissed him before. She was kind of different.

Taking a deep breath, he cleared his head. It was Serena. She was great. Everything would be fine.

The front doors of the airport opened and people with suitcases started walking out, talking on phones and letting Pokémon out of their balls. Ash was back on his feet in an instant. There were quite a few tourists carrying cameras, business people with briefcases, families with kids and Pokémon making all kinds of noise, and then—

Blue eyes full of fire. She was looking around, a smile on her face, and he shouted her name and waved to get her attention. When her eyes met his, he could swear his heart skipped. She laughed and waved back, then started pulling her suitcase over to them.

"Pikapi!" hissed Pikachu, and Ash glanced back quickly to see his buddy pointing at the box.

"Oh, right!" Ash quickly opened the box next to Pikachu and pulled out the necklace of flowers. It had been Professor Burnet's idea to give Serena a proper Alolan welcome, and that, of course, included a lei. He turned back to Serena, whose eyes widened when she saw the flowers. Then she looked back up at him, and her smile was like sunshine.

"Hey, Ash," she said.

The nerves and knots had left. Now he just felt weightless, like he was floating. He smiled back and slipped the flowers over her head. "Alola, Serena!"

She laughed. "Right, that's hello here! Alola!"

Pikachu climbed up his back and perched on his shoulder. "Pika pika!" he cried. Serena reached out and scratched under his chubby little chin. Pikachu let out a happy "chaa."

She laughed again. "Alola to you too, Pikachu! Here, I'll let everyone out so they can say hi!"

Three beams of light materialized three Pokémon—Delphox, Syleon, and Pancham. Ash bent down to pet Pancham and Sylveon, grinning when the intertwining Pokémon wrapped one of her ribbons around his wrist and nuzzled his hand. Pancham accepted a single pet before looking away and folding his arms, like he didn't care about seeing Ash again (he still stood right by him, though). Delphox smiled and nodded, so Ash nodded back—she must not want any pets or hugs, which was just fine.

Then Serena pulled out another Pokéball and he realized she had apparently gotten a new partner while in Hoenn! She called it out and said, "Ash, Pikachu, I'd like you to meet Swablu!"

"Wow! Serena, that's awesome!" She hadn't even given a clue that she'd found another Pokémon when they talked earlier!

Her smile was bright as could be. "Swablu just barely joined us! She saw us practicing before our plane left Hoenn for Kalos, then landed on my head and just wouldn't leave!" As if to demonstrate, Swablu flapped her fluffy wings and flew up a bit to perch herself on top of Serena's hat, cooing happily.

Pikachu leaped from Ash's shoulder to Serena's, sniffing curiously at this new friend before nodding and nuzzling Serena's cheek with his nose. Ash laughed and raised his hand for Swablu to check before petting her fluffy wings. "She feels just like a cloud should!"

"Right? So soft!" Her fists clenched in front of her chest in obvious excitement. "I can't wait to see what kind of performances we can do together!"

Ash couldn't stop smiling. She was here! She was just like he remembered—well, maybe a little taller, but her enthusiasm for performing was the same. "I can't wait to see what you come up with!"

She glanced around. "Have you not caught any Pokémon here?"

"Oh! No, I definitely have! They're at the school with Professor Kukui and the kids." He grabbed her suitcase and gestured to the taxi pickup line. "And we should head there, too!"

Serena nodded and recalled all her Pokémon, then followed him to stand in the short line.

"So, how did you like contests?" he asked. "I saw all the ones I could. We don't really get Hoenn contest channels on TV here, but when I could find a computer and you were performing, I was sure to watch!" He laughed. "And your Pokévision videos are a real hit with the kids."

She squeaked. "Ash, don't tell me you showed everyone my videos?!"

He'd missed her blush—she blushed so easily! "Sure I did! They don't have performances or contests here, so I wanted to show them what a great performer could do!"

Her entire face was red and she looked away. "So embarrassing…"

He laughed. "You're a top coordinator, Serena! And you were almost Kalos Queen! If anyone's an example of an excellent performer, it's you!"

Then it was their turn to get in a taxi. As they drove away, Serena said, "Tell me more about the school! It sounded pretty interesting."

He almost started talking but paused. "Wait, you didn't answer my question. How did you like contests?"

She pouted. "Fine, fine. I…I didn't really like them as much as performing." He nodded and waited for her to continue. She sighed. "I like performing with my Pokémon, you know? All of us working together to make one big dance routine that we improve the whole season, all of our strengths combining to make something beautiful."

"Yeah, contests are different, that's for sure. How did you like the battle part of the contests?"

She grinned. "That was actually pretty fun, but it was really hard at first! It's like you have to think up a routine on the spot, adapting to the situation within seconds and still showcasing how awesome your Pokémon are!" She threw an arm out like she was directing one of her Pokémon. "And you have to practice different ways to use your moves beforehand, or have a way to communicate just what you mean. We did so much practicing this past year!"

Ash leaned back in the seat and just watched as she kept talking about the battles she'd been in, her eyes shining and cheeks flushed with excitement rather than embarrassment, arms gesturing in ways he was familiar with from watching and rewatching her contests.

It was so good to see her again. It didn't feel awkward at all, thank goodness, and she was so happy that he felt happier just being near her. He couldn't wait to show her around Alola and introduce her to everyone, to show her his new Pokémon and all he'd learned since they'd been apart.

And she was right, he realized. He did like the person she'd grown into. Hopefully she liked who he'd grown into as well.