Chapter Text
Serena woke up to the groan of her mother’s Rhyhorn and Fletching pecking away at the window. She opened it, welcoming the early sunshine into her bed. She got dressed before heading downstairs early for breakfast. It was, after all, her turn to cook. Things went by well enough, Serena setting out her plans for her mother, which would begin with a trip to Lumiose City. She could get anywhere from there and besides that her favorite friends from Kalos would be waiting.
She looked at her Pokedex. There hadn’t been a word since yesterday. Not a word since she’d said good morning. Maybe it was easier for him that way, just cutting things off before the conversations actually turned into anything. Serena frowned. She thought they’d turned into something, but it wasn’t the first time she’d been wrong when it came to Ash. Their ‘date’. His fever. Maybe she’d been lying to herself to think it would actually carry on after he went home. He did say that Alola could get rather monotonous despite its outward appearance so maybe that’s just what talking was to him – a nice interruption. She hadn’t felt that way, but–
“I don’t think you’re thinking about Lumiose City at the moment,” Grace said.
“Oh. Err…no. Something else.”
“It seems very distracting.”
“It’s just my training. I need to start training again soon so I can find some new routines for the next showcase!”
“The first showcase. Which is months away. What are you really thinking about?”
“Mom! It’s really nothing!”
Grace stared her down for a few moments, before taking a sip of her coffee. “I’m sure you’ll tell me when you’re ready.”
Good morning!
She stared at the message. Maybe she shouldn’t reply either. It would serve him right, especially thinking that he could just disappear without saying a word. Not so much as a simple good morning back to her when she knew his flight didn’t leave until nearly lunchtime. Sitting back down and letting her bag slip onto her bed, she resigned herself to answering.
Morning.
Sorry. Yesterday was crazy. Don’t be mad.
You could’ve at least answered. I know you didn’t sleep through my message all day long.
Sorry.
I forgive you.
Are you back home now?
Yeah. It’s great to be back.
Maybe they’d pick back up again anyway. Maybe it would stay like this. That would be okay. They’d always be friends. Really good friends.
Enjoying all your new pokemon?
Definitely. It feels like forever since I’ve seen them.
Seriously? You just got home.
I know, it just feels like it’s been awhile.
What are you up to anyway?
I’m going to Lumiose City to see Bonnie and Clemont.
Lumiose City. The first place I ever went in Kalos.
We really had a lot of great adventures didn’t we?
Ash pulling the nostalgia strings was completely unfair. As usual he didn’t understand though. He was in Kanto so reminiscing was natural she supposed – especially since they were still talking one-on-one and they’d both just gotten back.
We really did. I never thought when I left home I’d ever end up almost winning anything, let alone save the world.
Let’s ignore the whole Team Flare situation.
The other memories are the ones that are most important.
Definitely!
It’d be great to look back on some of those places wouldn’t it?
Serena frowned at him bringing up something that would never happen.
Really?
I didn’t think you ever went back.
Maybe I don’t want to mess up the good memories.
You can always make new ones.
Ash sat down at a small restaurant toward the edge of town. He hoped that Serena would be right. There wasn’t really anywhere to go next but places he’d already been and it was impossible to know what actually reuniting face to face for any amount of time would actually be like. Everyone changed, after all. It was just a matter of how much.
He hoped he’d made the right decision about where to go first. It was certainly harder – probably the hardest decision he could remember making – but it would all be worth it in the end. He was as certain as someone could be in a completely uncertain situation.
Easier said than done.
Don’t you think it’s better to try it than sit around never knowing what kind of memories they might be?
Lol. You were always the one giving me advice like this!
That was true. The tables had turned on him.
After talking awhile longer, Ash knew she was already on her way to the region’s hub. He wondered if she’d move faster or slower without the group. Faster maybe because she was determined to see their friends. She didn’t have to worry about his late sleeping or needing to do all the extra things traveling together involved. On the other hand, she liked to stop and smell the roses. Actually stop. Serena had a way of seeing roses when there weren’t any. Her positivity was different from his, but it was always there. It was one of the things he liked best about her.
He had no idea what to expect. This was no gym battle or contest he’d already had a chance to live and learn. Training to fight and come up with what could loosely be described as strategies was his bread and butter. There was never any stripping away his dedication and determination to achieve his goals, but this was different. This wasn’t black and white and there was only so much that dedication and determination could give him. It had willed him here at least and given him a bit of inspiration, but would he win? What did winning mean exactly? He knew what he wanted, but not getting it wasn’t necessarily losing either.
How long until you get to the city?
Probably a couple of days. Bonnie just got back from Professor Oak’s summer camp. Now we’re not the only campers! I can’t wait to hear what she thought.
Whatever she did, I hope she got a life-changing experience. I know I did.
Ash wasn’t sure how she’d react to the ‘I’ in that statement. He’d typed it without thinking. Well, now he was assuming and way too much at that. It had spurred her on to meet him again and that kicked off her joining the group, but after that – maybe life-changing was a bit overdramatic.
Me too.
Lunch with Bonnie and Clemont had gone well and the three of them had promised to meet up again the next day. Serena’s mom was right. She wasn’t in a huge hurry and there was no sense in overworking herself or her pokemon when what they really needed was to get re-acclimated to performances again before any real training began. Reflecting on the meal, conversation with Bonnie actually came most easily as Clemont spent lunch seeming oddly uncomfortable, even for him. Serena had seen changes, but certainly fewer than she expected as rebuilding continued. The biggest thing she noticed is that there seemed to be more grass and trees. It was as if parks sprouted from nowhere. The foot traffic seemed proof enough that the mass exodus many had predicted never came to pass and the buildings, albeit newer, hadn’t significantly changed in size at least as far as she could remember. Simultaneously there also seemed to be more space. Perhaps the streets were smaller? Some lampposts sacrificed? She shook her head as she walked toward the edge of town. Maybe it was all an illusion.
Bonnie had recommended a new park as somewhere to view the sunset. Set up at the edge of town there was not just a park but a memorial. It was a crystal that apparently represented the re-birth of Kalos and here, in the orange of the setting sun, she realized they’d placed it here so that it would never miss the light. It was beautiful, but it was a long walk back to the Pokemon Center and it would’ve made more sense to come as she was leaving the city than it did to come down. Then again, Bonnie had a tendency to be overly enthusiastic.
Serena?
Hey Ash.
She thought she heard a noise nearby, almost like a bell, but put it out of mind.
How was lunch?
Interesting.
Bonnie wasn’t spilling much about camp and Clemont was acting downright weird.
There it was again.
She sent me to this memorial on the edge of the city. It’s quite beautiful but a little bit out of the way since I’m staying at the Pokemon Center downtown.
PING.
“She sent me here too,” Ash said, waggling his Pokedex.
“Ash?! You – but – what are you doing here?!”
He closed the distance between them. “I told you I was home.”
“But that’s Kanto!” Stepping directly up to Serena, he reached his hands toward her face as she blushed furiously. “A-Ash?” she squeaked.
Cupping her head in his hands, Ash pressed his lips against hers, pulling her closer as she kissed him back. It was strong, urgent, as if he’d never get another chance. After a moment, their mouths broke and they locked eyes with each other, blue meeting brown as Serena’s hair was lit by the orange sun.
“Ash…”
“I am home, Serena,” he said, pulling away. “If you don’t mind me tagging along with you that is.”
“You…want to travel…with me?”
“I’ve been a lot of places, Serena. Met a lot of people. Made great friends. But you’re the only one who ever made me risk it – coming back. Back to stay I mean.”
She laughed lightly, a smile playing on her lips. “I thought you didn’t go back.”
He kissed her again, this time more gently. “Somebody told me making new memories was a good idea.”
“Somebody’s gotten a little smarter over the past year. But why do you want to make new memories with me?”
They were nose-to-nose again and as Serena leaned in, Ash whispered. “Probably because I love you.”
She kissed him like she had the first time at the airport, soft and tender, but quick. “I love you too, Ash.”
The sun set as the pair sat together on one of the benches, Serena laying her head on Ash’s shoulders as they stared out at the world in front of them. He’d give her the small box he’d brought later: a fresh blue ribbon and a simple card addressed to the one girl Ash Ketchum decided he would never leave: ‘To: Serena, My Kalos Queen’.