A/N: Hey, everyone! Here's a little "Pokémon" two-shot from yours truly! And yes, it's going to be another Journeys-centric short project, in the same vein as "So Wrong And Yet So Right". The idea behind this came to me when I saw a cute piece of fanart that was posted on a subreddit for AmourShipping. In it, Serena met Lei, Ash's surrogate little brother, for the first time and is referred to a "future sister-in-law", and that was when the idea behind this one-shot was hatched.
I originally started working on this two-shot over a year ago, after I started getting myself caught up on Journeys during the tail-end of Ash's tenure on the show. I watched the episode that introduced Lei, and then after I saw the aforementioned Reddit fanart piece, I was driven to begin work on the two-shot right away. However, my interest in the project died down after about a month due to other ongoing projects and real-life commitments, so I dropped it but kept the material in my inbox just in case. And voila! Just like with a one-shot of mine, "Our Daughter", I saw this document lying idly in my inbox and decided to pick up where I left off. This is especially in the wake of my increasingly busy life, which has made my commitment to multi-chapters fics generally more difficult, and which left myself with a growing preference for one-shots or shorter fics.
Also, this originally started out as a one-shot, but the content grew and grew until I decided to quickly extend it into a two-shot, so there's that.
Oh, and just like the one-shots "So Wrong And Yet So Right" and "Unbeatable" (the latter of which also stars Lei, conveniently enough), this is canon to the universe that I established in "The Way We Will Be". Shhh, I'm trying to set up a "Way We Will Be" cinematic universe here! ;D
Alright, enough pointless rambling from me! Let's get on with the two-shot. ENJOY!
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P.S. #3: The coronavirus advisory that had been attached to my opening Author's Notes since 2020 is no longer posted there beginning May 11, 2023. The advisory's removal coincides with the lifting of federal emergency declarations in the U.S. on the aforementioned date. However, it will remain on my profile for as long as it needs to be there, and it can be reposted on my Author's Notes should the pandemic worsen again, which is still a possibility. In the meantime, please continue to stay healthy and stay safe!
"Hey, over here! Alola, Ash!"
"Alola, Professor Kukui!"
"Pika-pika!"
Strolling out of the airport, Serena held her handbag tightly to her stomach and watched her boyfriend Ash Ketchum run up to the handsome man wearing only a white lab-coat and gray, baggy beach-shorts. She knew that she had no right to be uncomfortable. After all, she had been to Alola a few times before, and she had met Ash's surrogate family from the region during all of those times. They were very nice and hospitable people who welcomed her with open arms, a warm gesture for which she was eternally grateful.
But given the context as to why she and Ash were here in Alola this time, Serena felt that she had every reason to worry.
"You wanna give your old man a hug?" Kukui asked with a sly, wiggling eyebrow.
Ash chuckled as he wrapped his surrogate father in a tight hug, which was swiftly reciprocated.
"It's so great to see you, Professor Kukui," he said.
"Likewise, Ash." The Pokémon Professor parted from the young man and glanced at Pikachu, who was on his usual perch on Ash's shoulder. "Hey there, Pikachu! I see you're doing well too!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu squeaked in response.
Then, Kukui looked over Ash's shoulder and at Serena. "Why, Serena! Alola!"
"Al-Alola to you too, Pr-Professor Kukui..." the honey-blonde woman replied shyly.
"Nervous, huh? Well, I don't blame ya." The man gave her what was meant to be a dashing grin. "Now, this is where I'd make a lil' joke about you being shocked by my Thunderbolt-good looks, but I remember that I'm married and you're dating Ash." He ignored Ash, Pikachu, and Serena's flat looks while he chuckled to himself in satisfaction. "Oh boy, I'm starting to make dad jokes. I truly am getting old."
"Uhhhhh...I'm not sure that would qualify as a dad joke, Professor Kukui..." Ash deadpanned.
"Pika..." Pikachu squeaked.
"Alright, enough chitchat!" Kukui hopped into the jeep parked behind him. "Let's get going. Lei's absolutely dying to see you two!"
"ALRIGHT!" Ash cried as he enthusiastically followed the Pokémon Professor inside the jeep; his voice was loud enough to startle a few nearby pedestrians. "I cannot wait to see Lei either!" Then, he looked out from the passenger seat and at Serena. "Come on, Serena! We gotta get going! Lei's waiting, Lei's waiting!"
"Pika, pika!" Pikachu called.
Serena stood there for a few moments, her handbag still clutched tightly to her stomach. She could feel all the knots that her stomach was tying itself into in the midst of her growing anxiety. But when she stared into Ash's auburn eyes, which were still glowing with childlike jubilation even after all those years, the honey-blonde felt her stomach loosen somewhat.
"Okay, it's alright, Serena," she thought in self-assurance. "This, this is nothing. Ash will be there with you every step of the way. He's not gonna think any less of you if anything bad happens. I mean, how could he? He's Ash, after all."
With a deep breath, she tried to take a step forward, only for it to falter, even if it was for a split-second.
"But...it's his surrogate family too, after all..."
"We're heeeeereeeee!"
"Pikaaaaa!"
Ash's voice echoed through the air, and already did the mood around Kukui and Burnet's house become more festive. The front door burst open, and Ash's Rowlet, Lycanroc, Incineroar, and Melmetal leaped through the doorway and patio with a mighty, singular force. Serena yelped in surprise and watched as her boyfriend was roughly tackled to the ground by his Alolan Pokémon roster.
Fortunately, nothing could keep Ash down for long, naturally, and he laughed while greeting and petting all his Pokémon, assuaging the honey-blonde's concerns.
"How are you, Rowlet?" Ash asked while stroking the Grass Quill Pokémon's head. "I hope you've been practicing on your flying. Oh, Lycanroc! Please tell me that Kukui and Burnet haven't been feeding you any of their Cornn or Nomel Berries lately. Heh heh heh, hey there, Incineroar. Have you been practicing your fighting moves? Whoa, Melmetal! E-Easy there, easy there!"
"Pika-pika, pikachu pika-kachu!" Pikachu squeaked; the Electric-type was greeting each Pokémon in turn. "Pikachu-pi, pi-pika-kachu! Pi-pika, pika-pika, pikachu! Kachu-pi-pika, Pikapi pika-pika-pi!"
"Oh, my," a voice said in greeting. "You've only been gone for a month, Ash, yet the Pokémon act like you've been away for a whole year!"
Serena turned towards the doorway to the home and spotted a familiar tan-skinned woman standing there with a lovely wide smile on her face. Then, her eyes were immediately drawn to the bundle in her arms. In that very instant, her heart skipped a beat in both joy and terror, and her entire body stiffened up with mixed reactions.
"A-da! Ka-cha!"
Professor Burnet giggled at the squirming bundle. "Looks like Lei feels the same way, big brother!"
As soon as Ash had the chance, he broke free from his four Alolan Pokémon and approached Burnet and Lei. His clothes were a mess and his raven-black hair was ruffled, but he didn't care one bit. His eyes were totally transfixed on Lei, who only seemed to glow brighter at the sight of his older brother.
"Hey there, Lei!" he cried. "Man, you're getting bigger every time I come back here to see you!"
The Pallet Town native held out his finger, and a giggling Lei grabbed it with a stubby hand while using the other to reach out for his older brother.
"A-da!" the baby squeaked. "A-da!"
"A-da?" Ash smiled in adoration. "Is he trying to say my name?"
"He's been trying to say anything and everything for a while lately," Kukui replied as he approached from the jeep. "Heh heh heh. He hasn't formed anything remotely resembling an actual word, though. But we think he'll get there soon."
Ash beamed brighter at Lei. "Trying to speak, huh Lei? Maybe I'm gonna be your first word!"
"At this rate," Burnet said with a smile of her own, "it might as well be set in stone."
Kukui's smile widened, and he started to lovingly stroke the top of his son's head with his index finger. "He's your brother after all, Ash. And whenever it comes to you, well, when there's a will, there's a way."
"A-da!" Lei squeaked happily.
"Oh, by the way..." Burnet glanced at Serena. "Thank you so much, Ash, Serena, for doing this. We knew we could count on you two."
"Y-You're welcome, Pr-Professor..." Serena replied while keeping her eyes on Lei. "A-Anything for Lei, after all..."
Burnet noticed the honey-blonde's apprehension, so she gave her an assuring smile. "Don't worry, Serena. The two of us are only gonna be gone for the long weekend. And you're gonna have everyone else in Alola helping out. And besides..." She gently rocked the babbling Lei in her arms. "This could be good practice for you. For when you and Ash...you know."
Serena's face turned as red as a Cheri Berry at the sound of Burnet's words. As for Ash, his zigzagged cheeks took on a rosy-pink hue, prompting Pikachu to fill in for him in keeping Lei occupied.
"Aw, come on, Professor Burnet," Ash commented. "Serena and I are still getting our careers together. We most certainly aren't there yet."
"But it's just like I said." Burnet's eyes twinkled knowingly. "Practice. For Serena in particular."
"Oh yeah, that's right." Ash rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I almost forgot. Lei-"
All of a sudden, Lei laid his shiny olive-green eyes upon Serena, who had caught his attention by taking an apprehensive step forward while removing her hat. Before anyone could help it-
"WWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
Burnet yelped in panic and started rocking Lei just a little faster.
"Doesn't like Serena for some reason..." Ash deadpanned, finishing his sentence
"Ohhhhh, there, there, Lei!" she said in an attempt to soothe the wailing infant. "It's just your big sister Serena. It's just Serena, just Serena-"
"WWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
Pikachu and the rest of the Pokémon cried out and covered their ears in exasperation. As for Kukui, the Professor joined in, desperately cooing to his son in the hopes of calming him down. However, nothing seemed to work for anyone until a slightly worried but otherwise calm Ash held out his arms.
"Here, let me hold Lei, Professor Burnet," the raven-haired man said urgently.
"A-Alright!" The woman handed her son to Ash without hesitation. "You're always the one who can calm him down in a split-second, after all!"
Serena watched with a hint of shame while Ash calmly, coolly held his younger brother like a father would. In spite of the earsplitting wailing that was undoubtedly assaulting his eardrums, the young man was unfazed, and he simply smiled at the infant like it was nothing.
"Awwww, don't cry, my little Trainer!" he said confidently while gently rocking Lei back and forth. "Pokémon Trainers are brave, after all! They don't cry just like that! Hey, if I see that you're brave like a Pokémon Trainer, Lei, then you can play with Pikachu!" He gestured toward the Mouse Pokémon. "See? Pikachu wants to play too, don't you, buddy?"
"Pi-Pika!" Pikachu replied apprehensively, but nevertheless, he smiled cutely at the baby boy.
Ash looked back at Lei. "Does that sound fair to you, Lei?"
This strategy had an immediate effect. Upon laying his eyes on Pikachu, Lei ceased his crying, and his lips slowly started to curve upward into another childlike, energetic grin of excitement. Before long, he started giggling again while reaching out for the Electric-type. Ash's Alolan Pokémon swiftly heaved out a collective sigh of relief.
"Ka-cha!" Lei exclaimed. "Ka-cha!"
"Pika!" Pikachu greeted.
"And there you have it," Kukui commented with a grin of amusement while he wiped droplets of sweat from his forehead. "Ash, the baby whisperer."
"B-Baby whisperer?" Ash chuckled in embarrassment as he handed Lei back to Burnet. "I don't know about that."
Then, as his laughter died down, Ash looked at Serena and saw how forlornly and emptily she was gazing at the ground. With softening auburn eyes, he left his surrogate family while they tended to Lei and walked up to his girlfriend. Pikachu didn't need to be told to hop off Ash's shoulder and leave the two of them alone. Even as his shadow met hers, she didn't look up with her beautiful eyes of sapphire-blue, and her lower lip even started to quiver. With a little smile, Ash lifted his hands and gently placed them on her shoulders.
"Serena?" he asked. "Honey? Are you alright there?"
"Hm?" The honey-blonde finally looked up. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Aside from the fact that Lei hates me, of course."
Ash flashed her a wide, toothy grin of optimism. "Hey, Lei doesn't hate you!"
"Oh, really?" She crossed her arms. "Tell me, d'you remember what happened when I first met him? When I held him up in my hands?"
A glint of remembrance flashed through his eyes. "Ohhhh, yeah!" He lifted a finger. "He threw up all over your favorite shirt and hat!"
"You didn't have to answer that for me..." deadpanned Serena.
"And then that's when he started crying whenever you're around." Then, Ash crossed his arms and closed his eyes while he recalled all of the times he and Serena visited the Alola region. "I think you're overthinking it, though, Serena. Lei can start crying when he's with anyone. He's a baby, after all, and babies cry, no matter what we can do to help it."
"Yeah, but he has a tendency to cry the most whenever he's around me, Ash. Me, and no one else."
"Really? How do you know that, Serena?"
"Oh, I dunno." The woman pouted at her boyfriend. "Maybe it's the fact that whenever I try to hold him, his first reaction is to cry. And once I pass him off to someone, anyone else, he stops crying, just like that. He never does that to anyone else, Ash. Only to me." She started to sulk sadly. "He hates me, I know it."
"Now how could Lei hate you when he still barely has any idea who you are?" Ash asked. "Nah, I think something else is at play here, something that we're missing. And once we figure it out, Lei will love you like a big sister! After all, he loves everybody!" He puffed his chest out with pride. "He takes after me, after all."
Serena's left eyelid twitched in amusement. "Really now? Well, now I know he's gonna grow up to be a dense, Pokémon-obsessed airhead who'll be breaking girls' hearts."
"Hey now! I caught on to your feelings eventually, did I?"
She smiled tenderly. "That, you did. That, you did..." Her smile faltered. "Ash...what if this is a sign...?"
"A sign?" Ash quirked an eyebrow. "A sign of what?"
"That...That I'm gonna be...a terrible mother- EEP!"
Ash had already grabbed Serena's shoulders and was now holding onto them tightly. His auburn pupils stared deeply into her blue ones, and she could see how her boyfriend's eyes were smoldering with unrivaled resolve.
"You're gonna be a great mother, Serena. The best, even. You know it, I know it...we both know it to be true, a thousand percent. Don't let Lei's feelings scare you off from what you believe." He smiled determinedly at her. "Regardless of what happens by the end of the long weekend, whether or not we get Lei to warm up to you or not, we will face this challenge together, as a team. Never give up till the end. Do you remember?"
Upon hearing those six words, Serena took a deep breath and reciprocated Ash's determined smile with one of her own.
"I remember," she said.
"Great!" Ash gave her a thumbs-up. "Now, come on, Serena! We've got a baby boy to babysit!"
"Y-Yeah!" She gave him a thumbs-up of her own. "Let's do this, Ash!"
However, in her mind, Serena could still feel the world crumbling around her.
"Ohhhhh, I hope you know what you're doing, Ash..." she thought. "Lei may look up to you and all, but this is gonna be your first time babysitting him too..."
Beginning of Day One
"WWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
"Whoooooa, there, there, now! Easy does it, little Lei! There we go, there we go..."
Serena tossed and turned in her bed while the noises of Lei's terrible wailing and Ash's drowsy coos filled the Kukui home and formed a haunting orchestra. Eventually, she moaned in frustration, lifted her head, and took her pillow so she could cover her face and ears with it. Unfortunately, this did little to muffle the sounds that had so unceremoniously pulled her out of her lovely slumber.
Though she couldn't see them, Serena could tell that Pikachu, Rowlet, Lycanroc, Incineroar, and Melmetal were all having just as difficult of a time as her attempting to get back to their well-needed, well-deserved sleep. She could hear all five of Ash's Pokémon constantly shifting and readjusting themselves on the floor, in their specialized pillows. Some of them were groaning and growling in exasperation.
The corner of her eye caught the glow of the bedside clock, and she gazed at it. 2:53 A.M.
She hadn't been able to get consistent sleep throughout the night, since 8:00 P.M.
"Arceus, please end me now..." she thought in distress.
In her immense exhaustion and straddling of the boundary between sleep and consciousness, the honey-blonde woman could only process time in the barest, vaguest terms. The only thing that defined her time spent being reluctantly awake was Lei's screams and cries, which were the only things dangling her a few centimeters above the abyss of slumber. She could quickly feel her head spinning with absolute dread and terror at the prospect of dealing with babysitting Lei for the next three days.
"Ohhhhh, it should be me and Ash on an anniversary getaway vacation, not Professors Kukui and Burnet. Ugh, they are probably having the time of their lives, finally being away from that noise-box of a baby-"
"Phew! Now that was harder than I thought!"
Serena felt the empty left side of the bed becoming weighed down slightly. With a groan, she peered out from under the pillow and saw, through the haze of exhaustion, Ash lying back down beside her. He was trying his best to look optimistic and upbeat, but the bags under his eyes and the several creases on his forehead betrayed that visage. The sounds of Lei crying were no longer in the air, telling Serena that the battle had finally been won.
"So...how it'd go, Mr. Baby Whisperer?" Serena asked tiredly, trying her best to match his optimism with her own, but to little avail.
"Well...long story short," Ash replied earnestly, "never, ever forget to feed Lei right before we go to sleep."
"But didn't we all eat dinner together before Professors Kukui and Burnet headed off for the airport?"
"Well..." The raven-haired man chuckled nervously while scratching the bridge of his nose. "I guess he takes after me in eating food as well..."
"Heh, yeah. As if the hundred-plus empty jars of baby food weren't any indication..." Serena lifted the pillow and returned it to its original position under the back of her head. "You know, you're beginning to sound like a bad influence on Lei, my dear."
"Me, a bad influence?" Ash looked at her with a wry smile. "Whatever do you mean, honey?"
"Well...let's just say that if Lei grows up to be an overweight boy, then we all know who to blame."
"Hey, look at me! I look just fine despite all the food I stuff myself with!"
"That's right..." Serena started poking her boyfriend's stomach with a playful smirk. "I wonder...did you have a Gulpin or something implanted in your body to act as your stomach? Because you sure eat like you're trying to feed one."
"I dunno. Although..." Ash abruptly got on all fours atop Serena and looked down at her with intense fondness burning in his eyes. "I am feeling quite hungry right now. Maybe I'll...gobble you up. To appease my master."
"Heh." Serena's eyes started to glow with the same intensity. "I'd like to see you try, Ashy."
The chains were broken in a matter of milliseconds. Ash dove forward and kissed Serena hard, his lips encapsulating her own like they wanted to make their claim on them. The honey-blonde returned the gesture in kind, kissing her boyfriend hungrily like a Mightyena devouring a slab of meat. Their tongues danced together in perfect harmony, like a great battle or a synchronized performance. Pikachu and the other Pokémon looked at one another with abject horror, and all of them began to sneak out of the bedroom.
Eventually, after what seemed like a minute of this, the couple broke apart, connected only by a strand of saliva between their lips. They stared deeply into each other's eyes, reduced only to their base impulses. Then, they dove their faces in, with the intention of-
"WWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
And with that, the moment was ruined. Ash gasped and clambered out of the bed, accidentally kicking Serena in the side in the process. She yelped and clutched her side, but Ash didn't hear her and continued to stumble out of the bedroom in a state of stunned shock.
"I'm coming, Lei, I'm coming!" he called. "Hang in there, Big Brother Ash is coming!"
And so, Ash departed, leaving behind a groaning, disappointed Serena. She held her side and tossed onto her other side on the bed. She glowered out of the window, staring at the full Moon as it continued to shine in the starry Alolan sky. The otherwise dazzling sight, punctuated by the sight of a flock of Butterfree soaring through the air, did nothing to assuage her and relieve her of her agitation while Lei's wails continued to shatter the tranquility of the Kukui household.
"I can't wait till this weekend is over..." she thought with a sigh.
"Jeez, Ash. You look like you were hit by three Hypnosis attacks all at once."
"And you look even worse, Serena! Uh, are you sure you don't need to lie down?"
"Uuuuuggggghhhhh..."
Serena was nearly slumped over the bar counter of Aina's Kitchen, while Ash was clearly fighting with every ounce of his well-being to stay awake. Seated with them were Lillie, Gladion, Kiawe, Lana, and Sophocles, all of whom were looking at the couple with immense concern. On the other side of the bar counter, Mallow was cleaning used glassware, but she too was warily looking at Ash and Serena while keeping the phone in her peripheral vision. Outside, they could hear all their Pokémon playing with one another. The Sun shone through the open window nearby, illuminating the group with its warm light; Lillie had to adjust her hat to allow the brim to shield her green eyes from it.
And in Lillie's arms, giggling and reaching his stubby hands out for Ash as if nothing was wrong, was the source of all of the couple's troubles.
"Well, you have to understand Ash and Serena's situation, guys," Lillie said while gently rocking Lei in her lap. "I mean, it must be hard being two young lovebirds trying to watch over a kid together."
"I'll say," Lana commented while cautiously eyeing Ash while he bobbed his head back and forth. "When my sisters were born, I barely enjoyed a good night's sleep for what seemed like an eternity." She closed her eyes in sympathy. "And the torture my parents had to endure was tenfold of what I had to experience."
"Wow," Serena commented semi-drowsily. "That sounds pretty rough."
"It was. We used to live in a very cramped house too, since my father was still trying to find his footing in his job. I had to hear everything that my parents did to calm my sisters down. I even had to help them, sometimes." A certain look of grim darkness entered Lana's normally innocent face. "I don't like to talk about those times..."
...
"Oooookaaaaayyyyy..."
"Wow, a rough home life with rowdy babies..." Sophocles mumbled to himself. "Makes me second-guess the possibility of me having kids..."
Lana looked at him in confusion. "What was that, Soph?"
The rotund boy immediately backtracked. "Nothing, nothing..."
"Huh," Mallow replied while her focus shifted to the laughing Lei. "I never had any younger brothers or sisters, so I don't have any idea how hard it would've been to help raise a baby. Maybe I should ask Ulu when he returns from his journey."
"What about you, Kiawe?" Ash asked, turning to the Fire-type specialist. "Didja have any problems with Mimo when she was still a baby?"
"Any problems with her?" Kiawe repeated incredulously. "As a baby? HA! As if!" He puffed his chest out in pride. "Even as a baby, she was the light of my family's life! We knew that with her around, there was nothing that we could not handle! NOTHING!"
"...That's great and all, but you didn't answer my question, Kiawe..."
"Huh?" He blinked at his Kantonian friend. "Oh. That's right. And...that was...?"
Ash spoke with more emphasis on his words. "Did you have any problems with Mimo when she was still a baby? Like, the kind where she cried so much that she made your life a living h-?"
"DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MY SISTER LIKE SHE'S SOME YVELTAL-SPAWN! I WON'T HAVE IT! OR IT'LL BRING BACK AWFUL MEM-!"
Kiawe cut himself off, catching himself in his abrupt outburst, and he collapsed back onto his seat. As for the others, they were all warily looking at Lei, but to their relief, he didn't start crying from their friend's outburst. Instead, the baby was laughing happily and experimentally wiggling his limbs around. Then, he looked up at Lillie with a fond smile and started reaching for her face, hoping to touch any part of it.
"Wow..." Serena commented with pursed lips. "Lei's sure taken a liking to you, huh Lillie...?"
"Well, it's because he recognizes me from sight," Lillie replied while looking down at Lei with intense, maternal adoration. "I've been visiting him a lot. So of course he's gonna know me."
"Lie-lie!" Lei babbled.
"I think he's trying to say your name, sis," Gladion commented. Despite his stoic nature, his evident interest in the baby boy's activities betrayed his usual posture.
"Well, he's almost there!" The young woman held Lei up in her hands while beaming as brightly as a new mother. "Aren't you, little Lei?!"
"Lie-lie!" Lei cried while continuing to reach for her face.
Ash chuckled and reached out for his surrogate brother, despite his semi-drowsiness. "Hey, Lil, let me hold him."
"Okay. Careful, careful now..."
The blonde handed Lei over to Ash, and Serena winced uncomfortably when she saw their hands graze each other during the exchange. Then, she pouted as Lillie scooted her stool closer to Ash's so she could dote over Lei alongside him.
"Now who's a good Pokémon Trainer?" Ash cooed. "You are! Yes, you are, Lei! Yes, you are!"
"A-da!" Lei squeaked with bursting happiness. "Lie-lie!"
Kiawe, Lana, Mallow, and Sophocles all chuckled at the lovely sight, while Gladion merely cracked a tiny smile and gave a curt nod of approval. Meanwhile, Serena couldn't help but feel pushed away by the others; even as she watched the very same scene from a couple of feet away, an invisible barrier seemed to be wedged between her and Ash, separating them by hundreds of feet.
And that feeling grew every time she looked at Ash and Lillie sitting next to each other, unknowingly invading the other's personal space. They both looked so natural, handling Lei and doting over him. It was almost like they were...
"You're overthinking it, Serena. I'm sure of it."
"You sure about that, Chloe...?"
Serena sat alone in the living room of the Kukui home, using her Holo Caster to project an image of her friend before her face. Chloe was looking back at her with an expression of doubt, which was crystal-clear even with the slight distortion of her holographic image.
"I am not just sure of it!" Chloe exclaimed encouragingly, softly but cutely pumping her clenched fists. "I'm two-hundred percent sure! I keep eavesdropping on Goh's talks with Ash! You are and always will be Ash's number-one girl, without a doubt! In fact, Ash talks about you being his number one that I honestly get sick of it!"
Serena sighed heavily. "You know, a tourist on the beach mistook Ash and Lillie for Lei's parents, and neither of them did anything to really deny it. Even if I was standing there with them..."
"Well, how did they react to that little mistake?"
"They were taken aback, how else?! Lillie's face was redder than a Cheri Berry, and Ash just couldn't stop laughing it off and scratching some part of his head!" The honey-blonde scratched the back of her head, the bridge of her nose, and her cheeks in emphasis. "Like, seriously?! There's no way he was having an allergic reaction or anything like that!"
To her dismay, it was Chloe's turn to heave out a heavy sigh. "Like I said, Serena, you're overthinking it. I sure would be knocked off my feet if someone thought Ash was my boyfriend."
"Yeah, but you never had a crush on Ash in the first place, did you?"
...
...
...
"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that...thing that went on between Lillie and Ash..."
"Don't you SEE now, Chloe?!" Serena screamed, in a loud voice that startled the other girl. "Lillie's got my Ash wrapped around her dainty, lil' good girl finger, and he's starting to slip away from me, and Lei likes her a lot more, and-!"
"Whoa, whoa, WHOA! Slow dooown there, Serena. You forget that Lillie only confessed to Ash because she needed to get it off her chest. I mean, her crush was eating her up from the inside, what with her seeing him in a loving and committed relationship with you while she missed her chance. You of all people should know how it feels, you know."
Serena opened her mouth to respond, but nothing of the sort came out, not even a snippy comeback that she was often infamous for. Instead, all that her vocal cords could produce was a sigh of defeat.
"Yeah..." she moaned. "You're right..."
Chloe raised an index finger at her. "And don't you forget! Ash turned her down in less than a second, and Lillie took it in stride! I mean, after a night of crying, of course, but my point still stands! Has she made a move on him ever since?"
Serena shook her head. "No..."
"Has he made a move on her ever since?"
The honey-blonde scoffed. "Of course not."
"Has he even shown any sort of interest in her? The kind that's romantic?"
"...No..."
"Well, then it's just like what a good friend of ours likes to say: no need to worry!"
Serena blinked in awe and took a moment to reflect on Chloe's piece of advice. Eventually, her lips curled into a soft but confident smile.
"Right! No need to worry!"
"WWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
"Come on, Lei. Time to eat, time to eat."
With a slightly shaky hand, Serena held out a spoon dripping with baby food towards the wailing, flailing Lei. The only thing that kept the baby boy secure was the baby high-chair, but its legs still bucked back and forth with his crying. From a short distance, Ash eyed both Serena and Lei while washing the dishes with the help of Pikachu and Incineroar.
"Are you sure he wants to eat, Ash?" Serena asked apprehensively while slowly withdrawing the spoon from Lei's mouth. "He doesn't seem receptive to the baby food."
"You didn't even put any in his mouth yet," Ash replied. "Come on, give it a try!"
"O-Okay..."
Swallowing her fears, the honey-blonde resumed her effort, cautiously closing the spoon in on Lei's mouth. At the same time, the infant's struggling started to die down, which brought immense relief to Serena's heart.
"Okay," she thought. "Okay, okay, okay. Just nice and steady, Serena. Nice and stead-"
SMACK!
Serena's spoon was sent flying. Before anyone knew it, the piece of silverware was now on the floor, with its portion of baby food splattered across the floor. Serena herself could feel a smudge of a semisolid substance on her cheek. The honey-blonde glanced at Lei, who was no longer crying.
In fact, he was clapping and laughing.
"WWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
Serena rubbed her temples while she pushed the shopping cart down the market aisle. Walking a couple of feet ahead of her was Ash, who was scouring through the shelves and randomly grabbing bags and packets of food. Sitting in the cart's baby-seat was none other than Lei, whose wails pierced through the air and disturbed any and all shoppers who passed by.
"Lei, Lei, Lei," Serena said, trying her best to sound calm and motherly, "what'd I tell you about touching Pokémon that you don't know?"
Lei's response was a simple "WWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
"HEY!" an elderly man barked crankily. "Quiet your baby down, will ya?! Some of us are tryin' to shop in peace!"
"I'm so sorry, sir," Serena replied over Lei's crying. "He's, uh, feeling under the weather right now."
The old man gave her nothing but an upset grumble. Knowing that Lei's presence irked him for long enough, Serena gave a slightly more powerful push to the shopping cart and caught up with Ash. However, the first thing she saw when she did so was the three bags of potato chips stuffed into her boyfriend's arms, much to her dismay.
"Enough junk food to last us a week?" the honey-blonde deadpanned. "Are you serious, Ash?"
"Hey, a man's gotta eat while taking care of his little brother!" Ash protested defensively.
"Pika, pikachu!" Pikachu squeaked in agreement.
Serena crossed her arms and gave her boyfriend a slight scowl. "What, you're seriously thinking of taking all of that to the beach and eating it all?!"
"You really did take all of it to the beach to eat it..."
The baggy-eyed, pale-faced Serena gently rocked the dozing Lei in her lap. One side of her was immensely relieved that the baby boy had finally settled down, at long last. The other side of her watched with a look of flat disappointment while Ash scarfed down on his potato chips. Pikachu was doing the same, but he made sure to coat the chips with a fine layer of red ketchup. Every time chips flew into their mouths, both Trainer and Pokémon gained a starry-eyed look on their visages.
Right now, the impromptu family of three was sitting at the outer edge of a sandy beach, under the shade of a slumbering Alolan Exeggutor. In the distance, families, tourists, and their Pokémon were enjoying the Alolan waters, while surfers were riding a decent-sized wave as it progressively crashed down on the waters below.
"I know we were fooling around a little last night," Serena deadpanned, "but I'm serious this time. If Lei bases his eating habits around yours, then we all know who to point the fingers to when he gets overweight."
"You seriously need to try this out, Serena!" Ash exclaimed with a full mouth. "Alolan potato chips are DELISH!"
"No thanks." The honey-blonde glanced at one of the open bags and began thinking of the nutrition facts label on it. "I'd prefer to maintain my weight, thank you very much."
Ash paused mid-bite, having noticed Serena's glance. "You know, I'll always love you, no matter how you look, honey."
Those words caused Serena's heart to skip a beat. She looked at her boyfriend with the reddest face imaginable, only to be met with nothing but honesty and youth shining from his auburn eyes.
"Really...?" she asked hopefully.
Ash swallowed down his food and replied, "Of course! You'll always be my beautiful Sylveon, Serena."
Serena swallowed and giggled girlishly while her cheeks became even more florid. She had to fight off the feeling to swoon and faint, even as she remained entranced by Ash's earnest nature.
"Ohhh, Ash, you Casanova..."
Ash's smile grew wider. "I'll take that as a compliment! Now..." The grin took a craftier quality to it. "How about I repay the compliment with one of my own, sweetie?"
He started to lean his face in towards Serena's, surprising the honey-blonde. But she quickly accepted the turn of events, and she too leaned her face closer to his.
"I think I'll take your compliment as well..." she replied, half-jokingly and half-intimately.
Ash chuckled, while Pikachu continued to obliviously munch down on his ketchup-covered chips. The couple was a few centimeters away from kissing and fully embracing this lovely moment when-
"WWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
"WWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
Serena continued to cover her head with her own pillow. In the background, a sleepy, sluggish Ash paced back and forth, rocking his surrogate baby brother back and forth and up and down in a gentle, parental manner. Her Sylveon and all of Ash's Pokémon, Pikachu in particular, struggled to get some decent sleep of their own, all the while exasperated by Lei's earsplitting wailing.
"No need to worry, huh Chloe...?" the honey-blonde thought grimly.
Day Two
"WWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
"NO! No, no, no, no, NO! What do I do, what do I do, what do I DO?!"
Serena madly scrambled throughout the kitchen, desperate to find something, anything to placate Lei. Ash had left just a few minutes ago to purchase some more baby food from the local market, taking Pikachu and his Alolan Pokémon roster with him and conveniently leaving his Rotom Phone behind. The honey-blonde woman had a sneaking suspicion that Ash just wanted to take the opportunity to have some alone time, without Lei to worry about.
Thereby leaving the baby in her hands and hers alone.
"Okay, okay!" Serena exclaimed to herself. The woman stopped in her tracks and gently slapped her own cheeks to steel herself before running a hand through her exposed hair. "Think about it, Serena! Giving him food did not calm Lei down. Giving him baby formula didn't work either. That leaves the next best step..."
She could feel her heart plummeting straight to her gut at the prospect of this so-called next best step, but she knew she couldn't just leave Lei crying like this. The woman could easily imagine Ash returning to the Kukui home to find his baby brother crying and herself doing nothing to assuage him. It was a most unappealing image, indeed.
So, Serena took a deep breath, slowly approached the wailing baby in his seat, and stretched out her arms.
"There, there, Lei," she said soothingly. "Hush now, I got you..."
At the moment her hands gently wrapped themselves around Lei's sides, he started to quiet down until his crying turned into bubbly hiccups within seconds. Serena felt her heart almost tear through her sternum in relief and delight.
"Oh my Arceus, oh my Arceus, oh my Arceus!" she mentally squealed. "He's not crying around me! I haven't even lifted him up yet! It's a miracle! It's a gift! It's-"
"WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Lei's wails resumed, and they were louder than ever before. They were so loud, in fact, that his voice might have as well shattered all the windows to the house. Serena yelped in terror and quickly took Lei in her arms. Even as his crying and sobbing and wailing pierced her eardrums with the ferocity of a thousand Exploud, the woman endured it for the sake of him, her boyfriend, and herself.
"There, there, Lei," she said, trying her best not to change the pitch or intonation of her voice. "It's alright. I'm here, I'm here. Your big sister Serena is here." She started rocking him as gently as she could. "Big sis Serena is here..."
At first, Lei's cries started to fade, causing the honey-blonde's heart to skip a beat with delight. She already started to mentally thank the heavens for gifting her with such a welcome turn of events, and an excellent step in her own development.
And then, without warning-
"WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Serena's heartbeat quickened in a matter of split-seconds. Hot beads of sweat broke out on her forehead as her rocking intensified.
"There, there!" she cried in panic, trying to reach the infant boy through his earsplitting, excessive wailing. "There, there, Lei! Big sis Serena is here, big sis Serena is-"
"WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"ARCEUS IN HEAVEN, HELP MEEEEEEEEEE!"
In spite of her racing thoughts, the honey-blonde woman did her very best to maintain her bright smile, like a proper Performer would do. With decreasing gusto, she continued rocking Lei in a clueless, experimental manner.
"It's okay, Lei!" she exclaimed with a shaky voice. "It's gonna be-"
"BBBBBLLLLLEEEEEUUUUURRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!"
Serena's face paled as she felt her shirt become heavy and damp. A pungent stench filled the air in an instant, replacing the sounds of Lei's crying.
"Okay."
At first, there was an uncomfortable silence that hung in the air, pressing down on the environment with the weight of a Wailord. Then, a light shone from Lei's face, and the infant giggled while softly, experimentally flailing his limbs. Serena's brow twitched, and she scowled in displeasure.
"Well," the honey-blonde said, "I'm glad someone's having fun here..."
At that moment, the stench finally filled up Serena's lungs. She winced in complete disgust at it and gently set the giggling, squirming Lei down on the nearest chair. As she did, the damp sensation on her shirt became even more obvious. That, coupled with the accompanying stench, caused Serena to retch a little, covering her mouth as she did so.
"And that was one of my favorite summer shirts too..." she thought in despair.
With an annoyed grunt, Serena stepped out of the kitchen and into the living room. There, she found Delphox, Pancham, and Sylveon sitting before the blaring TV, watching a Pokémon Showcase with the volume lowered as much as possible.
"I see you three are done with the clothes," Serena deadpanned. "Congrats. A job well done." She then sighed when her three Pokémon became rigid at the sound of her voice and simultaneously stood in terrified attention. "Listen, you three are supposed to be helping me with the chores. Raising Lei is a chore. I know it's difficult." She paused for a millisecond. "No, more than difficult. Terrible. Excruciating, even. But he's just a baby. Not to mention my brother-in-law. Ash treasures him so much. And how am I gonna be a good girlfriend, sister-in-law, and mother if I don't help Ash out with taking care of Lei's needs?! This is what we signed up for! Not 'I'! 'We'!"
Delphox and Sylveon lowered their heads in guilt. Pancham lingered for a couple of seconds, scowling in stubborn annoyance before following suit. Serena then caught herself in her outrage, took a deep breath, and focused on the TV set.
"Huh. Shauna's performing today." She nodded in approval. "She looks great up there. Is this the Fleurrh City Showcase?" Feeling a weight lift off her shoulders, Serena sat down on the nearby couch and removed her shirt, revealing a pink bra underneath. "Hey, Sylveon?"
"Eon?" Sylveon chirped in response.
"Can you please get me the yellow shirt with the flower patterns?"
"Eon!"
As the Intertwining Pokémon walked towards a nearby blue basket, Serena held out her current shirt to Delphox.
"Here, sweetie," the honey-blonde said. "This needs to be washed and dried off too. And careful. Lei had a little...ahem, accident on it."
Delphox's eyes grew wide in understanding, and she nodded in understanding. Serena sighed in relief when the Fox Pokémon took the stained shirt from her hands, making sure to ignore the damp, heavy portion, and walked off towards the garage. As for Pancham, he jumped beside Serena and sat beside her while she glued her eyes to the TV screen.
"Wow," the honey-blonde commented. "Shauna's getting a lot of enthusiasm from the audience today. I wish I was there now..." She sighed longingly. "I should definitely call her tonight. Or will she be asleep then? I still can't get a hang of the Alolan Time Zone."
"Pan-pancham," Pancham replied with an earnest nod.
Serena quieted down and proceeded to watch Shauna's performance with Pancham. Delphox and Sylveon soon joined her, with the latter providing her with the shirt that she asked for. Upon putting it on, Serena had never felt such a wave of contentment wash over her like one of the great waves of Alolan fame. She finally had an opportunity to be herself, without the burden of taking care of Lei hanging over her head.
And so, she let her focus zero in on the televised Showcase before her, with no regard for anything else that was happening right now.
As such, some time had passed when Serena suddenly heard the door unlock itself and make a creaking noise, which was then followed by a familiar voice.
"Ash? Serena? Are you two home?"
"Hm?" The honey-blonde looked over her shoulder and was surprised, but nevertheless overjoyed, to see her visitor. "Oh! Lillie, what're you doing here?"
The beautiful blonde woman stepped inside the house with a small but fond smile. "Oh, I was just in the neighborhood. Mom's busy with Aether Foundation business, and Gladion's helping Nanu with a rowdy pack of Persian in Ula'ula, so it was my turn to pick up Dad's meds. And since I was already here, I thought I'd stop by and check on you guys. I..." She briefly hesitated. "I hope I'm not disturbing you."
"No, not at all!" Serena stood up from the sofa and approached Lillie to give her a hug. "You really didn't have to, though. Ash and I are doing just fine with Lei."
"That's not what those sagging eyes were telling me yesterday," Lillie replied. Then, after a brief inspection of Serena's face, she smiled. "But you look better today. That's good. That's very good." She then looked over her friend's shoulder with a glimmer of hope and fondness that irked Serena a little. "And where's-?"
"Ash went out to get some more baby food," Serena interrupted with more urgency than she would've liked. "Anyway, how'd you find the key to the door?"
"Oh!" Lillie absentmindedly pointed her thumb over her shoulder and towards the doorway. "Professors Kukui and Burnet told me where to find it."
"Huh?" Serena looked over her friend's shoulder and saw the misplaced brick on the front porch. "Just now?"
"No, that happened a while back. You're not the first person to babysit Lei, after all." The blonde tilted her head in confusion. "I thought I told you this yesterday?"
"Ah, yes," Serena replied absentmindedly. She glared at Lillie with a growing hint of jealousy, which the blonde failed to notice. "Yes, I remember..."
"Speaking of which, where is he?" Lillie walked past the honey-blonde and headed towards the kitchen. "Since I'm already here, I'd like to say hello to my little Trainer before I head off again."
"My little Trainer?" Serena thought with a twitching brow.
She silently watched Lillie go into the kitchen with a soft skip in her step. Once the blonde disappeared from sight, Serena subconsciously clenched her fists, prompting the nearby Delphox, Pancham, and Sylveon to back away in apprehension. The TV set continued to blare the sights and sounds of Shauna's performance.
"Who does she think she is, Lei's mother?!" At this point, Serena could feel the fury growing and bubbling inside of her. "Ohhh, don't tell me this is all part of her operation to steal my man from under my nose! 'Cause it's not gonna happen! Not on my watch!"
A couple of seconds later, Lillie stepped out of the silent kitchen and returned to the living room, forcing Serena to calm herself. Then, the honey-blonde was surprised to see the conspicuous lack of Lei in her friend's arms.
"Did you not see Lei in there, Lillie?" Serena asked.
"What're you talking about?" Lillie replied, looking at her with a quirked brow.
"He's in the kitchen."
"In the kitchen?" The confused Lillie pointed over her shoulder and towards the kitchen. "No, he's not there."
Serena felt her heart skip a beat. "Wait, he's not?"
"Mm-hm."
"I...I just left him there!"
Lillie's eyes widened with surprise and a growing undertone of concern. "You...You did?"
"Yeah! Wh-Whaddaya mean he's not there?!"
"I'm telling you, Serena, he's not there! I'd know if he was there!"
Serena felt her heart skip more than a few beats this time. She strode past Lillie and into the kitchen, where she was swiftly confronted with the sight of a painfully empty kitchen. The chair that she set Lei on was unoccupied, and there was no sign of the baby's presence. She couldn't even hear any of his cries, laughs, or babbles coming from anywhere.
Lei was gone.
"LEEEEEI!" she screamed in horror.
"Sylvie!" a familiar voice chirped. "Sylveon!"
"Huh?!" Serena looked down and saw Sylveon pointing with one of her feelers. "What is it, Sylveon?"
The honey-blonde followed the Fairy-type's feeler and saw what her Pokémon had noticed: the ajar sliding door leading to the back porch.
"Lillie!" Serena cried, louder than she would've expected. "Lillie, get over here!"
The blonde immediately joined her side and saw the same thing. "Well...hopefully he's just out there sleeping."
The two women stepped out into the back porch, only to see that it was just as empty as the kitchen. Their hearts dropped in horror at the same time, and Serena swallowed noisily.
"M-Maybe Lei went up to the attic," the honey-blonde suggested.
"A baby climbing up a ten-foot-high ladder to the attic?" Lillie replied with growing concern. "All by himself?!"
"W-Well... W-Well, I..." The honey-blonde then sighed in defeat. "Yeah, you're right..."
"Wait, what's this?"
Lillie knelt down and pointed towards the porch's floorboards. Serena looked down and saw what her friend saw: a fading, baby-sized trail of muddy, semisolid substance, which was marked with a pungent stench. She winced at the sight.
"Yeah," Serena replied. "That's, uh, Lei's little 'accident'."
Lillie sweat-dropped. "Oh..." Then, she inspected the trail more closely. "Well, it looks like Lei crawled out into the backyard somewhere. But, if he did..." She then looked up towards the small grassy field. "HEY, LEI! LEI?! IT'S BIG SIS LILLIE COMING TO SAY HELLO!"
There was no response. Serena's skin paled, while it was Lillie's turn to gulp.
"I don't see or hear him anywhere," Serena commented in a shaky voice.
"You THINK?!" Lillie swiftly reached into her pocket and whipped out her cellphone. "My Arceus, I'm calling Ash! He can have Rowlet take to the skies and-"
"NO!" Without warning, Serena swatted the phone out of Lillie's hand. "No, don't call Ash! Don't call Ash!"
"What?!" The blonde gawked at her friend incredulously. "Why not?! If anyone has the resources and the willpower to find Lei, it's Ash! He'll stop at NOTHING to find his little brother!"
"That's the point, Lillie!" Serena desperately grabbed Lillie and slightly shook her. "If Ash realizes that Lei vanished on his watch and he wasn't there to do anything about it, it'll eat him up deep inside! He'll never recover from the trauma of that!" She ignored the bubbling ambivalence deep within her, and she pressed forward with her next sentence. "And you don't wanna be the one to destroy Ash's heart and soul, do you?!"
To her relief, Lillie took the bait, hook, line, and sinker. "You're...You're right, Serena! This could absolutely ruin him if this turns out bad!"
"Exactly, Lillie!" Serena had to suppress a sigh of relief as she continued, "Which is why we gotta find Lei before he does!" She looked over her shoulder. "Delphox, Pancham, Sylveon!"
Her three Pokémon rushed to the doorway in response to her call. Once they did, Serena pointed towards the trail that Lei left behind.
"This is the only trace of Lei that we have," she said. "We gotta follow it and pray that we find him in time!"
As for Lillie, she nodded in understanding and reached into another pocket to produce three Poké Balls of her own.
"I'm with you, Serena!" she cried with resolve and determination. "Let's find Lei and bring him back home, for Ash's sake!"
"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!"
The sounds of tiny, incoherent babbling followed the tan-skinned, brunette baby boy as he crawled through Route 1, following his inherent curiosities. He obliviously stayed close to the trail's fenced, bushy edge, allowing his green clothing to camouflage with the surrounding plants and shrubbery whenever people passed by. Every time a flock of Flying-types soared over the trail, Lei would take a brief moment to sit and coo in awe at the Pokémon.
Eventually, Lei came across a small promotional billboard on the side of Route 1. The billboard's flashy color scheme and bold logos caught his attention, and he looked up at it with intrigue. A split-second later, the baby boy's face lit up in recognition, and he giggled.
"A-da!" he squeaked with delight. "Ka-cha!"
Without further ado, Lei resumed his journey, crawling further down the trail with a newfound purpose, all the while cheerfully babbling the same words over and over again. Unbeknownst to him, however, three pairs of eyes were hungrily observing him from the shadows of the nearby greenery...
A/N: And that marks the end of the first half of this little story! Ash and Serena get their first official test of parenthood when Professors Kukui and Burnet go out on their anniversary celebration. It's more than our favorite lovebirds bargained for, which is obviously interfering with their relationship. Meanwhile, Serena is having many, many, MANY doubts about her abilities to be a good mother and a great girlfriend to Ash, with Lillie showing up to be an unintentional obstacle for our favorite Performer.
And surprise, surprise, Lei has wandered out of the Kukui house the moment Serena turns her back on him, and she and Lillie must get him back before the dangers of the forest get to him first! :O
Oh, and finally, I hope I didn't bring up any bad memories of baby-rearing, for any of you parents out there who are reading this! XD XD XD (And do let me know what you think of these slice-of-life scenes!)
Anyway, before I sign off, I just wanted to announce that my family and I will be taking a three-week overseas trip to Japan and the Philippines in May. I'm not entirely sure if I'll be able to update the second and final part of the story right before I depart for the airport. However, you can still expect me to post some updates to my other ongoing projects. So don't you worry, an update for "The Way We Will Be" is still on the way! Also, because the trip is expected to eat up a whole lot of my time in May, I don't expect there to be any updates to any of my stories on that month. I'll fill you all in with further details as we get closer and closer to May.
Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!
