A/N: Sorry that it's taken me a while to post the next chapter. I thought that I could get ahead in writing with my break and all, but making Christmas gifts got in the way and like I went through a period where I just couldn't compel myself to write much. I also spent a few days reading through and editing all of my other stuff to transfer over to AO3, so I could have this and my other completed works there as well.

I hope to get the next chapter out as soon as possible. I might wait until I have the first half of chapter four written because it kind of ends in a cliff hanger and I want to make sure that both parts mesh well together before posting chapter three.

Again, I appreciate all the support for this story. I do read all of the reviews, so those are always most appreciated.

Until next time,

Sarah

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or its characters.

Chapter Two: The Morning After

The sunlight cascaded over the tiny room as the young couple slept. Misty was the first to stir, feeling groggy. They had been up late, and it was much too early. She shifted, moving closer to Ash. He made a soft groan when she snuggled up to him. He turned as well to face her. Encasing her in his arms once more, he embraced this feeling—it was better than winning a tough match. As his lifelong dream was waning, the need to be with her grew into an insatiable hunger.

The sounds of the birds pervaded the air, making it impossible for the couple to continue in their slumber. Ash was the first to shift, releasing Misty from his grip. She made a high-pitched hum as she sat up, stretching her back. She swung her legs around, pivoting her body. Once her feet were planted on the floor, she searched for her clothes from the night before. As she pulled her shirt down over her bra, Ash got up and did the same, except his clothes were fresh—a dark green t-shirt and jeans. He pulled out his jacket and draped it over his shoulders. It was as if it were fifteen years ago, and Ash was starting out and making the biggest mistakes, like sending a worm to battle a bird.

That wouldn't happen this day. Ash knew better now. He would be the best. He had to be. There was no going back now. Misty placed her hand on his shoulder; he turned his neck and saw that she was smiling at him. He rested his hand on hers and returned the favor. God, how he loved this woman!

"You want to go get some breakfast?" she asked.

"Um, don't take this the wrong way," he began, "but I need some time to myself to prepare."

"Are you sure? I could help you out if you need me."

"I'm okay, Mist. Thanks, though," Ash said. "There is one thing that you could do for me."

"What is it?"

"Could you go and get Pikachu?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll be back in like ten minutes. I need to change as well."

"Hey Mist?"

"Hmm?" She paused, her hand resting on the handle.

"Love you."

"I love you too, Ash," she replied before leaving.

Ash took a deep breath, thankful that she hadn't tried to borrow any of his clothes for fear that she would find it. He opened the top drawer of the dresser and fished around for the small box amongst his socks. He took it out, after successfully retrieving it with his hands. Popping the small black box open, he looked at inner contents. Inside the box was a white gold ring with a solitaire diamond in the center. The diamond in the custom ring was blue and cut in the shape of a teardrop, just like the Cascade Badge.

He had been holding onto this ring for quite some time. Even before they started dating, Ash knew that she was the woman that he wanted to marry. Once he had gotten enough money and won a couple of tournaments, he bought the ring. It gave him further motivation to become a Pokémon Master. He would focus on his career first before settling down at all. The sooner he became Champion, the sooner they could get married and start having kids. Ash knew that he wanted them soon. He had started to long for them. Although he was in his mid-twenties, he could not stop thinking about them. Even when he was in the middle of having sex with Misty the night before, it had entered his mind, though it was a statistical improbability. Since even before their relationship had begun, Misty was taking birth control religiously.

He thought about his own dad, a man whom he could barely remember. He had not seen his father for about twenty years. In the past, Ash had gone on his journey not solely because of his love of Pokémon. The other reason, which he could barely admit to himself, was that there was a chance of meeting his father along the way. Even as he rose up in the ranks, he was surprised that his father never emerged from the shadows. The conclusion that Ash told himself was that his father must have died sometime over the years. It was less painful to assume that than think that his father did not care about him. He would be a better father to his own kids, when he finally had them. He'd rather die than abandon them.

Time flew like a Pidgeot as he stood there thinking. Without warning, the door began to open, prompting Ash to panic. He dropped the box back in the drawer before slamming it shut. Misty appeared as the door swung to the other side of the wall. Pikachu was propped on her shoulder. He leapt off at the sight of Ash, who caught him in his arms.

"Pikapi!" The electric mouse shouted in glee.

"Hey there, buddy," Ash replied.

Misty moved over to the pair, chucking at their interaction. She wrapped her arms around the two of them. Even though they had been together so long, his cheeks became flushed at her touch. She swiftly gave him a peck his cheek before breaking away from him. Ash gazed back at her, finally able to take a long look at her appearance.

She had quickly done her hair in a fishtail braid, her long, red hair tightly bound and resting along her back. She was wearing a fancy sundress, adorned with a flower pattern. Over it, she was wearing a light pink sweater. Her shoes were coral to match. Because she rarely did, Ash noticed immediately that she was wearing make-up. She had dressed up for the event, knowing that this was important to him. Her gesture warmed him to his core.

"Good luck," she said as she moved to leave.

"I don't need it," he replied.

"Yeah, I know. You have the skills," she said.

"No, I meant I have you."

She made no reply, too moved by his words to speak. Aware that he needed to prepare, Misty walked out of the room, hoping that the next time they were together, they would be celebrating rather than Misty having to console him. He was so close to achieving his dreams that she knew that he would give it his all. Her worry was that he would get too cocky, like he had been in the past.

She went down the stairs in haste, knowing that she was running late as well. The others would be at the diner, she was certain. They had made plans to have breakfast together. Misty had been hoping that Ash would have joined them, but his response did not faze her. He had been a bit distant all week, removing himself from most distractions. The night that they had had together had been the most she had seen him all week. How they spent their time together last night was perfect. A wide smile spread across Misty's face thinking about it.

She trotted through the village, the sun rising in the sky. It was mid-morning at the point, and Ash's match was set to begin at one. She and a few of his friends from Kanto were going to meet before the match to watch it together. Before that, however, she was going to eat brunch with his mom and Brock.

The air was cool, fresh with petrichor. There were fresh puddles on the ground. Misty's feet were getting wet as she continued to rush down the road. She stopped to catch her breath only when she had reached the restaurant. The building stood tall in front of her, in an almost intimidating manner. Everything about the day seemed daunting, as if she and Ash were on top of this great precipice. She took a deep breath, shaking the feeling that something important was about to happen, and walked inside.

The place was teeming with activity, causing Misty to wish that she had gotten there sooner. It would have been better with fewer people around, rather than trying to yell over the din. She sighed, knowing that there was no use of wishing about what could have been. She would have to take her situation as is. She walked past the front into the main dining area, peering around for them. After scanning for a couple of minutes, she heard a voice shout, "Oh there she is! Hey, Misty!"

She turned her head slightly to see Brock waving his arms at her from the corner of the dining room. He and Delia were sitting at a small table, away from the rest of the crowd. She headed over to them, weaving her way through the occupied chairs and tables. When she managed to reach them, there was a smirk upon Brock's face.

As she sat down, he commented, "So what took you so long? Did you spend the night with your lover boy?"

"Huh?" Misty's face was starting to turn pink at the mention of it. How did he know?

"I'll take that as a yes."

She scowled, kicking him from under the table. He groaned at the pain. Even though she had been in a happy relationship with Ash, she still had a little bit of her fiery demeanor. Brock gave her a hurt expression and rubbed his throbbing shin. He expected a little sympathy, but she was not in the mood to give him any.

"Not in front of his mother," she muttered angrily under her breath.

"Sorry," Brock grumbled. "It's not like I'm getting any these days."

"Doesn't mean you have to pry into my life about that."

It was true though. Brock had been dating Millie, a girl whom he met while they were in the Orange Islands, for over a year before they broke up. It was right before he started his residency as a Pokemon doctor that it happened. Brock claimed that it was mutual, but Misty had her suspicions that it was more Millie's wish to part ways rather than Brock's. She suspected that she might have thought that dating a doctor going into residency would be too hard. Brock was a bit dejected after it had happened, but the further in his residency he got, the more he became his old self. Their waitress came by to take their orders, and he promptly asked for a date. This resulted in a second kick in the shin from Misty.

He had only been there for a couple of days, as he couldn't afford to take too many days off. Normally it would have been difficult for him to come at all, but fortunately, the Joy in Celadon City understood enough to let him come for the final match. Brock had wasted no time trying to pick up all the ladies, sometimes using the line that he was a doctor. Misty had spent much of her time pulling him away from the rest of them. It was disturbing for a man who had just passed the age of thirty to be acting this way.

"You know," Delia said, almost in passing, as she turned away from the window to look at Misty. "It's not like I don't have an idea of what goes on between you two. You forget that I had to have sex in order to produce that man that you love so much."

"W-what?" Misty stammered, stunned that her boyfriend's mother would be so brazen.

"Why do you find that so shocking, dear?" She asked before adding some sugar to her tea. "You're not children anymore, as much as I wish I could have my little boy back. Why would I talk to you like one?"

"I guess that's true…"

"Of course, I do wish that you two would settle down soon. I'm not getting any younger," Delia said wistfully, causing Misty to stiffen in alarm.

They hadn't really talked about their relationship moving forward. He had been too busy training over the two years that they were together to seriously discuss where they were headed. It wasn't as if she had been in any rush after all. It had taken that long for them to even become an item. In her heart, she knew that she wanted to marry him. She was twenty-five and should have been considering it at this point in her life. Even Daisy, who had been in a relationship for a shorter period of time than Misty, had gotten married a couple months ago. Thankfully, her eldest sister elected to not have a Maid of Honor, sharing the responsibilities among all of her bridesmaids. Misty suspected that it was due to the fact that she didn't want to choose among her sisters, fearful of hurting one of their feelings. Misty didn't know if she could have handled being the Maid of Honor at another Daisy wedding. The Oak-Sketchit one had been enough trouble.

Delia's comment brought her back to nearly two years ago, on a gorgeous spring day. She remembered the picnic with the three of them and their Pokemon. She recalled the battle between Ash and Brock while she was egg-sitting. It was the comment Ash had made after the match was finished and the men returned to join her. The suggestion that he would ask her to marry him if he were to become a Pokemon master was at the forefront of her mind. Had he been serious about that? At the time, Misty thought that he was joking in an attempt to fluster or annoy her. Yet now, she was unsure. Would this match really end in a proposal? What if he lost?

She perseverated on this for the next hour, only speaking when responding to her companions. Part of her wanted to ask Delia if she knew anything, but she refrained. Somehow, she had a feeling that she wouldn't know to begin with. Ash had a habit of keeping stuff to himself. It was likely that no one knew if he was up to something, save for Pikachu, whom Misty had difficulty understanding. It was no use of worrying about it until after the match, but she couldn't help but let it take over her mind.

Her heart was all in flutters by the time they were leaving the restaurant. Delia paid, despite the protests of the other two. Misty felt weird having her maybe-future-mother-in-law pay for her meal. She had a thing for taking care of herself. The three of them fought through the crowd and exited the establishment without too much difficulty. There was another hour to go before the match, but they decided to head toward the stadium anyway. Misty's nerves were on fire at that point. She had a nagging feeling that today would change everything.