A/N: I'm alive.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

Chapter Five - Press Conference

Misty shifted uncomfortably in her seat. The aluminum chair creaked under the weight of her body. She was nestled in between Delia and Brock as they waited for Ash to come out. Since seating was limited, Misty could only secure two guests with her pass. The rest of them were going to meet up with them later, presumably before the party. May was excited, thinking that the rest of them could go shopping would be a good opportunity to prepare for the party later that night. Misty partly wished that she could have gone with them. She hadn't anything new to wear and would have liked to not have to rely on old things; however, she knew that Ash would be expecting her to be there.

Everywhere else around them was swarming with reporters. Misty recognized a few of them as some of the paparazzi that used to follow her around—some of whom probably wrote that scathing article about her and Ash dating, which at the time wasn't true. She sighed, knowing that they might start asking her questions as they waited. A guy in front of her turned around when she thought about that. He lifted his hand to his notepad and opened his mouth for a brief second before Misty gave him a glare that could have rivaled Medusa's.

Her attention was diverted by the start of applause with people coming out onto the stage. The Elite Four were first to walk out and take their seats, followed by Lance. Ash came out last, rubbing his hands together, his shoulders tense. Pikachu was on his shoulder facing the audience, looking chipper as always.

Ash's chair creaked, the timbre heard throughout the room. He gained some color in his cheeks as he sat down. Pikachu jumped from his shoulder onto the table, looking up at Ash with hopeful eyes. The combination of a sigh and a chuckle erupted out of his chest. He reached into a pocket, and pulled out a small ketchup packet. He tore it open before handing it to the yellow mouse. It was all that he had on him at the moment, though Ash knew that Pikachu deserved a gallon of the stuff. It was because of him that he was now Champion, after all.

Misty had to suppress a giggle at the sight of the two of them. She didn't want to draw attention to herself, but it was hard when Ash and Pikachu's relationship was so adorable. She knew that he adored all of his Pokemon, but Pikachu would always have a special place in Ash's heart. He was his very first Pokemon, and a decade of and a half of being together showed that. She hoped that he would be as kind and caring to their own children someday.

A small blush crept on her face at the thought of them having children. They were still just dating, not married, not even engaged to be married, and there she was thinking about having kids with him. Once the thought crept into her head, she couldn't bury it back down. The image of dark-haired tiny humans with his chocolate brown eyes and a quiet cottage in the countryside outside of Cerulean were all she could focus on. She wanted that so badly with him that her heart ached.

It took a gentle poke in the side from Brock to yank her back into the moment. Ash was fielding a question from one of the reporters. There was a small grin on his face as he was finishing his answer.

"I can't even fully describe my feelings right now. I've wanted this for so long. It's amazing," Ash said, a wide smile erupting on his face. The flash of a camera caused him to blink more than necessary.

"What are you going to do now?"

"Um...fulfill my duties as the new Champion," Ash replied. "What else would I do?"

There were a few chuckles from the audience of reporters. Ash had that bewildered look on his face, as if he didn't get what the joke was. Misty heaved a sigh. He was as clueless as ever, not knowing that that part of everything was obvious. She knew that they were expecting something along the lines of him going on a vacation or to a theme park. Even though they had been dating for two years, he still didn't have much experience with the media. Brock started laughing as well, stopped by a quick jab to the ribs.

"What's so funny?" Ash asked.

"What Ash means," Lance interrupted. "Is that right now he is serious about his new duties about being Champion and won't have time for a vacation."

"That's what I said."

"Mr. Ketchum," a journalist said, standing from her seat. "I understand your plans for your career, but I think our readers would be interested in hearing about your plans for the other aspects of your life."

"Huh?"

"We'd like to know about stuff, such as your love life for example," she responded patiently, in midst of the quiet laughter around her.

"Well...there's not a whole lot to tell I guess. I have a girlfriend and she's awesome. I don't know what else to say about that."

"That was her down in the arena with you after you had won correct?"

"Yes," Ash said, growing impatient. Where was everyone going with this? "I mean she's here right now, if that's where this conversation is heading."

With his words, the room silenced. Heads turned in various directions until Misty had been located by a few individuals. The rest of the heads followed suit soon after. Her cheeks became flushed by the attention. She resisted the urge to bury her face in her delicate hands. She smiled sheepishly at the dozens of eyes penetrating through her.

"So what were you going to ask me?" Ash said, pulling the focus back on him.

"Well," the reporter started, "I was just wondering what the future holds for your relationship. Are we going to be hearing wedding bells any time soon?"

"Uh..."

Eyes went from Ash to Misty back to Ash again. More attention on Misty was not what Ash had intended at all. This press conference was starting to blow up in his face. He hoped that wedding bells were in his future, but this reporter was ruining his plans. He was stuck. He didn't want Misty to know about that ring hiding in his room. He also didn't want to make it seem like he would never ask her in the first place.

"How does that have anything to do with Pokemon?"

Yes, change the subject. That was the best course of action. Play dumb, Ash. It had worked for him for over a decade with Misty and everyone else, so why not now? He was watching Misty out of his peripheral. She sighed and shook her head. Good. She still thought that he was hopeless. He had successfully thrown her off, as far as he could tell. It would have been fine if he had been able to propose at the conclusion of the match, but he had to be stupid and forget the ring inside of his room.

The reported stared back at him, taken aback that someone could be that dense. He wasn't the best interview subject, though what would she should expect talking to a young man obsessed with Pokemon? She shifted in her seat and jotted something down in her notebook before opening her mouth to speak.

"From what I understand, Mr. Ketchum, your whole life doesn't revolve around Pokemon."

"Well most of it does. I mean I've been a Pokemon trainer for more than half my life and would have been longer if I had been allowed before I was ten."

"Yes but—"

"This is about me being the new Champion, so of course everything you ask me should be about Pokemon. I don't hear any questions about Pikachu or even my other Pokemon, who, mind you, are the reason I'm sitting here talking to you."

"So no further comment?"

Ash was getting beyond annoyed at this point. This lady didn't want to seem to quit. He was extremely tempted to get up and storm out of the room, but one look at Misty, Brock, and his mum caused him pause. It wouldn't be fair to them. He realized that it wasn't just his victory. This was for them too. Also, it would look pretty bad, and he could only imagine the headlines. He chose his next words carefully.

"On my personal life? I don't want to answer any questions about that stuff. So, stick to Pokemon."

"I'll take that as a yes."

Misty was glaring at the reporter. Brock placed a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to stay in her seat. He knew it was probably not best to make a scene, but Misty was ready to kick some reporter ass. That woman went too far with Ash, and she had half a mind to sick her Gyarados on her.

"Not worth it, Misty," Brock whispered to her.

"I can be the judge of that," she muttered back.

"Not so sure about that," he sighed. "You don't want to make things difficult for Ash."

"Fine," she grumbled.

The press conference lasted for another twenty minutes. Most of the time Ash enthused over each of his Pokemon individually, much to the disdain of the reporters. They shifted uncomfortably in their chairs, checking their phones constantly. Misty even caught a glimpse of some guy in front of her sexting some chick he had met the night before—so trashy. Some things you cannot unsee.

They wrapped up the press conference with a few questions for the other members of the Elite Four before everyone filed out of the room. Ash caught Misty's eye as he was exiting the stage door and gave her a smile and his famous pose. Her heart leapt in her throat as a blush crept onto her face. Even after all of this time, he could still make her weak in the knees. The reporters also started filing out of the room, leaving notes and empty plastic cups littered across the carpet under the sea of chairs.

"Come on," Brock said to her as he and Delia got out of their seats. "Let's try to see if we can find Ash before the party."