A/N: Happy Pokeshipping Day, everyone! Though there is nothing happy about my story, I don't know why this prompt just screamed angst at me for some reason. Seriously, read at your own risk. Also this is not a continuation of the first chapter, just the last prompt for the week.

Life as a Couple

There were moments he remembered and moments he didn't. Hazy memories constantly zoomed in his head, never arriving a clear destination. He tried to register the faces that came and sat in front of him day by day, some of them similar to those in his memories, some not. Even if they were, he was told by the doctor, he was the one who was unable to remember them. Remember. He heard that word countless times in a day, almost always coupled with me in a questioning tone. Remember me, Ash? We met at xyz when you were xyz… Always the same questions, always the same answers, always the same tone… It had been going on for about a year now, and Ash was starting to tire. Ash Ketchum. That's what his name was supposed to be. It was surprising that he didn't remember his own name when he woke up that fateful day but he remembered the lifeless body of his dear friend, the one he hadn't been able to save, the one who had saved him in exchange for his life, his best friend and first companion, his Pikachu.

He heard the doctors talk to his family about how this was a side-effect of going through a traumatic experience, that he was erasing his memories to cope with the pain. He laughed at that. If that was the case then why couldn't he just get rid of the image of Pikachu lying on the ground, completely still, not breathing… why was this the only piece of memory that he wasn't letting go of?

"Daddy, how are you feeling today?"

He hadn't notice the door open and he was a little surprised to have company so early in the morning. Usually everyone in the house slept in late on Sundays, including him, and he was going to gloat over being the first one up today but it seemed that someone had already beaten him to it. A pair of brown eyes similar to his stared up at him expectantly, a huge smile covered every inch of his daughter's face as she promptly sat herself down opposite him on the bed, "I helped with breakfast!" she exclaimed.

"I'm feeling fine, Fel," Ash returned the smile, though not in the same proportion, "I'm looking forward to eating it then."

Unlike his daughter's entry going unnoticed, Ash would never fail to notice the flash of orange hair which was still as bright as the day he had first met her, a memory he was surprised he still remembered. She came in carrying his breakfast, and immediately her eyes fell on their daughter.

"Felicity, I thought I told you to go wake up your brother," Misty said as she set the tray of food down in front of Ash and turned to frown at her daughter.

"I tried, he didn't budge," Felicity pouted in reply, hoping to sway her mother.

"He has a very important training session at the Lab today, please go wake him up sweetheart," Misty sighed as she nudged Ash to make space for her on his side of the bed.

"Fine." Felicity muttered dejectedly as she dragged her feet out of the room slowly, not wanting to see her brother so early in the morning.

Ash inspected the tray of food lying in front of him as Misty rested her head on his shoulder, four pancakes and sliced fruits, simple and easy to eat just the way he liked it, "Wow, Fel did all this?" he wondered aloud.

Misty snorted in reply, "All she did was make that smiley face on the pancake with whipped cream and even that is lopsided."

"Tch, Mist," Ash clicked his tongue as he began to dig in, "Always the perfectionist."

Misty didn't reply, she closed her eyes and tried her best to etch this scene in her head for harder days ahead, few rays of sunlight creeping through the curtains, a warm December morning, Felicity's faint voice floating through the halls as she attempted to wake up AJ, the sweet smell of maple syrup, Ash's calm, rhythmic heartbeat and his content eyes.

She still wasn't used to him being there. First he was missing for three months, then he was in a coma for another two, then he woke up not remembering his own name. It had been a difficult year and a half for all of them, but they were getting through it. She was going to get him through it, that's what she had vowed when they had exchanged rings sixteen years ago, that she would forever hold his hand walk and with him through fire if she had to. The past year had been exactly that, but she hadn't wavered. Surprisingly, Ash hadn't either. He accepted everything that had happened calmly, he understood that he wouldn't recover immediately so he didn't force himself to get better. He didn't hide anything from her, she was aware of every single thing he felt, all his nightmares, all his pain, he shared everything with her. He didn't refrain from asking for help, even from the kids. He was working the hardest to get better and not giving up, reminding her every day of the reason she had fallen in love with him in the first place.

"How'd you know I was up? I thought you slept in Fel's room last night." Ash asked, closed to finishing the pancakes.

"Turns out our daughter is a huge kicker, I barely got any sleep last night trying to avoid her feet," Misty said, opening her eyes briefly, only to notice that the fruits were completely untouched, "Ash. You have to eat everything on the tray."

Ash groaned in reply, "How about we share?"

"I already ate two hours ago," she said, stifling a yawn.

"Wow, you really didn't sleep at all." Ash muttered, picking up a tiny grape from the bowl and popping it in his mouth.

"Uh huh. And I still have to get AJ to his session, so do you really want to put me in a bad mood right now?" Misty lifted her head to glance at Ash, a small smile playing on her lips.

"For the sake of my son's safety, I shall eat everything in this bowl," Ash said, laughing lightly.

Misty settled her head on his shoulder once more, replaying the sound of his laughter in her mind again and again as it was something she didn't get to hear often these days. She didn't realize when she drifted off to sleep, she was surrounded by so much warmth and everything smelled like Ash that she almost didn't want to wake up. But remembering the big day ahead of her she forced her eyes to open only to realize that afternoon had already settled in. She reached out her hands to find that the bed next to her was empty which made her sit up immediately. Ash liked to spend Sundays resting inside since that was the only day they didn't have any visitors so it was a little concerning when he wasn't in their room. Climbing out of all the blankets that she was sure was the work of her husband, she rushed down the stairs following the voice of her daughter's laughter and ended up in the kitchen to find Ash and the little devils standing around the stove, inspecting something extremely black.

Ash noticed her instantly, and put up an apologetic pout, "Misty, I can explain-"

"Dad wanted to cook lunch for you!" Felicity giggled, interrupting her father before he even had the chance to begin.

"But he really sucks at it," AJ added, snickering. Ash smacked his head, his face turning red as Misty just stood in the kitchen doorway, staring blankly at them.

"I followed Mom's recipe exactly the way it was written and it still ended up like this," Ash started again, throwing a scowl in the direction of the pan filled with something that could only be described as stuff, "Honestly, I just wanted to do something nice for you beca-" He didn't get to finish again because within seconds Misty covered the distance between them and jumped into his arms, a little surprised he still managed to catch her wrapping his arms safely around her. She answered his confusion by pressing her lips to his and it didn't take long for Ash to respond. She could hear her son shouting there are kids in this room in the background, but in that moment she decided that she had never been happier.

-x-

A/N: Reviews are always appreciated, thank you for reading!