I CAN EXPLAIN. *Clears throat* Okay, sorry, but this one shot was like...done already...it just needed a few more lines...and can you relly study for AP Literature anyway? I've written so many essays and annotated so many poems that my head might explode. Besides, english is my best subject! It's Government we've got to worry about...
Sorry, I trailed off. Ignore me. I'm a crazy woman. Enjoy the one shot :P
Aiden and Michelle: 5 Years Old
The Festival Queen
"Waah! I completely forgot!"
Ash, who had been filling Pikachu's bowl with food, looked up at his wife, who was sitting at the table with a look of panic on her face.
"What's wrong, Mist?" Ash got to his feet and wondered whether or not he should begin to panic himself.
"I completely forgot about the Water Festival," Misty moaned, burying her face in her hands.
"What about it?" Internally, Ash was relieved. He had been afraid that there was something wrong with Misty.
"The Queen," Misty muttered miserably. "I'm supposed to be the Queen."
"And you will be the Queen," Ash raised an eyebrow. "Nobody is stopping you."
"Wrong," Misty sagged her shoulders, "I'm stopping me."
"Wait…what?" Ash now looked genuinely surprised. "But Misty…you know that the Cerulean City gym leader is supposed to be the Queen of the Water Festival!"
The Water Festival was a weeklong celebration that took place in Cerulean City every August. It started on the first of the month and went for an entire week. The festival was a long standing tradition in the city, and had basically been celebrated since Cerulean's inception. There were carnival games and street performers who created beautiful combinations and displays with their water type Pokémon. Stands full of snacks and food were set up all over the place, and battles between water Pokémon took place in the parks or on clear streets.
The ultimate symbol of the Water Festival was the "Queen of the Water." The role of the Queen was typically played by the Cerulean City gym leader, since it had been deemed many years ago that the gym's leader was the ultimate representation for Cerulean City.
With that in mind, Misty had been playing the role of the Queen since she was 12 years old. She took the job very seriously, and although Ash had teased her about it at first, he quickly realized just how important this festival was to not only Misty, but all of the inhabitants of Cerulean City. He had been living there steadily for six years now, and got just as excited for the festival as anyone else in the city. Of course, it also could've been because their children had been taught by Misty at a very young age to greatly appreciate the event, and they counted down to it each and every year. Their sweet innocence tended to rub off on Ash, since he was kind of a kid himself.
"Ash, there's no way I can be the Queen this year," Misty looked at her husband as though he was crazy. "I'm almost nine months pregnant."
"So? You'll make a cute pregnant Queen," Ash reasoned with the water type specialist. "Besides, you did it when you were pregnant with the twins."
"But I was only four months along then," Misty shook her head. "They didn't have the potential to be born at any minute. Not like this one does."
Ash couldn't help but to smirk and kneel down in order to rub his hands against Misty's extremely obvious baby bump. "Aw, she can be the Princess of the Water Festival!" Ash leaned forward and gave his wife's belly a sweet kiss.
"According to the old festival legend, any baby born in Cerulean City during the week of the festival will do something incredible with their life," Misty mused lovingly. Resting her cheek on her hand, she asked, "Do you think it's true?"
"Maybe," Ash smiled against her stomach. "But I kind of hope she isn't born during the festival. It'll be so crazy…not to mention a little too early for her to come out."
"You never know," Misty shrugged.
Pulling away from Misty, Ash looked up at his wife and returned to the previous subject. "So, seriously, you're not going to be the Queen?"
"I don't see how I could possibly do it," Misty sighed, folding her hands over her protruding belly. "There's no way I'm going to fit into that costume. Besides, most of the time I'm too tired to do anything. I can barely walk at this point. You think I want to stand on a balcony in front of everyone who lives in Cerulean and then some? To give a whole speech and pretend to be all cheery while our unborn daughter is trying to kick her way out of my stomach? It's not possible."
"But it's only for a few minutes," Ash twisted his mouth. "And I bet you could find a pretty dress that would fit you. No one will notice if the costume is different for a year."
"Ash, have you ever stopped to think that maybe I'm a little bit self conscious about how I look right now?" Misty was beginning to lose her patience with the master. "I'm doing a pretty good job of resembling a Wailord, you know."
"Don't talk about yourself that way, Misty," Ash stood up and hugged his wife. "I think you look beautiful!"
"That's nice," Misty smiled for a split second before returning to her hostile glare, "but I don't agree with that viewpoint at all. In my eyes, I look terrible, and I'd rather not put myself on display."
"But the twins will be so disappointed if you don't play the role," Ash continued to plead with Misty. "You know that aside from all of the sugar and games that those two just love seeing their Mommy dressed up like a beautiful Queen!"
"They'll understand, they're a big boy and girl," Misty haphazardly waved her hand.
"Well…who's going to play the Queen if you don't?" Ash frowned.
"That's the next problem," Misty sighed. "The legend of the festival clearly states that if for whatever reason, the gym leader is unable to perform her duties as the Queen, then someone else in the family must play the role."
"So…Daisy, Violet, or Lily?" Ash questioned.
"They would be next in line, but they're not going to be here for the opening of the festival," Misty shook her head. "And the first day is when the Queen appears."
"Well, where are they?" Ash pressed. "Can't they come back?"
"No, they're all vacationing in Johto, visiting Dorian's family. They'll be back around the third day of the festival, but that doesn't do me any good."
"What about your Mom?" Ash tried.
"She's not here either," Misty winced as the baby got a good jab at her bladder.
"And Dakota, Vanessa, and Lola are all with your sisters, right?" Ash bit his lip, referring to his and Misty's three nieces.
"Of course."
"There's no one left to be the Queen, then!" Ash's eyes widened. "Unless, of course, you go with Michelle."
"Michelle is too young to be the Queen of the festival," Misty refuted.
"Why? The first time you did it, you were 12."
"She's 5, Ash, it's hardly the same thing," Misty rolled her eyes. "I think you're forgetting that the Queen has to read a speech. Michelle is just starting to learn how to read, and unless the whole speech is full of words like "happy," "sad," "angry," or various colors, she's not going to be able to read it."
"Right," Ash muttered, clearly disappointed that none of his ideas were feasible.
"I feel so bad," Misty sulked. "The festival is going to be ruined all because of me. I'm such a terrible gym leader."
"Misty, you're an amazing gym leader," Ash assured his wife. "It's not like you're just giving up the job for this year because you're bored. You and I both know that you would love to play the Queen just like you do every year. But we've got a beautiful baby girl on the way, and it's only a matter of weeks before she's here. You need to rest, and the people of Cerulean City will be able to understand that."
"But I still feel like I'm letting everyone down," Misty didn't sound any happier than she had before. "The Queen of the Water is the most important part of the festival and its legend! How can they have the festival without a Queen?"
Ash didn't have a response for Misty as far as that was concerned. He didn't know what to say to her. She was clearly against playing the Queen. Their daughter was too young, Misty's sisters were out of the region, as were their own daughter. Even her mother was off somewhere.
Looking up slowly, Misty blinked and murmured, "Wait…"
"What is it?" Ash raised an eyebrow. "Did you get an idea or something, Mist?"
"I did…" Misty nodded. "I think I might know who can play the Queen…"
"Who?" Ash leaned in, obviously curious about whatever Misty's new idea was.
"Well…I don't really think you're gonna like it…" Misty blushed slightly.
"I'm sure it's fine!" Ash shook his head. "I care about saving this festival just as much as you do! Just tell me who you're thinking of to play the Queen. I bet I could help you to convince her, if she's a little hesitant! I've got a certain persuasive charm, you know."
"Yeah, about all of this "she" stuff, Ash…"
XXX
"How in the hell did you talk me into this?"
Misty smiled at her husband's less than amused expression. "Because you love me and can never say no to me. Especially when I'm super pregnant with your babies. It makes me all the more irresistible to you!"
"I know that I love you more than anything else in the world, but I still don't know how you convinced me to do…this," Ash motioned down at his body, which was outfitted in the familiar water Queen costume. "Because I'm ready to tear this dress off right about now and just forget the whole thing."
"Ash, you can't!" Misty begged. "You know that if I can't play the Queen, someone in relation to me has to do it! But with all of the immediate female members of my family away…you're the closest thing I have."
"But we're not even blood related!" Ash protested. "We're only related through marriage!"
"Which is good enough when you don't have any blood relatives around," Misty refuted. "My husband is the closest thing right now to my mother or sisters."
"I really don't want to do this," Ash whined.
"It's only for a few minutes, Ash!" Misty sighed, continuing to try and zip the back of the dress up. "Besides, aren't you used to cross dressing by now?"
"That's not funny," Ash grumbled.
"I'm just saying, you seem to do it disturbingly too much…even though I've only witnessed it once, Brock has told me stories, you know."
"Misty, every single one of those instances was not my choice!" Ash groaned. "And that includes now!"
Misty finally managed to zip up the dress before stepping back to examine her husband. "Is it weird of me to say that this dress looks nice on you?"
"Considering I'm a guy, and you just told me you think it's weird that I apparently have a "habit" of cross-dressing?" Ash asked rhetorically. "Yeah, just a little!"
"Oh, relax," Misty sighed, rolling her eyes as she laid a hand on her stomach. "It's still pretty creepy. But if I had to pick a dress for you to wear, this one isn't terrible. I can see your really attractive muscles."
"Which don't look so attractive when you're trying to make me resemble a girl," Ash deadpanned.
The silky, floor length gown had a mermaid silhouette: tight fitting around the chest, torso, and legs, and flaring out at the very bottom. The layers at the bottom alternated in color: the even layers cerulean colored along with the rest of the dress, and the odd layers teal. Around Ash's shoulders wrapped two teal taffeta strips of material. On Misty's shoulders, they draped elegantly and floated when she walked. Since Ash had much bigger and more muscular arms, however, they hugged his shoulders tightly and didn't hang at all. A jeweled piece decorated the middle of the sweetheart neckline, dotted with teal gemstones around silver plating. The neckline was very flattering on Misty's figure and revealed just the right amount of skin. On Ash, it barely fit and put half of his impressive chest muscles on display.
Ash turned around, slowly and with great struggle, to study himself in the full length mirror. Instantly, he cringed and tried to pull his shoulders back, which he found he couldn't do due to the tightness of the material around his shoulders. "I look ridiculous!"
"Oh, just be grateful that I'm not making you wear the heels," Misty breathed.
"Yes, because your dainty little shoes will fit my feet," Ash bit sarcastically. "You wouldn't be able to squeeze those things on if you tried."
Twisting her mouth, Misty moved closer to Ash and held his face as she examined it. "You might need a little bit of mascara, maybe some lipstick…and a hint of blush wouldn't hurt either."
"Uh, no!" Ash tore himself away from Misty, falling over onto his butt due to the tightness of the dress restricting his movement. "I'm not wearing make up! No way, no how!"
"But you look way too manly without it," Misty pouted.
"Because I'm a man!" Ash cried. "Besides, your make up isn't going to help me look like a pretty little princess! I think my muscles give away the fact that I'm not a girl!"
"Maybe you're just a woman with too much testosterone!" Misty retorted.
"I wish you would stop reading all of those pregnancy books," Ash muttered. "I know that's where you get all of this weird health information from."
"Ash, get up," Misty sighed as she rubbed her temples. "I'm starting to get a migraine from all of your whining. Do you know you complain more than the twins do?"
Rolling around, Ash inched about like a Caterpie before managing to get to his feet and clumsily pull himself up. "Misty, if I give you like…$100 to spend on baby clothes, can we forget about all of this?" Ash motioned to the dress he was wearing. He knew his wife had an obsession with baby clothes, and he was going to use this vital piece of information to his advantage.
"That's a lousy bribe," Misty commented in a guileless tone. "If I want to spend money on baby clothes, I'll just take your credit card myself."
"Not if I hide it," Ash threatened.
"I'll find it," Misty sighed. "I always do."
"Misty…" Ash groaned.
"The quicker you cooperate with me, the sooner this will all be over with," Misty shrugged. "So if you just close your mouth and let me finish the job, you'll be out of that costume before you know it."
"What else is there for you to possibly do?" Ash folded his arms, wincing at how tight the material was on his body.
"I need to give you a wig," Misty stated in an obvious manner. "You look too much like a guy right now."
As Misty walked (more like waddled at this point) over towards her closet, the sound of small feet pounding against the floor grew louder and louder, causing Ash's heart to leap, and not in a good way. He and Misty had been trying to get this done before the twins got up so they wouldn't have to their parents were up to.
Unfortunately for the Pokémon Master, it was too late. The children were up, and there was no putting them back to sleep now. Or even out of their room. Misty, in fact, was so busy in her closet that she hadn't even heard the twins coming.
The young children burst into the room, wide smiles on their faces as they searched for their parents. They became confused when they didn't see their mother, however, and even more confused when they saw their father wearing a dress.
"Daddy?" Michelle called. "Are you and Mommy playing dress up?"
Ash blushed. "Uh…I guess you could say that…" Looking down, Ash realized that Aiden's eyes were wide and his jaw was dropped. The poor boy looked absolutely shocked. "Aiden, buddy, this is a lesson for you. Never do what your Daddy is doing, okay?"
Aiden tilted his head slightly. "Do what, Daddy?"
"Wear…this," Ash sighed. "I never want you to do this, okay?"
"So…how come you're doin' it?" Aiden asked.
"Because your Mommy has ideas," Ash shuttered. "Very bad ideas."
"I heard that!" Misty leaned out from the closet and glared at her husband. Her eyes were quickly drawn to the two young children standing by her husband's feet, and she gasped softly. "Aiden, Michelle, what are you doing here?"
"We woke up!" Michelle chirped.
"It's the first day of the festival, Mommy!" Aiden added brightly.
"I know, sweetie, but Mommy can't go to the festival this year," Misty frowned.
"Why, Mommy?" Aiden pouted.
"The baby is too close to being born," Misty finally emerged from the closet fully, holding onto a dark wig. "It's not a good idea for me to go. But don't worry, Daddy will take you to the festival if you want to go."
"Can I feel her?" Aiden smiled.
"She's asleep right now, but you can in just a minute," Misty grinned back at her young son. Moving closer to Ash, she pulled the wig over his head and straightened it until she deemed it to be in the perfect position.
"There!" Misty grinned. "All finished!"
Ash didn't even want to look at himself in the mirror. Aiden and Michelle climbed atop their parents' bed to better study their father, both children giggling at the sight.
"Daddy, you make a pretty girl!" Michelle beamed.
"Hardly," Ash smacked his palm against his face.
Misty groaned and threw her head back. "I'm exhausted. This was too much work for me." She sat down on the bed and sighed tiredly, although she smiled lovingly once Aiden and Michelle jumped off of their feet to sit down on either of her sides and place their hands on her stomach.
"Misty…I seriously don't want to do this," Ash rolled his eyes.
"Ash, you have to," Misty narrowed her eyes.
"Why?" Ash was exasperated at this point.
And at the same time, Misty just so happened to get a brilliant idea. She turned away to hide her growing smirk until she managed to bend it down into a frown, at which point she turned her face back around so Ash could see her pout.
"Ashy…" Misty whimpered, "Don't you know how much this means to me?"
Ash's expression softened. "What?"
"The festival," Misty threw in a sniffle for good measure. "I've been going to this festival since I was a little girl…and I've been the Queen since I was 12…and this year I can't be the Queen, and I can't even go to the festival! It's breaking my heart, Ash!"
Now it was Ash's turn to frown. "Misty…I'm so sorry…I didn't know how important the festival was to you."
"It practically means the world to me," Misty covered her eyes with her hands and let out a quiet wail. "And I just don't want to let the wonderful people of Cerulean City down…just because I have to be so sad and relegated doesn't mean that everyone else should too!"
As the final piece of resistance, Misty began to move her shoulders up and down, to make as if she was really crying.
And, just as she had hoped, Misty was breaking her husband's heart.
"Oh, Misty, please don't cry!" Ash begged. "You know that I hate to see you cry! Oh…I'm so sorry, angel! Here, look, I'm heading downstairs right now! I'll go and play the Queen, and then I'll take the twins to the festival later, and I'll take pictures for you, and everything will be wonderful!"
Misty still didn't look up.
"Okay, I'm going right now!" Ash shuffled out of the room, his legs being severely restricted by the tight material they were encased in. "I'm going! Right down the stairs! Don't worry, sweetheart!"
With their father out of the room, Aiden and Michelle stared up curiously at their mother. They were unsure of what to do. It was very, very rare to see their mother cry…they had only seen it once or twice before. Should they try to comfort her? It wasn't very nice to watch her cry…it made the twins very sad.
"M…Mommy?" Michelle gently nudged her mother's arm.
Misty stopped moving her shoulders and separated her fingers, peering out from in between her long, slender appendages. Seeing that Ash was nowhere to be found, Misty giggled and lowered her hands, looking in between her twin 5 year olds.
They, in turn, were even more stunned than they were before. Their mother's face was not red; there were no tears on her cheeks. She wasn't sobbing or wailing or even hiccupping.
"Mommy, were you crying?" Aiden asked uncertainly.
"No, baby," Misty smiled and shook her head.
"But…we thought you were," Michelle furrowed her brow.
"Oh, that's just a trick I use on your Daddy to get him to do some things for me," Misty waved her hand. "Don't worry, my little darlings. I'm perfectly happy!"
"So…you tricked him?" Aiden pressed.
"Yes," Misty smiled in an almost guilty fashion. "I know it doesn't sound so nice, but…oh, you two will understand when you get older. I promise."
"When I get older, will I understand why Daddy is wearin' a dress?" Aiden blinked.
Misty laughed at that one. "Maybe you will, sweetheart! This will be a good story to tell, after all…"
Cross dressing Ash is fun. I just like to torture the poor guy. As any Pokeshipping writer will tell you, it's impossibly easy...