A Performer's Proposal

And we're here again! Now, this oneshot's going to be quite a bit straightforward, ha ha. I'm sure that from the title alone you can tell what it will be about. So, I won't talk for long here. Instead, I'll just say that this takes place very shortly after the Epilogue of Tribulations. Please enjoy!

Author: Epicocity

Rating: K Plus

Pairings: Amourshipping

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokémon. Yes, I'm tired of saying this.

A Performer's Proposal

An Ancienverse Pokémon Oneshot

Ash couldn't sleep. He really couldn't help it. Every time he tried to shut his eyes, his mind would just veer off in a completely different direction to think about the one thing that had been weighing upon it for months. Not that he let it show...or he hoped he didn't. If he had, then the whole surprise for Serena would be ruined. The thought alone made him want to get up and pace with a worry he never usually held, but he held back, reinstating his confidence. Instead, he just stayed right there, on Grace's couch in Vaniville Town.

The couple had been there for a few days now after reuniting for the first time in three months. Of course, staying in Grace's house meant her rules, and while Ash was completely fine with them, he could tell that Serena was just a little bit exasperated with her mother's rules on the subject. After not being with each other for such a period of time, to be deprived contact with him for even just the late hours of the night in the duration of their stay wasn't exactly appealing to Serena.

For Ash, on the other hand, it was almost like a miracle. Now he could actually think without worrying whether Serena would figure it all out. Considering he felt he usually wasn't all that secretive about things, this was a good thing, even if it was eating away at him and making him go just a little bit crazy, to the point that he wasn't sleeping. His hands flew to his head on the couch and began scratching furiously at his hair.

"Gah! Why's this gotta be so complicated? !" Ash whispered out harshly. It was quiet enough that no one in the house would hear him, even if the time was inching closer to sunrise. However, it was still loud enough in volume that Pikachu stirred on his chest.

"Pikapi?" Pikachu asked, clearly concerned for his wellbeing. Ash smiled at his partner and reached over to scratch him behind the ears. "Chaaaaaa..."

"Just thinking, Pikachu," Ash told his best friend. Pikachu finished his enjoyment of the scratch, and leapt from Ash's chest to the top of the couch, scampering along until he stared down at his trainer. At that, Ash reached for the locket around his neck and pulled it out. After a moment of staring at it in the darkness, he popped open the contents, seeing the glinting of the ring inside. "Gotta figure out a way to ask her, you know?"

"Chu..." Pikachu agreed. Out of everyone he knew (even a rather pestering Bonnie, who hadn't stopped teasing him, or offering her "help"), Pikachu knew more about what he was trying to do. More than anyone, by Ash's estimations. Sure, his mother had known quite well, even helping him find where to get the ring, but she wouldn't be there for the action he needed to take, so Pikachu was still his number one confidant. Looking over the ring, Ash mused on the process of getting it, and all the ideas he and his mother had had. In the end, he'd gone to Olivia and her stone shop, in order for her to help him fashion the ring, which took so much time between gathering materials and forging it that he'd been missing from Serena's side for those three months. Now, however, he had the object in hand, and as of yesterday morning, Grace's blessing.