Hey, guys! I'm back again with another chapter! It's not long after I posted the last one. In fact, I'm writing this directly after posting the last chapter. Yes, that is the exact same thing that started off the last chapter. Anyway, let's get straight to the chapter!

"So," Evie started, looking at Ash and Serena through the wing mirror. "Why did you wink at me before, Ash? Wait, is that your name?"

Ash chuckled, nodding. "I just thought you were cute, or something. I don't know."

Serena felt a little jealous again, silently wishing that Evie was wearing a mask and that, in reality, she was the ugliest thing ever.

The next hour was filled with random conversation, both Ash and Evie getting along really well, occasionally subtly flirting with each other, causing Serena to feel a little jealous.

"Well, it was fun, you two!" Evie said as both Ash and Serena got out of the minibus. "And you too, Pikachu!"

"Yeah," Ash muttered as he slid out, Serena following close behind him.

"Hey!" Evie exclaimed rather suddenly. "I-I want to give you my number!"

Ash looked at her, shocked before he slowly nodded, pulling out his phone and walking over to her as she got out the minibus.

"Why do you want to give him your number?" Serena asked her, getting a mixture of jealous and worried.

"He's nice to me, and you are too! But, honestly, I only need one of your numbers, you know, then I can get yours later if Ashy- I mean if Ash sends it to me." Evie explained, getting a little embarrassed at the end, something that both Ash and Serena took note of.

"O-Okay," Serena stuttered as she watched them finish off.

"Right, so I'll just quickly text you to make sure it's correct," Ash told Evie before sending her the letter 'y' for testing's sake. "Let's just hope I did get it right, and a random person didn't just receive a message with a single, random letter."

Both Evie and Serena giggled a little before looking at each other, almost threateningly.

A ding sounded from Evie's phone, signalling with a thumbs-up that she had received the message and Ash had copied the number correctly.

"Well, we can talk later?" Ash asked her, to which Evie nodded before waving at both Ash and Serena, hopping back into the minibus and driving away.

"I don't trust her completely," Serena muttered, causing Ash to look at her.

"What?" Ash asked. "Why?"

"She's flirting with you!" Serena exclaimed, to which Ash looked confused.

"And?"

Serena blushed, realising that, to Ash, at least, it didn't matter. He wasn't in a relationship, so it's not a bad thing if someone starts flirting with him. "I-It doesn't matter," Serena said abruptly. "It's just that we met her today, and she's trying to make a move on you. It just seems a little creepy."

Ash chuckled. "She's harmless!" Ash told her, watching the minibus drive off in the distance. "Anyway, what time is it?"

"Half-past-five," Serena told him, looking at her phone. "Why?"

"Just trying to figure out what we should do," Ash said before getting an idea. "Okay! If we go back to that hotel and check in for a night, we can drop our stuff off, change clothes, maybe shower and, after that, we can go out to dinner."

Serena nodded, telling Ash that it was a good idea, to which they both headed to the hotel.

Two hours later, both Ash and Serena left the hotel without Pikachu, briefly explaining to him that they wanted to go out alone, to which Pikachu nodded, understanding their wishes.

"So, where are we going?" Serena asked Ash who shrugged, looking around Rouge Plaza which is where they were at the time.

"What about that restaurant?" Ash asked, pointing at a restaurant by the name of Maison Fantastique.

"Yeah," Serena nodded, agreeing.

Ash grabbed Serena's arm and led her over to the restaurant, causing her to blush a little with the contact.

The two of them entered the restaurant to be greeted by a French waitress. "Ah, bonjour! What can I do for you?" She asked with a thick French accent.

"We'd like a table for two, please," Ash said, to which the waitress nodded before leading them over to a small table, gesturing for the two of them, to sit down.

"I'll leave for a minute to decide on what you want to order," the waitress told them, to which they both nodded before she walked away.

"This place is really nice, isn't it?" Serena asked Ash, to which he nodded, both of them looking around the room, glancing at the well-decorated walls and the other customers having a nice time.

"I like that the lights are dimmed," Ash said nonchalantly, Serena nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, it makes it so romantic," she said without thinking before noticing what she said, covering her mouth and blushing with Ash chuckling at her.

"Yeah, it does," Ash said, shooting a quick wink at her playfully, making her blush more.

"So," Ash muttered, opening the menu and looking over the options. "What are you having?"

Serena shrugged, also looking over the menu before deciding on spaghetti. "What are you having, Ashy?"

Ash looked up at her, confused. "Ashy?"

"Well," Serena said, blushing. "That girl called you that, and I think it's cute... Like you."

Ash smiled at her, chuckling a little with a faint blush on his face. "Serena, I'm not cute."

"Yes, you are!"

"No," Ash said. "I'm damn-right fabulous!"

Serena giggled at him, placing her hand on top of his, smiling at him.

A few moments of silence passed between the two of them, both Ash and Serena looking at each other.

"I-I think I'll have spaghetti too," Ash said, quickly, pulling his hand out from under Serena's, closing the menu and placing it on top of Serena's.

The waiter headed back over to Ash and Serena as Serena retracted her hand in embarrassment, placing it on her lap.

"What would you two like?" The waitress asked them both, opening her notepad and clicking her pen.

"We'll both have spaghetti, please," Serena said, watching as the waitress wrote that down.

"Any drinks?" She asked them, to which Ash nodded. "I'll have some red wine, please."

"Oh?" The waitress asked, confused. "You don't look a day over seventeen."

"I'm eighteen," Ash told her, pulling out his wallet and showing her his I.D.

"Oh, so you are," the waitress said, nonchalantly. "I'm guessing your girlfriend is too?"

"Yeah," Ash replied, not caring that he just told the waitress that the two of them were dating, even though they weren't.

"Yeah, I am. And I'll have some red wine too," Serena told her, to which the waitress nodded and wrote that down.

"Okay, I'll go and tell the chef," the waitress told them before leaving.

"I don't believe that she couldn't tell I'm over eighteen," Ash muttered, looking at Serena. "I have stubble!"

"I had stubble when I was two," Serena told him, confusing Ash.

"What?" He asked, causing Serena to laugh.

"It's okay, it's okay, I'm joking," Serena explained, watching as Ash nodded in relief. "I first got it when I was three," she said, laughing again, causing Ash to laugh too.

"Yeah, that's better," he said through his laughter.

A few moments of silence passed between the two of them, neither of them knowing what to say, they just looked around a little and occasionally glanced at each other.

Their silence was broken by the waitress returning, handing them both an empty wine glass and placing the bottle on the table, smiling at both of them before walking away.

"So," Ash said, reaching out to the bottle and pouring some wine into Serena's glass, then the same amount into his own glass. "How have you actually been since you left Kanto?" Ash asked her, to which Serena smiled a little, picking up her glass and sipping the alcoholic substance.

"I've been good, thanks. Mum chose the best house ever, with a massive garden at the back and enough room at the front for our Rhyhorn to stay in its pen," Serena told him, watching as Ash took a sip of his wine and checked to see if the waitress was coming out of the kitchen with their food, which she wasn't.

"Nice," Ash muttered, looking back over to Serena. "What about school?"

"Oh, school..." Serena said, getting quieter towards the end.

"Are you alright?" Ash asked, getting a little concerned as he placed his hand on top of hers, not really thinking about what he was doing, just acting in a way that he thought would make her feel better.

"I-I'm fine!" Serena said abruptly, blushing at the contact, yet turning her hand over and squeezing Ash's. "Um, my school was horrible, honestly. It was really big, the classrooms stunk and they had no ventilation systems or air conditioning!"

Ash let out a breath slowly. "That sounds rough."

"Yeah, and it was a school that worked as a primary school and a high school at the same time, so I had to deal with every year, from year one to eleven!" Serena sighed, not being fond of the fact that she was remembering. "I didn't get in a relationship either! I've never been in one."

"Oh, me neither!" Ash told her, surprising Serena.

"Really? You?"

"Yeah."

"That's insane! You're so cute, and smart, and funny, a-" Serena said, cutting herself off quickly when she realised what she was saying.

Ash blushed at her words, smiling as he squeezed Serena's hand a little.

"Ah, the waitress is coming back," Serena said, pulling her hand out from under Ash's as she approached with their food.

"Here you go," she said, placing the food in front of them before giving a little curtsey. "Enjoy your meal!" And with that, she walked off.

Both Ash and Serena tucked in, making sure to not eat way too fast and look like slobs. Occasionally making small talk and sipping their wine.

Eventually, the two of them had finished. Ash paid for the meal and then they both left, heading back to the hotel.

"It's kind of cold," Ash muttered, looking over at Serena to see that she was shivering a little. "Here," Ash said, putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him.

Serena blushed, but, nonetheless, wrapped her arms around Ash's chest, resting her head on the side of Ash's shoulder, looking in the direction they were both going.

"Ash," Serena started, looking up at him for a moment.

"Yeah?" Ash replied, wondering what she was going to say.

"Can we sleep together again tonight?" Serena asked, looking back up at him and giving him the cutest look she could muster.

Ash chuckled a bit, resisting the urge to kiss her as he nodded, causing Serena to squeal in delight and squeeze him tighter.

"We're nearly there, Serena!" Ash told her, to which she looked over and saw the hotel across the road.

The two of them hurried across before going in, ignoring the receptionist who was a little shocked to see them that close together. Both of them went up the stairs as they couldn't be bothered to wait for the lift.

"Shall we go to bed now?" Serena asked Ash when they got in the room, pushing him onto the bed playfully.

"Yeah, we can," Ash said, pulling off his shirt and trousers before hopping into the bed.

"How did you do that without being embarrassed?" Serena asked Ash, giggling at him when he shrugged, attempting to look as cute as possible to her.

"Let's just say that I'm excited to sleep with you again," Ash told her, making her giggle and blush before she pulled off her tank top and skirt, embarrassed but wanting to get in bed with Ash as quick as possible.

"I just want to say that you look so cute in your underwear," Ash told her, to which Serena blushed, literally jumping on top of Ash and pinning him down.

"Don't say that again, Ashy," Serena said in a mock-threating voice.

"Oh, why?" Ash asked, pretending to be scared.

"Because otherwise, I'm going to slap you so hard you're going to come out of this bed and go through the ceiling!"

Ash laughed at that, as did Serena. Serena adjusted herself until she was under the covers, her head on Ash's shoulder, facing him.

"Ashy, can I tell you something?" Serena asked Ash who laughed and nodded.

"What is it?" Ash questioned, having no idea what she was going to ask.

"I think you'd be a perfect boyfriend," she said, nuzzling her head into the side of Ash's face.

"W-What?" Ash asked, stuttering.

"For anyone," Serena said, wrapping her arms around him and nuzzling more. "You'd be a perfect boyfriend."

Ash smirked, gaining the best idea of what to say. "So, even for you?"

Serena blushed, shrugging. "I don't know," she muttered. "I mean, you'd be great, but I'm not looking for a relationship, right now, at least," Serena told him, lying, but feeling bad when she saw Ash seem to get a little disappointed.

"Well, we should go to sleep," Ash muttered, turning over and turning off the light, pushing Serena off him, much to her disdain.

"Hey!" She exclaimed, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him onto his back.

"What?" Ash asked, wondering why she was getting annoyed.

"I wanna sleep on top of you," she said, Ash sighing as a response.

"Fine," he said as if it were a pain sleep like that.

"Thank you," Serena said, kissing him on the cheek lightly before resting her head on Ash's chest.

"Why did you kiss me?" Ash asked her, to which Serena giggled before looking up at him.

"Don't think about it too much," she said before resting her head on his chest again.

The next morning, the two of them rose out of bed, quickly getting dressed and packing up their things before heading to the airport so Ash could go back to Kanto.

"What time is your flight?" Serena asked him as they entered the airport.

"It's boarding at half-past-eleven."

"Well, it's nine now, so you have enough time to get some food and get through security," Serena told him, to which Ash nodded.

"Well," Ash started. "We'll get through security first, and then get food if we have time."

Serena nodded at that, knowing that it was a better option than risking it.

As soon as they got through security and had been searched, both Ash and Serena sat down and talked to each other for a good twenty minutes before they went into a shop an grabbed some breakfast bars for the two of them to eat, as there were only ten minutes left before the flight would start boarding at the time.

"These are actually really tasty," Ash muttered as he finished off the bar, Serena finishing off hers too.

Serena nodded in agreement, looking at the time to see that there were five minutes left.

"Ash, you should get to the gate," Serena said, starting to feel a little sad.

"Yeah," Ash said, agreeing. "But, first, Serena. I need to tell you something."

"Oh?" Serena asked confused.

Ash sighed. "I've thought about this for a while, and I've figured out what I want to say."

Serena nodded, confirming that she was listening.

"Serena... I'm in love with you!" Ash said, surprising Serena as she didn't expect him to say anything like that. "I fell for you when I first saw you. Back when I helped you at Oak's camp."

Serena was speechless, unable to process the situation. "Ash, I don't know what to say!" Serena exclaimed before pulling Ash into a hug. "I love you too," she said, not being able to think of anything else to say.

"Y-You do?" Ash asked, a little shocked.

"Of course!" Serena said, pulling away from Ash and looking at him in the eyes.

"Can I- Can I kiss you?" Ash asked her, to which Serena blushed and giggled.

"It's what I've wanted you to do for ten years," Serena said, leaning towards him.

"I love you, Serena," Ash told her.

"I love you too, Ash," Serena responded.

That was when it happened. The two of them leaned in together, meeting in the middle with a long, passionate kiss. They stayed like that for a good twenty seconds, neither of them wanting to pull away. But the need for oxygen overtook the wish to not part, therefore, they both pulled away simultaneously.

"I better go," Ash said, grabbing Serena's hand.

"Okay," Serena replied, not wanting Ash to leave.

"I'll keep in contact over the next month and I'll tell you when I'm coming back," Ash told her, to which Serena nodded.

"You better come back," she said, in a mock-threatening voice. "I want to spend more time with you!"

"I will come back," Ash said, reassuring her. "I don't want to leave my beautiful girlfriend waiting."

Serena blushed a little. "I'm your girlfriend?"

"If you want to be, that is," Ash told her, secretly hoping she would say yes.

"Of course I want to be!" Serena exclaimed, pulling Ash back into another hug. "Goodbye, Ashy!"

"Goodbye, Serena," Ash said, kissing her again for a few seconds before pulling back, heading to the plane with Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Was that a good way to confess to her, buddy?" Ash asked him, to which his little, yellow mouse nodded, saying his name a few times with a thumbs-up, telling Ash that he thought it was perfect. "You were the only one who knew, did you know that?"

Pikachu nodded, telling Ash that even if he did tell someone else, he would know, seeing as they were almost together all the time.

Ash laughed. "You're right, buddy."

And with that, the two of them boarded the plane, taking a seat and looking out of the window at the airport. He didn't know how, but Ash could tell that Serena was looking at the plane through a window. He never saw her, and she never saw him, but they both knew that they were staring at each other.

"You know, Pikachu," Ash said, getting the mouses attention. "I'm happy I fell for that girl."

Ash looked over at Pikachu, giving him a quick smile before looking back at the airport. One thing he would never regret was confessing to her; the girl he fell for all those years ago.

Wow! Three-thousand words! That's how long this chapter was. If you're wondering why it's because I wanted to get a lot of details into the last chapter, obviously with the whole plot, and I didn't want this story to go on for too long seeing as I'm going to start writing a sequel soon. Yes! You read that correctly! A sequel! I don't want to make more chapters for this story, seeing as I'll be picking up around the end of the month Ash is spending in Kanto, so, if that's just the next chapter, then it will be confusing. Anyway, that story will be called 'Longtime coming,' so make sure to look out for the first chapter of that. The best way to do that will be to follow my profile so you're alerted as to when I post a new chapter or story. Anyway, aside from that, I want to thank you all for supporting this story. I had a blast writing it, and after around four months, it's finally finished. I will continue to create stories, and I hope that you will continue to read them. That's it for now, so I will see you soon with the sequel! BYE!