Sorry for such a long wait, guys! I really don't mean to keep causing such a delay with the updates...I've literally been losing track of time and it's kind of insane!

Chapter 3: Embrace the Changes

The next day, Ash returned to the Cerulean gym, but this time, he had no intentions of battling Misty. He knew that if he wanted to try and get Misty to view him differently, he needed to heed Brock's advice and not do the same old stuff he always did with her…stuff that she definitely didn't view as romantic. Of course, Ash's brain was practically running on empty for different ideas, and as a result, his nerves were already shot. That's why he decided to head out super early so he could think clearly while the streets were quiet and he had less of a chance of being spotted or hunted down by photographers or adoring fans.

And, unfortunately for him, he managed to make it to the gym before it even opened.

When he stepped in front of the doors, and they didn't automatically slide open, Ash was initially confused.

"That's weird…" he muttered to himself. He knocked on the glass, assuming that maybe someone was inside and just hadn't opened the doors for potential challengers yet, but after waiting a minute, no one came. "Is there really no one here?"

He began pushing at the glass, trying to pry it open himself. Pikachu, who sat on his usual perch of Ash's shoulder, let out a tired sigh. His trainer really never learned.

"You trying to break into my gym?"

Ash gasped and spun around, finding himself face-to-face with Misty. She had an eyebrow raised, but otherwise sounded amused, much to his relief.

"No!" Ash cried, just in case she was actually angry about such a thing. "I was just…surprised that the doors were closed."

"Yeah, because I didn't open them yet," Misty scoffed, holding up the key for proof. "What're you doing here, anyway? And so early? I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon."

"I just…missed you, that's all!" Ash blurted, blushing a bit.

At this, Misty tilted her head. "It hasn't even been two days since we last saw each other. You usually go much longer without seeing me."

She strode past Ash in order to open the doors with her key. Shuffling closer to Misty, Ash timidly asked, "are you mad about that?"

"What, not seeing you?" Misty distractedly asked, watching as the doors parted before her.

"Yeah…" Ash breathed.

"Of course not," Misty easily replied, looking over her shoulder at Ash as the doors slid open. "We both had our own things going on! Sure, I missed you, but I couldn't possibly be mad when you were working towards your goal and I was running the gym."

And then she finished that statement with a wink, walking into the gym and leaving behind a flustered Ash.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu cried, pawing at his trainer.

Shaking his head out, Ash hurried after Misty, walking into the gym himself and taking a look around. For some reason, it seemed different in the morning, when the sun was so new and there'd been no one there for a battle just yet.

"So…" Ash awkwardly began, Misty too busy behind the front desk to look at him. "What're you doing today?"

She stood back up, once again arching an eyebrow. "Working."

"Oh, right," Ash murmured, Pikachu hanging his head. "Well…what about…after working?"

"I don't know," Misty earnestly replied. "Is there something you want to do? It certainly sounds like it."

"Not especially!" Ash laughed heartily, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'd do whatever you wanted to do! I mean, if you want to hang out after you're done working, that'd be fun! I could even hang around here if you want! At the gym, I mean. I don't have anything to do today. And it's not often I get a break from league stuff, you know! They keep me really busy. Actually, it's kind of exhausting, and that's saying something -cause I've got so much energy! But I get it. They really want to hype up the Elite Four stuff. Apparently, tons of people are talking about! I don't really pay attention to that kind of stuff, but it makes sense. I'm excited, too!"

Misty blinked, amazed that Ash had managed to spit all of that out in one breath. "You're not kidding about that energy…"

Ash groaned and mentally smacked himself on the head. That wasn't helping his case! "Sorry, guess I got carried away."

In response, Misty giggled, which caused Ash's cheeks to become tinted pink. "It's fine! I mean…if you really want to hang out around here while I'm busy, be my guest! You might have to interact with my sisters more than me, though…depending on how many challengers show up."

Ash's giddy disposition was quickly replaced by one of hesitance. "Uh…"

"Don't worry, I'll tell them to behave," Misty assured him.

"Does that actually work?" Ash asked, folding his arms.

After a long pause, Misty stepped out from behind the desk with an armful of paperwork and admitted, "no."

As if on cue, the doors to the gym opened once more, granting access to the aforementioned sisters. Unlike the last time he was there, however, Ash was now seeing all three of them, as Daisy was back in tow. When she saw Ash, she had a little smirk on her face, but Violet and Lily were far more shocked than anything else.

"Oh my gosh, you're back!" Violet shouted. "It's like you can't stay away all of a sudden."

"He was probably regretting not giving me that autograph," Lily teased, winking at an unimpressed Ash. "Offer still stands!"

"Lily, nobody wants to sign your questionably real breast," Misty snapped, glaring at her pink haired sister.

"Oh yeah?" Lily sniffed. "There are plenty of men out there who've said and done otherwise."

Ash's face had exploded red all over again. Daisy quickly took notice of this, and her smirk managed to widen. "Ash isn't one of those men, Lily. I think you know that!"

The third sensational sister shrugged her shoulders. "Doesn't hurt to ask!"

For the third time in a short while, the gym doors opened up yet again, this time revealing a young boy who nobody in the lobby recognized.

"Um…this is the Cerulean gym, right?" He asked.

"You've got it!" Lily trilled, flipping her pink hair over her shoulder.

The boy's eyes lit up. "Oh, good! I wanted to challenge the gym leader to a battle!"

"Perfect, you're right on time!" Misty chirped, relief washing over her.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Violet whined.

"You know exactly what it means," Misty curtly replied, pushing past her sisters and smiling at the newly arrived trainer. "I'm Misty, the Cerulean City gym leader. I'd be happy to accept your challenge! Please, follow me to the battlefield."

She started to walk away, the boy eagerly following behind her. When they reached the doorway, he continued walking, but Misty stopped and grabbed onto the doorframe. "Remember what I told you, Ash!"

His blush returned, albeit more gentle than last time. Daisy took notice of this, and her expression became more thoughtful. Violet and Lily, on the other hand, didn't notice and instead began loudly extrapolating.

"What'd you tell him?" Violet demanded.

"Yeah, sounds steamy!" Lily giggled.

"It's not," Misty promised them. "Lily, come on. I want you to be the referee."

"Ugh, why me?" Lily groaned.

"Because I don't want you to keep torturing Ash!" Misty barked.

"I am not!" Lily argued, although she made her way over to her younger sister. "I'm just teasing, that's all!"

Once Misty and Lily had disappeared from view, Ash turned towards the remaining two sisters, nervous energy radiating off of him. Daisy had on a kind smile, while Violet looked far more mischievous.

"It's been a while since I last saw you," Daisy commented. "Nice job winning the Indigo Conference!"

"Oh…thanks!" Ash replied, suddenly feeling a bit more relaxed.

"But I don't think that's all that's changed since the last time I saw you," Daisy mused, causing Ash's smile to fade. "No…something seems different!"

"Uh…like what?" Ash tensely asked.

Daisy finished tapping her chin and shrugged her shoulders. "If you ask me, you seem a little freaked out! And I'm not used to seeing you like that."

Trying to hide his unsteady demeanor, Ash laughed shakily and refuted, "me? Freaked out? No way! I'm just…tired is all! Yeah! This champion stuff is pretty demanding, after all."

"Not surprising," Daisy agreed, causing Ash to let out a sigh of relief. "Especially when you're trying to hide a crush on our sister on top of it!"

Ash's eyes widened, and Violet whipped towards Daisy with a gasp. "Whoa, for real?! How could you tell?"

Daisy narrowed her eyes at her blue haired sister. "Vi, with everything Misty said to him, Ash was turning red."

Quickly getting excited, Violet turned her attention back onto Ash and crowed, "I knew Misty said something scandalous to you before!"

"She didn't!" Ash blurted, shaking his head. "I swear!"

"Oh, so you're just blushing at everything she says?" Violet muttered. "Wow, you've got it bad."

Ash dramatically rolled his eyes and dragged himself over to one of the lobby couches, sinking down on it and burying his face in his hands. Pikachu, meanwhile, jumped off his trainer's shoulder and instead settled himself by the young man's side, comfortingly patting him.

"Geez, you don't have to act like it's a death sentence," Violet quipped. "I know Misty is still kind of a runt, and a little mean sometimes, and- "

"Violet!" Daisy hissed.

"What?" Violet naively murmured.

"You're not helping," Daisy scoffed, waving a hand at her.

Ash slowly looked up, glaring at Daisy. "You're not either."

"Maybe I wasn't before, but I can now," Daisy easily replied. She skirted over to Ash, taking a seat beside him. "Look, it's still pretty easy to tease both you and Misty, so we can't help ourselves. But if you really do like my baby sister, then I'm more than willing to give you some advice. Honestly, I really do think you two would look good together!"

"The first time we met, you literally said I wasn't someone you'd pick out for her," Ash grumbled. "Besides, I don't need your advice. I already got some, thank you very much."

"Oh yeah?" Daisy teased, an amused smirk growing on her lips. "From who?"

Ash pictured Brock in his head and indignantly turned away from Daisy, figuring he didn't owe her an answer.

"Was it another guy?" Daisy prodded, not deterred by Ash's silence.

"…maybe," Ash finally admitted, still refusing to look at Daisy.

"That figures," Daisy scoffed. "You're really going to take advice on how to impress a girl from another guy? Especially when this girl is the sister of who you've got a crush on?"

Ash furrowed his brow and finally cast Daisy a concerned glance. "How do I know you're actually going to give me good advice?"

"Because I know what I'm talking about!" Daisy noisily sighed, folding her arms.

"So do I!" Violet eagerly added, raising her hand. "I go out with guys all the time!"

Ash didn't seem convinced, but despite his hesitance, he assumed he had nothing to lose by just listening to them. If the advice was really so awful, he didn't have to take it. "Okay, fine. What've you got?"

Raising a single finger, Daisy elucidated, "there's an outdoor market downtown that Misty absolutely loves. Take her there! You'll both have a good time, and there won't be any pressure on you, since it's super lowkey. I'm assuming you've had enough of that in the past couple of weeks to last you a lifetime; you don't need Misty adding onto it."

While Ash appeared intrigued, Violet groaned. "Ugh, I thought you were going to suggest something a lot more interesting."

"But it's what Misty would like," Daisy pushed, warily eyeing her sister.

Violet frowned and twirled a piece of hair around her finger. "Who knew going steady with a guy would make you so boring!"

Ash's smile suddenly widened as he jumped to his feet. "You know what? That's actually a great idea! Thanks, Daisy!"

Daisy giggled and winked at the young man. "I told you to trust me!"

"Misty was right," Ash mused aloud. "Tracey really has changed you in the best possible way!"

"Why thank…hey, wait a sec!" Daisy cried, her sea green eyes narrowing.

"Sure, if you think the 'best possible way' is the lamest possible way," Violet grumbled, shaking her head.

"Nice work, Kevin. Congrats again on the badge!"

"Thank you, Misty!"

Ash turned towards the battlefield's doorway. The young trainer who had arrived before came running out, too busy admiring the shiny new Cascade Badge that he held in his hands to even notice Ash. It was a good thing too, because Ash was busy staring at Misty the entire time. She was leaning against the wall, arms crossed as she smirked at the excitable young boy, when suddenly she looked over at Ash, who jolted a bit at her gaze.

"Trainers like that always reminds me of you when you were younger," Misty remarked, accentuating her comment with a delighted giggle.

Ash's lips twisted into an odd smile. "Is that a compliment or an insult?"

Misty hummed amusedly, but quickly assured Ash, "a compliment."

Lily, who had finally left the battle area herself, strode up next to her sister with her arms folded behind her head. "Hmph, talk about a snooze fest."

"What do you mean?" Misty scoffed. "That was a really great battle!"

"Sure, if you like watching paint dry too," Lily quipped.

"Don't listen to her, Misty," Daisy calmly interjected. "You know that Lily thinks every battle is boring."

"Not every battle!" Lily exclaimed before wiggling her eyebrows at the bewildered young man standing next to her oldest sister. "Ash's last battle was pretty exciting."

"You're only saying that because you thought Ash and the other guy were hot," Violet sniffed.

"So, what's your point?" Lily challenged.

Misty groaned and rubbed her left temple. "I've got to get out of here."

Ash's eyes lit up, an idea popping into his head. "So why don't you?"

Misty blinked. "What?"

"Oh, I meant…we!" Ash laughed nervously. "Why don't we get out of here?"

"Because I have to work," Misty sighed. "I already told you this, Ash!"

Ash was about to argue, but Daisy cut in with an easy, "it's no big deal, Misty. We can watch the gym for you."

Misty's eyes shifted between Daisy and her two other sisters. "Really? You three?"

"We won't give away any badges," Daisy promised her cagey youngest sister. "Honest! I'll even be the substitute gym leader, if that makes you feel better."

"Oh, thank Arceus!" Lily sighed dramatically, covering her heart.

"Seriously just dodged a bullet," Violet added breathlessly.

Misty groaned and rolled her eyes. "Well, I definitely don't want those two filling in for me."

"Then problem solved!" Daisy crowed, jumping to her feet and gently grabbing Misty's shoulders, pushing her towards Ash. "You kids have fun!"

Misty grimaced before looking over at Ash. "Where did you want to go?"

Ash smiled shakily before suggesting, "how about…that outdoor market downtown?"

Misty's face lit up. "Wait, really?!"

"Uh…yeah!" Ash chuckled nervously. "Is that…okay with you?"

"Yeah, it's perfect!" Misty cheered. "That's one of my favorite places to hang out! I didn't even think you knew it existed."

Ash stammered before locking eyes with a smirking Daisy. "Oh, yeah! Of course! I passed it on my way here and thought it looked really cool!"

"Oh, it is!" Misty marveled. "Wait until you see it up close! There are so many cool things there, and lots for Pokémon! I bet you'll love it!"

Without another thought, Misty grabbed Ash's hand and began pulling him towards the front door. He looked back at Misty's sisters, who all gave him confident looks save for Lily, who was simply confused. Pikachu, meanwhile, gasped and leapt from his spot on the couch, quickly following after the pair for fear of being left behind. Stopping short of the door, Misty too glanced at her sister, giving them all a big smile.

"Thanks, you guys!" She called.

"Don't mention it!" Daisy giggled, giving the two a little wave.

"Yeah, don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Violet added, winking at them.

"Well, that's a pretty short list," Misty muttered under her breath so only Ash could hear her. He started to laugh quite heartily, which only caused Misty's smile to grow. Speaking more clearly, she called back to her sisters, "see you later!"

And with that, she pulled Ash right out of the gym, Pikachu following at her heels.

As soon as they were gone, Violet and Daisy began to squeal, jumping up and down as they shouted excited, unintelligible nonsense at each other.

"What did I miss?" Lily hissed, frustrated that she was being left out of all the fun. "Ugh, I knew that battle was a waste of time!"

XXX

"Oh, look at these fresh berries! I bet Pikachu would love these! You want one, little buddy?"

Pikachu's eyes lit up as he walked along the display of berries, sniffing at each one. He stopped right in front of a ripe pecha berry and pointed at it, squeaking a delighted, "chu!"

"That one?" Misty asked sweetly, Pikachu nodding in response.

Smiling, Misty picked up the pink, heart shaped berry and brought it over to the owner of the stall. As soon as the woman looked up and saw the redhead standing in front of her, she beamed.

"Ah, Misty!" She greeted.

"Hi, Yuna!" Misty returned warmly.

"You've got a day off from the gym?" The saleswoman asked, sounding impressed.

"Something like that," Misty laughed weakly. "Your produce looks amazing, as always!"

"Thank you!" Yuna breathed gratefully. She then noticed the pecha berry in Misty's hands and offered the gym leader a kind smile. "Found something you like?"

"My friend did," Misty confirmed, nodding towards a happy Pikachu.

"Aw, he's just precious!" Yuna giggled. "Tell you what: that berry is on the house!"

Misty's eyes widened. "Yuna, are you sure?"

"Of course!" She replied. "It's the least I could do for you."

"You always say that," Misty sighed laughingly.

"And I always mean it!" Yuna pushed. "Go on, take it!"

"Well…thank you!" Misty chuckled. "You're so kind."

Misty handed the pecha berry over to Pikachu, who accepted it and took a big bite. "Cha!"

"I'm so glad you like it!" Misty giggled, scooping the mouse up into her arms and carrying him back over to an amused Ash.

"You sure are popular around here," Ash remarked. "That's like…the fifth person who gave you something for free!"

Misty smirked. "What, are you surprised?"

"No!" Ash hastily refuted. "Of course not. You're a very likeable person!"

Misty let out a short laugh. "I was kidding, you know. You sure have been jumpy today!"

Ash returned his own nervous chuckle. "You have no idea…"

"People say I did a lot for the gym…that I helped make it more 'respectable'," Misty explained, putting air quotes around the last word. "It gets a little weird sometimes, but it is nice to be appreciated!"

"Isn't that kind of a dig at your sisters?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I guess, but I'd be lying if it didn't make me laugh," Misty admitted, shrugging her shoulders.

Ash chuckled himself, watching as Pikachu, who was now finished with his berry, returned to his shoulder. "But it's also a big compliment to you! You are a great gym leader, after all!"

Misty blushed lightly at the comment. "Thanks, Ash. That's very sweet of you."

The pair had been having a lovely time at the outdoor market. Much to Ash's relief (and, admittedly, his surprise), no one had really recognized him or bombarded him with requests for photos or autographs. The fact that it was a weekday afternoon probably helped, but unbeknownst to him, the market workers were so familiar with Misty that they knew Ash was a childhood friend of hers, and they didn't want to disturb him with such fanfare.

"Whoa, look! It's the conference champion!"

Of course, children were the exception to the rule. They weren't nearly as familiar with Misty's background, on top of generally lacking filters. Seeing a big celebrity like Ash was cause for celebration for the young ones, and they simply couldn't help themselves.

A group of them rushed up to both him and Misty, staring at the young man with total adoration in their eyes.

"Ah, there's your fan club!" Misty snickered. "Bet you were wondering when they would show up, huh?"

Ash scowled at Misty before turning towards the kids. "Nice to meet you all! Did you know she's the Cerulean gym leader?"

He pointed at a smirking Misty, while the group of youngsters looked less than impressed.

"Of course, we know that!" A young boy cried.

"Yeah, we see her all the time!" A little girl added.

"Sorry, Ash, but I'm nowhere near as impressive as you are," Misty giggled.

Ash groaned before smiling at the kids. "Guess that's what happens when you live in a city with a gym!"

"Can we see your Pikachu?" Another little boy asked, pointing at the mouse.

"Sure!" Ash replied, watching as Pikachu jumped off of his shoulder and stood in front of the kids instead. "Pikachu loves attention! Don't you, buddy?"

"Pi!" Pikachu confirmed.

"He also likes to be scratched behind his ears," Misty informed the children, giving them a little wink.

They all gasped in excitement before reaching out, trying to be the first to do just that. It only resulted in Pikachu getting scratches from five different people at once, however, which greatly increased the enjoyment of the little mouse.

"Look how happy he is!" Another little girl squealed.

"Yeah, he's moving his ears!" A third boy laughed.

Ash chuckled and folded his arms. "You sure are getting spoiled today, Pikachu!"

The first boy stood up straight and hopped closer to Ash, a big smile on his face. "I can't wait to watch you battle Lance!"

"Lance?" Ash repeated before laughing. "That's a nice thought, but I've got to get through the Elite Four first!"

"Yeah, but they can't beat you!" The boy replied. "You're the best trainer I've ever seen!"

Misty's breath caught in her throat. Those kids sure thought highly of Ash…so highly, in fact, that they didn't even think the Elite Four were much of an obstacle for him.

If they're so confident…then why am I still so terrified?

She recalled her conversation with Brock the day before; him telling her to not let the fear of potentially defeating Ash stand in the way of going for something so prestigious and important to herself. It was all sound advice, and Misty wished she could just run with it.

But something was holding her back.

"Bye, Mr. Ash! You're the coolest!"

"Ha…you can just call me Ash! And thanks!"

Misty looked back up and watched as the children excitedly waved farewell to Ash before running off, eagerly chattering away amongst themselves. The way they had looked at Ash, with such reverence and admiration…and she was going to be the one to potentially shatter all of that?

Misty's nerves were suddenly firing at all cylinders all over again.

Ash turned to face Misty, and as soon as he saw her, the big grin on his face melted away. "Hey, what's up? You look like you just saw a ghost type."

Misty frantically shook her head. "No, I'm fine. But…I really should be getting back to the gym now."

"Back to the gym?" Ash repeated, furrowing his brow. "But your sisters told you to take the rest of the day off!"

"I just don't trust them to run the gym," Misty sighed, quickly growing frustrated. "I always do this, and I always get too nervous. I'm sorry, Ash."

Before he could say anything else, Misty brushed past him, hurrying away from the outdoor market.

Stupid heart, Misty thought bitingly as her eyes filled with tears. Why can't I just shut you out and listen to my head instead?

Ash, meanwhile, was left utterly confused in her wake. Pikachu glanced sadly at his trainer, murmuring a reassuring, "Pikachu, Pikapi."

The young man slumped his shoulders, still staring at Misty as she disappeared in the distance. "What did I do?"