So this is basically just a fluffy (I think) diodeshipping thing where everything is Bonnie and Serena's fault. Question though: do the Pokémon Showcases even have flyers? If not, I'm sorry. Thanks and enjoy Ash, Take Care of Clemont.

Ash, Take Care of Clemont

"Oh no!" Serena cried as she read the flyer for the upcoming Pokémon showcase.

"What's wrong?" Bonnie asked, concern in her wide blue eyes.

"The next showcase is a tag-team!" she complained. "I won't be able to compete!"

"Why not?" Ash questioned.

Serena shot him a glare. "Because Shawna isn't going to be in this one and Bonnie's too young. This is horrible!"

She was about to yell at him some more –not that she was mad at Ash, but still –when she realized something. Ash was always willing to help a friend, right? And he knew all of her routines . . . But the Pokémon Showcase was girls-only. Eh, she could work around that. Without warning, Serena grabbed Ash's wrist and pulled him away from the group, ignoring cries of protest and confusion from all three of her companions. She had a lot of work to do and not a lot of time in which to do it.

"I hate this!" Ash complained some time later. "Why can't Clemont dress like a girl instead?"

"Because Clemont gets stage fright," Serena explained as she worked on Ash's makeup. "Ooh, Sunrise Rose is a perfect shade for you!"

Ash had no idea what that meant; all he knew was that he hated dressing up like a girl. It was so humiliating! And that dress. Serena really wanted to embarrass him, didn't she? The dress was knee length and shimmering with every color of the rainbow, with long ribbons wrapped around his waist. The shoes were strappy blue torture devices. To make matters worse, she had even forced him into a long pink wig.

"There," Serena smiled, stepping back. "Wow Ash, you look great!" To prove her point, she handed him a mirror.

Well, he actually looked like a girl –a pretty girl, even. But he still didn't like that he had to do this. Why did he have to wear the rainbow?! Serena's dress, on the other hand, was dark grey and black, with small frills and lots of beading. Why couldn't he have worn that? Not that he wanted to wear any dress, but it would have been better than his colored monstrosity.

"Why am I doing this again?" Ash asked as he set the mirror down.

"Because I'm your friend," Serena explained sweetly. "And if you don't, I'm telling Clemont about your crush on him."

"You wouldn't."

"I would. Now for Frogadier and Talonflame's outfits!" Serena grinned, pulling out yards and yards of purple, red, and blue ribbon.

Both Pokémon stared at Ash with betrayal in their eyes. He felt horrible for putting them through this, but if he had to dress up, so did they. At least Pikachu had the sense to stay behind with Clemont and Bonnie, otherwise it might've been dolled up as well. Finally, after attacking them with glitter and fabric, Serena stepped back.

"Aw!" she cooed. "You're so cute!"

Frogadier had been wrapped in red and purple ribbons, with a decorative red bow on the top of its head. It would never get the glitter out of its frubbles! Talonflame, on the other hand, had blue and purple ribbons trailing from its wings. It had half a mind to burn them off, but it knew that would upset Ash and Serena (but mostly Serena).

"Alright, let's go win a Princess Key!" she grinned, pulling Ash out the door, their Pokémon close behind.

Clemont was starting to worry. Ash and Serena had been gone a long time. What were they doing? What if she had told him about Clemont's crush on him?! Sure, it wasn't very logical, but fear never was. He didn't want Ash to find out; he was afraid that the dark-haired Kantonese boy would want him to leave the group if he knew.

Clemont was so worried, in fact, that he almost missed their return. But it would have been very hard to miss them with that explosion of color. Wait . . . was that Ash . . .?

"Hi!" Serena greeted, twirling in her dark gown. "What do you think?"

"So pretty!" Bonnie grinned. "Who's your friend?"

Serena smiled wickedly. "This is Ashley. She's going to help me win my next Princess Key."

Bonnie's eyes glittered in a way Clemont had come to fear. Please don't do it. For the love of Arceus, please don't do it.

She did it.

"You're a keeper!" the little girl announced, kneeling before Ash. "Will you please take care of my brother?"

Utter. Silence.

Clemont's face was burning as he refused to meet Ash's eyes. Had he looked up at him, however, he would have seen the indecisive look in the boy's eyes.

"Yes," Ash finally answered in a falsetto voice. "I-I'll, um, take care of your brother."

Bonnie looked up at the currently pink-haired boy, joy written all over her face. Finally! She found a dependable, pretty girl for her brother! She launched herself at 'Ashley,' wrapping her tiny arms around 'her' waist in a tight hug.

"Thank you!" the little blond squealed. "You'll love him, I promise!"

"I know I will," Ash smiled softly.

Well, this was getting very awkward for Serena and Clemont. So Serena decided to do something about it. She reminded Ash that they had to go and sign up for the showcase. After untangling the young girl from Ash's waist, the duo hurried into the building, leaving the siblings alone. Clemont looked at the proud look on his sister's face. What just happened?

Ash and Serena made it past the first round with ease –it was a tag battle that had to incorporate style and elegance, two qualities Serena had in spades. During the break, however, Bonnie noticed that Ash was missing, even though she had Pikachu in her lap.

"Oh, he's, uh, around," Clemont answered nervously when she asked. "He'll be back before you know it."

Thankfully, before any other questions could be asked, the lights dimmed for the second round. Two other groups went before Ash and Serena, both very good. Then came the final performance.

They stood back to back, their own Pokémon facing them, as they waited for the music to start. Water and fire flew across the stage, an occasional Dark Pulse thrown into the mix. Ash did trip once and fall down, though he did his best to play it off as an intentional tumble. When the routine ended, Talonflame on Ash's shoulder and Panchem on Serena's, both trainers were breathing heavily and smiling at the crowd. Wow, this was actually kind of fun. Ash understood the appeal.

When it came time to announce the victors, Serena was so delighted to hear "Serena and Ashley are the winners of the Tag-Team Pokémon Showcase!" that she took Ash's hands and spun him around the stage, laughing giddily the whole time. They did it!

Backstage, Clemont and Bonnie ran toward Ash and Serena, the littlest one throwing her arms around Ash once more. Not only was she the perfect girl for her big brother, but she helped Serena win! This girl really was a keeper! Eventually Serena managed to pull her away, citing some lame girly excuse for why they had to leave 'Ashley' and Clemont alone right now.

When they were finally alone, neither of them knew what to say. Eventually, Clemont broke the silence.

"Did you mean it?" he asked softly.

"Mean what?" Ash returned, confusion on his face.

"What you said to Bonnie."

Understanding replaced the confusion. "Yeah, I did. I, uh, I really like you, Clemont."

"Really?" No one could deny hearing the hope in the young inventor's voice.

"Yeah," Ash repeated. "I mean, if you like me too."

Clemont pushed his glasses up as he nodded. "I-I like you too, Ash."

That was all the crossdressing boy needed to hear. He gently pulled Clemont close, giving him the sweetest first kiss anyone had ever had. At least, that's what it seemed like to him. In reality, it was messy and not very coordinated and resulted in Ash's wig somehow falling off, but neither of them care. At least, not until they were interrupted.

"Big brother, have you seen –Ash?!" Bonnie yelped, causing the two of them to pull apart. "ASH?! YOU'RE the girl?!"

"B-Bonnie, I can explain–" Ash began before he was interrupted.

"This is perfect!" she squealed. "I knew Clemont was in love with you! Ooh, when you get married, Pikachu can be the flower Pokémon! It'll be so cute!"

As the youngest in the group rattled off her ideas for their 'perfect wedding,' Ash and Clemont just stood there, hands quickly becoming interlocked. Who would have guessed that any of this would lead to them finally admitting their feelings for one another?

Alright, so the ending was a little cheesy. I will take full responsibility for that. But what did you think? And does anyone else want an episode with Ashley where Bonnie asks 'her' the famous question? Thanks for reading!

~C