82.
chapter eighty-two:
'till we embrace
again!

Dear Diary, 
It's finally time to leave Kalos. 

I'm not ready. 

I have been feigning happiness all along to make sure she doesn't get hit just as hard as I am with the entire ordeal. 

"But now that I am forced to submit to this, 
I'm crumbling apart. 
Serena is someone I'll always miss, 
Whether she's near or afar."

Until next entry, 
Satoshi x

The airport was buzzing with chatter; people were bustling about with their luggage atop perfectly smooth carts. Others had their hankies out, dabbing at their eyes or on their loved ones'. Farewell, the worst part of anybody's life, be it temporary or for an eternity. 

An inspiration for a poem struck my mind, so I pulled my phone out and sent a draft to myself on Telegram — in case I forgot. 

"Who are you texting?" 

"Mhm?" I hummed and pocketed my phone back to look at the beautiful cerulean blues that made me go weak in the knees. "Myself," I breathed out when she twirled around, eyeing the central clock. My gaze followed hers. Half an hour, I thought with disappointment, to leave her.

"Another idea for a poem?" She turned back to me. The answer was stuck at the back of my throat. Serena had put an extra flair into dressing up cutely. With a cute shirt underneath her nude blue overalls, she looked like a model out of a cottagecore aesthetic. When she giggled, I found my heart dropping lower. Oh, what a pain to leave. "I take your silence as a yes."

"Yeah."

"Oi!" Gary's voice broke through our staring contest like a warship breaking through an iceberg. I shot the boy a glare when he snickered. "Quit it, lovebirds. I'm supposed to be the ladies' man here. When on holy earth did Ash-y Boy turn into one?"

"Shut up, Gary. Let them have their moment, will you? Just because you don't let me have a moment doesn't mean you can go ruining others'!" Misty reprimanded, cutting in and grabbing his ear forcefully. Gary yelped in pain again, complaining.

"Why does everyone absolutely love to hurt me?!"

Misty gave us a tight-lipped smile, let go of her boyfriend, and scooped my girlfriend into an embrace. 

"I'm sorry for being cold to you all year. I didn't like my best friend brooding because of you. Turns out I've been wrong the entire time," she apologized. Serena, being Serena, shook it off casually.

"Please don't, Misty! I really hope to get to know you better."

The two girls exchanged warm smiles before Misty told the honey blonde something in hushed whispers, eliciting a flush on the latter's face.

"You should definitely come visit me once in Cerulean," Misty exclaimed, and the girls chuckled, pink dusting their cheeks.

With another round of good-bye, this time with Gary joining in and finally succeeding in shaking hands with Serena, the couple were gone with their carts and my car keys, leaving us alone. The announcement voice rang around, informing about the penultimate boarding call for my flight. 

"How will your car go?" Serena asked, turning to me. "Since you aren't going to be on Gary's private jet?"

"Professor Oak's," I corrected with a chuckle. The guy surely spread his rumors around. "He's booked for it to be picked up. It costs some amount, sure, but he feels like he owes it, so I let him." Serena looked at me, chiding. The apprehension faded away like dew on a bright morning when I gave her one of my best grins. 

"Text me when you reach?" The girl took a step closer and began fixing my shirt even though I was plenty sure there was nothing wrong with it. It was just an excuse to stay close, I thought happily. 

"How about I call?"

Serena's eyes widened like dinner plates. We had never quite called each other unless truly necessary, and definitely not for TED Talks. With growing exasperation, I began to apologize, but she cut me short. "Of course!" 

"Awesome!" 

Silence, followed by another call for boarding. 

My eyes wandered everywhere but fixed on her. "Alright, I'm gonna... go."

Serena nodded, and we exchanged a brief but passionate hug. I absorbed all the warmth she had to offer and lent her as much affection as I could. 

Squeezing her shoulders, I let go and stepped onto the escalator taking me to the next floor. Tears blurred my vision, and my throat felt constricted; I blamed myself over and over again for how I had wasted so many moments because of nonsensical fury.

"Hey, Satoshi!" 

The usage of my pen name, and the voice uttering the same, had me turn around one-eighty degrees as soon as I reached the landing. Serena was looking up at me. As soon as our eyes met, she broke into a run. My eyes followed the direction she was going and found another escalator, taking people down. She probably has something to tell.

I broke into a stride, pulling my cart along until I reached the top of the said conveyor. Before I could take a step, she started running up, defying any law of gravity. "Serena?!"

"There's just one more thing!"

Surprise filled me, before my chest filled with wonderment. Her hair billowed behind her, before my vision was enveloped by her angelic, glowing orbs. They shut the minute her strawberry scent overwhelmed my senses. A soft brush — that left me scratching at my insides for more. My eyes fluttered open to look at those very familiar blues gazing into my soul, cascading away, downward, and afar. 

Before I could process what had just happened, she did a little dance and yelled, "Satoshi, watashi wa anata ga suki desu!"

The floor beneath me gave way; my knees felt weak as I shouted back. "Tu es l'amour de ma vie, Serena!" Our lips quirked upward, mirroring each other. I felt extremely warm and dizzy and didn't deter from my place, instead rocking back and forth on my heel, until the girl was out of sight. It took me a few minutes of breathing exercises and the final call for boarding to snap out of my trance and make a run for the boarding desks. 

Oh, I was enchanted to meet her.

— 💌 —

Hey guys!
Here are the translations for Ash and Serena's confessions.

watashi wa anata ga suki desu — I am fond of you / ❪ Japanese ❫
Tu es l'amour de ma vie — You're the love of my life / ❪ French ❫

And so, another act comes to an end. Thanks to everyone who made it possible for me to get till here!

Thank you for reading!

Miyoko x