Of Flowers and Ashes

Chapter 6

Ash had never liked flights. He always associated them with the end of a journey or the start of a new one.

But here he stood, or rather sat. On his first return flight to Kalos since the day he left.

His mind wandered back to that fateful day at the Lumiose airport.

Goodbye Ash!!!! Serena turned her back and the escalator took her back down towards the gate. Suddenly, she turned around and sprinted back up.

"There's just one more thing!" Serena drew closer to Ash and slowly leaned in and her lips met his. She kissed him for less than a second, but as far as Ash was concerned, it may as well have been a year. The escalator pulled Serena down and she blushed furiously as she was carried downstairs.

"Goodbye!!!" Serena fell out of Ash's sight and that was that.

Ash started blushing and slapped himself to try and get his head back in the moment. Paul, who was sitting next to Ash gave him a puzzled look.

"Is everything ok Ash?" Paul asked with a concerned look

Ash paused for a second, before deciding to tell Paul the truth.

"Have you ever been kissed by a girl?" Ash said nervously

Paul gave Ash a look which he had never seen before. Paul almost seemed to be... embarrassed?

"Why do you ask?" Paul said with an angry tone

Ash scratched his head, "Well, truth be told, I had my first kiss in Kalos, and heading back just reminds me of that."

Paul shook his head "There is no way, NO WAY that Ash Ketchum of all people kissed a girl before me. I've never had a girlfriend or anything!"

Ash muttered under his breath, "Jeez, I wonder why"

Paul smirked at the comment and an awkward silence ensued

Paul broke the silence first, "So, what is she like?"

Ash looked up at the ceiling of the airplane before speaking, "Well, she's a Pokemon performer from Kalos. She loves baking and she's really nice."

Paul smiled "She sounds like a catch, so how'd you do it? I remember in Sinnoh that your friend Dawn was sending so many signals and you didn't catch any."

Ash scratched his head again, "Well, truth be told, I didn't have a clue. She kissed me then ran off and I haven't seen her since that day."

Paul deadpanned and turned his gaze to Ash, "Are you serious. That's how? Goddamnit Ash, you may be marginally better at battles, but you still need some help when it comes to girls."

Ash shrugged "Look who's talking!"

Paul laughed "Man, you really have changed! I'm glad I chose to work with you."

Ash smiled at him "Me too Paul, me too"

–Meanwhile, in the row behind him

Lille sat, half asleep, she overheard the whole conversation. She gritted her teeth, why was she so mad about this? Was she jealous?

She sighed and looked inside her backpack where two Poke Balls sat. She decided that if she ever met this girl that she'd battle her. While not a battle fanatic like Ash was, she figured it'd be fun to smack the living daylights out of some Kalosian girl who had feelings for her crush, wait, no, her boss

—--

A few hours later, the plane touched down at the airport and Ash stepped out near the gate. His eyes stared at a certain escalator before walking towards baggage claim.