Ash stared at the sea and watched the sun slowly retreat behind it. After showing Mewtwo around Alto Mare, he left him with Latias who was teaching him about the history of Alto Mare. Ash, as much as he wanted to stay and listen, left to check on the preparations for his idea. He clenched his fists as the sun completely disappeared. "This is my last chance. If it goes on past tonight, things will never be the same. I have to do this if Latias and I want to be happy. No, that's wrong. I have to do this for Misty." Ash slightly turned his head when he heard footsteps behind him. Bianca stood beside him and looked out in to the stars. "Do you know why I support you and Latias?" Ash glanced at her and frowned. "I never really thought about it. I guess I just assumed you wanted her to be happy." Bianca giggled. "That certainly is a reason, but it goes deeper than that. It goes back to the incident." Ash studied Bianca. She was smiling, but he could tell the atmosphere was gloomy. "I support you because you're taking the chance I refused to take." She stated. Ash's eyes widened. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Bianca nodded as a tear rolled down her face. Ash hugged Bianca in a comforting manner. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. His death must have been hard for you." Bianca began bawling into Ash's shoulder. Ash pat her head and saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He looked over and saw a disguised Latias watching them. "I guess you never knew about this either." He saw Latias shake her head sadly. "It's almost time for me to go. I promise everything will be fixed so please, wait for me in the garden." Latias nodded and began to leave but stopped. "I love you, Ash." Ash smiled. "I love you too, Latias."
Ash walked Bianca back to Lorenzo's house. After Ash dropped her off, he left to meet Misty. Every minute that passed gave Ash one less minute to prepare for Misty. He wasn't afraid of her, no, he was afraid of himself. He couldn't help but think about how horrible this could turn out. He was brought out of his stupor when he heard someone call his name. He looked up and saw Misty standing in front of him. They both stared at each other for a while waiting for the other to say something. "I-" "Sor-" Both of them started talking at the same time. "Sorry, what were you going to say?" Misty asked flustered. Ash nodded in the direction of the canal. "Let's go for a ride."
Ash slowly guided the gondola through the waters of Alto Mare. Misty sat in front of him not saying a thing. After a while, the silence became unbearable and Ash spoke up. "Misty, we need to figure this out." Misty flinched, afraid he was going to say that. "If we continue like this, neither of us can be truly happy. I love Latias and I love you as well." "Except you love see me as family, right?" Misty said a little irritated. Ash looked at the water. "Do you know why I see you as family?" Ash asked quietly. Misty was caught off guard by this question and tried to formulate a response, but couldn't. "It's because of how much I trust you. I think that was set in stone during our time together in the Orange Islands. You saved my life while we were there and I wouldn't hesitate to trust you with it again. That's a special thing to have. Someone I can trust with my life." Misty's eyes were wide. She never knew that was how he felt. Ash looked down at her. Pain was evident in his eyes. "Please don't betray that feeling. Please, Misty, accept my relationship with Latias." Misty turned away from him. She began fidgeting and whispered something that Ash couldn't hear. He leaned down closer. "What was that?" A nerve could be seen pop on Misty's head. "I said I accept it you idiot!" She turned around and socked him in the face which threw Ash into the canal with a large splash. Misty immediately began panicking when she saw him land in the water. Ash resurfaced and began laughing. "That's the Misty I know." Ash said cheerfully. Misty smiled back at him. "Idiot."
[Author's Note: Sorry for the late upload again, I had something to do yesterday and I couldn't do anything about it, but to make up for it I have some news! I had an idea for a story that I think could be a huge success! It also means that this will not be my only story! I look forward to working on it and I hope you all look forward to reading it!]