serena didn't often wake up in the middle of the night. she's a very heavy sleeper, actually, but arceus was clearly not on her side as she continues to fail in her efforts to go back to sleep. she sits up in the bed her and bonnie had agreed to share in the pokémon center, preparing herself to get a drink of water and maybe scroll through her phone until sleep finally takes over.
she moves carefully, making sure not to wake the young girl next to her before tip-toeing toward the mini fridge across the room. her gaze shifts from said fridge to the bed a solid foot or two away from hers and bonnie's where she notices that something - no - someone was missing.
"ash?" she whispers, looking in all directions to find where the boy may be. it's then that she notices the light creeping from the rooms door leading to the hallway and sighs.
she's aware that he does this sometimes. that all the traumas ash has went through in the past have resulted in numerous nightmares and sleeping problems, but he always sends a message to the girl whenever he goes out this late. and, as she silently walks to where her phone rests on a nearby nightstand, she is met with not a single notification of him saying such.
wanting to make sure her friend was okay, she slips on her boots that sit lined up with everyone else's, a gap between hers and clemont's where ash's should be, and pulls open the door with only a slight creek.
the artificial light of the pokécenter's hallways causes her blue eyes to squint for just a moment before she treads on to the elevator and down to the lobby. at 1:30am the lobby is more than empty, save for a young man and his skiddo sitting on one of the couches and the sleepy nurse joy at the front desk. the pink haired woman gives a small smile and waves, to which the honey-blonde girl waves back before going through the automatic doors to the concrete path outside.
it doesn't take long before the dim street lights reveal a messy haired figure sitting on one of the park benches. as she moves closer it becomes clearer that the figure is, in fact, ash ketchum.
"ash?" she says softly, causing the boys shoulders to jump. he turns his head and the lights reveal that he had been crying, an observation that causes the girl's heart to drop.
"oh, hi serena," the noirette says with a fake smile. his breathing still uneven and every few seconds the boy lets out a stuttered sniffle.
"a-are you okay, ash?" she questions as she moves to sit beside him, "if there's anything wrong you can talk to me i don't mind."
"im alright, no need to worry," he says, wiping away any stray tears.
"ash.." she trails off, thinking of what to say before the ding of a phone interrupts her thoughts.
ash lifts it up, revealing a message from someone with the contact name "gary :)"
her brow raises, but then she notices the smile that has crept upon ash's face as he sees the message that she didn't have the time to read before the tan boy next to her starts tapping a response.
"who's gary?" she questions once ash finishes typing and rests his phone in his lap with a smile. he stiffens and turns toward her quickly once the question is asked, almost as if he forgot she was there.
"oh, i-" he stutters out, clearly unsure of what to say.
"it's okay if you don't want to tell me, ill understand," she says with a smile, putting a comforting hand on the pokémon trainer's shoulder.
he stops and thinks for a moment before shaking his head.
"no, i-i can tell you, you're my friend, i can trust you," he says more to himself than to her, convincing himself that whatever he had to say his friend would be okay with, "you just.. you have to promise you won't hate me."
her eyes soften at the statement before she smiles and shakes her head, "ash, unless you decided to kick a baby pokémon or something, i promise nothing could change the way i think about you."
he smiles at the statement and nods his head, mouth opening and reopening as he plans how to tell her in his head.
"its just that, i know i can trust you with this, but ive only told one other person besides my mom and that's brock- and ive just felt so bad hiding this from all my friends but i just don't think i can keep this a secretanymore," he ramble words coming out faster and faster as he begins to obviously panic.
"ash."
the boy stops as serena cuts in, "it's okay if you can't tell me, really, if this has gotten you so nervous than you don't have to-"
"im gay."
blue eyes widen and meet brown as the words process through the performers head. it's like she doesn't believe but perfectly understands it at the same time.
it explains a lot really, of all the fans and pretty girls fawning over the trainer, ash doesn't bat an eye. no getting flustered or blushing up a storm like other boys. the noirette just blinks, thanks them, and walks away without a second thought.
"i-" she starts, but ash interrupts.
"im- im so sorry i knew you wouldn't like it, no one's ever going to like it, how am i ever going to be loved as a pokémon trainer if everyone knows im-" his words are rushed and his eyes glass over as he rambles to his friend, crushing serena's heart in the process.
he continues on before serena can't take anymore, "ash, please!"
he stops just as tears are starting to rush down his face. the girl sighs, pulling the boy into the tightest hug she could give, "it's okay."
after a moment, she feels the boy's body relax against hers as he lets out a sigh before pulling away. they look at each other before ash lets out a laugh and wipes away the tears that are still running down his face.
"really? you don't care?"
serena shakes her head, "of course not! ash ketchum, you are one of the greatest people i have ever met, something as simple as who you love won't change that."
he thinks over it before a huge smile stretches across his face and he pulls serena into a bone crushing hug.
"oh serena! you don't understand how happy this makes me!" the girl giggles as ash squeezes her tighter, not wanting to ruin the moment by informing him she can't breathe.
he lets go after a bit, looking at her with the usual sparkle that almost never leaves his eyes.
a familiar ding! interrupts the twos moment and ash quickly grabs his phone, smiling at the notification.
"is that gary?" she asks, playfully elbowing his arm. his face flushes a deep red as he playfully pushes her back.
"is he your boyfriend?" she teases as he types his response. he lets out a fake sigh of annoyance before smiling.
"yea," he sighs out, "he's all the way in sinnoh studying to be a pokémon professor, i miss him a lot."
"is that why you were-" ash nods.
"he said he might visit soon, but in order for that to happen everyone has to know.."
"then we'll tell them," she smiles, "and if they have anything to say about it, which they won't, then ill get braixen on them."
ash chuckles and so does she, pondering the offer, "okay! ill them once they're all awake."
serena cheers and claps her hands together before standing, "no that that's all over, im getting pretty tired aren't you?"
ash nods along, letting out a yawn as he stands next to her, "yea, you're right sere."
they walk toward the pokémon center in silence, and when serena goes to step inside ash suddenly grabs her hand.
"serena?"
"yeah ash?"
"thank you, for everything."
serena yvonne is ash's best friend and sister figure don't @ me.
