Okay, even if you don't like this shipping, I would really appreciate if you read this story! I think it's really good, and even I am not a super fan of this shipping, but I sure hope you all likle the story as much as I do! And thank you, OthelloFurtherPokesilver for the ship and prompt!

5 Years Old.

The scene shows two little kids playing and laughing together in the grassy hills of Pallet Town. One is a boy with messy black hair and a big grin. He is wearing a red tee-shirt and blue shorts; he is barefoot in the grass. The other is a girl with long brown locks and shinning green eyes; she wears a light blue tank top and a red skirt, with long white stockings partly hidden under black buckle shoes. There is a small but happy smile on her face. Now the boy starts to talk louder with excitement, "I'll race you, Leaf!"

"Ready...set...go!" the girl, Leaf, shouts, and they rush down the hill they currently sat on. The two kids tumble down the hill together, laughing all the way without a care in the world. After tripping and falling and crawling the last few yards, they come to a stop, staring at the sky.

"I...I won!" the boy panted.

"No, I won, silly!l" Leaf giggled back.

"We tied," he agreed firmly.

"Okay, Ash." They lay there for a while, somehow holding hands even though they don't know how.

"Hey, Leaf?" Ash asks suddenly. She turns to him and raises her eyebrows, curious. "Well, Mommy says that Daddy married Mommy because he loves her a lot. And that they were best friends. You're my best friend, so that means I love you. So will you marry me, Leaf?"

"Okay, Ashy! I love you to, because you are my best friend too. We will always be best friends, forever."

"Forever."

8 Years Old.

Now Ash and Leaf are in school, second grade. And everyone knows just how boys and girls act around each other at this age: "Girl-alert, girl-alert!" A young boy with auburn hair and wide eyes points to Ash and Leaf together. "She's got cooties! She's got cooties! Run, Ashy-boy, run!"

The crowd of boys subconsciously form a half-circle around Ash and Leaf, Gary in the lead. Of course, they aren't trying to be mean, but little kids aren't always the most sensitive. "C'mon, Ashy-boy! Don't get close; you'll get the cooties too!" he hollers.

Ash glances back and forth between Gary and Leaf. Leaf is looking at her hands and arms, frantically wondering where the "cooties" are. Ash grabs onto Leaf's arm suddenly, and brandishes it at the other little boys, who gasp. "Leaf does not have cooties!" he announces bravely in his young voice. "She is special, more specialer than ALL the other girls!"

The other boys pause, wondering what to make of this unexpected change of events. Then Gary steps forward and spits the best he can into his hand ("my Dad showed me") . He holds it out to Leaf with a rogue grin. "Welcome to the club."

Leaf grins and shakes his hand before wiping it on his shirt, much to the other boys' laughter. "Thanks, Ash," she tells him later.

"It's true," he insists. "Nothing will stop me from protecting my best friend, Leaf! Ever!"

"Really?"

"It will be true! Forever!"

12 Years Old.

It's Middle School now, and Ash is one of the most popular guys in the grade. What, with being the star of the lactose team, his only competitor is Gary; who is bound to be a High School Heart Breaker, as well as the star of the football team. But despite that, Gary and Ash have managed to stay close friends, acknowledging that each has his flaws and ignoring them. Leaf has made her own, Queen of the Basketball Court, as well as being well-known for her kindness and intelligence. But of course, with popularity comes jealousy. And sure enough, the snarky whispers and comments often hit Leaf full-force.

"...heard that she's dating both Ash and Gary at the same time..."

"...should just admit that she's a total..."

"...Queen of the Basketball Court my foot! How about Queen of the..."

"...failed third grade..."

"...tricked Ash into thinking she was..."

"...and Gary too! Can you even believe..."

"...those boys have to come to their senses and date me instead, not her..."

Obviously, none of the rumors are true, but Leaf can only hold her head high and ignore them the best she could. If she could. But it got harder and harder, and she could only hide so much. One day, Ash and Leaf were headed towards lunch and attracting a lot of attention. He noticed that Leaf was a cross between wanting to punch his lights out and running off to cry somewhere. And that this has been happening more and more often. And that most of the rumors have to do with either he or Gary, who is currently waiting for his friends on the court (and using the time to show off). Ash grits his teeth and decides that he has had enough of Leaf getting dissed on, and stops right where he is to glare at the group of gossips watching. "Listen up and listen good!" he demands.

"It's Ash!" At those two words, all of the girls are silent and under his attention.

"What are you doing?" Leaf hisses in his ear, but he doesn't acknowledge it.

"All of you and more of your snotty friends have been spreading some nasty rumors about Leaf here. And I'm here to tell you that not only are they rude, unnecassary, and totally desperate, none of them are true. Leaf earned all of her grades by her talent alone, not by favor. I am not under any sort of spell that makes me her friend." His words are met with a stunned silence. "And furthermore, if any of you are interested in dating me or my friends-" There are some blushes...until he speaks again. "-then you better change yourselves around on the doube, because I can't think of a siingle guy low enough to date ANY of you." Again, the silence. Ash grabs Leaf's hand and muttered, "Now, we run. Go, go!" He shoves her hard enough to get her to move, and begins dragging Leaf across the school towards the basketball courts.

The whole way, Ash's words are ringing in her head. Ash too, knew that was a risky thing to do, but all of it is true. He runs a wide circle around the school and brings Leaf undetected into the library, where they duck behind some shelves and grab a random book to hold in front of their faces.

They wait for a little while, and Leaf can't tell if she wants to cry or laugh. "Thanks," she says shakily, and Ash just nods before looking her in the eyes. "Look, Leaf. I know I'm not really the smartest guy in the world, and I know you know that. But I knew that I just had to set the record straight. I didn't like them trash-talking you."

"You didn't have to, though," she starts, embarrassed, but he cuts her off.

"I did have to, though."

"You'll get in trouble-"

"I'll get in heaps of trouble if it's to help you, Leaf." He laughs. "What about Best Friends Forever, huh?"

17 Years Old.

It's the night that practically every girl has been waiting for for years and years, and the night that most of the guys forgot until the day before: prom. Or really, Junior Prom. Ash and Leaf are going "as friends" even though almost everyone else at the school thinks that they're secretly dating. Whether or not either of them are about the questioning, Ash shows up on Leaf's doorstep in black pants and a red button-down, his hat missing and his grin as wide as it was twelve years ago. Leaf opens the door in a light green semi-sweetheart party dress, with a white sash around her waist and her hair in a half-up half-down. On her neck is a silver necklace with a ring of silver adorned with tiny crystals that match the sparkle in her eyes.

"Hey," Ash finally manages, and Leaf smiles.

"Hey." Of course, Leaf's parents insist on taking pictures, but after a dozen or so, Leaf shooes them away so they can leave. But when they get to the school, neither teenager opens the car doors. Ash doesn't even turn off the engine. They wait there for a while before he looks at Leaf with a gleam in his eye. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Leaf smiles again. "Of course I am." Ash grins and backs his car out of the school parking lot and drives across to the quieter part of town, near the edges. He stops the car, opens his door and escorts Leaf out for laughs, even kissing her hand before closing the door. They look around them and see the grassy hills of Pallet Town bathed in moonlight, the stars twinkling. On an unspoken word, they sit right on the hill where they spent so many summer days as little kids.

"Hey, Leaf?"

"Yes?" She turns to him, and Ash can't help but think that she's the most beautiful thing in the entire world, prettier than the moon or the sky or the ocean or the sunrise. And this gives him courage.

"So, since we're best friends, a lot of people think that we're dating," he manages in an only slightly shaky tone.

"Y-Yes, that's right."

"Well...would you like to give them a ring of truth on that statement?" Leaf gasps. Ash blushes. "What I mean is, will you be my girlfriend?"

There's a brief silence before: "Did you even have to ask?"

"No, I guess not," he grins.

"Hmm..." Leaf smiles and bumps his shoulder with hers. "...best friends, couple...what's next?" she teases.

23 Years Old.

"I do," Ash responds with a tight grin.

"And do you, Leaf Green, have Ash Ketchum to be your wedded husband, to live together as one for all of your days? Will you promise to love him, comfort him, honor him, and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep only him so long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

The ceremony goes on like so for a few more minutes until Dr. Oak is finished, giving the well-known phrase an added chuckle: "You may kiss your bride." Ash wastes no time in doing just that in front of their clapping (and for some, including Mrs. Ketchum, crying, a little) families and friends.

31 Years Old.

Ash and Leaf are looking through a thick, dark blue photo album. The first picture is one of two laughing little kids grinning at the camera. Three years later, there is one of a girl and a boy wearing new backpacks and waving as they enter their school for the first day of the school year. Four yeas later shows two side-by-side photos; one is of a boy with his lacrosse stick on the field; the other is of a girl in a successful slam dunk, that boy cheering in the stands. There are also two pictures five years later. One is of two fancily dressed figures, holding hands and smiling. The other is them in the exact same position, but their clothes are noticeably more crumpled and a little dirty at that. Six years later, and they're smiling with their eyes sparkling just as much as their new rings.

"Love you, Leaf."

"Love you, Ash."

"Always?"

"Forever."

I hope I made you laugh at them as children and "aww" at older versions. Like I said, thank you to OthelloFurtherPokesilver for the prompt! To everyone, I suppose: unless I get any requests, it is unlikely that I will write for FurtherShipping (Ash x Leaf) again, because I don't really ship them together. BUT, I love this story and I hope tht you like it regardless of your shipping preferences!

Reviews and PMs are appreciated! :)