Alola Meeting

It was early morning as Anabel stood in the kitchen preparing some food.

“I hope Ash likes the lunch I made for him,” said Anabel with a smile as she added the finishing touch to the bento.  She was just glad that she had the ingredients to make the food that was common back home.

Just as she finished, Ash and Pikachu came running into the room looking panicked.  Before Anabel could ask what was wrong, Ash spoke up at a very fast pace.

“MorningAnabelalarmdidn’tgooffrunninglateneedtogettoclassloveyou!” exclaimed the boy as he rushed out the door.

The young maiden blinked a few times as she tried to comprehend what Ash had just said.  Once she figured it out, she couldn’t help but giggle slightly.

“Poor Ash.  I hope he makes it on time,” said Anabel with a soft smile.  It was then she realized something. “He forgot his lunch!”

Frowning at the thought of her boyfriend missing lunch, she decided that she’d have to drop it off herself.  At this thought she blushed slightly as it was almost exactly like a wife going to her husband’s workplace to drop off his lunch.

She needed to cool off a bit before she went to the school.

-:-

Hours later and lunchtime had arrived.  Sitting at the table with his friends, Ash let out a few grumbles having realized that he completely forgot his lunch.  At least Pikachu was able to have lunch as he and the rest of the Pokémon were off to the side eating their berries.

“How could you have forgotten your lunch, Ash?” questioned Mallow, giving the raven-haired boy a look of concern.

Letting out a sigh, he replied. “I woke up late this morning and rushed out the door to get to school.”

“Didn’t you set your alarm?” questioned Kiawe with a frown.

“I was pretty sure I did.  I’ll need to check it out once I get home.”

“Maybe you should pay more attention to what you’re doing,” said Sophocles with a laugh, causing Ash’s eye to twitch in annoyance.

“Sophocles, be nice,” said Lillie as she gave the wannabe scientist a scolding look.

“If you want, Ash, y-you can have some of my lunch,” said Lana, a slight blush on her face.

The Kanto native gave her a smile, but shook his head. “Thanks, Lana, but I couldn’t take your food.  I’ll just have to hold out until later.”

Luckily for him later came sooner.

“Ash!”

The boy’s eyes widened at the sound of the familiar voice.  Turning around, he saw his smiling maiden making her way over towards him.

“Who is that?” questioned Mallow as she and the others watched Ash stand and meet the new girl halfway.

“Whoever she is Ash is apparently happy to see her,” replied Kiawe as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Anabel, what are you doing here?” asked a confused Ash as he stood before the lavender-haired girl.

Anabel could only smile at the raven-haired boy as she held up the bento box. “You forgot the lunch I made for you, so I thought I’d deliver it!”

Ash blinked in confusion. “You made me lunch?”

“Of course I did, silly!” chirped Anabel with a giggle.

A grin came to Ash’s face as he brought Anabel into a hug. “Thanks, Anabel!”

“You’re w-welcome, Ash,” squeaked the shy maiden as she started to blush.

“Hey, Ash!  You going to introduce us to your friend?!” exclaimed Mallow, gaining the couple’s attention.

Ash couldn’t help but rub the back of his head and give off an embarrassed grin while Anabel’s blush became a deeper shade of red.

“Heh, sorry about that,” replied Ash. “Anyway, everyone!  I’d like you to meet Anabel…my girlfriend!”

It was silent after Ash made the introduction as his classmates processed his words.  Once it finally clicked though…

“Eh?!  You have a girlfriend?!” exclaimed the Alola natives.

“You make it sound like it’s impossible for me to have a girlfriend,” said Ash with a slight frown.

“Probably because it is,” replied Sophocles, only to get a smack to the head from Lillie.

“What did I tell you about being nice?” hissed Lillie as Sophocles held his head in pain.

Ash had to hold back a smirk as he watched the scene before him.  He was glad that someone was putting Sophocles in his place.  He then turned to Anabel with a smile. “So Anabel, since you’re here you want to join us for lunch?”

The young maiden blushed slightly as the others looked on expectedly. “I s-suppose I could stay for a bit.”

As Ash led Anabel over to the table, the Alola natives watched on with different thoughts in their heads.

Mallow was internally squeeing at this relationship.  She didn’t know exactly who Anabel was, but Mallow could tell she was perfect for someone like Ash.

Kiawe felt a little annoyed by this.  He had thought that Ash was serious about trying to master the Alola Challenge and felt that Ash having a girlfriend would split Ash’s focus.

Sophocles was still trying to figure out how someone like Ash got a girlfriend in the first place.

Lillie was curious as to who Anabel was and wanted to get to know her as the lavender-haired girl looked like she’d be very knowledgeable of the world.

Lastly, Lana was saddened by the fact that Ash had a girlfriend.  Since she had first met the raven-haired boy a tiny spark lit up in her heart and had been growing since.  The blue-haired girl cursed her shyness as she could have confessed to Ash if she were a bit more confident.  Either way, Ash’s happiness was more important and if Anabel made him happy, then Lana was happy.

The Alola natives followed the couple back over to the tables to finish their own lunches.  As they sat down, Ash opened the bento box and his eyes lit up.

“Wow, Anabel!  This looks great!” exclaimed the boy with a grin.

“Th-Thank you, Ash,” replied the maiden with a stutter.

Not wasting anytime, Ash took his chopsticks to take a piece of food and stuck it in his mouth.  Once he took the first bite, Ash tensed up before taking his chopsticks and placing them atop of his bento.  This made Anabel and his friends worried.

“…Anabel?”

“Yes, Ash?” answered Anabel, scared that he didn’t like the food.

He turned to her with a serious look. “Cook for no one but me.”

The lavender-haired girl let out an “eep”, surprised by Ash’s words. “Wh-What?”

“This food…I’ve never tasted anything better!  This is even better than my mom’s cooking and she runs a restaurant!” exclaimed Ash with fervor.

“Wait, your mom runs a restaurant?” questioned Mallow.

“Focus, Mallow,” replied Lillie with a sigh.

“Anyway,” said Ash, getting back on track, looking directly into Anabel’s eyes. “Long story short; your cooking is the best and I want it all to myself.”

“Isn’t that a bit selfish of you, Ash?” questioned Anabel, trying to hide her amusement.

“…Let me selfish for once.  I don’t want to share you,” replied the raven-haired boy with a slight pout.

The maiden couldn’t hold her giggles any longer as she reached over to wrap her arms around her guardian.  As the couple hugged they were interrupted when someone cleared their throat.

“You do know you’re not alone, right?” questioned Kiawe in an annoyed tone, causing Ash and Anabel to separate with a blush.

“Aw, how can you be so mean, Kiawe?” demanded Mallow. “They looked so cute!”

Anabel blushed even more as Mallow gushed over her and Ash.

“There’s a time and place for stuff like that and this isn’t it,” replied the Fire-type trainer with a frown. “As a Z-Ring wielder, Ash has responsibilities and doesn’t need distractions.”

This made Anabel frown.  She didn’t know what a Z-Ring was, but the way Kiawe spoke it sounded important.  Was she really a distraction to Ash?  Just the thought of being a distraction to Ash made her heart clench.

“Anabel’s not a distraction,” retorted Ash as he gave Kiawe a narrowed look. “If anything, she helps me focus more than I usually would.”

“Oh don’t pay Kiawe any mind, Ash,” said Lillie as tried to prevent an argument.

“Yeah!  He’s just jealous that you have a girlfriend and he doesn’t!” added Mallow in a fit of giggles.

“I am not jealous!” snapped the dark-skinned teen as he glared at the young chef.

“But it sounds like you are,” replied Lana.

Kiawe let out a growl as the three girls giggled at him.  He was about to snap at them again, but was interrupted by the sound of the teacher’s voice.

“So what’s all the commotion over here?” questioned Professor Kukui with a laugh.  He then noticed Anabel. “And who is this?”

“That’s Anabel; Ash’s wife,” answered Mallow with a smirk.  She just couldn’t help herself.

The lavender-haired girl let out an “eep” as she blushed brightly while Ash had a blank look on his face at Mallow’s declaration.

“…Wife?  Did I miss something?” asked Kukui as he scratched the back of his head in confusion.  Much to the couple’s embarrassment, Mallow explained about Ash’s earlier statement of wanting Anabel to cook for no one but him after tasting her food.  Kukui let out a chuckle upon hearing this. “Is that right?”

Ash let out a groan. “It’s not like I meant it like that.”

“But that’s what it sounded like~” sang Mallow with a grin.

Anabel started to fidget in her seat.  The thought of being Ash’s wife returned full throttle, causing her to blush up a storm, much to the Alola natives’ amusement.

“Don’t pay Mallow any mind, Anabel,” said Ash upon seeing Anabel’s state. “She just likes to make fun.”

Not trusting her voice, Anabel merely nodded to Ash’s advice.  Off to the side, Mallow couldn’t help but giggle at the scene.

Kukui let out another chuckle. “Alright everyone, lunch is almost over.  Anabel, if you’re free for today, how would you like to join the class?  See how things are done here?”

Anabel, as well as the other teens, looked at the professor with wide eyes. “Are you sure that’s okay, Professor Kukui?”

“I don’t see why not,” replied Kukui with a smile. “Plus, from what Principal Oak told me, you’re a very skilled trainer.  You could be a guest speaker of sorts.”

Anabel blushed slightly at the praise she had been given.  She knew she was skilled, given the fact that she was a former Frontier Brain, but it was very rare to get praise for it and sounding sincere.  She glanced over at Ash to see what he thought, only to get a smile in return.

“I say go for it, Anabel!  Most of the lessons Professor Kukui give us are amazing!” exclaimed the raven-haired boy.

The other students looked at Anabel with varying levels of hope in their eyes.  Not wanting to upset everyone, she agreed.

-:-

Later that day, once school was out, Ash and Anabel were making their way back home after a long day of interrogations.

“Today wasn’t so bad,” said Ash with a grin.

A soft smile appeared on Anabel’s face. “I suppose.  Although, Mallow and Lillie kept asking for more information about our relationship.”

Ash couldn’t help but let out a chuckle as he looked at his shy maiden. “I figured as much.  That’s just how Mallow is and when she’s involved Lillie gets involved as well.  Although I’m surprised that Lana was quieter than usual today.”

“I’m s-sure she had her reasons,” replied Anabel as she glanced away from Ash.  Due to her empathic ability, she found out about Lana’s feelings for Ash and that she was upset that she no longer had any chance of winning his heart.  Anabel couldn’t help but feel sorry for the girl.

“Maybe.  Hopefully she’ll feel better tomorrow,” stated Ash.

“I’m sure she will be, Ash.”

The lavender-haired girl made a mental note to talk with Lana at some point tomorrow, in hopes that there were no hard feelings between them.

She just hoped that Mallow and Lillie weren’t around when she did talk to the Water-type trainer.

FIN