It shouldn't have surprised him to see her suitcase in the kitchen. He was back, and it sounded like it was for good this time. Her eyes were pleading with him, asking him not to make it any harder than it already was.

"It's him, isn't it?"

She nodded her head slowly. "Yes. It always was him. It will always be him. I'm sorry. I led you on. I thought I could get over him. I thought I was over him, but now he's here and…"

"And you're still in love with him."

"Yeah. I'm sorry."

"No, thank you."

"For what?"

"For doing this now. I know you. Maybe not as well as he does, but I do know you. You wanted to make him wait it out, until we eventually broke up on our own, and we would eventually break up, because it will never be me, and we both know that. It will never be me, and there's no point in dragging that out."

"I guess."

"Well, I know." His voice was gentle. "You can go now. I'll be okay." He watched her as she approached the door. "Hey, Misty?"

"Yeah?"

"Tell him I'll beat him up if he ever hurts you," he said, echoing Ash's first words to him. "And I expect an invite to the wedding!"

Misty met his eyes and smiled gratefully. He watched as the smile turned from one of gratitude to one of mischief. She quickly grabbed his cell phone off the counter and tossed it to him.

"You should call Erin."

"Huh?"

"Erin. Short. Blonde. Known her since you were born."

"Yes, I know who she is, but why?"

"Let her know you're on the market." She winked. "She's head-over-heels for you. She's just way too nice to do anything about it when you're already happy with someone else."

"You know, I've never considered it."

"Of course you haven't," Misty laughed. He then heard her mutter something that sounded suspiciously like 'boys are idiots' under her breath. "And thank you." She hugged him once more and then walked out the door, suitcase in hand. "Call her!" she reminded him as she closed the door behind her.

He stared thoughtfully at the phone in his hand before dialing an all-too-familiar number.

"Hey, Erin?"

She felt oddly light-hearted as she stepped out the door. They had parted on good terms. He didn't resent her (or him) and she thought that he might now have his own shot at his happy ending, just like she finally did. She liked the way that sounded. Her happy ending. With him. She knew it would be much more eventful than it sounded, but she didn't mind.

She walked into the gym, only to meet his goofy grin. The kind of smile that you can't help but return.

"Ash."

He wrapped his arms around her in greeting. "So, how'd it go?"

Misty giggled as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "He says he expects an invitation to the wedding."

"You know, I've always liked him…"

"That's not what you were saying yesterday." He at least had the decency to blush. She laughed.

"Yesterday, he was the only thing keeping me from doing this." They both smiled as he pressed his lips firmly, but quickly, to hers. There was something about the goofy, adorable, dorky Ash Ketchum that she would never get over. And now, she didn't have to.

A/N: I feel like this is the first fanfic I've submitted in a long time... Anyways, this fic is inspired by "What I Know" by Parachute. Absolutely beautiful song, though heartbreaking at the same time. You have no clue as to how many drabbles I have in my notebook based on this song alone.

Ash and Misty. Yay! I'm particularly proud of the dialogue in this. Get up and act out Misty's little monologue (her first speaking part) in the mirror. Trust me, it's fun.

I know this situation has been played over and over again, but I feel like this take is slightly different. Ash is always like 'Misty, I love you' and Misty's like 'Ash, this is unfair. I'm happy with so-and-so' even though she knows in her heart or hearts that it will be Ash in the end and just ends up prolonging everyone's suffering, including Mr. so-and-so who spends the whole story getting dragged along the emotional roller coaster that is Ash and Misty when he could be getting on with his life. Yeah. It seems like a harsh way of thinking about it, but if you really think about it, it's true. At least, that's my opinion.

Oh yeah. And I have no idea who the guy is. He's just a guy...

I will get around to finishing my other fics. Eventually…

So, tell me what you think!