Hello again! I didn't think I'd add a follow-up to this, but here I am. I tend to do this, write a one-shot and then get a random idea weeks later for some kind of second chapter.

So...two-shot it is! Hope you enjoy. I had fun writing this out.


It was evening now. Misty had closed up the gym a little earlier than usual, hoping she didn't disappoint any eager young trainers.

After Ash's surprising drop-in, her focus on battles lessened progressively throughout the day. It was hard to think of anything other than her raven-haired best friend. Even her faithful Psyduck seemed to be faring better at concentrating in their last few battles of the day. Misty figured it would be best to close up shop.

For the last several hours since, she had been in the residential wing of the gym trying to ready herself for her date. After a barrage of texts between herself and her sisters and Brock, she set up a video call with them for a little moral support. It had been going just about as expected. More tiresome than not.

Misty fiddled with her dress, adjusting the straps and tugging at the hem.

"Does-does this look alright," she glanced nervously at the laptop screen on her nightstand.

She immediately received several enthusiastic chimes of 'yes' and 'you look great'.

While her call was initially supposed to be with just Brock and her sisters, somehow several more guests had popped into the video call and she didn't know why.

She sighed, running a hand through her long fiery red hair. Let loose for the occasion, of course. Biting back irritation that she might have unleashed in her youth, Misty continued examining her outfit in the mirror while addressing her audience.

"Brock an-and everyone, not that I'm not happy to see each of you…but why exactly are each of you on this call tonight? I just wanted a quick opinion, maybe a little pep before my, uh, date..," she mumbled, feeling her cheeks burn at the label of the night.

May put a finger up to the webcam to keep her from continuing.

"Misty…that's exactly why we all needed to be on this call! We've been waiting for years-," May started.

"Some of us over a decade," Brock cut in.

"We know, Brock! Like, stop harping on that, will ya? The Sensational Sisters have been waiting just as long for Ashy to become a Sensational Brother," Lily and Violet chided the poke-doctor.

Brock opened his mouth to retort and the others on the call started chiming in as well. It turned into a wave of noise crackling loudly from her computer speakers for much longer than necessary. Misty's irritation was mixing with her nerves; her temper was so very close to rearing its ugly head.

Bringing her fingers to her temples, she willed herself to stay calm. Why she didn't just end the video call right then, she didn't know.

Finally one voice of reason came through the noise.

"Okay, okay! Yes, some of us have been hoping for a little movement on the Ash and Misty train a little longer than others…but the fact of the matter is, we're all just really excited. Misty, you look wonderful. I don't think you have anything to be nervous about. You've had him hooked on your lure for a long time now," Dawn winked at her.

A not so subtle reference, of course.

A few on the screen nodded their heads in agreement. Misty gave a thankful but pained smile at her friends. Her stomach tumbled with butterfree and her cheeks still felt as hot as a charmander's tail.

She looked back at the mirror hanging from the wall opposite her nightstand. Would Ash like this outfit? Would he think she looked great?

Again, she fidgeted with the straps of the red dress and the small beige cardigan she wore over it. The outfit was simple, perhaps a little understated, but she thought it looked flattering. Violet had suggested the dress. She said it, like, hugged her in, like, all the right places.

Misty frowned. What if tonight went in all the wrong places?

"Mistyyy, like, I can tell you're overthinking this. Get out of your head, Baby Sister."

She knew Daisy was right. It was just so hard to wrap her mind around what this date could mean.

"She's right, Misty. Ash asked you out for a reason. I think each of us," Tracey gestured from his webcam where he sat squished into the screen with Daisy, "knows how much he cares about you. He's been a little…slow over the years, but there's no doubt he cares deeply for you and he'll think you're beautiful whether you're wearing a dress or the tank top and shorts you wore on your travels."

Daisy smiled warmly and kissed Tracey on the cheek. The rest of the call participants expressed their approval as well.

"But, like, stick with the dress for tonight, Little Sister. You'll knock his socks off."

Lilly gave her a thumbs up as Violet nodded vigorously.

"Okay…," Misty still felt dubious, but chose to heed their advice.

She sat on the edge of her bed to slip on some sandals and take some calming breaths. Her friends' conversation turned to other things as she zoned them out to mentally prepare.

A date.

Ash had asked her on a date.

She had a date with Ash.

Her best friend, Ash Ketchum.

Her crush of thirteen years, Ash Ketchum.

It was…surreal. Just this afternoon she had resigned herself to accepting the fact -or what she thought was a fact- that they'd only ever be friends.

And she had been okay with that. After years of pining, she had learned to push her romantic feelings in favor of preserving their friendship. He meant so much to her and having him in her life at all mattered more to her than having a romantic relationship with him. Misty had accepted that she would have to move on.

And suddenly, that had all been thrown to the wayside.

It was surreal.

"What time is he picking you up, Misty," May broke through her train of thought.

She looked up, mind still clouded, then shrugged at the webcam. He had only said tonight. In retrospect, she probably should have asked and he probably should have been more specific. Maybe he was just as nervous and as…stunned as she was.

"Bursting in randomly, not specifying a time, not having a plan... Yes, that sounds like our Ash," Max's sarcasm fell thickly into the conversation.

"Ain't that the truth," Brock and Dawn said simultaneously and guffawed.

Misty added a strained chuckle.

Past the chatter of her friends she thought she heard the doorbell ring to the residential entrance of the gym. It stopped for a moment and started up again a minute later. She paused, wondering what it could be, then jumped up when she realized who it was.

"Ash," she said breathlessly.

"You've gotta stop saying his name like that, Misty. You sound like you've seen a gastly," Brock said with a grimace.

Misty pinched the bridge of her nose and took a breath before walking to the intercom at her bedroom door.

"Er, uh, Ash," her voice squeaked into the speaker.

A crackle came over the intercom, then, "H-hey, Misty. Yeah, it's me. I'm, um, I'm here."

"Pika!" She heard his faithful Pikachu squeak out before the line went silent.

"Ohhhh, you meant he's here," Brock said slowly.

Misty face-palmed, again biting back annoyance. She glanced at the screen in time to catch a few of her friends rolling their eyes. Another crackle came over the intercom before silence fell. Her palms became sweaty and her knees weakened all at once. She felt like her heart was bouncing through a herd of stampeding stantler. What had she gotten herself into.

"Breathe! Just breathe," her sisters reminded her.

She nodded as she pressed the button on the intercom and as calmly as she could manage, "O-okay. I'll buzz you in and you can come on up."

She flipped a switch and pressed another button on the intercom to unlock the entrance, "Um, okay. We're in."

Dawn gasped, "He's coming up!?"

"I guess?! I don't really know what the game plan is tonight, so… I don't know."

Misty shrugged. Quickly, she stepped in front of the mirror to give herself one last review. She grabbed her tube of lipstick from her bed and lightly reapplied it before giving herself a reassuring smile. It felt like butterfree were fluttering violently in her stomach; by now, her nerves might as well have been fried by Pikachu.

But this date was happening.

"Okay, you've got this, Misty. Just have fun," Tracey reminded her just as she heard a knock at the entrance of the living room.

She quickly exited her room and rushed out to open the door for Ash.

As soon as she did, a blur of yellow fur flew into her arms.

"Pikachu-pi," the little yellow rodent squeaked as it nuzzled her cheek.

Instantly, Misty felt a wave of calm wash over her. This was just Pikachu and Ash. She had spent countless times alone with just the two of them, there was nothing to be nervous about now.

She cradled her little buddy happily for a moment.

But then, "Okay, Buddy. Do you think I can get a hug in, too?"

Misty's breath caught in her throat as Ash entered the living room and shut the door behind him. He was wearing a maroon button-down long sleeved shirt tucked into a pair of dark jeans. His sleeves were rolled up his forearms and somehow that caused a flutter in her chest. She could tell he had tried to comb his hair too, as it looked a little more tame than usual.

She mused to herself that she could get used to this look.

"Pika! Pikachu," the pokemon squeaked happily.

Pikachu hopped out of her arms and scampered to the small adjacent kitchen where she was sure he'd find the bottle of ketchup she'd left out on the counter.

That left her with Ash. Misty looked up at him and their eyes locked instantly. This was not a typical hang-out between friends. This was a date.

A blush crept to her face as she noticed the one burning on his cheeks. With the most endearingly nervous smile she'd ever seen, he stepped forward and wrapped her in a warm embrace. She reciprocated, locking her arms around his torso. With his height, her head came to rest just under his chin almost perfectly.

"You look really beautiful, Mist. I, uh, I'm really glad you said yes," he said as he buried his nose in her hair.

She felt calmer now than she had before. Standing in his arms as she breathed him in just felt right. It felt familiar. Somehow, it felt like home.

"I'm glad you asked," she whispered back.

Regretfully, she pulled away just enough to look up and make eye contact with him again. He gave her a lopsided grin before untangling himself from her, allowing his hand to slip down her arm and take her hand.

"I, um, this…I thought this would feel more awkward," he offered, "but it feels pretty natural," he chuckled.

Misty felt a bit speechless. She had never known Ash to be so forthright.

He smiled more cautiously as he examined her features, "I'm being weird about this, aren't I?"

Ash's blush deepened and his hold on her hand loosened. Immediately, Misty shook her head and held his hand a little more firmly.

He grinned again before pulling her to sit with him on the sofa. This was Ketchum! Her best friend. This was normal! He had been here before in her home, on her couch.

This was a whole new kind of visit, though.

"Okay, well, I do have an actual plan for us tonight. I promise! I guess I just wanted to be sure you hadn't reconsidered, heh," he scratched the back of his neck with his free hand.

His other still held hers tenderly.

"Well, I'll admit…I did briefly consider the possibility that you were joking or that I misinterpreted the date part," she smiled at him and felt a whole new swirl of butterfree in her belly, "but then I got a little encouragement fro-Ohhh no! Hold that thought!"

Misty had completely forgotten about the video call that, knowing her friends, was probably still going on in her room. She released his hand, hopped off the couch, and scrambled into her room just a few feet away.

She shut the door firmly behind her once she made it in. Lo and behold, her friends were still chatting excitedly.

"Hey, you're back!"

"It sounds like he was happy to see you," Dawn squealed.

Misty nodded and quickly glanced at herself in the mirror across her room. Still holding it together, she praised herself. Although, she should have left her computer somewhere, anywhere but on the nightstand right beside her door.

She sighed but could not hold back her giddiness. Misty smiled happily. Dawn was right. Ash was happy to see her for this date.

Leaning over the keyboard to look into the webcam, she quickly began, "Okay, thank you all, but I think I will have to take it on my own from here. You're free to go. I'm sure whoever I update will update the rest of you."

She proceeded to shut down her computer.

"No, hey, wait," Brock shouted.

"G'luck Misty," Tracey nodded with Daisy.

"Hi Ashhh," May and Dawn crooned loudly.

"Tell Pikachu I sa-"

"But, like-"

And the screen went dark.

Closing her eyes momentarily, Misty breathed deeply. This was real. Ash was waiting for her right outside for their date!

Quickly, she exited the room to find Ash flipping through one of the gym magazines on her coffee table. He looked up when she shut the door and immediately stood.

A dopey expression came over his face as she walked back to him, "Hey, Mist."

He sounded as though he was in a daze.

"I, I…I mean, is everything alright, Mist? Thought I heard someone call my name."

Misty laughed. Loudly and perhaps a little alarmingly, but it felt good.

"You did. I'll tell you about it later," smiling, she took her seat next to him on the sofa and he took her hand once again, "First, tell me what you have in store for us tonight, Ketchum."


Okay, now this story is done. Please review if you enjoyed!

Thank you for reading! Until next time.