Work Text:
Travelling with Ash Ketchum was rarely quiet.
Most days were loud, energetic, and unpredictable, full of training battles, excited Pokémon, and Ash charging ahead toward the next adventure without slowing down.
Which meant that most people’s attention was usually on him.
Clemont had long since accepted this as part of travelling with Ash.
Ash was the kind of person who naturally drew the spotlight. Whether he was battling a Gym Leader, discovering a new Pokémon, or simply talking excitedly about the next town, everyone seemed to orbit around him.
It didn’t bother Clemont.
He was used to working in the background.
But something else had quietly started happening during their travels.
Something small.
Something easy to miss.
Serena had begun orbiting somewhere nearby.
The first time Clemont really noticed it had been during one of his invention tests.
He had been adjusting a small device outside the Pokémon Center, something designed to measure electrical output from nearby power sources. It was delicate work that required careful calibration.
Ash had tried to help.
That lasted approximately twelve seconds.
Then Pikachu had spotted a wild Pokémon nearby, Ash had run after it, Bonnie had followed, and the moment had dissolved into excited chaos.
Clemont had sighed and returned to his work.
A few seconds later, Serena had crouched down beside him.
“What does that part do?”
Clemont blinked.
“Oh! This? It regulates the energy flow between the main circuit and the output relay.”
Serena leaned closer, studying the device with genuine curiosity.
“So it stops the machine from overloading?”
“Yes! Exactly!”
Clemont had been surprised.
Most people nodded politely when he explained things like that.
Serena actually listened.
It happened again later that week.
Ash and Bonnie had raced ahead along the road after spotting a group of flying Pokémon overhead.
Clemont had slowed slightly, checking something on his tablet.
Serena had slowed too.
“Are you mapping something?”
Clemont nodded.
“Yes. The terrain ahead becomes uneven. I want to make sure the safest route is marked.”
Serena smiled.
“That’s really thoughtful.”
Clemont adjusted his glasses.
“…It’s efficient.”
Serena laughed softly.
“Still thoughtful.”
They had walked the next stretch of road side by side.
Quietly.
Comfortably.
Another time, Clemont had helped Serena fix something.
Her performance ribbon case had broken during travel, the clasp refusing to stay closed.
Clemont had spent fifteen minutes adjusting the tiny mechanism with a toolkit from his bag.
When he finished, the clasp clicked perfectly into place.
Serena’s eyes lit up.
“Clemont, that’s amazing!”
“It was a simple repair,” he said modestly.
She held the case carefully.
“Still. Thank you.”
Clemont had felt strangely proud.
These moments were small.
Quiet.
Easy to overlook.
Especially when Ash was battling Gym Leaders or chasing after rare Pokémon.
But Bonnie noticed.
Bonnie noticed everything.
She noticed Serena asking Clemont questions about his inventions.
She noticed Clemont standing near Serena during meals.
She noticed Serena laughing at his explanations instead of getting bored.
And she definitely noticed how Clemont watched Serena perform during one of her practice routines in a town square.
His expression had been one of complete focus.
Bonnie folded her arms.
Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
“…Hmm.”
Later that evening, the group sat together inside a Pokémon Center lobby.
Ash was enthusiastically telling a story about a battle he’d had earlier that day.
“And then Pikachu used Thunderbolt and-”
“Pika!”
Serena laughed along with the others.
Across the room, Clemont was adjusting something on a small device again.
Serena stood up.
“I’ll be right back.”
She walked over to him.
Bonnie noticed immediately.
“…Interesting.”
Serena leaned slightly closer to Clemont’s workbench.
“What are you building this time?”
Clemont looked up.
“Oh! It’s just a small diagnostic tool for Pokémon Center equipment.”
Serena smiled.
“You say ‘just’ but it looks complicated.”
Clemont brightened.
“Well, it is somewhat complex, but the design is actually quite efficient-”
Bonnie watched them talk.
Watched Serena listening attentively.
Watched Clemont explaining with growing enthusiasm.
Slowly, Bonnie’s grin began to spread.
Ash’s story continued behind her.
No one else seemed to notice.
But Bonnie did.
She leaned back in her chair, completely satisfied with her discovery.
“Oh,” she whispered to herself.
“…I see what’s happening.”
And Bonnie loved knowing things before everyone else did.
Once Bonnie noticed something, she couldn’t un-notice it.
And once Bonnie decided something was interesting, she was absolutely not going to let it go.
Over the next few days, she began paying much closer attention.
Not to Ash.
Not to Pikachu.
Not even to the group’s next destination.
No.
Bonnie was watching Clemont.
And Serena.
It was actually very easy to spot once you started looking.
For example:
When Ash suggested a training battle with a nearby trainer, Serena stayed behind at the Pokémon Center.
Bonnie had assumed she would be practicing her performances.
Instead, Serena was sitting beside Clemont at a table while he worked on one of his inventions.
She rested her chin in her hand, watching him carefully adjust a tiny component.
“So if that wire goes there,” Serena said thoughtfully, “wouldn’t the current loop back through the circuit?”
Clemont froze.
Then slowly looked up.
“…That is actually correct.”
Serena smiled.
“I’ve been listening.”
Bonnie, sitting across the room with a juice box, narrowed her eyes.
“…Suspicious.”
Later that afternoon, the group walked through Lumiose City.
Ash and Pikachu ran ahead after spotting a Pokémon they hadn’t seen before.
Bonnie immediately ran after them.
But halfway down the street she stopped.
Something was missing.
She turned around.
Clemont and Serena were still behind.
Walking side by side.
Talking quietly.
Bonnie slowly crouched behind a decorative planter.
“…Interesting.”
Serena was laughing at something Clemont had said.
“Wait, so that invention actually launched you into the fountain?”
Clemont adjusted his glasses nervously.
“It was a calibration error.”
Serena giggled.
“You fell into the fountain.”
“…Yes.”
Serena laughed again.
Bonnie watched from her hiding spot.
Her eyes narrowed further.
“…Very interesting.”
That night, Bonnie made her move.
The group sat around a table inside the Pokémon Center lobby again.
Ash and Pikachu were eating enthusiastically.
Brock, who had joined them again during this visit to Lumiose, was explaining something about Pokémon nutrition.
Serena sat across from Clemont.
Bonnie leaned forward suddenly.
“Serena!”
Serena blinked.
“Yes?”
Bonnie smiled innocently.
“Do you like my brother?”
Serena nearly dropped her drink.
“W-What?!”
Clemont choked on his food.
Bonnie blinked sweetly.
“Well?”
Serena’s face turned bright red.
“I- I mean- Clemont is very nice and he’s really smart and-”
She stopped.
Realizing she was making things worse.
Clemont had completely frozen.
Bonnie watched them both.
Then nodded slowly.
“…Okay.”
Ash looked confused.
“What?”
Bonnie leaned back in her chair, completely satisfied.
“Nothing.”
But in her head, the plan had already started forming.
Later that evening, Bonnie wandered through the Pokémon Center lobby while the others were talking.
Her eyes scanned the decorations
lazily.
Lights.
Garlands.
Snowflakes.
Then. Her gaze stopped.
Above a doorway between two hallways hung a small sprig of mistletoe tied with a bright red ribbon.
Bonnie’s eyes widened.
Then her grin slowly spread.
“Oh.”
She whispered.
“Oh this is perfect.”
Across the room, Serena and Clemont were talking again.
Serena leaned over one of Clemont’s blueprints.
“So this machine helps regulate Pokémon Center power systems?”
“Yes,” Clemont said proudly.
“That’s really cool.”
Clemont smiled shyly.
Bonnie watched them.
Then glanced back at the mistletoe.
Then back at them.
Her grin widened further.
“…Yep.”
She whispered to herself.
“This is definitely happening.”
Bonnie waited.
That was the hardest part.
She had a perfect plan, but timing mattered. If she rushed it, Serena might get embarrassed and escape. If Clemont noticed too early, he would start explaining the botanical classification of mistletoe and ruin everything.
So Bonnie waited.
And watched.
Across the Pokémon Center lobby, Ash was still the center of attention. He was halfway through explaining a particularly exciting battle from earlier that day.
“And then Pikachu used Thunderbolt, and the whole field lit up like-”
“Pika pika!”
Everyone laughed.
Everyone except Bonnie.
Because Serena and Clemont had drifted away again.
Serena was looking over one of Clemont’s invention sketches while Clemont explained something in careful detail, occasionally adjusting his glasses when he got excited about the technical parts.
Bonnie smirked.
“…Yep.”
Her moment had arrived.
She walked over casually.
“Hey Clemont!”
Clemont looked up from the blueprint.
“Yes, Bonnie?”
“Can you help me with something?”
Clemont stood immediately.
“Of course!”
Serena straightened as well.
“What do you need help with?”
Bonnie waved a hand.
“Oh it’s just something by the hallway.”
She began walking.
Clemont followed.
Serena hesitated… then followed too.
Exactly as Bonnie had hoped.
Perfect.
They reached the quiet hallway between the Pokémon Center lobby and the guest rooms.
Bonnie slowed slightly.
Then positioned herself carefully.
Right beneath the mistletoe.
Then she stopped.
“Oh!”
Clemont nearly bumped into her.
“What is it?”
Bonnie stepped aside dramatically.
Serena and Clemont walked forward.
Directly underneath the mistletoe.
Bonnie pointed upward.
“…Oops.”
Serena looked up.
Her cheeks turned pink immediately.
“Oh.”
Clemont followed her gaze.
“…Ah.”
Bonnie clasped her hands behind her back.
“Well,” she said innocently, “that’s unfortunate.”
Serena laughed nervously.
“Bonnie…”
Clemont adjusted his glasses.
“Well technically-”
Bonnie spun around.
“No escaping!”
Serena giggled softly.
Clemont sighed.
“…I suspected as much.”
The hallway was quiet.
Much quieter than the busy lobby behind them.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Serena glanced up at the mistletoe again.
Then back at Clemont.
He looked flustered.
But not uncomfortable.
Just… surprised.
Serena smiled a little.
“You know Bonnie planned this, right?”
Clemont nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
Bonnie gave a cheerful thumbs-up.
Serena laughed.
Then she looked back at Clemont.
“…Are you okay?”
Clemont blinked.
“Yes.”
Then after a moment he added quietly,
“…Are you?”
Serena nodded.
“Yeah.”
They both glanced up again.
The mistletoe swayed slightly in the
warm air of the hallway.
Clemont rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
“Well… according to tradition-”
Serena laughed softly.
“You’re still thinking about it scientifically.”
Clemont flushed.
“…Habit.”
Serena took a small step closer.
Not much.
Just enough that Clemont noticed.
And Bonnie’s eyes widened dramatically.
Serena tilted her head slightly.
“…You know,” she said gently,
“sometimes things don’t have to be complicated.”
Clemont looked at her.
And for once. He didn’t try to calculate the situation.
He simply nodded.
“…Okay.”
Serena leaned forward.
And kissed him.
Soft.
Simple.
Quiet.
Just a brief moment beneath the mistletoe.
Then she pulled back slightly, smiling.
Clemont stood frozen for half a second.
Then slowly smiled too.
Behind them, Bonnie silently celebrated like she had just won the Pokémon League.
“Yes!” she whispered to herself.
Mission accomplished.
For a few seconds after the kiss, the hallway stayed completely still.
Serena stepped back first.
Her cheeks were warm, but she wasn’t embarrassed. Not the way she might have been months ago. Instead there was a softness in her expression, something calm and happy.
Clemont looked like his brain had temporarily lost power.
His glasses had slipped slightly down his nose.
He adjusted them automatically.
“…Oh.”
Serena laughed quietly.
“Yeah.”
Behind them, Bonnie tried very hard to contain herself.
She failed.
“YES!”
Serena turned immediately.
“Bonnie!”
Bonnie clapped her hands excitedly.
“I knew it!”
Clemont finally found his voice.
“…You orchestrated this entire
situation.”
Bonnie crossed her arms proudly.
“Yep.”
Serena shook her head, laughing.
“You really didn’t have to go that far.”
Bonnie shrugged.
“Well, someone had to help.”
Clemont blinked.
“…Help?”
Bonnie gestured dramatically between them.
“You two have been doing this for weeks.”
Serena tilted her head.
“Doing what?”
Bonnie stared at her.
“…Seriously?”
She turned to Clemont.
“You explain everything. Explain this.”
Clemont froze again.
“I… would prefer not to.”
Bonnie groaned.
“You like each other!”
Serena immediately turned red again.
Clemont nearly short-circuited.
Bonnie threw her hands up.
“How was I the only one noticing this?!”
Serena covered her face briefly, laughing.
“Okay, maybe… maybe a little.”
Clemont adjusted his glasses again.
“…Possibly.”
Bonnie grinned like a mastermind.
“Exactly.”
The moment settled into a comfortable quiet.
Serena glanced toward the lobby where Ash’s voice was still carrying excitedly through the Pokémon Center.
“…We should probably go back before they wonder where we went.”
Clemont nodded.
“Yes.”
They started walking back toward the
lobby.
Bonnie skipped ahead happily.
Serena walked beside Clemont.
For a moment neither of them said anything.
Then Serena spoke softly.
“…Are you okay?”
Clemont looked at her.
“Yes.”
He paused.
Then added, a little shyly,
“…That was very nice.”
Serena smiled.
“I thought so too.”
They stepped back into the Pokémon Center lobby.
Ash was still animatedly telling a story to Brock and a few other trainers.
“And then Pikachu used Thunderbolt and-”
“Pika!”
Ash noticed them returning.
“Oh hey! Where’d you guys go?”
Bonnie immediately jumped in.
“Nothing important!”
Ash blinked.
“…Okay?”
Serena sat down beside the group again.
Clemont took the seat next to her.
And for the rest of the evening, things looked exactly the same as before.
Ash talking.
Pikachu laughing.
Everyone enjoying the warm Christmas atmosphere.
But Bonnie noticed the difference.
Serena leaned slightly closer to Clemont while listening to Ash’s story.
Clemont didn’t move away.
And once or twice, their hands brushed lightly against each other on the table.
Bonnie smiled to herself.
Then leaned over and whispered quietly to Clemont.
“…Told you so.”
Clemont sighed.
But he couldn’t hide the small smile on his face.
Above the hallway doorway behind them, the mistletoe swayed gently.