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A Performer's Proposal (PG, Amourshipping)

Epicocity

Well-Known Member
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 confident. 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.

Closing the locket tight, Ash chose to briefly reflect on that. Y's blessing hadn't been a problem, given the man liked seeing Serena happy with someone she loved; his absence from home had made him tricky to track down, but just as easy to secure when he'd seen Ash's determination. Grace, on the other hand, was a far more daunting and frightening concept, knowing how close Serena was with her mother…and how strict her mother could be, as well. His mind traveled back to that morning as Grace sat at the kitchen coffee table, and he'd entered in, twisting the locket inside and out.

"Ash, you're up rather early," she'd said upon seeing him, sipping at a mug with raised eyebrows. "From the way Serena talks, you're usually a late sleeper."

"Yeah, I like sleep," Ash confirmed, more to steady his nerves than anything. Even after seven years, the concept of anything related to dating or having a girlfriend eluded him at first and stressed him out. He'd gotten better at it, but that was with smaller things, not huge like this. Either way, Serena said she found the whole thing adorable…though he just thought it made him stupid. Breaking out of his musings, Ash continued on with, "But, uh, I couldn't really sleep last night."

"Couch not comfortable enough?" Grace asked. She had a slight knowing look in her eye, but what that knowing look was about, he had no real idea. It had suddenly hit him that Y may have informed his wife about his earlier question. "I'm sorry I don't have an extra spare room, but I'd prefer not knowing what my daughter and her boyfriend can get up to."

"That's…uh…that's not…" Grace laughed loudly and reached over to pat the seat of a chair. Ash sat in it. "Uh…anyway, no, it's not that. Actually, I wanted to ask you something, if I can."

"Go for broke, Ash," Grace said with that twinkle glimmering in her eyes. Ash tried to figure out how best to put it all delicately. Naturally, however, his mind didn't like to tackle things in a delicate or subtle way. In some ways, that was a problem, but right now, he couldn't help it.

"I want to marry Serena," Ash blurted out.

Grace gave no reaction. None. At all.

Her body had stopped moving, the mug in her hands halfway to her lips. She blinked, staring at Ash as he swallowed under the very piercing gaze of his girlfriend's mother. He had always been told by Brock that it was a girl's father that one had to be worried about. He was absolutely certain right now that this was not the case; mothers were the scariest things in the world. Wanting to salvage the situation, Ash decided to elaborate. "I-I mean, we've been dating for seven years now, and that's a long time, and I have absolutely no desire to see anyone else. I mean, I love her, so that makes sense, and I think we're old enough so it kind of works."

"Ash," Grace stated, but he was already making his head swirl with all the possible, horrible combinations of things she'd say to shoot him down; he really was too reckless, running headfirst into situations like this. To that effect, Ash continued on, his head feeling like it was already smoking with confusion.

"We can support each other really well, too. I've got a ring and everything if you want to see it. But the thing is, I really want your blessing because Serena cares about you a lot and it'd be totally wrong if I asked her and you didn't want me to and-"

"Ash!" Grace stated sternly, now, reminding Ash of his own mother, and he stopped talking. The brunette woman placed her cup down on the table, staring at him with a sharp gaze. He swallowed again. "You love my daughter, yes?"

"Definitely."

"Then you have my blessing." Ash couldn't figure out what to say, part of him wondering if there was a catch to it. Surely, it wasn't so easy, right? "I know that no matter what I would say, Serena loves you; has for a long time, and to deprive you both of each other for the rest of your lives would be a very bad move as a mother. Oh…I must make it sound like I don't approve of you. I do, though. You make her very happy, and she does the same for you, so I fully approve of it."

"You do?" Ash asked. When he saw Grace nodding, he deflated entirely, feeling relief. Of course, by the end of the conversation, the tension had ratcheted back up inside him. Showing off the ring to the pleased mother had prompted Grace to ask about how and when he planned to propose to Serena, which just added something else to make him worry about. Now, it was all he thought about. Sure, there were plenty of people to ask, but most of his friends wouldn't be much help; half only cared about battling over romance, Kahili was crazy, and the others were extreme romantics, which really wouldn't help.

Rubbing over the locket in his hands during those early dawn hours, Ash looked to Pikachu again. "Do you have any ideas, buddy?"

"Pika…" Pikachu mused, paw to his chin as he tried to think about it. However, he seemed to be just as stuck as Ash was, eventually letting out a little sigh and shaking his head. "Chuchu…"

"Oh, well. Worth a try, I guess," Ash sighed out, tossing the locket up and catching it. Pikachu continued to seat himself down, giving thought to Ash's request. Watching his best friend there, Ash was struck with a sudden idea, sitting up rapidly and reaching over for his belt with his pokeballs. Pikachu's ears twitched, the electric mouse perking up while Ash swung off the couch. Fastening his belt to himself, Ash made a beeline for the outside, Pikachu scampering after him.

Not wanting to wake either of the women in the house, Ash quietly opened the door to the outside, stepping into the front yard. Rhyhorn stirred there, looking up at Ash lazily before deciding there was no reason to wake up fully, and he went back to sleep. Ash looked up towards Serena's window, making sure that it was closed, and then tossed his four pokeballs out, his staunch Kalos team appearing. Each of them was at attention, as though being called for a battle. Hawlucha was the first to realize there was no battle to be had.

"Hacha?" Hawlucha asked, staring up at Ash. Noivern looked to his big brother, equally confused.

"Sorry to call you all out so early in the morning, but I thought I'd get a second opinion," Ash told to his loyal teammates. Talonflame flapped down to rest on the top of Greninja's head, wings folded in and eyes wide. Seeing that they were all focused, Ash sat down upon the dew-drenched grass and folded his legs. "So…I'm going to…"

"Pikapi," Pikachu said, as if warning him of something. Ash quickly figured out what he was saying; he knew all too well how…not fully adept some of his Pokémon were at understanding a human convention like a proposal. Even he'd had difficulty understanding it some time ago.

"I want to ask Serena to be together with me forever, like, officially," Ash explained. Hawlucha nodded, clearly understanding so far. Noivern nodded with him. "To do that, I gotta give her a ring. And usually, from what mom tells me, it's gotta be special, so I can't just ask her in some normal conversation. But I've got no idea what to do!"

"Ninja…" Greninja muttered out embarrassingly. Despite them not being synchronized, Ash could still feel his Pokémon's intense feelings of embarrassment. He had to wonder if he was thinking about Braixen (subconsciously, of course).

"Vern!" Noivern called, spreading his wings wide. Hawlucha grinned, jumping up to rest on his brother's back as Noivern took to the skies. He spread his arms out, and seemed to act like he, himself, was a couple that was having a thrilling sky ride. It reminded him of Talonflame and Swellow's plan for a rather disastrous skydiving Valentine's Day plan. That seemed like a terrible idea for a proposal, especially when Hawlucha leapt through the air and slammed into the ground, springing back up with a grin.

"Lucha," he confirmed his idea with wiggling eyes. Ash wasn't sure what to take from that, so he turned to Talonflame.

"Talonflame, any ideas?" he asked, hoping the bird would have better ideas than any suggested just then or previously.

"Hawluchaaaaa…" Hawlucha cried out, shaking his fist in sadness that his idea hadn't been taken. Noivern patted him on the back comfortingly. Ash continued watching Talonflame, who had placed a wing to his beak. It took a moment, but then he seemed to nod.

"Flame!" With that shout, Talonflame took to the air and began to spin around gracefully. Ash couldn't quite figure it out, though, and he felt a little stupid for thinking so. The sound of a window cracking open sounded out.

"Ash, what are you doing…?" Serena shouted out. He froze, looking up at his girlfriend, her bedhead sticking out of the window with a yawn. She seemed to see Talonflame, frozen in midair and slowly sinking as Grace's little Fletchling flapped out to him. "And why was Talonflame performing?"

"Uh…different kind of training…?" Ash stated rather unconvincingly. Serena raised her eyebrow, but chose to shrug.

"All right. Just remember, we decided to go see the Aquacorde Showcase tonight, okay?" Serena said, and then she pulled her head back inside her room, snapping the window shut. Ash looked back to Talonflame, whose eyes were alight with pride. Things began to click inside Ash's head as a brilliant idea began to finally form. He grinned.

"Guys, I think I've figured it out. Now, I've just gotta do it!"

Serena was pretty certain that Ash was acting weird. Very weird. Or, at, weirder than normal. She had a somewhat decent idea of why he was, too, but didn't want to assume anything. All she knew was that Ash seemed to be vacillating between being a giddy kid and then having Pikachu slap him on the face with his tail for acting so freaked out about something.

This was just during the few hours of that morning before the Aquacorde Showcase, too.

"Mom, do you have any idea why Ash is acting so…not quite Ash?" Serena decided to ask of her mother as they were cleaning the dishes from breakfast that morning. Grace didn't answer her daughter right away, finishing her soaping up and rinsing of the dish before handing it off to Serena. Ash had already left to go hang out with Rhyhorn outside, like it was all some big conspiracy.

"I wouldn't know, Serena," Grace stated. Serena frowned at her mother, slowly wiping down her plate and placing it to finish drying on the side of the sink. "You know your boyfriend better than I do."

"Well, yeah, but it's not like we haven't stopped by for holidays and visits," Serena pointed out to her mother. Grace shrugged, still remaining rather noncommittal. Serena decided to push it a little further, driving her assumption upon her mother in the hopes of getting a more concrete answer. "You and dad know him pretty well by this point, so I'd think you would be aware of what he might be up to. It's something he's clearly not sharing with me."

"Well, maybe it's nothing then, Serena," Grace stated, shutting off the water and drying her hands. She soon turned to her daughter with an insistent expression. Serena continued frowning, only adding a sigh to it at this point. "People don't share everything with everybody."

"Yeah, I know that, but this is Ash. He tends to like showing everything, unless that something is very serious," Serena countered. Once more, Grace shrugged liberally. "Mom, you can always tell me…does it have something to do with what's inside Ash's locket?"

"Serena, if you're so concerned, just ask him," Grace cut the conversation off with pursed lips in her daughter's direction. Drying her own hands, Serena threw them up in a sort of surrender, indicating that she wasn't going to continue arguing with her mother any longer. She hooked the towel back on its hook. "If you two are heading to Aquacorde, you should probably get going. Do you think Ash could leave his Pokémon here? Greninja and Hawlucha are wonderful at garden work, and Fletchling likes playing with Talonflame and Noivern."

"I doubt Ash will mind," Serena stated, stretching her limbs a bit. She still couldn't get Ash's weirdness out of her head, but chose, instead, to focus on where they were heading, rather than her boyfriend's increasing oddities. To that point, she quickly dressed in her usual traveling clothes, only slightly updated from her days traveling through Kalos on her journey as a Performer (merely having made it so that the skirt and shirt were separate), before excitement began to flush through her. It had actually been some time since she'd been to a live Showcase, and especially to the town of Aquacorde, which she hadn't been to since her youth. Thinking on that, she began to get quite enthusiastic.

Ash was excited as well, it seemed, if one considered a sense of jitteriness to be excitement. Pikachu was just as pleased, clearly wanting to see a Showcase again after all of these years. While Serena also noticed her boyfriend playing with his locket, inherited from his father and still pristine, moreso than usual, she also got a confirmation about whether he was excited in general or just regarding whatever was on his mind. "I've never been to Aquacorde Town before. What's it like, Serena?"

"Quiet," Serena admitted softly, hands behind her back as they walked towards the very near adjacent town. The winding rivers that passed around and through it were now visible, giving the whole town a rather beautiful and luminescent glow. In particular, Serena could see the location of the Performance Hall, which did seem to have a lot of the members of the town streaming towards it, obvious even from their distance. "Really quite beautiful. I used to go there sometimes with some of the village kids to play by the river. Some have said it's a stunning and magical location; quite romantic. I think that mom and dad had a date there once…or so he's said. Mom just blushes and says nothing."

"Guess it's full of memories, then, huh?" Ash asked, looking far more pensive than usual. Serena debated asking him what it was all about, but eventually chose to not as they entered into the town. Some things were, possibly, best kept a surprise…as much as they could be. Naturally, some people instantly noticed her and Ash.

"Ah, it's Serena!" one of the arriving Performers called in such as high pitch squeal, Serena was certain it would break glass. Ash just threw a lopsided grin at her while they were swarmed. The both of them were so used to it by now, it was like a second nature to deal with flocks of fans. Among them were two that were familiar, the couple having just met them a couple days ago in Santalune City.

"Wow, I can't believe you actually made it here!" the girl, Emmy (if Serena remembered right), called out with such a bright smile. "This is so awesome, isn't it, Bri?"

"He's so…cool," her male companion said, staring at Ash with the exact same kind of awe and admiration. Both looked to be in their own little world while Serena smiled to Emmy, as if encouraging her to do her best. More people soon swamped them, and Serena lost Ash in the crowd as he spoke with the boy named Brian. Once the chimes sounded, calling for the Performers to begin getting ready for the Showcase, the fans stopped swarming, leaving Serena free to find Ash.

When she did, he seemed to be standing by the water's edge at the north end of town with Pikachu, looking over the flow of the river. The closer she got, the more she heard from her boyfriend.

"You think this area works?" he was asking of Pikachu. "I mean, we want it to feel nice, right?"

"Pikapi, chu Pipika pika pika chupi," Pikachu said sternly. Whatever it was that the two were talking about, the significance of it flew right over Serena's head, even if a possible inkling niggled at her brain. Ash seemed to deflate a bit, nodding as Serena approached.

"Yeah, you're right, I guess," Ash sighed out, finally turning away from the water. He immediately saw her there, and suddenly began looking like a Deerling in headlights, judging from his expression. Serena suppressed a giggle a bit. Ash blinked a moment and then asked in a slightly higher pitch, "Everything okay?"

"Just fine. How about you? The performance is about to start, Ash," Serena told him, jerking her finger back towards the center of town. Ash nodded, swallowing whatever was on his mind. He ran back up the hill, joining with her and taking her hand as they walked towards the Performance Hall. She could still feel some tension in him, looking over to see if he was okay, paying particular attention to the jangling locket upon his chest. She knew she had seen the ring inside there, but Ash hadn't said anything to her since that accidental mishap that she felt he hadn't even noticed had happened. Serena wasn't even sure if Ash had thought about it whatsoever. However, there was no denying how strangely nervous he was; like there was something he really didn't want to screw up because he wasn't used to doing it and wouldn't get another chance again.

The point became largely irrelevant upon their arrival at the Showcase, finding some seats in the middle of the crowd so as to not draw attention to themselves. Serena didn't even think the ever-present Monsieur Pierre knew she was there, especially with the usual way that he started the Showcase off, the Theme Performance being a berry picking competition and quiz. The years since she'd first entered the Performance circuit had changed the event immensely, taking a bit more inspiration from the Leilani Ceremony these days. Yet, even with all that excitement, and the beautiful performances from the girls below, Ash was completely unabsorbed in any of it.

While Pikachu seemed heavily engrossed in what was going on in front of them, Ash remained far less so. Though Serena continued to watch the events with interest, particularly when the girl, Emmy, performed on the stage (making sure to vote for her later, in conjunction with the new judges' rule), she would still slide her vision over to Ash and his locket. He really seemed like he was thinking of something very hard in his brain, but couldn't quite figure it out. Even when the Showcase ended, Ash picked a completely random performer (happened to be Emmy, somehow, but Serena was sure it was still random) and remained sitting there with his face scrunched in a contemplative position.

"Ash, the Showcase is finished," Serena nudged him. He didn't respond right away, which clearly made Pikachu grow rather annoyed about it, shocking him sharply.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu yelled angrily. Ash finally seemed to realize that he'd been spacing out, frowning a bit with an apologetic expression. Serena took pity on him and reached out to touch him on the shoulder.

"Ash, is everything okay?" she asked. He turned his head, lips twisting back and forth, like he wanted to chew on them. He opened his mouth, but shut it soon after. "Ash, this isn't like you. You never look so concerned about things, at least not the way you have tonight."

"Ah, sorry…I've just got this thing on my mind, and I want it to go right, but I keep second-guessing myself," Ash said, reaching up now to rub at the back of his head. He let out a light chuckle, clearly trying to relieve the tension inside of him.

"Ash Ketchum, you never second-guess yourself. Why are you starting now?" Serena stated emphatically. She came to stand and place her hands on her hips. Ash looked up at her, as if mesmerized by her appearance, somehow, and a blush dusted over her cheeks. Even after so long, he was the one thing that could get her to blush so profusely in a single second.

"You're right!" Ash insisted moments later, now jumping to his feet with a grin. He reached out, gripping for her hand and pulling her away through the stands of the hall. She felt the usual thrill of exhilaration that she always felt on a new adventure with Ash, a smile blossoming on her face. Wondering if, perhaps, her guess had been right, she decided to ride right along with it and see what Ash was going to do, now that he'd gotten over whatever insecurity he was experiencing. Within a minute, the couple had emerged into the main lobby, to the acknowledgement of those that were there. Emmy and Brian were there as well, staring at them with admiration.

"You had a wonderful performance, Emmy! I look forward to working with you as a Performer one day!" Serena yelled out, placing a hand on her hat with a grin as she was pulled along. Ash flashed them a grin, too, but was clearly focused on his goal. Emmy lit up, nodding mutely at the praise that she'd been given, but soon vanished from view as they exited from the building and began to head for the riverfront that Serena had discovered Ash at earlier. Pikachu leapt off his shoulder gleefully, running to go play in the water.

The couple, though, stopped on the banks of the river, illuminated by the lamplight that was now coming on with the lateness of the day. Ash turned around, clasping at his locket closely, his grin looking brighter than ever with the lights around them. Serena reached up, unable to help it as she reached for her blue ribbon. The anticipation was getting harder to bear, even if she had a very sharp feeling of what Ash was going to say.

"So, I've been thinkin' about this since we visited Nova Town," Ash stated, adding a little bit of a laugh at the end. "Well, probably since way before then, like Alola, or something, but now I really want to make it real. I tried thinkin' of all these meaningful ways to make it happen, but none of them came to mind. So, I figured why not try with something you love so much: Showcases!"

"And what is it you're trying here exactly?" Serena asked, swallowing almost audibly. Ash brought his locket up, and seemed to click it open, through Serena couldn't see the contents.

"This locket's really important to me, but not just as a reminder of my dad, but for the party you threw for me before we journeyed in Alola. The picture of us you gave me that day…it's…well, it's us," Ash said. Serena had to laugh; it was always odd when Ash sounded so sappy, yet it still caused her heart to speed up. "We've come a long way, and this locket, when I'm away, reminds me of how much I love you, you know?

"But it's not enough."

Serena stepped forward, coming closer to Ash's body as he took the contents of his locket out and showed her the inside. Instantly, she saw the picture of the two of them, said photo being over six years old at this point. Her breathing was steady, while Ash's seemed to increase. "And what will make it enough, Ash?"

He breathed out for a second and turned to her. Ash didn't kneel, however, or do any of the over-the-top romantic things Serena had always seen on television; things she had dreamed about as a little girl or teenager. In fact, he did something far simpler, far more "Ash", and far more perfect than Serena could have ever dreamed about. He reached forward, grabbing her hand and sliding something on to it. She didn't look as he spoke.

"If you marry me, I think," he said with his usual grin. "I think that would do it. Or, well…that's what mom thought when I described it, and she agreed. I want what Bethany and Christopher have, but just…different. 'Cause we're different. So…will you?"

Serena finally looked down, seeing the glittering ring upon her finger. She couldn't wait to show Bonnie, and flaunt it in front of Miette (just to shut down her teasing, really), and gush over it with Shauna and Aria. To that point, she needed to give only one answer. She stepped forward, touching Ash's face and kissing him. When she drew back, his eyes still questioning, she responded. "I've just been waiting for you to ask; waiting until you were ready."

"Well, it took some time, but I'm pretty sure I am," Ash told her with a light chuckle. She trailed her hand down to his, gripping it and feeling the engagement ring against her finger. "Love you!"

"And you, too…fiancée." With those words spoken, Ash seemed lighter than air, the weight lifted from him, and Serena took his hand tight, stepping away from the river to go back home and tell her mother the news. Finally, she was able to realize, it would almost be official that she was spending the rest of her life with Ash Ketchum, no matter what.

And in just under a year from that night, the biggest wedding of the century would occur, though neither Ash nor Serena knew it at that time. Instead, they just enjoyed their moment together on the road back to Vaniville, engaged to each other and wholly in love.


Fín

Author's Note: Sappy? Yeah, sure, but I really wanted to write it. I had obviously hinted at the proposal in the Epilogue, so now was my time to actually show it happening. Nothing extravagant, but I felt it just didn't suit where I'd brought these characters; they have enough bombastic events in their lives that a proposal should feel more tame. Also, wanted to give some time to the Kalos Squad. Anyway, I thought it'd be a little fun and a little sweet, and it provides a lead in to one of my next fics: the wedding, itself. Oh yes, I'm writing this Ancienverse wedding. It'll be a little insane, and I can only hope to do it the justice it deserves. I'm very apprehensive about that, but it'll focus on the couple themselves in three parts.

There will be one more oneshot before then, though, which is next week, and does still tie into said wedding. Enough of that here, though, I hope you enjoyed this particular oneshot. If you did, please Review and,

Dare to Be Silly,

Epicocity
 
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