Day 4! But first, a small announcement. I did see everyone's reviews in my email inbox, but they appear to be missing on the reviews page and I can't reply to them because they're "not found." This makes me sad, because I do appreciate all of your reviews and I want to be able to let you guys know that.

So hopefully they'll get it back up and running again soon...I wish I knew why this site has been having so many issues with reviews these past few months. But I digress.

The theme Holly and I chose for Day 4 was "First Kiss" from the alternate list of themes. But in reality it's actually a combination of that and "First Date." Either way, Holly's art is still amazing and you should go check it out on her Tumblr: hollylu-ships-it.

With that said, enjoy! I own nothing except the story.
_

It wasn't that long ago that Ash Ketchum had posed the question of whether or not people change when they get kissed, and Misty - his longtime best friend - had responded by saying that they would have to find out for themselves.

How ironic, he couldn't help but think to himself.

Now that he was sixteen years old, puberty had taken hold of him and not only begun to change his physical appearance, but he finally came to the realization that girls could hold just as much sway in an aspiring Pokémon Master's life as Pokémon...he also gave thanks every single day that he hadn't become quite as obsessed with them as his other longtime traveling companion Brock was.

But it was during this personal revelation that Ash found out that he held certain feelings for a special someone that at the time, he never could've imagined he would. How ironic - once again - that the very person he'd come to realize he was in love with just so happened to be the one to tell him that they would have to find out for themselves if kissing would change them.

Misty Waterflower: Gym Leader of the Cerulean City Gym.

It wasn't a gradual fall, it was one where he took one look at Misty during a videophone call and BOOM, suddenly he felt a stirring in his heart that he'd never felt before with Misty. The change in perspective was so sudden that Ash had actually hung up on her before even saying hi as he tried to regain his composure.

Naturally, he didn't get much time as Misty almost immediately called back and started berating him for pulling such a childish prank.

He decided he'd be better off letting her think that was what it was...at least for the time being.

It took a while for Ash to figure out what he should do about these sudden and very strong feelings he harbored for his best friend, he certainly didn't want to call his mom for advice since even he - as dense as he was about these things - had enough common sense to know that the first thing he'd get was a lecture on the Pidgey and the Beedrill and what he should and shouldn't do with a woman. He definitely didn't want to deal with that situation.

Asking Brock for help...even Ash wasn't that stupid.

So the young man was forced to seek help from other resources, and after a few months of learning what he should do, Ash finally managed to gather the courage to ask Misty out on a date, and to his total shock, she accepted, and not only that, she seemed excited about the idea...at least that's what he figured considering the big smile that appeared on her face.

Now all that was left to do was get ready for their date, and so it was that Ash Ketchum drove up in front of the Cerulean City Gym (he had to ask his mom for the car and wound up getting that lecture he was avoiding anyway) on a Saturday afternoon and waited for his date to come out and meet him.

"Okay, got my flowers here, I brushed my teeth and had some breath mints...layered on deodorant like three times...I think I'm ready!"

Then Ash saw Misty walk out the doors of the Gym, apparently shouting something over her shoulder, and he quickly realized there was no way he could ever be ready no matter how much he prepared.

The redheaded Gym Leader had gone all out for this, and despite all the effort he (and yes, his mom) had put into making sure he looked good, he immediately felt inadequate compared to his date for the night. Misty had walked out of the Gym in a gorgeous short yellow dress with a blue denim jacket draped over her shoulders. Her longer orange hair was tied in its signature side ponytail, hanging down and swishing back and forth as she walked.

If there was one word Ash would use to describe her, it would be pretty.

The only thing keeping her from being beautiful was the scowl plastered on her face. She finally made it to the car, and only then did the deep frown give way to something a little more tender, as she graced him with a small smile as she hopped into the passenger's seat.

Okay, now she was definitely beautiful.

"Uh...hi Misty."

"Hi Ash!" she chirped before rolling her eyes. "Sorry you had to see that, my sisters made me wear all this since this is my first real date..." she suddenly beamed at him. "And who would've thought it'd be with you of all people?! I mean...Ash Ketchum, the man who eats, sleeps and breathes Pokémon, finally realized that there's more to life than just Pokémon."

"Well yeah, I mean...obviously." he looked her up and down and raised an eyebrow. "And uh...don't get me wrong, I love the dress, and you look...really nice-"

"Well that's very sweet of you Ash."

"Yeah..." he rubbed the back of his neck. "But uh," he pointed down at her feet. "What's with the sneakers?" It was at that moment Ash realized he'd just disobeyed one of the guidelines he'd set for himself. He had insulted her sense of style and the response was just as easily predicted, the scowl returned full force and she immediately began berating him.

"Don't you start with me Ash Ketchum!" the redhead snarled. "I've already had this fight with my sisters about me wanting to dress comfortably, I finally had to come up with this compromise and let them essentially dress me up like one of their old dolls until they were satisfied with how I looked, and then all they did was complain that I was ruining all their hard work by wearing the sneakers instead of heels! So I don't wanna hear anything from you."

Ash put his hands up and leaned away from the fuming Gym Leader. "Hey it's not a problem, you can wear your sneakers if you want! Heck I'm not even disappointed you didn't wear heels, I kinda like being taller than you for a change." He felt his cheeks redden when he realized what he said. "N-Not that I mind ya know! I mean, I'm not one of those shallow losers who feels like they need to be taller than girls! In fact your tallness is one of the best parts about you! I mean-"

"Ash!"

The black-haired trainer flinched. "Y-Yeah Mist?"

"Relax." She smiled at him, causing the Pokémon trainer to blink in confusion. "Don't worry about it, you're acting like you're walking on eggshells. It's just me, let's just go have a good time together! Okay?"

Ash just stared at her for a moment, but soon enough a small smile spread across his lips as he nodded and started the car. "You got it. Thanks Mist."

With a satisfied nod, Misty turned in her seat and looked forward towards the road. "Alright, let's get this date started!"

The black-haired boy nodded and drove away from the Gym with a renewed sense of confidence. He should've known what he'd learned didn't totally apply to his redheaded best friend, but that didn't mean he was going to change his plans any. If there was one thing he was determined to find out tonight, it was whether or not people change when they get kissed. "Sounds good to me Mist," he smirked at her through the corner of his eye. "First stop...Cerulean Cape."

"Wait, are you serious?!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It wasn't a long drive to what had quickly become one of the most popular date spots in all of Kanto. The Cerulean Cape had developed substantially over the years and now featured a posh restaurant as well as the usual lookout point overseeing the ocean. So seeing as he remembered her telling him how much she wanted to be able to take a date there, a sentiment he remembered proudly, how could he do anything else than have their first date right there?

As he parked the car in front of the restaurant, the black-haired trainer quickly jumped out and rushed over to the passenger door to open it, his hand held out to her as he did his best to put on what he hoped was a suave expression. "Milady?"

Misty snorted back laughter and took the offered hand, letting him help her out of the car before he closed the door behind her and set the alarm. She was again caught off guard when he zipped ahead to open the restaurant door for her, sweeping his arm in a gesture for her to go first. "Well, guess I'll have to thank Mrs. Ketchum for making sure you were so well-trained."

He gave a deadpan look after her zinger, but he still left the door open for the giggling redhead and walked in after her. "Wow, this place looks awesome!"

"The Cerulean Cape Cafe has become one of the most popular hangout spots in the whole city, and despite the name, it has a lot more going for it than just coffee."

Ash blinked at her for a moment. "You uh...you've been here before?"

"Oh yeah, plenty of times," she said with a proud smile. "After all, I helped put it all together."

"You what?"

"Misty! It's so good to see you again!"

"Georgio!"

Ash gaped in shock as he watched Misty go over to this random guy with light-brown hair and a cheesy light blue uniform and give him a hug, sparking a...strange sense of rage in his soul. "So this is what jealousy is like huh?" he mumbled to himself. "Well it sucks." he walked with purpose to join his date and did his best not to glare daggers into the other boy's eyes. "Who's this Misty?" he asked with all the self-control he could muster.

"Oh, Ash!" she turned to him with a smile. "This is Georgio, you remember him right? I told you about him a while ago! We became friends after I came back from Johto with you!"

"Oh yeah," Ash smirked and held out his hand. "Nice to finally meet you."

"It's a pleasure!" Georgio took the offered hand and shook it, flinching a little at Ash's grip and quickly taking his hand back and clearing his throat. "Misty's told me a lot about you."

"Oh really?"

"Absolutely! In fact, she never seems to run out of nice things to say about you, your training skills, your love for Pokémon...your unruly hair that she finds so-"

"How's Casey, Georgio?!"

Both men were caught off guard by the now blushing redhead's outburst, but as soon as the question registered in Georgio's mind, a wide grin appeared on his face. "She's doing great actually! She's almost got all eight Gym badges from the Hoenn Region and soon she'll be challenging their Pokémon League."

"Wait, did I miss something?" Ash blinked in confusion. "Are we talking about 'obsessed with the Electabuzz baseball team' Casey, or is there another Casey that I don't know about?"

"That's Casey alright," Georgio chuckled fondly. "You know her too? Small world! I sure am glad Misty brought Casey with her when we met at the lighthouse that day."

Ash glanced at the redhead for a moment, and raised an eyebrow at the sight of her pressing her face into her palm. "What's all that about?"

"Nothing."

"What do you mean nothing?!" Georgio laughed. "Misty, if I hadn't sent you that note asking you to go on a date with me, I never would've met Casey in the first place!" he failed to notice the horrified expression on Misty's face and the suddenly enraged one on Ash's. "And on top of all that, I wouldn't have this awesome job if it wasn't for you either! I owe everything to you!"

Misty grabbed Ash's wrist and started dragging him away. "Well we'd love to stay and chat Georgio, but we're on a date, so we'll see you later!" she pulled Ash away from the confused host and dragged him over to the table in the darkest corner of the cafe. "This is a great seat!" She sat down and immediately grabbed a menu and stared deeply into it.

"Misty..." Ash slowly slid into the opposite end of the booth and stared at her suspiciously. "What was that all about?"

"Nothing I swear!" she put her menu down and pasted on a smile, turning the menu and pointing to a specific item. "Oh you gotta try their hamburgers Ash, trust me, you'll wish you lived here!"

"Mhmm." The black-haired trainer crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his seat. "That might've worked on me a few years ago, not now."

Misty sighed and slowly lowered the menu. "I was afraid of that." Placing the menu back on the tabletop, Misty folded her hands and looked down at the table with an almost apologetic smile. "You only know what I told you...I met Georgio and we became friends, and that's pretty much where I left it."

"Because he had a crush on you."

She hesitantly nodded. "I didn't want you to find out, especially not now..." her voice trailed off at the end before she looked back up at him. "The note he wrote basically said that he wanted to meet me. Casey happened to be there and I didn't want to go alone, so I took her with me while Daisy convinced Tracey to clean the pool for us."

Ash chuckled a bit at that. "Your sister has him wrapped around her finger."

"I know right?" Misty giggled. "Anyway..." she gave a small sigh. "When we met Georgio, he straight up asked if I wanted to go on a date, saying I was the most beautiful girl in the world...when I told him no, he proposed-"

"What?!"

"Relax, will you?" she made a face at him. "He proposed a battle and if he won, I'd have to go to the Starmie game against the Electabuzz with him. If I won, he promised he'd go away forever."

Ash grunted and looked away with a small frown. "So...I guess he won then."

"Actually, no." she smirked a little at Ash's curious expression. "Corsola came through for me big time and just barely beat his Delcatty...after a short adventure where we had to save it from Cassidy and Biff or whatever his name is."

"But...then how did you guys stay friends?"

She couldn't help but smile. "Just because he didn't get to date me doesn't mean we couldn't become friends Ash. He went to the game with Casey instead, and when they came back they were the best of friends. I could tell there was something between them."

"So all that about you being the most beautiful girl was nothing but talk."

The smile vanished and was replaced with a disapproving frown. "Will you stop? Georgio is a nice guy, and I wouldn't have stayed friends with him if he was a jerk." she huffed and shook her head. "It's not that he just changed his mind on a whim, he simply realized that he had more in common with Casey than with me, and there is more to a healthy relationship than just how you look."

"I know that! But still, he shouldn't say stuff like that unless he really means it. I mean does he have any idea what kind of impact that can have on a girl emotionally? It just isn't right!"

"That...I mean...you're not wrong but..."

"But what?"

"But how do you know that?"

Ash gulped as a cold sweat formed on his brow. "W-Well ya know, my mom taught me a lot of stuff over the years, it's not like I read about that sort of thing in a book or anything!"

"Uh huh..." she raised an eyebrow. "Well, guess I really do have to thank Mrs. Ketchum then."

"Yep! She's awesome alright!" Ash grinned widely and picked up his menu, he had just dodged a major bullet and he wasn't about to risk getting caught again. "So what was that about an awesome hamburger?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The meal went by mostly without a hitch. Ash was able to redirect any questions regarding his sudden knowledge on the world of dating, and in a lot of ways, he'd realized, the knowledge was irrelevant when it came to Misty. Despite everything he'd learned, it always seemed so easy to default back to their usual best friend behavior...and somehow, that didn't bother him in the slightest.

Misty had eagerly told him about how she was a big part of planning the development of Cerulean Cape over the years, and she'd spent a lot of her spare time just keeping things rolling with her organization and leadership skills. It was also thanks to the development project that Misty became really good friends with Georgio, who - much to Ash's relief - happened to be in a very strong relationship with Casey.

They laughed, they teased each other, and the longer the conversation went on the more comfortable Ash felt being with her. It was just like old times and he found himself wishing it would never end.

"Hey Ash, let's take a walk."

That is until now.

Without the comforting presence of food in the area, Ash suddenly felt out of place with his redheaded date. He followed her up some steps and soon enough they found themselves overseeing the ocean just as the sun set, and for a brief moment, Ash forgot his anxiety and gaped in awe at the sight. "Whoa..."

"Amazing, isn't it?" she giggled at his silent nod. "This is my favorite place in all of Cerulean."

"I can see why." he walked towards the edge of the platform and sat on the bench right behind the white picket fence bordering the edge of the cliff. "How come there's no one else here though?"

Misty smiled softly and sat down next to him, staring out at the glowing sea reflecting the orange-yellow sunset. "I made sure this spot was left out of the development plans...there are just some things that are too perfect, things that need to be left alone or it just wouldn't be the same anymore."

"Yeah," Ash smiled as well and stared out towards the ocean. "I get what you mean."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the sun set and listening to the sound of the Wingull flying overhead. It was all so surreal to the young Pokémon trainer, here he was on his first date with his best friend...and just by not doing anything, he was having a fantastic time. He never imagined that just enjoying someone's company could feel so good...so right.

"Can I tell you something Ash?"

"Hmm?"

Her response didn't come right away, but when it did, it shook Ash to his very core. "I've never brought anyone else here until now...you're the first one to ever come up here with me."

That stunned him, and he turned to look at the Gym Leader and saw that her eyes were beginning to water. "Mist...I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm flattered and all, but why wouldn't you bring anyone here? This view is amazing."

"I know it is." she choked out a chuckle and turned her face away. "That's why I haven't brought anyone else here..." she took a deep breath, and Ash felt his own breath hitch in his throat at the look Misty was giving him. "This place is too special to me for just anyone to know about it. I...I wanted you to be the first one to know about it...and the only one."

"Misty..."

"I-I know, I know." she looked away and relinquished a watery laugh as she wiped at her eyes. "It's cheesy and it sounds like something out of a sappy romance novel...but I just...I couldn't get myself to bring anyone here but you." She looked back towards the sunset, and Ash could see the edges of her lips twitching, apparently she was fighting to keep her smile in place. "Do you know what this makes me think of Ash?"

"What?"

"It reminds me of the day we parted ways all those years ago. I was convinced that I would never see you again. I had my bike back, my sisters called me home to take over as the Gym Leader...and you..." her smile finally faded as it morphed into a frown. "You were going to continue your journey and move on to bigger and better things, without me."

"Aww Mist," he scooted closer and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Seeing her like this stirred up a need to comfort her like he'd never felt before, it made his heart ache to see her saddened, and he suddenly longed to see her smile again. "But we never stopped being friends y'know, like I told you, we didn't meet by coincidence, we were meant to become friends, I still believe that!"

"I know...I know..." she shuddered out a breath and leaned on his shoulder for comfort. "I keep saying that," she choked a laugh. "I know all of that and you have no idea how much that means to me...but it doesn't change how I feel."

"Misty-"

"No, Ash...please, just let me finish." she took a deep breath and sat up straight, screwing on a determined expression as she stared right into her best friend's chocolate-brown eyes. "Before we went our separate ways, I was convinced that you were happy I was leaving...that you honestly believed that the only reason I followed you for all those years was just because I wanted you to pay me back for ruining my ratty old bike."

"That's not-!"

She put her finger on his lips and gave him a small smile. "I know that too." her smile grew a little wider when he took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "When you told me how you felt it was destiny we met, that's when I knew the truth...I knew you cared about me, more than maybe even you realized...and I knew that I wouldn't bring anyone else here before you."

"But why Misty?" he gazed at her anxiously. "Why would you do that to yourself? Why would you wait for me of all people?"

She shook her head with an exasperated smile and walked up to the fence to get a better look at the sunset...and also to hide the tears that she finally lost control over. "When I heard that your friend Serena kissed you before you left the Kalos Region, for a brief moment I thought that there was no hope left for any future with us together." With her back turned, she missed Ash's horrified blush. "I wanted to be your first kiss, and she took that from me...not that I blame her, she just had the courage to do what I couldn't back then...we were too young I suppose."

"M-Misty..." she turned around and Ash's heart caught up in his throat, as the sunset framed her orange hair and gave her an almost ethereal glow about her. She was beautiful...and he wanted more than anything to say it...but she wasn't done yet.

"But I never gave up. If there was one thing I knew about you, it was that you keep your promises. You promised we'd see each other again and we did, and despite all odds you've fought to stay in touch with everyone you've ever met, me included. It's just who you are, and it's part of why...why I love you so much."

His heart stopped. "You...you love...me?"

She nodded, and the tears started flowing again. "More than you'll ever know." she walked up to him and wrapped him in an embrace, tears spilling onto his shoulder as she poured her heart out to him. "You've meant so much to me, Ash." she half-sobbed. "You've been my inspiration, and every time I ever felt like giving up, I'd remember what you said and it would give me just enough energy to fight through whatever I was going through. You've been with me every step of the way, in spirit if not in person. That's why I kept this place a secret for so long, because this place is the most important place in the world to me, and there's no one in my life who's more important to me than you."

Ash found himself at a complete loss for words. There was nothing that could've prepared him for the onslaught of emotion Misty had just exposed him to. No advice, no general rules...not even from that stupid book he'd read to learn what girls like and how to date them. He should have known from the beginning it wouldn't work, she wasn't like most girls like the book talked about.

She was Misty.

Fiery, determined, emotional, and sometimes fragile Misty. She was a self-proclaimed romantic, he knew that. But he'd learned enough about her over the years that she valued honest to goodness friendship more than any cheap gifts or flowers or any of that cliché romantic stuff. And looking back on their night together, he realized that it was his knowledge of her that had come more in handy than anything the book had told him.

And that, he realized with a smile as he returned the embrace with fervor, was the real reason he was enjoying this date so much. He'd been so anxious before he picked her up, so worried about doing something wrong that he was dreading the very idea of going on the date in the first place. Once Misty had told him to relax though, reminded him that it was "just her" as she put it, everything came naturally. More than naturally even...it was right.

"Well...don't you have anything to say?"

He was brought out of his musings by the redhead who had just pulled back to get a look at his face. Her own face was shrouded in shadow thanks to the sunset behind them, but he could easily see the raw emotion in her eyes and it caused his heart to swell. This, he realized, was what caused people to change, not a kiss.

A kiss is what came after the change.

"Oh God, I've just made a complete fool of myself haven't I?"

Ash felt his heart drop when Misty suddenly pulled away. "Wait what? No!"

"How could I have expected you to understand how I feel? How could I fool myself into thinking you actually managed to get your head out of Pokémon for any longer than five seconds?! And you!" she suddenly rounded on him. "You just let me go on and on and on, raving like a lunatic while you just sat there with your dumb boy face watching me pour my heart out! Well let me tell you something Ash Ketchum, I-!"

"MISTY!" His outburst stopped her rant cold, and he watched her as she panted in emotional exhaustion, tears again flowing from her eyes, more from sorrow than anything he wagered.

Well, he just wasn't going to allow that. He stood up to his full height and stared her down, watching her eyes as they narrowed at him and the familiar mask of rage went up. "If you've got something to say, then say it. There's nothing you could possibly do to make me feel any worse."

He wasn't going to let that mask stay up either. Bracing himself internally, he gently took hold of Misty's face and looked right into her intense green eyes, red and puffy from the tears she'd shed. "Are you gonna kiss me or what?"

She gawked at him for mere seconds before she lunged forward and captured his lips with her own, with an unbridled passion and fury that only someone like her could muster.

After what seemed like an eternity, the kiss was broken and Misty leaned in to fall into his chest, laughing sadly after a few moments of silence. "We're a couple of idiots, aren't we?"

"Nah. I like to think of it as us making the transition from best friends to more than friends."

She looked up at him and smirked. "Is that what that book in your pocket told you?"

He blushed profusely. "W-What book?"

The smirk grew. "The pocket dating manual you have there!" she started laughing when Ash stepped back and frowned in embarrassment as he pulled out the mini-book. "I recognized it because I thought about sending it to you as a joke," she wheezed. "I didn't think you'd actually get one for yourself!"

Even though he was thoroughly humiliated, somehow it did his heart good to see her laughing again. "Well a fat lotta good it did me, almost everything in this thing was wrong!" Glaring daggers at the tiny dating manual, he wound up his arm and chucked it over the edge before looking back at the still snickering Misty. "All I wanted to do was make sure this date was the best night of your life." he sighed.

"And how do you think you did Mr. Pokémon Master?"

"Well after all we've been through tonight, I honestly don't know what to think. We started off kinda okay, but then I found out that you've already been to Cerulean Cape a whole bunch of times so that plan didn't work, then I got jealous of Georgio and threw a fit about him, and then there was everything that just happened now! Do you have any idea how much it hurts me to see you sad Mist? Even I didn't know until just now! I wish-"

"Ash..."

He sighed and looked her in the eyes, and again he saw the raw emotion in them...only this time, he found out what it was like to be looked at by someone who loved him...and that was all he needed to know that with or without a kiss, he'd officially been changed that night. "Yeah Mist?"

"Are you gonna kiss me, or what?"

He smiled and pulled her into his embrace. "Don't have to ask me twice." He kissed her again, this time much softer and gentler as the passion was replaced with a sweet and tender love...something that he knew he'd never get enough of now that he'd gotten a taste of it. When he pulled away again, he smiled down at her as the sunset finally came to an end, leaving them in the coolness of night. "Hey Mist?"

"Yeah?"

"I can't wait for our second date."

"Neither can I Ash." she snuggled into his embrace. "Neither can I."
_

A/N: I think this is one of the best stories I've written in a long time, Holly seems to think so at least and that's truly an amazing honor to me. So tell me what you guys think! Leave a review and it'll eventually come up lol. Let's meet back tomorrow, shall we?