Dating Serena had been fine.
Well, fine wasn't nearly a strong enough word to do her justice. But, after the turmoil involving a certain Sinnohan girlfriend in recent weeks, 'fine' was still quite an elevation from a full-blown guilt crisis on the part of both Ash and Serena. Dawn had, somehow, come out unscathed.
It was new, and interesting, like riding a bike without training wheels for the first time. He'd noticed that Serena still acted like a Deerling in headlights, sometimes, when he'd make a pass at her. It made a bit of sense, when he recalled that she'd crushed on him for months — arguably a decade — and only just now had earned the right to act on it in any way.
They'd had their milestones. They'd danced, on their first date, before immediately busting their asses in freezing waters. They'd had their first kiss, upon Dawn's departure. They'd had their first fight, after things had gone south with Greninja and left Ash an emotional wreck.
He had a feeling he'd never forget the overpowering regret, when he told Serena she didn't know how it feels to have expectations on her back. The Performer with a tiger mom. The trans woman. The Serena he knew. He'd never felt so monumentally stupid in his life. The cold lump of snow that'd clocked him in the face was a relief; despite his chapped lips, afterwards, it drained the guilt from his conscience pretty quickly. He could see the guilt on Serena's face, too.
But, not everything was heavy and grim. There were minor annoyances, too.
"This is bullshit," he grumbled.
Serena tilted her head. She didn't check him on foul language unless he was around Bonnie; she was secretly no better. "What is, Ash…? Ah!" She exclaimed, hands rushing to cover her mouth at lightspeed. "I-is it my breath…!? I swear I brushed my teeth this morning!"
Ah, right. He'd just kissed her.
"No, no! Your breath's peachy. It's just…" Ash grumbled, slipping his hands in his pockets. "I've never had to jump to kiss someone before. It feels a lil' silly."
"...Sorry." Ash recoiled when he watched the light leave Serena's eyes. "I guess my height can be a bit of an inconvenience. But, I can't exactly help it."
Shit. He knew she was self-conscious about her height. "No, no! I like your height. It's hot." He might've overcorrected, a bit.
Serena squeaked, lighting up like a Christmas tree. "Mon dieu…!"
Ash snorted. It was kind of cute when she slipped into speaking Kalosian. "It's just… You know how, in those romance movies, the big, strong guy can lift the girl and kiss her, or whatever?"
"I am aware," Serena stuttered. Steam was practically leaking out of her ears.
"Well, look at me. I could probably lift a fuckin' Snorlax, but it's not like I can lift you down to kiss me. I always have to hop up. What's the point of all that muscle if I can't use it to make our lives easier?"
"It's very sweet that you want to use your… ahem. Physiology to woo me." She shamelessly ogled his biceps, mentally making note that he already did that plenty. "But, it's not as if I expect you to defy the laws of physics to make up for your height."
"So I can talk to Pokémon. Use their attacks. Even fuse with them to make a super ninja frog. But I can't get a few inches off the ground." He groaned, folding his arms behind his head. "Like I said. It's bullshit."
"You could always wear platformers," Serena suggested. "Or, what was it…? The Massive Muscle…" Her nose scrunched.
"Muscle Mass Magnifying Machine?" That was it. How did he always memorize the godforsaken names of Clemont's inventions? "Yeah, sure. I'll kiss you goodbye before I get a return trip to space."
Serena laughed nervously. She felt a little bad making fun of their inventor friend's mishaps; he meant so well. "Yes, well. Perhaps that's not the best…" She blinked. "Return trip? Pardon?"
"Huh? Yeah." Ash raised his eyebrows at her, like she was the one who'd said something weird. "Did I not tell you about that time we got launched into space on a rocket by an evil Togepi?"
Serena felt the gears in her brain creaking to an abrupt halt. "...ça me saoûle. This really isn't fair, you know."
"What's not fair?"
"If literally anyone else spouted off the cacophony of… nonsense that comes out of your mouth so casually, I'd have no choice but to call them insane. But, with you, I just… have to take it all at face value!" Serena threw her arms out. "Why, if you told me you've been a Pokémon, I'd have no choice but to believe you."
"...Well, it's funny you say that…"
"No."
"...No?" Ash arched a brow, only for Serena to turn her back to him. Arms folded.
"You're not playing this game with me. If you want to, you'll have to come up with better lies."
"Oh, that's a lie. Says the gal who claimed a haunted house was going to eat us," Ash fired back.
"That was an irrational fear, not a claim. Emphasis on irrational."
Ash pouted, crossing his arms. Staring at his girlfriend's back, though, he hatched a devilish idea. Unable to keep the grin off his face, he tip-toed closer . . . closer . . .
"Eep!"
In one swift move, he'd cupped her back with one hand, and the back of her legs with the other to sweep Serena off her feet. He found he had absolutely no trouble lifting her bridal style.
"...I'm still not talking to you." Serena struggled out, fighting the restrained, goofy smile breaking out in a squiggle of her lips. Even she knew this 'fight' was a poorly-veiled facade.
"Never said you had to," Ash quipped, before properly claiming her lips with his.
Serena practically melted into the embrace. Like any poor facade, it dropped with just a bit of outside pressure. Her hands cupped his chiseled jawline, and she ignored the brim of his hat knocking her fedora right off. Would it hurt to break her good word for a taste of heaven-
"Ahem."
A loud clearing of Clemont's throat broke the kiss. Rounding the corner behind the local Pokémon Center, the lemon-headed inventor stood there awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked quite uncomfortable. Doubly so, with the two now staring at him. "...Am I intruding on something?"
"Uh… yeah. You caught us in the middle of an argument," Ash replied flatly.
"An absolutely wretched tiff," Serena muttered out, still dangling in Ash's arms. "Sorry you had to see that, mon amie."
They could have sworn Clemont's eyes rolled to the back of his head. "Yes, well. I could have sworn that arguments were settled with words, and not your lips." He laughed in his own stilted way. "Well, try not to argue too much, would you? I assure you, Bonnie would see signs of hardship and make it her business, like a Venomoth to a flame."
"Aye aye, Captain!" Ash would have saluted him, were his arms not occupied.
"Great! Now if you excuse me, I have somewhere to be that's… not here." With that, Clemont made himself scarce.
"...Aha. Whoops." Ash set Serena back properly on her feet.
"We really shouldn't let our problems seep into the group." Serena dusted herself off. She turned to her boyfriend with a playful wink. "So, I guess we'll have to make a truce."
"Right, right! What would they do if they knew we were at each other's throats?" Ash rolled his eyes in bemusement. At each other's lips, more like. "Truce, it is!" He held his hand out to her.
Serena met his hand in a firm shake… before the two started snickering. The scene was absolutely ridiculous in its formality. They didn't release the other's hand, though, for quite a while. Their relationship was bound to run into its inconveniences, now and then…
But, they would manage.