Hello, everyone! This is the first chapter of the story I talked briefly about in my note in I'll Always Look for You. I'll be updating this story as I write, instead of finishing it all first. That way, I can take some of your comments into consideration when writing! And yes, this is the sequel to New Years, New Beginnings. If you didn't read that, I strongly suggest you do. I do explain inside the story what happened post-kiss, and it may seem slightly OOC, but I thought that it worked better that way. So, enjoy!

Sun streamed through the window of the Pokémon Center room that Serena, Bonnie, Clemont and Ash had rented, signalling that morning had arrived. The only one awake, though, was Serena.

Of course, it was to no fault of the others. It was still very early in the morning, and Clemont usually woke up a half hour later than it was now; Ash usually slept in as late a possible; and Bonnie. . .well, it took forever to get her up in the morning!

She yawned silently, stretching her arms as she got up. Getting out of the [very comfortable] bed, she made her way sleepily to the window. Peeking around the curtains, careful not to let the light wake anyone, she took in the beauty of the morning.

A light layer of frost covered the ground, sparkling in the sunlight. The sky was cloudless, allowing the sun to shine through at maximum brightness. All in all, it was a perfect day for the tail end of winter.

That is, until the calendar app on Serena's tablet popped up with a notification, bringing her whole day down.

Feb. 19- Dad's passing

She stopped in her tracks. So it was that day again. Taking a deep breath, she put the tablet into sleep mode; she wouldn't be needing it today anyways. She, Ash, Clemont and Bonnie had decided to stay in this area for another day, so Ash and Serena could get in some more training. She was especially glad for it, now.

Taking a deep breath, Serena looked around the room. Everyone was still sleeping soundly, showing no signs of waking anytime soon. She nodded to herself before glancing back at the blank tablet. It was time for the sort-of routine she did every year.

Throughout the years since her dad's passing, Serena had figured out that as long as she kept herself busy and distracted, she would be alright. That was the only time at home she was actually grateful for her mom's rhyhorn racing lessons.

For right now, though, there was no better way to keep herself busy than to bake!

As silently as possible, she grabbed the bag with her dry ingredients in it, Pancham and Fennekin's poké balls, and a cloth-wrapped object. Before she left the room, she scratched out a quick note on a pad of paper she found.

Went to the kitchen to bake. Don't wait to eat, I'll grab something on the way. ~Serena

Satisfied, she left the room, closing the door silently behind her. She didn't bother getting anything to eat on the way, contrary to what she had said in her note. She had a couple snacks in her bag for when she was waiting for her treats to bake.

Entering the kitchen, she set her bag on the counter before calling out Fennekin and Pancham. The two small pokémon emerged with a yawn, taking in their surroundings. They usually first came out in the morning for breakfast, so they were a bit confused as to why they were currently in a kitchen. Fennekin looked questioningly up at Serena, who chuckled a bit.

"It's all right, Fennekin. We're just going to do some baking. Here," she said, digging around in her bag, "I brought us some snacks." Pulling out a couple Oran berries for Fennekin and Pancham and an apple for herself, she drew out the rest of her dry ingredients.

While Serena had her back turned, preheating the oven, Pancham noticed the cloth-wrapped object and began poking it. Cautiously, he prodded it some more, but the cloth was on tight enough where it didn't move.

"Oh! I almost forgot," Serena exclaimed, picking up the object. She carefully unwrapped it, carefully placing the object on the counter: a picture frame with a photo of a man and a little girl, asleep against each other.

As Fennekin and Pancham gazed intently at the picture, Serena sighed fondly. "That's me and my dad, back when I was five," she explained. "He took me and my mom on a surprise picnic that day. It's always been one of my favorite pictures of him."

"Pan pan Pancham," Pancham said questioningly, as if asking why Serena had brought the picture into the kitchen.

"Well, my dad died about two years after this picture was taken. It's the anniversary today of his death, so I need to keep myself busy. One year I didn't, and I ended up crying in my room the entire day. So that's why we're here this early, and that's why we're gonna work extra hard today, alright?"

"Fen!" Fennekin cried happily, before coming up to Serena and licking her hand. Pancham punched a fist in the air, up to the challenge.

"Alright then, let's get started! I bought the ingredients we need to make lemon bars, how about it?" She walked over and preheated the oven before starting on the crust. "I think this'll make a nice, bittersweet treat for later, don't you think?"

Serena and her partners spent the rest of the time finishing the lemon bars. Just as the bars were coming out of the oven, she heard someone enter the kitchen. "Serena?" They said. "Are you alright?"

Serena turned, placing the hot pan on the counter to cool, before looking at Ash, already dressed and ready to go for the day. Pikachu, as usual, was perched on his shoulder. "You're up early."

"So are you," he countered. "Clemont, Bonnie, and I just got up not all that long ago, and Clemont wanted me to come check on you."

Smiling warmly at him, she said, "That was nice of him, but I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

Ash's brown eyes met her blue eyes as he leaned against the counter. Pikachu jumped down onto the counter, going over to Fennekin and Pancham. "You didn't completely silence your calendar."

Her breath caught in her throat. "Did anyone else. . . ?"

"I silenced it before they could see it," he answered immediately. "Only I saw it, don't worry."

Sighing, Serena thanked him. "I don't want them to feel bad or anything; it's over and done with. That's a picture of me and him," she added, pointing to the framed picture on the counter that Fennekin and Pancham were studying once again. Pikachu stared at it now, too.

Ash gave it a closer look. "Judging from the picture and what you told me on New Year's Eve, it seems like you two were really close."

"Yeah. We were." She shook her head, clearing the thoughts seeping into her brain. "I don't want to talk about it now, though. I need to distract myself, or else I'll become a crying mess. That's why I came in here to bake. Speaking of which. . . Fennekin, do you think they're cool enough?"

Fennekin sniffed the pan, then nodded with a smile. "Kin!"

"Great! Want to try one, Ash? And Pikachu, too?" Serena asked, grabbing a knife and carefully cutting the lemon bars.

"Yes, please!" He answered, looking at the lemon bars with a gleam in his eye. Pikachu answered in its own language, but still with the same amount of enthusiasm. Serena chuckled, prying one out of the pan and onto a napkin. Ash reached for it hungrily, but she pulled it away from him.

"Nuh-uh. You have to wait for me, Fennekin, Pancham, and Pikachu to get ours," she teased.

"Aw, come on!" He protested, deflating a bit. "Those smell soooo good!"

Sliding four more onto napkins, she said, "Thank you, but you still have to wait just one more second." Handing one to Fennekin, one to Pancham, one to Pikachu and one to Ash, she picked up the final one herself. "All right, go ahead."

Ash, Pancham, and Pikachu devoured theirs in a matter of seconds; meanwhile, Serena and Fennekin took a bite of theirs and flinched. "Too bitter! I think I used too much lemon juice in these," Serena said apologetically.

"I didn't notice," Ash said, prompting her to swat his arm. Pikachu and Pancham agreed, Pancham reaching for another before Fennekin swatted him with her tail.

"Of course you didn't, you practically swallowed it whole!" She had to admit, she liked how they had become after the kiss she had given him on New Year's Eve. The next day, she had fully confessed her feelings for each him- in front of Clemont and Bonnie, accidentally- and although they decided to not date quite yet, as neither of them were really ready for that, they proceeded to a whole new level of closeness. She fully enjoyed it, too- she felt that she could be more relaxed around him, and felt herself joke around more. Ash continued what he normally did, but was more observative. Bonnie and Clemont, on the other hand. . . they had made a game of getting them alone together as often as possible to try and see if they would kiss. Or, at least, Bonnie did, and made Clemont watch with her.

Before they could cool too much, Serena transferred the lemon bars into the container usually reserved for poképuffs. "I'm not going to eat these, but everyone else can if they like them." She pushed her unfinished lemon bar over to Ash, who began eating it after breaking it in half and giving the other half to Pikachu. Fennekin soon gave hers to Pancham as well. "It's odd, though; I used the juice of two lemons like I usually do, and it's never this bitter."

Swallowing another bite, Ash asked, "Did you do everything else the same?"

She nodded. "Of course. I never deviate from this recipe. It was the first thing I learned how to bake, and it always came out just right. I wonder why it didn't this time?"

"How many times have you made this recipe?"

"Countless times; it was the first thing I learned how to make. It was my grandma's recipe, and my dad's favorite." She shook her head, watching Pancham devour his third bar. "I didn't do anything different, but this is the first time I make it with Fennekin and Pancham. . ."

Ash and Serena turned to the said Pokémon, one of which was already onto his fourth lemon bar.

"All right, did either of you do anything to the batter?" Serena asked, hands on her hips. Fennekin looked up, shaking her head, before going back to chasing Pikachu around on the ground.

"Pancham? What about you?" Ash asked curiously.

Pancham looked at the two trainers, a small smile on his face from the lingering bittersweetness of the bars. "Pan Pancham cham."

"I did leave him in charge of measuring the sugar," Serena muttered. "Pancham, can you show me how much sugar you put in?"

Pancham swallowed the last bit of his lemon bar, then grabbed one of the now-clean measuring cups, handing it to Serena.

"That's it! Pancham, the recipe called for one-thirds cup sugar, not one-quarter," she chided. Pancham deflated a bit, perking up again when Serena set her hand on its head. "It's all right, Pancham, we'll get it right next time."

She waited a moment, seemingly for nothing, then called out, "Bonnie, do you and Clemont like really lemony treats?"

Ash looked at her, a confused look on his face. "What-"

"I do, but Clemont doesn't," Bonnie answered, popping into the room. "How'd you know I was out there?"

"Just a hunch," Serena answered with a wink. "How long have you been out there?"

"Long enough to know Pancham didn't put in enough sugar. What did you make?" She asked, running over to the counter and trying to peer into the container.

Serena giggled, bringing the container down to the small blonde's eye level. "Lemon bars. Would you like to try one?"

Bonnie's face lit up. "Yes, please!" She took one out of the container and started eating it. "Yummy!" Glancing into the container once more, she said, "Hey, there aren't a lot in there."

"You can blame that on them," Serena said, playfully glaring at Ash and Pancham. "At least Pikachu only ate one."

"Hey, I'm sorry if they're good!" Ash laughed. Bonnie laughed as well, stopping when something caught her eye.

"What's this?" She asked, gazing at the picture that was still set on the counter.

"Oh! Um, that's a picture of me and my dad," Serena answered, hurrying to pick it up but gingerly wrapping it in the fabric.

"Why haven't we met him yet? We've met your mom before," Bonnie inquired, her youthful curiosity shining through.

Serena's face turned a light shade of scarlet. She didn't anticipate being put on the spot about her dad this early in the morning. "Uh-"

"He travels a lot," Ash supplied. "For his job, I mean. Serena was just telling me about him."

"Oh, okay!" She looked down at her bad, noticing Dedenne was awake. "Can I give Dedenne a lemon bar, please?"

"Of course," Serena answered, her face paling back to its natural cream color. Then, as Bonnie busied herself with giving Dedenne small pieces of the bar, as well as eating some herself, she mouthed "Thank you," over the girl's head at Ash.

"No problem," he mouthed back, a smile on his face. She was wholly grateful that he understood that she didn't want to talk about her dad to Clemont or Bonnie just yet.

"Hey Serena, if you're done in here, can we go back to the room? Clemont's still waiting for us there," Bonnie remembered.

"Alright, just let me put my things back in my bag," Serena answered, already carefully placing her materials back into the bag they belonged in. Shouldering it once she finished, she started out the door with Fennekin and Pancham at her heels before Ash stopped her.

"Here, let me take your bag," he offered, holding his hand out. Serena blushed, embarrassed, but complied with a smile.

"Thank you, Ash," she said lightly, holding back a laugh as Bonnie and Dedenne bounced around them. Pikachu walked calmly with Fennekin and Pancham, but they were talking in their own language as if sharing a secret.

"When are you guys gonna kiss?" Bonnie asked, stopping momentarily at the two older trainers.

Before she could respond [or get the furious blush off of her face], Ash answered with a mischievous grin, "When the time is right." Of course, that only made Serena blush even more.

It was going to be a loooooong day.

So, what did you think? I've been having a little writer's block with chapter two, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to PM me, and if I use your ideas, I *WILL* credit you! Thanks~