(My) day two! I replaced the originally chosen theme, because as much as I liked the concept of Evil Ash (I love those episodes) I just couldn't come up with a good idea for it!

I definitely thought this theme was pretty angsty when I first saw it, which generally isn't my forte, so I decided to try and take it in a different direction. Enjoy!


I Love You, but We Can't Be Together

"I love you, but we can't be together."

Ash raised an eyebrow as those words left Misty's lips. She was leaning against a wall, his hands pressed against it beside her shoulders.

"Why not?" He asked, his voice just above a whisper.

"Because it's not appropriate," Misty replied, her tone making the assumption that fact should've been obvious to him.

Ash, however, was not deterred. "I don't care about being appropriate."

"Oh, I'm well aware of that. But I do."

Finally lowering his hands, Ash's face contorted into a pout. Misty peeled herself away from the wall, straightening out her sky blue t-shirt which Ash had so carelessly jostled during their (very quick) tryst.

"Who's in the gym beside your sisters and the Pokémon?" Ash challenged.

Misty sighed and shook her head. He just wasn't going to give up. "If a challenger shows up and you've got me pinned to the wall in a very compromising position, it's going to be awkward."

"I don't care about being awkward, either."

Growling lowly, Misty stepped around her boyfriend. "Do you care about being sold out to the tabloids?"

Ash thought about it for a moment. "Not really, if it means I get to make out with you."

Though she kept walking, Misty smirked, glad that Ash couldn't see her face. "Remember when you didn't have a clue about romance? Times certainly have changed. I never would've guessed that kissing would've become one of your favorite hobbies."

"Honestly, me either," Ash admitted, finally turning on a heel to follow after her. "But it's kind of nice!"

Misty's smirk grew. "Look, you'll care about the tabloids when our faces are splashed all over them. We were trying to keep this relationship private for a reason, Ash. That means we have to be discrete. We can do plenty of making out when there isn't a chance of us getting caught by some nosy kid."

"I would've never sold out a gym leader for their relationship when I was a trainer," Ash reasoned.

"Right, because you would've had no idea what they were doing if you caught them kissing," Misty teased. "You'd probably have thought they were sharing gum or something dumb like that."

"What, like spitting it in each other's mouths?" Ash appealed, sticking his tongue out afterwards. "That's disgusting! I never would've thought of something that gross!"

"That's because you're thinking about it now with your big boy brain," Misty snickered, tapping on the side of his head.

Ash grumbled as he pulled away from her. Misty just laughed in response, holding her hands behind her back as she and Ash re-entered the gym's lobby. "Daisy, have any trainers stopped by looking for a gym battle?"

The bored blonde lowered her magazine, rolling her eyes once her youngest sister was in view. "No. It's so dead here! You really should just close up for the rest of the day."

"I'm not going to do that!" Misty cried. "Just because its quiet now doesn't mean it will be in a little while."

Daisy huffed and lifted her magazine back up. "You're way too confident." Quickly throwing her reading down again, Daisy rushed out, "but if you're that confident about it, why don't you sit here and send me home early?"

"Not a chance," Misty scoffed.

Daisy scowled. "You're so mean."

"Only because you're so lazy," Misty fired back calmly.

Ash shifted his gaze between the two sisters before his eyes suddenly widened. "I know! How about I watch the gym for you, Mist?"

"YES!" Daisy cheered, jumping to her feet.

"What?!" Misty cried, her own panicked voice overlapping her sister's more excited one. "No! Ash, I just told you we can't be seen together here."

"But I'd just be sitting at the front desk," Ash tried, motioning to where Daisy was currently stationed. "That's different than the two of us getting caught making out!"

This comment piqued Daisy's interest. "Making out? In the gym? Oooh, I didn't know you had it in you, baby sister!"

Misty's entire face turned red. "We're not talking about that right now."

"Really?" Daisy gasped playfully. "Because Ash brought it up, so now I'm very interested in that!"

"Well don't be," Misty tensely spat. "Daisy, you're not going anywhere, and Ash, you're not sitting at the front desk."

"Why?!" Daisy and Ash groaned simultaneously, causing them both to exchange bewildered glances. Misty, on the other hand, made her own disturbed face.

"You two have clearly been spending too much time together," Misty grumbled, crossing her arms. "I'm going to fix that right now. Daisy, sit back down. I need you to keep an eye out for any potential challengers. And Ash, go walk around downtown for a bit. You need to spend some time away from the gym."

Ash frowned. "But that means spending time away from you."

"Very swift," Misty teased, earning a scowl from her boyfriend. "Look, Ash, you know that I love you, but you also know we are not prepared to deal with any more media attention than you already get. Not right now, at least. The gym's only open for another couple of hours, so just go do your own thing until I can close up and we can go somewhere more private."

Ash still didn't seem to like this idea. Noticing this, Daisy raised a single finger and suggested, "or Misty could just close the gym now…"

"I already told you no," Misty growled lowly.

Ash narrowed his eyes at his girlfriend. "What am I supposed to do downtown? I hate shopping."

"You can go get a snack," Misty easily suggested. "Or a second lunch. Just as long as you don't ruin your appetite for dinner. Your mom invited us over, so I don't need you filling up before then."

"Well, then I'd be eating third lunch, cause I already ate second…" Ash mused.

"Ew!" Daisy whined, clutching her hands to her chest.

Misty sighed and squeezed the bridge of her nose. "Ash, just go."

Clearly offended by the order, Ash started to pout again. Feeling badly for him, Misty strode forward in order to press a quick, innocent kiss against his cheek. This improved his mood considerably, as evidenced by the smile that appeared on his face as soon as Misty pulled away.

"Alright," Ash finally relented. "I'll get out of here for a little while. Just let me get Pikachu!"

He jogged past Misty to head towards the battle area, where he'd left his partner to play with the gym's inhabitants. Misty was still smirking, but that quickly dissolved into a frown when she looked out the front door and noticed the black lens of a camera pressed against the glass.

"Son of a –" She cursed, storming towards the door.

Daisy, who hadn't seen what her sister had, raised an eyebrow at Misty's suddenly angry behavior. "Misty, what's up with you?"

Without even really considering Daisy's question, Misty grumbled aloud, "I told Ash we couldn't be together here!"

That's when it clicked in Daisy's brain that someone was likely spying outside of the gym. As Misty ran out the sliding front door, Daisy watched and, once her sister was out of earshot, muttered, "Well, you're the one who just kissed him in front of a glass window…"