Chapter Text
Delia Ketchum was a very intuitive person. Then again, you didn’t have to be in order to read her son like an open book, written in blazing letters.
Her son wasn’t the same person as he was when he left for Kalos. He was just a hint more..... aware, at least that’s the word Delia thought best described it. He talked slightly less, and listened a whole lot more. There were also the nightmares (but that’s a story for another day entirely.)
And then there was his new friends.
Now, Ash meeting new friends along his journey was nothing new. In fact, she had come to expect such things. These ones were different, however. One particular girl, Serena, had caught her interest, and she suspected had captured her son’s as well.
She knew about the late night calls when he thought nobody was awake. She knew about the pictures of her on Ash’s Pokédex (nothing explicit, thankfully. Just various images of this girl in places around Kalos.)
Now, Delia was playing the waiting game. Ash would tell her when he was ready. Turns out, he was ready a lot sooner than she thought. At breakfast after one particularly bad nightmare, Ash spoke up.
“Hey mom?”
”Yes honey?”
”When did you know that you liked dad?”
Delia blinked once, then once more. Ash never really talked about his father, then again neither did she. Something was off, “Why do you ask, Ash?”
Ash shrugged, “Just trying to figure some things out, I guess.”
Delia nodded, “I met your father in Pallet Town, actually. He was stopping by for a few days to rest, and ended up staying in some spare room in our family’s restaurant.”
”When did you know you liked him?”
”Well, he was always a handsome devil, but I only really developed feelings for him after he helped take care of some Team Rocket goons in town.”
”What did that feel like?”
Delia smiled, in spite of herself, “It was.....enchanting, I guess. From that day forward, I wanted to be by his side, and help him where he needed it, as I knew he would do the same for me.”
Delia couldn’t help but chuckle in bitterness. How ironic, “So, we talked. I journeyed with him for a bit, and we settled down.”
Ash nodded, seemingly thinking over the answers he had been provided.
Delia leaned closer to her son, “So, what’s my little Ash-man got on his mind now? Girl troubles? Guy troubles?”
”Mom!” Ash turned away, blushing furiously.
”What? Just covering my bases. So, who’s the guy or girl?”
”S...Serena.” Ash looked into his cereal.
”Serena, eh? What’s she like?” Delia smiled slyly. She may be enjoying this a pinch too much.
”She’s.... amazing. She’s kind and sweet and passionate. I... um..... really admire her.” The blush on Ash’s face couldn’t have been imaginary.
”Is she cute?” Delia smirked, reveling in the chance to tease her son, just a bit.
”Mom!” Ash put his face in his hands, hiding his rapidly growing blush.
”Just teasing, just teasing.” Delia assured her son.
.
.
.
.
.
.
”So is she?”
Ash groaned, “Fine, I suppose she is kind of cute.....”
”Oh ho ho!” Delia smiled, “My little boy’s got it bad.”
“So, what do I do now?”
”Well, that depends,” Delia shrugged, “Do you like her? Romantically I mean.”
”I..... um..... I don’t know.”
”Hmm..... let me put it this way,” Delia proposed, “Do you feel the same way about her that Pikachu does for Ketchup!”
”….That’s a weird way of putting it, but yes.” Ash answered quickly, surprising even himself.
”Right, then there’s a few things you could do. You could do nothing and try not to think about it, or you could tell her how you feel. Who knows? Maybe something good will come out of it.”
Ash nodded, considering his options. Really, there was only one. He had to tell her. Even if he had already blown his chance many, MANY times over, he had to try. Right now, he needed to prepare.
Hours away, across the ocean, Serena sat in a Pokémon center with her new found friends. It was mid-afternoon, yet Serena still found herself lost in thoughts about the conversation with her crush the night before.
”Hey Serena! Whatcha up to?” A performer with dark blue, almost black hair sat down in front of her, causing Serena to startle.
”Oh, just thinking about some things, Dawn.”
Serena’s other friend, a brunette wearing a green bandana, sat down between the two of them. “Pokebuck for your thoughts?”
Serena shrugged, “It’s stupid.”
“Fine,” Dawn sighed, “Two pokebucks.”
”It’s just guy troubles.” Serena shrugged, the familiar heartache beginning to set in.
May groaned, “Ugh, tell me about it. What’s he doing this time?”
”The thing is.... I keep sending him signals that I like him, but he still hasn’t given me a response. It’s this whole song and dance that’s been going on for about a year, and I’m not sure if it’s worth it anymore.” This tasted like admitting defeat.
”How clear were the hints?” Dawn inquired.
“I kissed him on the lips. Can’t get more obvious than that.” Serena sighed, absentmindedly stirring her coffee.
May had to restrain a laugh, “You serious?! You have this guy a smacker, right on the lips, and he ghosts you?”
”He hasn’t ghosted me. He’s just going on like nothing ever happened!” Serena sniffled, “I just..... I don’t understand. Is... is it me?”
Her own thoughts supplied the answer. Of course it is. You’re a failure, a pathetic excuse of a Pokémon performer. No wonder he doesn’t acknowledge the airport.
”No!” Her friends practically screamed at her, breaking Serena out of her thoughts.
”Serena,” May placed her hand on Serena’s shoulder, “listen to me. It isn’t you. He needs to give you a straight answer, and if he continues to play coy, demand one!”
”Yeah! Don’t give up until it’s over!” Dawn encouraged her.
Serena smiled slightly, remembering the first time those words were spoken to her. Maybe it was all just hopeful thinking. Maybe she had blown her chance many, MANY times over. It didn’t matter. After all, didn’t she deserve one last chance at happiness?
”You two always know what to say. Thank you.” Serena smiled, and stood up from the table.
”Where yah going?” Dawn asked, “We were going to practice for the next contest this afternoon.”
”I’ll be back in a minute! I have a phone call to .....” Serena was interrupted by her Pokédex buzzing, announcing an incoming call.
”Is that....?” May’s eyes lit up in anticipation.
Serena turned the device over.
Call from: ❤️❤️Ash❤️❤️
Serena gasped, nearly dropping the dex. “Gotta go!” She yelled as she raced to a private backroom.
Taking a few moments to compose herself, she stated at the caller ID. Even if he rejected her, which was more than likely, he would still want to be friends? They had to be, at this point. His friends were her friends.
Letting out the tense breath, she accepted the call, and steeled herself for whatever came next.