Beyond the Kiss

A Catharsis of Feelings

Ash had finally made it to his house back at home in Pallet Town. He was greeted excitedly by Mr. Mime who was in the middle of sweeping the floors. Then his mother happily and tearfully greeted him home after his long Kalos journey.

Ash's POV : "I'm so happy your home in one piece...!" Mom exclaimed with tears in her eyes. Then she pulled me into a hug.
"Oh mom..." I said with a smile. "I told you I'd be home by tonight!"
"Yeah, but I can't believe you're finally home! It's been a so long since I saw my little man.... I see you and Pikachu are doing just fine!" She said.
"Yup! Me and Pikachu couldn't have been better!"
"Pika- Pikachu!" Pikachu chirped in agreement. "How was the trip? How was your friends? How was your league? Did you have a good time?" My mom was hastily asking.
"Wow, so many questions!... Well, I had a awesome time in Kalos! Everything went well! I met a ton of great people, made tons of new friends, and I had a good time traveling with Clemont, Bonnie and Serena. In the end, I came very close, but ended up being 2nd place in the Kalos league... I'll give it my all in the next league! By then I'll be even more stronger!"
"How exciting! You have grown so much during your trip!"
"Oh mom..."
Did I really grow that much on my trip? I pondered that for a moment.
"Are you guys hungry?" Mom offered. "It must have been a long trip back home. I was putting the finishing touches to dinner if you guys want some."
"You read my mind! I'm starving!" I said. "I haven't eaten anything since I left Clemont and Bonnie's place this morning. There's still more I wanted to tell you about my trip, though."
"Okay then, go wash up and come back down. By then it should be ready, and then you can tell me more about your journey."
"'Kay!" I bolted upstairs, dropped my hat and backpack on the floor and washed my hands in the hallway bathroom. Pikachu was so tired, it sluggishly walked to my room and plotted on top of my backpack and fell asleep. Before I went back downstairs, I went to take a second look at my room. Ignoring the backpack and hat I had just dropped onto the floor, it was as if I never left. Everything was still intact before my Kalos trip. The posters, the Snorlax plushie, even the way how my pillows were arranged, it was all kept in the same place. I placed my Kalos gym badges on my desk and framed the picture I took with Korrina, Lucario, Bonnie, Dedenne, Clemont, Serena, and Pikachu. I looked at the picture carefully and saw Serena leaning toward me, leaving a huge gap between her and Clemont. I couldn't help but smile. Was I that oblivious? Nevertheless, I wasn't going to forget them at all. Especially Serena. I placed the picture frame on my desk and headed downstairs. Mom had placed my dinner on the table. Just from the scent, I could tell it was her amazing stew.
"There's more in the pot. Just let me know if you want more!" She said.
"Thanks!" I replied, fighting drool from escaping my mouth.
"Where's Pikachu?" Mom had asked concerned.
"It's upstairs right now, sleeping. It had a long day saying goodbye to all of its friends, battling and being on the plane. I think it'll be starving when it wakes up in the morning."
"Oh ok." Mom replied.
As soon as I picked up my spoon, scooped up some stew and was about to put it in my mouth, mom screamed.
"WAIT STOP!!"
I frantically dropped everything, in panic.
"What happened?!"
"What's that on your mouth?" She pointed out almost shocked.
"What? Where?" I replied confused as ever.
"Over there!" She pointed at the spot where Serena and I kissed. I guess Serena's pale pink lipstick got on my face when we kissed. I felt my face getting hotter than a Slugma's body. I was reluctant and somewhat embarrassed to tell my mom but I knew it was futile keeping something like this from her.
"I-I was kissed." I said embarrassed.
"You were what?!" She said excitedly as if she won the lottery.
"By who?"
I paused at that question for a second.
"Serena..." I felt my face get even more hot when I mentioned her.
"You and Serena kissed?! I'm can't believe this! My little boy is becoming a man! He's already kissing girls!"
"Mom!!..." Now I was extremely embarrassed and flustered. But just thinking about that kiss... Time really felt like it stopped. So many emotions were crossing my mind... And then sadness struck me again. The thought of having unanswered questions and coming to a realization that we won't be traveling together for a while was making me miss Serena again. I became lost in thought which worried my mom.
"Ash? Is everything alright? I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't be teasing you about your first kiss."
"No, it's ok. It's not that... I wish Serena and I had a bit more time after that kiss. I generally didn't know that she liked me... I'm not familiar in the field of romance, and now that I am, I had tons of questions about this. It's really hard to take in all at once."
"I see... You know, It almost reminds me of when your father and I exchanged our first kiss too." Mom said reminiscing of a time that seemed to put her at ease.
"Huh, really?" I was interested. After all, I never really got to hear much stories about my father growing up.
"Yup, we were a little older than you and Serena. Your father was a bit awkward when it came to romance, just like you. His face was redder than a Charizard's flamethrower after our kids and he was awfully embarrassed."
"Woah." Maybe I was like my father in this situation then.
"But he always knew how to have a great time during out dates! And then next thing I knew, we were having you. You may have inherited his awareness, but you definitely have his charisma!"
Mom paused for a moment to look at me. Her eyes softened a bit.
"You resemble him a lot too... You have his skin tone and hair. But you definitely have my eyes!" She said while patting my head like a little kid.
"Aw, mom, now you're embarrassing me!"
"Well, if you need someone to talk to, I'm here for you! I am your mother after all!"
"Thanks, mom." As I was eating my dinner, I told mom about everything single thing, detail for detail, about my stay in Kalos. My favorite highlights were when we had to save Zygarde, defeat Lysandre, the bond phenomenon between me and Greninja, Serena's, Clemont's and Bonnie's goals, heck, it was practically everything. After I filled her in on what I've been through, I could tell she was about to cry tears of joy again and tell me "how much of a man I was supposedly becoming." She hugged me tighter than an Octillery getting a grip on something and told me how proud she was of me. After dinner, I let my mom know I was heading to go outside and take a short walk before going to bed. The night sky was shimmering with sparkling stars and a really bright moon that shone through the dirt path ahead. I was truly happy being home again, but now what? Where am I going to go next? Serena, Clemont and Bonnie were out achieving their goals right now. What's next for me? Where should I go? So many questions but so little answers.
"Pika pika?" Pikachu was behind me.
"Oh, sorry buddy that I haven't gone to bed yet. I was taking a walk."
It was just silent for a while. I was still lost in my thoughts, not knowing what to do.
"Pika pi?..." Pikachu said worriedly.
"Sorry buddy. It's just that I don't know what to do now... Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie are achieving their goals right now, what's next for us? I still want to become a Pokemon Master, but how? And where?"
Pikachu climbed on top of my shoulder, nuzzled me and pointed to my Pokeballs. Suddenly, I saw where this was going. As long as my Pokemon are with me, I can do anything!
"Thanks buddy for making me realize that. I think I'll come to bed now actually. I'll come up with something to do eventually. I realized as long as your with me Pikachu, as well as the others, we can do anything!"
"Pikachu!" It said in agreement.
"Thanks for being there for me buddy. I can always count on you."
"Pika-Pikachu!" "
"I think I'm a bit sleepy now, let's head back home." I headed home and went straight to bed.
Morning came earlier than I thought it would and I was still very tired. I was going to sleep in longer but mom was urging me to come downstairs and eat. When I finally, but reluctantly went down, mom served me some food. Then, she told me that there was something extremely important that she needed to tell me...