Love in the Time of Turbulence

Chapter 13: A Rematch

If the song "STRIKE BACK" by BACK-ON was meant to almost be representative for the Zinnia battle in the last story, then the song "Believe in Myself" by Edge of Life is definitely the song for the climax of this story. Enough rambling! Time for Chapter 13!

Chapter 13

A Rematch

"Are you okay?" Ash asked immediately, placing his hands on her shoulders. Serena noticed that Pikachu was back up top while Greninja kept vigil after offering a nod to Braixen, and she was glad that they had reunited with Ash. Pikachu seemed to smile back at her before Ash was talking again. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm fine," she answered, moving her hand up cup his face. "A little winded from getting blown back, but otherwise, I'm all right."

"Oh, good..." Ash breathed out, and she could practically see the tension leave his body so that he could relax. Once more, he pulled her in, holding tightly against her body in a hug. She swallowed a little, almost uncomfortable with such an affectionate Ash. Not that she didn't like it. From here, she could feel his chest rising and falling with every breath he took, and she could inhale his smell...even if said smell was one from not showering for a day. None of that mattered. "You have no idea how worried I was."

"How worried you were? I was the one worried, Ash," Serena insisted. "You were captured. I had no idea where you were, and...and..."

"No worries. I'm here now!" Ash exclaimed, chuckling a little. The howling above them increased, and Serena could see that purple beam reflected in her boyfriend's eyes. At least, she saw it until his eyes focused and he looked at her seriously. "Serena...I...if I asked you to go and help out the townspeople while I beat Team Neo, would you do it?"

Serena blinked. Was Ash...asking her what she thought? He continued to look at her earnestly, and she knew that he required an answer from her. So, she shook her head. "I wouldn't."

"That's what I figured..." he breathed out in response, holding onto the brim of his hat. Pikachu looked at him with a smile. "You went to Snowbelle, didn't you? Clemont told me."

"I did," she stated, not sure exactly where Ash was going with this.

"You must have fought in a battle there...you probably started fighting here..." Ash said, and she saw that worried look once more appear on his face. "I...I don't want to lose you. I knew that when we fought Zinnia in Ancien, but now that you and I are together, I really don't want to lose you at all. Every time we get into these kinds of battles, I'm scared I will."

"You're not going to lose me, Ash," she snapped at him. "As long as we stay by each other's sides, I promise that you're not going to lose me."

"But what if we can't always be by each other's sides? !" Ash asked. "What happens then...like when I ran off into the forest. I mean, that snowstorm..."

"Ash Ketchum, pull it together!" Serena snapped at him, stomping her foot on the ground angrily. At this, he looked up at her in surprise. "I am your girlfriend! Your girlfriend! Not just some porcelain doll to be put on a shelf. You're worried about me. It's sweet, and I understand that, but I worry about you, too! I worry that one day you're going to jump off a cliff to save a Pokémon and not come back...but that never stops me from letting you jump off that cliff."

"Wait...I worry you when I do stuff like that?" If Serena thought it was the appropriate time, she would have smacked her forehead and called him an idiot. Even Pikachu looked exasperated.

"Of course I do!" she responded, scowling at him. He seemed to recoil from the sight of this alone. "But, Ash, you can't keep pulling me from the path of oncoming trains...or Pokémon...or crime syndicates like Team Neo. As long as you and I are together, we have to trust that the other one will be okay. If that's not enough...then we protect each other."