Christmas Special

This is the last update before I end the book! I'll leave my appreciations and thanks at the end, so for now, the special!

Note: The special will be in modern world with no pokemon

Ash slammed his head on the cafe table, shaking his friends' coffee and tea.

"Oi! Stop it, Ash! You're spilling my tea!" Gary shouted and picked up his spilling cup.

Paul punched him in the back. "The heck's wrong with you?"

Ash picked up his head and looked at his two friends in the booth opposite of him through misty eyes. "I don't know what to get Serena for Christmas!"

"Pshh- she's your girlfriend! You're already 24 and have been dating the girl for, what, five years already! You should already know what she wants!" Gary said before sulking in his seat. "But it's still amazing how you both have girlfriends already while I'm still single..."

"What are you getting Dawn for Christmas, Paul?" Ash asked, desperately wanting to change the subject. When Gary wanted to talk about his sad love life, he could go on for hours.

"Don't know yet," the lavender haired 25 year old replied with a shrug. "As long as it's sparkly and blue, she'll like whatever it is."

"How can you be so carefree?!" Gary exclaimed, slamming a fist on the table. "If you get her a horrible gift, you may as well end your whole relationship!"

Paul glanced at the brunette. "Dawn's not like whatever girls you're stereotyping her to be. As long as I care enough for her and love her, she'll be fine with whatever I give her."

Ash grimaced. "Hearing Paul talk about love still gives me chills."

Paul tsked. "'Cause you're one to talk."

"Now come on!" Ash shouted. "Help me figure something out here!"

"Don't get her food," Gary said.

"Something meaningful," Paul added solemnly.

"And I suggest not clothes," A new voice added. "God knows how many clothes girls have in their closets..."

They all turned to see a worn out Drew behind around ten bags of clothing. He sat beside Ash and dumped all the bags on the floor.

"Uhh dude? You okay?" Ash asked and poked him in the side. Drew's face fell on the table and he groaned.

"May had me go to the mall with her," Drew mumbled. They all gave murmurs of understanding.

Everyone knew that May, Drew's girlfriend, was a shopaholic. Anyone who joined her in shopping all knew never to join her again. Sadly for Drew, he didn't have a choice.

"How about jewelry or something? I'm sure she'd like that," Gary said as he patted Drew's head comfortingly.

"Well it's not a bad idea, but do I even have enough money for that?" Ash asked.

"Depends on what you want to buy," Paul shrugged.

"Then I guess I could go look..." Ash muttered. Then he looked up at Gary and Paul. "Thanks, guys!"

"We didn't really do anything, but you're welcome," Paul said as he looked at his phone. "I've gotta go, Dawn's looking for me."

"Stop bragging about your girlfriends!" Gary groaned.

"Then get one yourself first!" Ash said.

"How about you get me one for Christmas?" Gary asked.

Ash thought about it.

"Sure."

———

The next day, Ash went to the jewelry story to look for something to give Serena. He looked around at all the glass cases and asked the workers for some recommendations. He ultimately decided on a necklace for her present, but he couldn't find a design he liked yet.

Ash walked down the rows of jewels and sighed heavily.

"This is much harder than I thought it'd be..." He muttered under his breath.

As he walked, something in the glass case to his right caught his eye. He turned and leaned over the case to get a better look at it.

Inside was a rose gold chain necklace with an olive leaf pendant and a small diamond embedded in it.

Ash's eyes widened and a memory flashed in his mind.

—Flashback—

19 year old Ash was sitting on a park bench with his eyes closed and his earbuds placed loosely in his ears. The breeze swept his raven locks and he sighed in content. Nature was something Ash loved very much.

A leaf from the olive tree above him fell into his lap. Ash picked it up and twirled it in his fingers before letting it drift away in the wind once more. He looked up at the tree that shaded him from the bright sun and watched the leaves dance in the wind and light. It was peaceful and relaxing.

Suddenly, Ash heard the scampering of small paws crawl to the olive tree's trunk and climb up the bark. He turned his head to see what it was but only saw a pale orange tail climb further into the leaves.

"Fennekin, come back here!" He heard a female voice shout. Ash turned his head again to see a honey blonde run up to the olive tree and watch the small animal perch on a branch.

"Fennekin, get down!" She shouted.

Ash took off one of his earbuds and looked at her with an arched eyebrow as she clumsily tried to climb up the tree.

"You need help there?" He asked.

The girl turned to him in alarm and slipped off the tree. Ash reacted quickly and ran to steady her before she hit the ground. He grabbed her waist and held her as she looked up at him with a bit of pink dusting her cheeks.

"S-Sorry!" She squeaked.

Ash let go of her and rubbed the back of his head. "Nah- I'm the one who should be apologizing... I'm the one who caused you to fall..." Then he looked up the tree to see a pale orange and red cat sitting on a branch. "That your cat?" He asked.

The girl nodded. "She ran out of the house when I was about to go grocery shopping."

"How about I help you out? I'm Ash, by the way," The raven introduced.

"I'm Serena- and it's fine, I'm sure I can manage," Serena shook her hands timidly.

"I insist! Besides, your cat climbed pretty far up. Lucky for you, I'm an excellent tree climber- so I'll get her down in a jiffy!" Ash grinned as he jabbed a thumb at his chest.

Serena smiled lightly. "Alright then... Thank you, Ash."

"No problem, Serena! Now..."

Ash turned to the tree and started up it. He grabbed onto the branches for support and stuck his feet in the nooks of the trunk. He climbed up steadily and in a matter of moments, he was already ten feet off the ground.

"Be careful!" Serena shouted from below him.

"I know!" Ash shouted back.

He saw the cat on a nearby branch and slowly crawled closer to it. Then he steadied himself on the branch and looked at the cat he stared back at him fearfully. He really didn't understand why cat's climbed up trees if they couldn't het back down as easily.

Ash opened his arms welcomingly to the cat. "Come on, I'll help you down to your owner. There's nothing to be afraid of!"

The cat looked at him cautiously before taking a step toward him, followed by another until it found itself in his arms. Ash grinned.

"Alright, I'm coming down!" Ash shouted and started slowly down the way he came with the cat in one arm.

When he reached the bottom, Ash handed the cat over to Serena. She smiled gratefully at him.

"Thank you so much, Ash!" She said as she hugged Fennekin close to her chest.

Ash grinned. "You're welcome."

He watched as Serena's gaze drifted to the side of his face. Her hand lifted up and reached for his cheek. Ash felt his face light up when her hand brushed his face.

Serena plucked something from Ash's hair and brought it in front of her. She giggled.

"There was an olive leaf stuck in your hair."

Ash lifted his gaze as not to look at her in fear of blowing up red.

"T-Thanks..."

—Flashback End—

"It's perfect," Ash muttered and went to ask a worker to get it for him.

———

Serena waited on a bench under the same olive tree she met Ash at. The raven had told her to met up there on exactly this day- Christmas day.

Snow fell from the sky softly and the ground was dusted white. The olive tree above Serena was also covered in snow. White puffs of cold breath floated by her face and a cold breeze hit her face. She adjusted the scarf around her neck.

"Where is he? He's already twenty minutes late..." Serena thought as she rubbed her hands together to warm them up.

"Sorry I'm late!" A distant voice shouted.

Serena turned her head to see Ash running toward her. He stopped at the bench and sat beside her, his breathing hard.

Serena nudged him playfully. "Geez, Ash. You were the one who called me out here."

Ash rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry about that."

He looked around at the snow with a small smile before turning back to Serena.

"So how's Fennekin?" He asked.

"She's fine," Serena responded. "She actually gave birth to a few kits last week!"

"Seriously?!" Ash asked with wide, bright eyes. "How many?!"

Serena laughed. "Four healthy kits. Two are female and the other two are male."

"They must be so cute! The next time I go to your house, you have to show me them!" Ash grinned.

Serena chuckled. "Of course! But you can see one of them now!"

Ash gave her a dumbfounded look and watched as she took out a present with holes in the box. Ash stared at it obliviously as she placed it in his lap.

"Open it- but be careful," Serena warned.

Ash nodded and lifted the present so he could look at the wrapping. It was just a decorated box with a top that opened. He set it back on his lap and took off the top. His eyes widened when he looked inside.

A small pale orange cat with a white muzzle and front paws peeked out of the box. It mewled curiously up at the raven haired boy who shook with excitement.

"N-No way..." Ash muttered as he took up the small kit in his shaking hands. He looked at Serena with tears eyes. "A-Are you for real...?"

She smiled at him and nodded. "He's all yours."

The stars in his eyes lit up and he laughed as the small cat licked his cheek. "Thank you so much, Serena!" He reached over and hugged her with one arm, kissing her cheek lightly. He turned back to the cat. "I'll name him Taiyou!"

"As in 'sun', right?" Serena asked. "Good choice!"

Ash grinned cheekily as he put the newly named Taiyou down on his lap. He fumbled with his pockets in search of something while Serena's attention drifted to the tiny cat that was attempting to climb up his raven locks.

"Got it!" Ash shouted as he took out a small beige box.

He handed it over to Serena with a big grin. "This is my present to you!"

Serena looked at the small box curiously and took it in her hands. She studied the box and glanced at Ash's still grinning face before turning back to the box. She opened it and her eyes widened in surprise.

Serena pulled out the necklace and rested it in her palm. She traced the rose gold chain and traveled down it until her eyes rested on the olive leaf pendant at the bottom. Tears gathered at the edge of her eyes.

"Ash..." She said as she glanced up at the olive tree behind them before turning to her boyfriend. She lunged at him and embraced him with a hug. "Thank you!"

Taiyou stumbled on Ash's head but managed to remain in place. Ash wrapped his arms around the girl.

"You're welcome," He said lovingly before letting go.

He took the necklace from her hand and put it around her neck. Then he looked back at her and smiled.

"There! It looks good on you, Serena!"

Serena smiled back at him and pecked him on the lips.

"Merry Christmas, Ash."

Ash leaned in and captured her lips in a sweet, passionate kiss. Serena, of course, kissed back with an equal amount of love as his until they had to separate for air. Taiyou purred and played with Serena's honey blonde hair since her and Ash's foreheads were still pressed together. They both smiled contently at each other.

"Merry Christmas, Serena."

AAaaaAaaAaAAAaaaaaaaaA-!!! This was my first fanfic and, after a little more than a year of writing it, IVE FINALLY FINISHED IT! i-im just p-proud of myself...

I thank you all sososososososososSO MUCH for reading this story! And I'm thankful for all the support I've received! I'm really happy that so many people have liked the story! We've also reached 13k reads, so thanks for that, too!

I really don't know what else to say, but thank you hangr2003 for supporting me too as my friend! Please check out her amourshipping story Regions Apart!

Thank you all again so much and I hope you all enjoyed the story- no matter how crappy it was...

Thank you!

P.S. Merry Christmas, too!

~Crystal

Word Count: 2250

12/24/18