My Amour

Reunion

"CHUUUUU!"

Ash Ketchum was shocked awake. Literally. His body convulsed as what was probably thousands of volts coursed through the young trainer's body. After the assault ended, he flopped down and groaned loudly into his pillow. If Pikachu was shocking him awake, then maybe he really should get up.

...although his pillow was feeling very comfortable, and he'd been having such a good dream...

"Piiiiiiiikaaaaaaa-"

Ash's eyes snapped open. That couldn't be good.

Without thinking, he quickly shot into a standing position, blearily muttering, "Imawakeimawakeimawake!"

"Pi pika." Was the deadpan answer that Ash received. He'd bet that the little mouse probably had a disapproving look on its face too, but the sleep was really refusing to rub out of his eyes.

"Chu pika pi!" Ash snapped to attention at that. The time? Quick as he could with his limited sight and copious amount of eye goop(gross), the young teen reached over to his nightstand and grabbed the digital clock that sat there. He squinted his eyes, and got a good look.

...then he kept looking.

...and looking.

"Yeah, this clock ain't right, Pikachu. It's not-" before Ash could even finish his sentence, a smug noise coming from his partner caught his attention.

Pikachu was pointing directly at the analogue clock that sat on the wall. The one Professor Kukui had spent a weekend linking to the internet. The one that was literally never wrong.

Shit.

Ash ran towards the ladder, grabbing his nearest shirt and cargo shorts. There was always a chance the plane was delayed, right?

God, he hoped so.

Ash madly dashed around the shack. He'd been doing that a lot recently, hadn't he? No time to think now! Ash threw open the front door and was about to dash down the road until he heard a very distressed "Pika!"

His partner was standing right behind him, holding out his belt and hat.

"Ah geez! Thanks Pikachu, you've been a huge help this morning!" Ash quickly fastened the belt and threw the hat over his... electrically frazzled hair.

"Chuuu..." Pikachu said, shaking his head dejectedly. Ash didn't even need to speak Pokémon to know that it meant "What would you do without me..."

Ash grinned just a bit, then bent down and offered his shoulder to his partner. "Let's get out of here."

The mouse Pokémon hopped onto Ash's shoulder, and he quickly turned to leave, but not before taking another quick glance at the clock.

11:58

Shit

~~~

A ten minute dash later, and Ash felt a lot worse for wear. His shirt was soaked through with sweat, because of course it had to be the hottest Saturday of the year so far, and of course his hair wouldn't tame after the shocking it had taken that morning, and of course his clothes had only become more rumpled and wrinkled from the run over.

In short, he was gross. Not to mention incredibly tired.

Ash stifled a yawn as he walked into the arrival area of the airport. He was lucky that Melemele airport was so close, otherwise he'd be screwed.

"Oh, Ash!"

Oh. He was screwed. Because she was already here. Ash looked around for just a second before he spotted her.

Riding down an escalator was his Kalosian friend. A little part in Ash laughed at the irony.

Serena was, of course, a vision. He'd come to expect as much from his fashion oriented friend, not to mention the contest champion of Hoenn, but somehow he was still shocked at the sight of her.

She was wearing a gray hat, a sleeveless gray turtleneck, and a red and white plaid skirt. It was a great outfit, if Ash were to be honest. It felt... mature. Like a physical proof that Serena had grown on her journey. Ash really liked it. But there was something off about it. Something that nagged at Ash somewhere deep in his gut.

There was no-

"Hey Ash!"

There was no time to think about it now, since she was already walking over to him. And he still hadn't said anything in response. Or acknowledged her presence.

It very quickly dawned on Ash that this was their first time speaking since she kissed him. He should probably say something, shouldn't he? She had broken into a light jog, and Ash could make out the determined grin on her face getting closer and closer.

"Uh, hey. How are-"

But before Ash could finish his sentence, Serena reached out and circled her arms around him. Time slowed down. Every spot her hands touched burned hot, hotter than the Alolan sun he'd just ran through.

Ash's eyes widened, and he could make out the fire yet again burning in the warm oceans of her eyes. For a fraction of a second, Ash looked down at her lips. His body was still burning from the run over, but he was sure that her lips would somehow make him feel even warmer.

Was he about to kiss them again?

As soon as that thought floated across his mind, Ash ceased thinking. Serena moved in closer, her leg lightly bumping against his as she pulled him in close and-

Ash was met with a face full of honey-blonde hair and the scent of vanilla.

She was hugging him.

Awkwardly, Ash patted his friend's back. Had he really been expecting a kiss? Man, what was wrong with him? All the daydreaming and lack of sleep must've really been getting to him. It was hard to not just close his eyes and sink into a bit of snooze here, actually. It was nice and warm, and if his clothes weren't so sweaty, he'd pass right out. Wait. Sweaty clothes.

Ash jumped back, separating the two. Had she felt the sweat on his back? Arceus, he really hoped not. He couldn't explain why, but the last thing Ash wanted at that moment was for Serena to notice how gross he was. Quickly, he searched her face for any sign of disgust, but instead all he saw was her determined grin melting into a look of concern.

"Sorry, was that too much?" Serena asked. She bit her lip slightly and played with her fingers for a second before she caught herself. Ash could remember all the times before a showcase that she'd do the exact same thing. But she'd never stopped herself before. That was new. Slowly, she took a deep breath and the fire burned in her eyes again. "I just really missed you, is all."

Some of Ash's nerves melted away. It was all okay. She'd missed him too.

"Yeah, same here."