Through the aroma of the delicious cookies that his mother was making, Ash made his way to the hall. Pikachu was perched over his shoulder and his hands were occupying a tray. In it was a bowl of hot soup, a plate filled with the cookies his mom had recently made, and surprisingly a bottle of ketchup. For a guy who traveled around all the time, it was pretty awkward to serve a guest. His only fortune was that it wasn't any of his family acquaintances or some relatives from far away. That'd be ridiculous to spend such an occasion with someone he did not know or hadn't met in years. Most probably those he had forgotten all along.

But, it was a friend.

A friend he had never expected on the occasion.

Literally!

Ash was so worked with the thought of leaving his mother alone on the occasion that he decided to return home to celebrate Christmas with her. But he never expected for some company waiting for his arrival more eagerly than him. Nor that he was complaining.

"Hey, Serena?" called Ash. The honey haired girl looked up from the couch at Ash. Her hands were rubbing her shoulders and teeth were chattering. Her eyes were barely open as she glanced at Ash. "I have brought you some soup," he said and placed the tray on the coffee table. He sat next to the girl and grabbed the blanket that was placed next to him.

Pikachu quickly climbed down his shoulder and made its way to the table before grabbing the bottle of ketchup and returning back next to Ash.

Ash glanced at Serena. She was wearing a yellow tank top and really short green shorts that were barely covering her thighs. Her feet were covered in warm socks that Ash's mother provided her while her short blonde hairs were freely flowing over her shoulders. A single strapped bag that she had brought with her was placed beside her on the couch. Ash opened the blanket and carefully covered Serena's widely opened legs with it. However, it did not help the blonde girl and she continued to chatter her teeth.

Ash heavily sighed.

As if taking the cue, Serena pulled her legs up and folded them together before sitting in Indian style. Ash moved the blanket up and covered Serena thoroughly with it. Serena flashed Ash a grateful smile. "Th-Thank you, Ash," she said.

"No problem," replied Ash and smiled, showing his signature face. "Though, you should have been careful. It is Christmas and now you are cold," continued Ash somewhat disappointingly.

Serena took a deep breath before turning back to Ash, smiling sadly. "I guess I was too eager to see you again. I didn't realize it will be too cold out in Kanto as well," she said, then rubbed her arms while taking another long breath.

"Still," mumbled Ash. But as he stared at her he realized that arguing was not going to help. He would have done same to see Serena again. Ash leaned forward and towards the table. His arms brushed closely against Serena who couldn't help but felt awed at the warmth his body was emitting. A sudden desire to be close to him grew inside her. Her cheeks suddenly turned red on realizing what she was thinking. Ash held the bowl of soup in his hands before leaning back on the couch. He moved his hands towards Serena.

"Here," he said. Serena stared at the bowl, then at Ash and then back at the bowl. She slowly moved her hands forward and placed them carefully around the bowl. The warmth started to rush through her body already and she couldn't wait to taste the delicious soup Ash's mother has prepared especially for her.

Her nose suddenly quivered before she let out a loud sneeze. Ash was quick to notice and reacted almost as fast as her. He snatched the bowl back before Serena would blow the soup away. Serena rubbed her nose from a tissue before discarding it in a trash can nearby. Her eyes then turned back to Ash who was staring at her nearly dumbfounded. Initially, she wanted to laugh at his reaction but she ended up smiling embarrassingly. She was hardly breathing from nose anymore. It was blocked.

Ash sighed and smiled back, pitying his blonde friend's condition.

"You know what," began Ash as he brought the bowl forward again. He held the spoon up before taking a spoonful of the soup. He raised the spoon over the bowl and turned to Serena. "Let me feed you. That will be better for both of us," he said. Although his words were mostly held concern in it, it had a small factor of humor into it as well.

Serena stared at Ash dumbfounded. Her mouth fell agape and eyes stared at him without blinking. She was so lost in her dream world that she did not notice Ash making the move. He moved the spoon forward before making Serena drink the soup. Serena could not even protest as its warmth was so welcoming, she wanted more of it. She gulped it down and finally come back to earth. And now that she realized that Ash was actually feeding her she could not help but blush. A familiar and loving sensational feeling rushed through her along with the warmth she needed and her cheeks turned red again.

"Your face is turning red," said Ash, "The soup is working after all," he finished and smiled cheekily at her.

Serena couldn't feel any more embarrassed at the moment. "Y-Yeah, I suppose," she said, her teeth still chattering and body shivering, but her voice was shaky more due to nervousness. She sighed mentally at Ash's denseness and looked away. She still remembered the day she left Ash behind to persuade her own goal. It was a tough choice to make. She was failing miserably to make a proper decision. And Ash was the one to help her out. He made her realize that it was her goal she should persuade, her reason to live. But no matter how many dreams she will live through, the heights she will achieve, her true goal was always Ash. To win his heart. To be together with him. But his denseness would never let him see through. She did not want to be just another girl in his life, so she did something she never thought she would gather the courage to do so. She kissed him. She shared her first kiss with him. She let him know how she felt, even if through the kiss, but it worth more than the words.

And sadly enough, he still seemed to be same.

"Earth to Serena," said Ash loudly causing Serena to turn back to him.

"Y-Yeah?"

"You were spacing out. Is there something wrong? Is the soup too hot?" asked Ash, his voice started to get concerned.

Serena shook her head, her hairs moved freely along with it. "N-No. It's just fine," said Serena and took another deep breath. She then looked up at Ash expectantly. Ash was still somewhat unconvinced but on noticing the look Serena was giving him, he realized she wanted more soup. He chuckled before continuing feeding her.

Pikachu, meanwhile, stood on the coffee table. It was sipping the ketchup out from the bottle while its eyes were fixed on the two, witnessing them interacting. It was rather a funny sight for it. It literally thought that Ash would react somewhat otherwise comparing to the way he was reacting right now after what happened in their last meeting. But here he was, the same old, dense partner of it.

Coincidently, Pikachu was done by the same time as Ash was done with feeding Serena. He placed the bowl on the tray on the table. Pikachu placed the bottle aside and quickly leaped forward and into Serena's lap. It snuggled against her affectionately before curling up and resting in her arms. Serena giggled but gladly accepted the open gesture. She wasn't the one to complain. Pikachu was really warm and she liked the feeling of its soft fur against her skin. She still hadn't gotten used to this feeling.

"Look like Pikachu really missed you," said Ash with a slight chuckle and rubbed its head playfully. Pikachu cooed in response.

"It sure did," agreed Serena and then looked up at Ash. "What about you, Ash? Did you miss me too?" she asked.

"Of course I did," replied Ash almost immediately. "It wasn't really same without you guys. Clemont, Bonnie, and you, I missed you guys a lot," he said. "And even Greninja," he added. Serena smiled sadly at him. She knew it was a hard decision to make. Ash had to release Greninja for the sake of Kalos. The two were bonded so well, like two bodies with one soul. They weren't meant to be separated. Ash was really affected by the event. He chose not to show it but she could feel it all the way inside her heart.

Her hand reached out for him and slipped into his hand before squeezing it tightly. The feeling was still new to her. The times prior to this Serena had only managed to hold his hand with gloves on. This time his gloves were off and it was truly a surprise for her. A blissful surprise. His hand felt so soft comparing to how hard he trained every day with his Pokemon and his body was emitting warmth. She couldn't help but yearn for more.

Ash was initially surprised by her sudden bold move and looked at her with eyes opening a little wide.

"Your hand is warm," she said suddenly on noticing Ash. Ash's eyes and shoulder relaxed down before he smiled and leaned back on the couch with his arm brushing against her. He intentionally slid down into a more comfortable and relaxing position so he was on her level.

"Sure," that's all Ash said in response and that's all Serena wanted to listen before she cuddled against his shoulder. Her arms reached out from beneath the blanket and hugged Ash's arm tightly before she pulled herself next to him and snuggled her face against his neck. The feeling of her hot breath against his neck and her developing breasts pressing against his arms did not help him in the situation. He immediately started blushing like crazy and his whole body started to burn. He momentarily thought he would surpass the record temperature of the Moltres. His body was stiff but he tried his best not to show his nervousness to her, while she rested against him.

Excluding the fact that he was still embarrassed from his current position, he was getting bored too, literally. He glanced at Serena from the corner of his eyes and noticed that she was still wide awake even with her eyes closed and her breathing was somewhat harsh but constant.

"So, what did you do in Hoenn?" he asked as if trying to pass some time.

Serena opened her eyes and glanced towards Ash. His lips were curved into a perfect soft smile and eyes staring down at his lap. She again closed her eyes before responding.

"I traveled nearly half of the region while learning about the Pokemon Contests. I didn't partake in them immediately, though. In the first few contests, I was just an audience, observing them carefully. It was like a combination of battling and performances," she replied.

"Contests are nice," said Ash.

"Yeah," replied Serena. "My skills as a performer were very useful. And I actually did pretty well in battling part as well. All thanks to the special boy who taught me how to battle," she told and playfully winked at him.

"Who?" asked Ash, curious but the mention of the boy somewhat made him jealous too. And that being special didn't help either.

Serena giggled. "You silly," she said.

Ash merely smiled and looked away. He felt his cheeks turning red. He was the boy who taught her how to battle. Of course, it was him. How could he not remember it before? It was rather embarrassing. But...was he special too? He never noticed it before but he ever felt more special in being special to someone than Serena. He sighed mentally and turned back to her.

"Yeah, I suppose," he replied finally. "Did you won any ribbons?" he asked.

"Yes!" Serena squeaked suddenly and sat upright, her eyes shimmering beautifully as she recalled the moment when she won her first ribbon. "I already have three ribbons! Let me show them to you!" she told him excitedly and reached out for her bag that was placed next to her. She made sure not to disturb Pikachu who was sleeping peacefully in her lap. Carefully taking her bag back, she started to search through it. Ash peeked inside with interest. However, what caught his eyes weren't the ribbon or a case as he expected, but it was something else. In the bag, he noticed a supposedly a small cubical box wrapped nicely in a beautiful shade of pink and crimson bow over it.

"Hey. What is this?" he wondered loudly and reached out for it. However, he did not even get to touch it when Serena slapped his hand away. He quickly pulled his hand back and looked at Serena with surprise. "Hey. What was that for?"

"You can't see it yet!" she declared before stuffing the box inside the bag and pulling it closer to her chest.

"Why?"

"Because it is your Christmas gift!" said Serena, her voice was matching the intensity of Ash's voice. Ash didn't pull his curious gaze away which caused her to give him a pout. "I don't want to ruin the surprise!"

"Gift?"

Oh, shoot!

Realization struck him hard. When he came back home earlier today he didn't know that Serena would be here. And after learning that she has caught a cold he was looking after her all these time. The thought of getting her a gift never crossed his mind.

"Uh. Serena? You wouldn't mind if I will go now, would you? I...um, mom needs me to do something," he said and stood up. Serena glanced at him with a disappointed look. She was so much enjoying being next to Ash; she did not want it to end. But before Serena could respond Ash started walking out of the room. "I will catch up with you later!" he yelled back before disappearing from the room. He entered the kitchen and saw that his jacket was still hung on the chair. He grabbed it and started wearing him. His mother noticed him.

"Do you need something, Ash? Where are you going at such time?" she questioned curiously but Ash quickly signaled her to lower her voice. He glanced behind and noticed that Serena wasn't paying attention, seemingly did not hear anything either. He let out a sigh of relief before turning back to his mother.

"I don't have anything for Serena," he told in a whisper like voice. He glanced at the clock. It read 08:12. "If I hurry, I will get something for her," he told. Delia nodded in understanding and smiled. She gave Ash thumbs up.

"Good luck," she whispered back. Ash smiled before he began making his way out of the house.

"What a time to catch a cold."

He heard Serena mumbling in a low voice. He felt bad leaving Serena like that, but he knew getting her a gift was his top priority right now. So he ignored it and walked out of the house, making sure to not make a lot of noise when he closed the door behind.

Ash tossed the present he had in his hand as he walked. It was wrapped in a sapphire blue gift wrapping paper, shimmering brightly under the street lights. A breeze blew causing Ash to shiver a bit. He placed the box in the pocket along with his hand as he continued to walk. And merely in a minute or two, he was back home. He opened the door and quietly entered. Slipping his feet out of the shoes he walked into the hall. He stopped briefly and noticed that his mother was talking to someone over the videophone. He glanced at the clock above. It read 10:25. He was late. He did not expect it to take that long. But that time worth it. He finally managed to get an amazing gift for Serena. Now all he wanted was her to love it.

He walked inside the hall. He opened his jacket and placed it on the couch next to the blanket. Serena wasn't there anymore. He glanced upwards and noticed that Serena was sitting by the fireplace on the floor. She was decorating the Christmas tree all by herself. He walked towards her.

"Hey," he said quietly.

Serena glanced back at him and smiled as redness were shown on both of her cheeks. "Hey," she replied back.

"What are you doing?" he asked and sat  down next to her.

"I was getting bored when you left. So I thought I should decorate the tree while you were gone," she explained while she placed the gifts carefully. "Though, I wanted to decorate it with you. You were gone for too long," she said and looked at him with a silly pout.

"Yeah, sorry," said Ash and chuckled nervously. He then glanced at the tree. It was looking beautiful already but was far from decorated. "I think we can still decorate it, right?" he said.

Serena followed his gaze and looked at the tree herself. "Yeah, I suppose," she said. She began to continue when she suddenly sneezed loudly. Ash was nearly startled from her and fell on his back. Serena rubbed her nose and glanced at Ash, giving him an apologetic look. "Sorry," she said.

Ash glanced at her dumbfounded. He noticed that she was still wearing the same outfit, quite revealing as well. "Serena, I think you should change into something much warmer. You are already dead cold," he told, his voice was filled with concern for his Kalosian friend. "Just use some of my clothes if that will suit you," he said. Serena gave him a weird glance as if asking his was he serious? "Of course I am serious," said Ash as if he had read her mind. "Besides," he said and his lips curved into a silly grin. "You have worn my clothes once before," he said with a smirk.

Serena couldn't help but felt her cheeks burning. Just a reminder of that event when she wore Ash's clothes, it was one of her best moments, but embarrassing as well. Watching Serena blushing over it so much, Ash couldn't help but laugh.

"But seriously, Serena," he began while trying to calm down. "You need to change. Just ask my mom. She will definitely have something for you to wear," he said. Still flustered, Serena stood up and quietly walked out of the room. Ash did not take his glance off her until she was out of the room. He let out a sigh and ruffled his hairs. "Well, she is gone for good," he said to himself and brought the present out from the pocket. He turned around and glanced at all the presents that were placed there. He quietly placed it somewhere in between, trying to keep it out of her sight. It took him pretty much few minutes. And by the time he was done, he heard footsteps behind him.

Ash turned around only to be greeted by a wonderful sight of Serena wearing her mother's older clothes. She had placed them so nicely and safe all over these years that they appeared to look completely new and beautifully matched Serena. It was a track suit, warm and comforting, and somewhat similar to the one she once wore during their journey through Kalos. He still remembered they were on a cruise when she wore that, a magenta colored track suit with a white strip. The only difference was that it has purple shade this time.

"Hey, you look nice in that," said Ash, looking up at her.

Serena stopped dead in her tracks and glanced at Ash. He just didn't...Did he? Did he compliment her? Serena felt herself smiling softly and placed a hand over her heart. "Thank you, Ash," she replied in a sweet voice and sat next to him again.

"Well, shall we continue now?" he asked.

"Sure," replied Serena as she grabbed a small light bulb before carefully hanging it on the lower part of the tree. The tree was mostly decorated on the upper part, only the star was remaining. Slowly, the two together decorated the tree with small accessories on the lower part. Their moment was rather silent, surprisingly, but still enjoyable. As the two slowly moved to the upper part of the tree Ash decided to spark a conversation, something that he wanted to ask from a long time.

"So, Serena, I was wondering something," he said as he handed her a bell. Serena held it and carefully hung it on the tree.

"Sure. What is it?" she asked.

"I was actually wondering," started Ash and handed her a small plastic doll of Santa Claus. "When you left us, back in Kalos," he handed Serena another bell, and as Serena realized where Ash was going with it, her heart skipped a beat and she stopped right where she was. Ash bit his lower lip nervously before glancing up at her. "Why did you kiss me?" he finally asked.

Serena mentally sighed. She should have known that it would come one way or another. "Well, um...you see..." she tried to come up with an explanation, but she was still nervous about it. She never officially announced her love to him, even if she kissed him.

Ash chuckled on noticing how flustered and nervous Serena was. "It's okay, Serena. Don't feel uncomfortable about it. I wasn't complaining. It just took me off guard, that's all," he said. Serena was surprised. She glanced down at Ash, her eyes were wide. He did not mind her kissing him? "I just couldn't get it out my head," he sighed before he continued.

Serena sighed herself and sat next to Ash. She brought her legs up and held them against her chest.

"You see, Ash," she started. "I actually started my journey to return what belong to you. But I really wanted to see you again. And then you asked me out to go on a journey with you. Throughout the journey, I learned a lot of things. I never had a goal in my life before. It was you who helped me out. You supported me on the every step of our journey, to keep me strong and to lead me to success. And leaving you behind was the toughest choice to make when it all started so that I could be with you again. I wanted to thank you, for everything you did for me. For helping me. For supporting me. I just couldn't express it in words," she paused and looked straight at Ash, who was staring at her with a dumbfounded expression. He never knew she thought so deeply about him. "Ash, you don't know how much you mean to me. You always have, ever since you saved me back in Viridian forest years ago. I just couldn't bear you forgetting me again. I wanted you to remember me, forever," she said and looked down at her lap after unfolding her legs. Getting into a comfortable seating position.

Ash blinked several times before processing what she was saying. When he did, he sighed and looked away from her. It was rather weird. He had never considered that Serena thought so deeply and dearly about him. And now that he knew, he realized, somewhere in his heart, he knew he felt the same.

"You know," Ash started. "When you said that you will be more attractive than you were before?" he said and looked at Serena, who looked back at him. "I never got to tell you before. But you were always attractive. I don't think I had felt more attracted to anyone else before," he confessed.

Serena glanced at him with another dumbfounded expression. She never thought, she never knew it. How did she never realize it before?

Getting somewhat uncomfortable under her gaze, Ash coughed and said, "Hey. Let's get that star to its place," he said and started searching for it. When he found it he handed it to Serena. Serena was still lost deep in her thoughts but accepted the star anyway. She stood up and tried to place the star above the tree, but it was too long for her.

"I can't do it, Ash. It is too high," she said in a complaining tone. However, before she could turn back to Ash she felt a pair of hand wrapped around her waist before lifting up in the air. She did not need to look down to tell it was Ash holding her. Her cheeks burnt redder than ever and she found herself at loss of words. She found herself getting lost in this new sensational feeling, something that she did not want to share with anyone else. It had always been Ash. And it will always be him. She wouldn't trade him for anyone else.

"Can you place it already, Serena?" came Ash's voice. It was rather hesitant.

"S-Sure," muttered Serena nervously as her cheeks still flushed red. She reached out for the top of the tree and carefully placed the star over it. However, it made her lean forward as well and when she leaned back to her original position, she unbalanced Ash who immediately fell down. He landed on the floor with Serena on top of him. The two looked at each other and Serena found herself a little too close to Ash. The proximity of their closeness was something uncomfortable for her. But it wasn't some stranger or just some other guy. It was Ash. Ash was as surprised as she was but then the two broke into laughter. They shared a healthy amount of laughter before Serena decided to get off of Ash. The tension that had built recently between the two started to vanish slowly.

When the two finally calmed down, Ash looked at Serena at the same time when she looked back at him. As he stared at her, he realized something. He had forgotten something. When he visited the gift shop the shopkeeper additionally gave him something else as a token of appreciation. He was surprised and awed at Ash to get a gift for his friend that he wanted to gift him something. But on learning that it was actually a girl, he decided to give him something that neither of them will forget.

"Hey, Serena. Can you hang it up as well?" asked Ash and began to search for something in his pocket. When he found it, he handed it to Serena who gladly accepted it. She stood up and looked for a place to hang it. However, the tree was already fully covered so she instead decided to hang it on the electric cable that had lit up the tree. She carefully tied it up high on the cable with a soft smile on her lips. Ash too stood up by then and glanced at the last accessory they had.

Serena was nearly done tying it when her eyes sudden widened in surprise and shock. She did not notice what it was before but now that she had tied it up, she finally got to notice it. Its small leaves, the three berries in between and finally a beautiful red ribbon that had tied up with it. She couldn't believe what it was. Ash didn't trick her into it, did he? He couldn't. He wasn't that type of boy.

Serena glanced at Ash, her eyes still wide in surprise but she was somewhat worried as well. Ash was looking up at the plant as well, his lips curved into a soft smile. He, however, noticed Serena staring at her. He looked down at her and his own smile dropped on noticing the look she was giving him. He couldn't even get to ask her if she was okay when the event took place. And it was too fast that he never got to process anything.

Serena placed her hand on her heart and stared down at her feet, her eyes down in worry. But then a more determined look took over and she looked back at Ash, expectantly. He was still oblivious to the situation and she knew it, but she could not let it ruin her moment. She stepped forward and her hands moved around his black T-Shirt. She clenched it tightly before pulling him closer. Her eyes closed as she leaned forward. Ash did not get to react at all and by the time he processed everything, he felt her soft lips pressing against his, sending him through even softer sensational feeling. Once again Serena was kissing him. This time, however, she did not pull back immediately. Her hands moved around his neck and pulled him closer. She could feel that he was surprised, but she wasn't going to let it ruin her moment. Ash badly wanted to protest as the kiss continued, but soon he started to get used to this new feeling. He started to get used to feeling her lips against his and he started to fall in love with the feeling, and the girl. His eyes closed and instinctively his hands moved behind her back before she pulled her closer, kissing her back.

This Christmas was truly surprising for the two. And the kiss was completely blissful for Serena, as the two kissed under the mistletoe.

To be continued...