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Serena hadn’t been expecting to run into anyone she knew when she flew back to Kalos -though she probably should have, considering how many people she knew and cared about lived there- so running into Clemont as she entered a coffee shop down one of the streets of Lumiose city came as a surprise. Running in the literal sense- they slammed head first into each other.
“Shit, I'm sorry, I was- Serena?” Clemont readjusted his glasses, coffee miraculously unspilled.
Serena blinks. He sounds the same as they did when they travelled together. He's a little taller now, but Serena still has a few inches on him. His jumpsuit seems to have been replaced with a simple blue sweater over some sort of button up, and he’s wearing jeans. The oversized backpack has stayed, but it seems to fit him a little better than before.
Serena brightens. “Clemont! It's been so long! How have you been?”
He shrugs, but smiles anyway. “I'm okay, just getting some coffee before I head back to the workshop. I had to go pick up some spare parts.” He pauses to push his glasses back up his nose. “Did you want to come back to the tower with me and catch up? I know you were just going in here, but…”
“Sure! Are you okay if I run in and grab something quick?”
He nods. “Go ahead. I'm going to wait out here though.”
Serena grins, before entering the coffee shop. She returns a few minutes later, holding a large, see-through cup with a magenta pink liquid inside. There are mysterious fruit chunks suspended at the top.
“Sorry! I couldn't decide what to get.”
“That's alright, every time I take Bonnie here she takes 10 minutes just staring at the menu” Clemont says as they begin to head back to Lumiose city.
Serena laughs. “That sounds like Bonnie. How is she?“
“She's good! she’s out of town right now…” Clemont begins to talk about the antics of his younger sister, pride in his voice.
As she listens, Serena looks around the streets of Lumiose. It’s busy, people bustling down the streets. She's glad to see that the attack hadn’t left its scars on the city, at least from what she could see. The only remnants seem to be the new trees growing in patches of dirt, inside new squares of concrete.
Prism Tower is still brilliant and overpowering, standing perfectly in the heart of the city. She’s been here before, sure, but it’s still a sight to behold. Serena stops and stares up at the tower.
Clemont, who’s already approaching the doors, notices Serena has fallen behind.
“You coming?”
“I always forget how…. big the tower is.”
Clemont looks up. “I guess I kind of forget sometimes.”
Serena nods, running to catch up. “You spend a lot of time here, don’t you?”
“I pretty much live here” Clemont unlocks the door. “Bonnie does too, when she’s home.”
He lets Serena in before following behind, door slamming behind the two of them.
The inside of Prism Tower remains largely unchanged. The stands at the side and the dirt battleground are empty, but the lights are on.
“Where's Clembot?” Serena asks as they enter the workshop.
Clemont hums, throwing his bag onto one of the benches. “I think he’s helping my dad with something at Professor Sycamore’s lab.”
“Couldn’t you help your dad with that stuff?”
“Yeah, but I've got things here I can work on.” he shakes his head, as if dismissing a thought.
He pulls his old jumpsuit out- there’s more patches now- but it seems to still fit him pretty well. He just pulls it on over top of his other clothes, before he sits down at the biggest workbench, various robot parts scattered about.
Serena hops up on the work bench beside Clemont.
A comfortable silence falls over the workshop. Serena stares at nothing for a minute, kicking her legs, before she speaks.
“Clemont, do you ever think about love?”
Clemont looks up, scrunching his nose a little. “Not really,” he puts down his wire strippers. “Is this about Ash?”
Serena turns red. “No!” Clemont raises his eyebrow at her. “Maybe. A little?”
Clemont puts his hands up, resting his chin on them, and looks at her. Serena looks away, even though she knows Clemont wouldn’t look her in the eyes- she thinks they’ve made eye contact maybe twice their entire friendship.
“Go on,” he says.
“Okay…” Serena trails off. “I don't really know how to explain it.”
“That's okay.”
“It’s…. it’s like Ash was the perfect guy… he was everything you could ever want in a boyfriend! But I've never met another guy I've felt the same way about.” She pauses. “Part of me worries if it’s me? I’ve talked to my friend May about it, she says I’m pretty and smart and creative and any guy would be lucky to have me, and that I’ll find someone, but I don't know if I’ll find a guy as good as Ash, you know?"
Clemont nods slowly. He looks like he’s thinking about what to say; like he’s choosing his words carefully.
“Serena…” he says slowly. “Have you…. considered…. that maybe… it’s not a boyfriend you want?”
“What do you mean? It’s not like I can just date a girl-“
“Why can’t you?” He cuts her off. Serena stops.
That sentence hits her like a pile of bricks. They lapse back into silence for a while again, Serena reconsidering her entire life up until that moment. A lot of things seem to click. She thinks back to her relationship with Miette, letting this revelation re-frame all their interactions.
Eventually, she flops backwards onto the table and groans.
“Are you okay?” Clemont asks.
“Just thinking.” She covers her face with her arms. “I'm just confused, I think.”
Clemont nods. “It's okay. why don’t you tell me more about your friend, May?”
Serena sits up excitedly and launches into a rant, eyes shining. She doesn’t seem to notice the slight smile growing across Clemont’s face.
When she does notice, she stops. Her face goes red. “What?”
“Nothing. It reminds me of how I felt when I first met Ash, that’s all.”
Serena tilts her head. “What do you mean?”
He raises an eyebrow. “Serena, I had a massive crush on him the entire time we travelled together.”
Something else clicks. “Oh.” she doesn’t say anything else, and Clemont continues.
“He was just… I can't really describe it. He had such an energy and life about him that took me off guard. I was almost enamoured with him, if that makes sense.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I don't think I'd be the same person I am now without him.”
Serena nods. “That's kind of how I feel about May, I think. I'm still a little confused.” her face turns red.
“You won’t figure it out right away. You’ve got lots of time to learn.” Clemont smiles gently. “I think you should maybe talk to May, though.”
“I… think I might.” She catches Clemont off guard, hugging him. “Thanks, Clemont.”