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The Lumiose Airport was a place of goodbyes. For Serena Yvonne and her little found family, that fact was becoming painfully relevant.
“Please don’t leave…” Bonnie pleaded, clinging to Serena’s vest.
The honey haired girl gently took her chosen sister’s hands in her own, getting down on one knee so that they would see eye to eye.
“I’m going to miss you so much, Bonnie. But I think that this is going to be the best thing for all of us. I need to train more to be Queen, and you can practice for when you become a Trainer.” She placed a soft kiss on Bonnie’s forehead.
Bonnie sniffled. “Okay.”
Serena stood, pulling Clemont into an embrace. “Never stop inventing, mon frere. You can call me if you need anything. Even if you just need to ramble about one of your inventions.”
Clemont returned the hug with teary eyes.
“Ma sœur, please remember that your offer goes both ways. I’m always going to be in your corner.”
Smiling, Serena released the boy she’d come to see as a brother. She scratched Luxray behind the ears, just how he liked it, before turning to Ash. Serena had so much to say to him - a thousand and one statements of love raced through her mind, begging her to open her heart and voice everything contained within.
It’s not everything anymore, Serena realized. She had a reason to live for herself now, and while it didn’t diminish her love for Ash, the revelation left her feeling lighter, as if a Snorlax had woken up from a nap on her chest and moved away.
With her mind cleared, the words came easily.
“Ash, when I started my journey, all I wanted to do was to get away from my mom and Rhyhorn Racing. But then I met you, and you showed me what people can do with their Pokemon by their side. You showed me what it means to have a goal. I know what my dream is now: to become the kind of person who inspires others, like how you inspired me. And when we see each other again, I want you to like the person I’ll have grown into.”
Smiling softly, Ash placed the Performer’s hand in his own. “I’m sure I will, Serena.”
The loudspeakers crackled to life with the announcement that Serena’s flight was now boarding, ending the moment. The girl in question pulled away, the ghost of Ash’s touch lingering on her fingertips.
“Goodbye, everyone! I’ll make sure to call when I get to a Pokemon Center!”
Serena hoisted her messenger bag over one shoulder, starting to descend the escalator. As she did so, a sudden wave of melancholy hit her directly in the chest, and it made the honey haired girl realize something: she wouldn’t get another chance at this. If she was going to do something, now was the time to act.
“Hey, Ash? There’s just one more thing.”
She ran up the escalator and placed a feather-light kiss on his cheek, blushing but not backing away until the escalator moved against her.
Ash blinked, touching his cheek. In spite of her blush, Serena kept her eyes on the boy until the last possible moment, watching as he mouthed a quiet “oh,” looking for all the world like he’d been struck by a Thunderbolt.
“Serena! Wait!”
Serena was off the escalator now, walking towards her gate, but the sound of rapid footfalls on the floor of the airport made her turn around. She gasped - Ash was running up to her, that same determined glint that he got from a new battle strategy now present in his eyes. Curious, Serena slowed down, turning back to face him.
“You forgot something.” Ash whispered.
Then, taking her hand in his, Ash pulled Serena into a clumsy kiss. Their noses bumped, their foreheads barely avoided a collision, and both of their hats were knocked to the floor, but Serena didn’t notice. She was too busy returning the kiss, capturing the moment in her memories forever. There weren’t fireworks like her friends or the romance novels described. Instead, she experienced the sensation of connection, the feeling of the missing piece of her heart being returned in better condition than it had started in.
“I don’t want you to wait for me. You deserve to pursue your dreams without having to worry about me.” Ash murmured, once they broke for air.
Serena laughed, unable to shake her disbelief that this was actually happening.
“So let’s not think about that. My heart is yours, forever and always. And when we meet again, we can go on a real date.”
The last call for Serena’s flight rang out, and both teens reluctantly pulled away.
“Will you call me when you get to Hoenn?” Ash asked, still sounding uncharacteristically shy.
Serena laughed again. “Of course, silly! I’ll call you as soon as I land.”
With her hat retrieved, a settled heart, and a stern look from the gate attendant, Serena walked onto the plane, escorted until the last possible moment by the co-winner of the Lumiose Conference. People staring would swear that she glowed, as if Xerneas had blessed her themself. They wouldn’t be entirely wrong on that note, but that’s another story.
As Serena vanished down the jet bridge, Ash trekked back over to the Ampere siblings. Bonnie ran over and hugged him once he was within her range, cheering all the while.
“Can’t breathe, Bonbon.” Ash wheezed out, though he returned the hug nonetheless.
The nine year old eventually released her Arbok-like grip, but she immediately followed up the attempted asphyxiation by fixing her mentor with a stern look.
“Do you have any idea how long I waited for that, mister?”
“Bonnie!” Clemont admonished, but Ash just scratched at his neck with an embarrassed laugh.
“Okay, I’ll bite. How long?”
Bonnie beamed. “Since the Battle Chateau!”
Ash heard a strangled noise from Clemont, somewhere between a Luxio coughing up a hairball and a muttered prayer to Yveltal. He, on the other hand, couldn’t help but laugh.
“That long, huh? At least you figured it out before I did.”
An idea popped into Ash’s head, and wanting to spare Clemont further embarrassment at his sister’s hands, he checked his watch.
“Hey, we’ve still got an hour or two to kill before my flight. Want to have one last battle?”
Clemont adjusted his glasses with a small smile. “I’d be honored.”
Hours later, a plane touched down in Mauville City. Serena Yvonne strode towards her future feeling grounded and weightless, soft and steady, and above all, alive.
She smiled to herself. “Next stop, anywhere.”