I made Ash kind of really dumb in this fic. I know he's not like that as much anymore in the D/P series, but this is how I've known him while he was traveling with Misty. I'm putting it as that Ash gets dumber whenever Misty's around (like how some girls subconsciously act dumber around guys when they like them), or when he's thinking of her.

In this chapter, things are going to get slightly more intense between Ash & Misty. I know we've all been looking forward to a little bit of that ;)

Thanks again for the reviews, I love them, they make me so happy! :)

* * * * * *

"Pikachupi!" Pikachu sighed contentedly as he grinned and scampered up to Misty's shoulders.

"Pikachu… what… Misty?" Ash blinked hard, unable to tear his eyes away.

Misty was still the same old Misty, but with many differences, some minor and others more noticeable. Ash still picked up on them all.
Her usual side ponytail was in, but you could notice that the hair that came out of the ponytail was slightly longer than it was before. Her frame was still thin but there were some definite curves that had developed all over her body, like in the waist, and the bust; she definitely wasn't flat anymore, that was for sure. Also, she had grown slightly, but Ash was surprised to find himself taller than her; when they had traveled back in Kanto and Johto, they were pretty equal in height.
To top it all off, Misty was wearing a simple, bright aqua blue tank top that set of her blue-green eyes and flaming red hair amazingly. A pair of jean shorts, pink flip flops and an intricate blue and green woven bracelet finished it off.

"Long time no see, Ash," Misty grinned at him.

Ash snapped himself out of it and forced himself to stop ogling at her. He needed to be mature. "Hey, Mist! Wow, you look…" he trailed off, trying not to blue.

Misty stood there, waiting.

"…nice," he finished, hoping not too lamely.

"Well thank you, Ash," Misty replied, looking him up and down. "You do too. You've changed a lot."

"In a good way?" Ash asked quickly.

"Of course, you dummy, or else I wouldn't say that, would I?" Misty replied.

"Yeah, well, it wouldn't be that surprising coming from you," Ash grinned, absent-mindedly trying to set Misty off.

"Wow, a whole two minutes with you and I'm already getting annoyed at you," Misty's eyes narrowed
"Come on, Mist! You know you're happy to see me." The words slipped out of him before he could stop them.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not." Misty looked up at him, steely. Then, she burst out, "Who am I kidding?" and jumped forward and gave him a huge hug.

Ash was completely caught off guard, but then he realised he should probably hug her back. So he did, wrapping his arms around her waist, holding her close. It was a very affectionate moment that many unsaid things went into. They had never hugged each other like that, so affectionately. Ash wanted to hold on forever, and he hoped Misty did too. But… they were in the middle of a flower shop.

"Hey, you kids, this isn't a love shop, you know. Go to Cerulean cape, or something." Vernon was glaring at them from behind the counter.
Ash and Misty broke apart, embarrassed, but they were grinning slightly. They apologized to Vernon and hastily walked out of the shop, eager to catch up.

"So what brings you to a flower shop?" Ash asked, still grinning.

"Oh, well my sisters are holding a show tomorrow and they put me in charge of decorating, so…"
"So you thought of flowers," Ash finished for her.

"Pretty much," Misty replied. "What about you?"

"Oh, well…" Ash paused. He just realised he hadn't emailed anyone about the party! His only friends that knew so far were Brock. "I'm sort of having a party for my sixteenth."
"A party, eh?" Misty smiled slyly.

"Yeah. I came here to get the flowers for the party that my mom had to order, and also come see if you wanted to come…" Ash trailed off hopefully.

"It's in a week, right?" Misty asked.

"How do you know that?" Ash asked, dumbfounded. Whenever he was around Misty, or the topic of Misty came up, he always found himself a little slower than usual.
"I was right there in the shop while you were talking to the guy, you dummy!" Misty nudged him in the ribs as they walked back towards the gym.
"Oh right," Ash caught himself. "It's in a week, yeah."
Misty pondered for a moment, one delicate finger tapping her cheek. She frowned for a tiny moment, and then smirked slightly before saying, "I'm not sure I can make it."
Ash's heart dropped. She has to come! He thought. Okay, play it cool. No, freak out. No, definitely play it cool, like it's no big deal. Ah, what the hell. "Mist!" he gave her a little nudge. "You have to come!"
"I don't have to…" Misty replied cunningly.

"I want you to come," Ash said seriously.
Misty's smirk grew wider. "Are you going to make me, Ash Ketchum?" She raised her eyebrows.

"I think," he said. "I'm just going to have to."

"How are you going to do that?"

Ash paused, unsure what move to make next in this battle.

Misty suddenly let out a peal of laughter. "I'm kidding! Of course I'll come!" She slapped him playfully on the arm. Wow, she thought. Someone's gotten some more muscle since the last time I saw him.

Ash sighed in relief. "Jeez, I thought you were serious for a minute."
"It seems you haven't gained an ounce of smartness since the last time I saw you, have you?" Misty added as they reached the gym, "Let's not go through the front. My sisters will bombard us."
They walked around to the back of the gym where they slipped in through a door after Misty typed in the lock combination. Once the door closed, all light was cut off. It was practically pitch black in the hall. "Jeez, why can't I ever find the light switch here?" Misty muttered.
Ash felt around blindly on the wall to help her find the switch. Suddenly, he tripped on something on the floor and fell straight to the ground landing on something soft and warm. He supposed one of them must have knocked the light switch as the fell, since he looked down and saw he was on top of Misty.

It was silent except for their breathing, which had both suddenly increased. They just stared at each other for a split second until Misty said, "Ash, can you, like, get off of me please?"
Ash opened his eyes wide and hastily got off of her. He held out his hand to help her up but she ignored it and got up on her own.

"Sorry for that," he muttered, embarrassed, yet somewhat pleased.

"It's okay. But if you want me alive for your party try not to crush me again." Misty smiled slightly at him.
"Here, let's go up to my room, you can use the computer there to email everyone before it gets to be too late." Misty led him up a staircase off to the left.

Ash glanced around and saw several photos hanging on the wall. Some of them were pictures from the four sisters' childhoods, like one where Misty was in a kiddie inflatable pool, playing with a Marill. Others were more recent, like the one of Daisy, Violet and Lily standing somewhere on a mountain, a beautiful landscape spilling out behind them. Ash grinned as he took in all of the photos depicting Misty's childhood.
"So you live in the gym?" Ash asked, intrigued.

"Well, the house is technically part of the gym, but it's a whole other section in the back," replied Misty. They reached a door at the end of the hall that said 'Misty' in simple blue letters.
Realising what would be appropriate to do in the moment, Ash quickly reached around and opened the door for Misty. She looked at him, surprised. He entered in after her, closed the door behind him and he heard her mutter, "At least you've gained an ounce or two of chivalry."

Ash smirked slightly. He looked around at Misty's room.
It wasn't a large room- probably average to small sized. The walls were painted in a light sky blue, as Ash had expected. Most of the room was taken up by a twin sized bed at the far corner. It had a pattern of various blue shades spilled out across it. A dresser with various knick knacks, hair ties and photos were on the wall opposite to that, while across from the bed there was a closet and a desk.
Ash peered closer at the photo frames on the desk. The biggest one was one of Misty holding Togepi from a few years back. There was also one of Misty and her sisters, a couple who Ash took to be Misty's parents, and the last one was of her, Ash and Brock.
Ash thought for a second then remembered exactly where this picture was taken. It was taken while they were traveling around Johto, in a beautiful field of wildflowers somewhere between Cherrygrove City and Violet City. The gang had stopped for a picnic lunch under the shade of a large, breathtaking willow. Not long after they had finished eating, Todd had appeared on the path through the field. It was he who had taken the photo.
In the picture, Misty was smiling beautifully, holding Togepi. Brock was standing at the left of the photo being… well, Brock. Ash, on the other hand, was on the other side of Misty, grinning widely and doing the peace sign. Now that he looked at the photo, he felt he looked like a huge buffoon. He wished Misty would have a more accurate, less immature and definitely more flattering photo of him in her room.

"I love that picture," Misty said softly, coming up behind Ash, noticing what he was looking at.

Ash was in half a mind to whirl around incredulously and make an excuse for his total geekiness in the photo, but he refrained. "Why?" he asked, choosing to take the calmer path.
"I don't know… It just reminds me of all the times we had traveling together. It also seems to me like it reflects our personalities a little," Misty said, her eyes shining. She continued. "Like, Brock is just standing normally, and he has that kind of… caring air in his expression. You know, like how he was always looking after us, making us meals."
Ash nodded, still staring at the photo, though he kept glancing at Misty.
"And then there's you," Misty smiled as she continued. "You look so…"
"Moronic?" Ash suggested, wincing.

"Exactly," replied Misty, smirking. "Not just that, but funny and enthusiastic. It reminds me of all the hype and enthusiasm you always had for your gym battles and pokemon… and food," she added after a slight afterthought.

"That still hasn't changed." Ash smiled at her.

Misty smiled back. "I hope not. Those are some of the things I love about you the most."
Ash paused and then Misty did too, once she realised the word she just said. They just stared at each other kind of awkwardly until Misty hastily pushed Ash onto the computer chair. "Go email everyone," she demanded before walking out of the door.

"Where are you going?" Ash asked, flummoxed.

Ash just barely heard her reply from the hall. "To get you food. I could hear your stomach rumbling from across the flower shop."