A/N: First of all, I want to say thank you to all of you who have read, followed, favorited, or written reviews for this story. I want to say that especially for the previous chapter. I have been a bit overwhelmed by the response. Sorry that this took so long. For some reason, it was hard to get myself motivated to write the wedding portion. I'm also in that awkward time when I am working two jobs because this is when my job at school and my summer job overlap. I'm hoping to write the next chapter by Thursday. I'm pretty sure that it's a bit shorter. We're getting close to the end of this story. There is only one part left, with five chapters in it. I promise that it'll be worth the ride.

Until next time

-Sarah

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of its characters.

Chapter Five: Wedding Blues

The light from the breaking dawn gradually flooded inside of the room, casting shadows to the inner walls. Ash's eyes fluttered open, the rays almost scorching his retinas. He groaned slightly and shifted in the bed, the silky sheets caressing his naked body. He paused momentarily when he noticed Misty lying next to him.

His eyes lingered on her figure, mentally pulling off the sheet that concealed most of her porcelain skin. She was lying on her stomach, arm tucked under her pillow, her flaming hair strewn about in a messy pool of orange. He couldn't take his eyes off of her for a moment—from the nape of her neck to her rosy cheeks to her half-covered breast. He propped his head on his hand, his elbow digging into the mattress slightly as he watched her sleep for a few moments. Lost in his thoughts, a tiny smile erupted on his face.

So, it had happened after all. It had not been a dream. He, Ash Ketchum, had sex with Misty Waterflower. It had been great sex, too. It hadn't been his first time, but it had been the first time he had experienced it on a metaphysical level like that. His heart, along with his body, felt like it was simultaneously soaring as it was on fire. Perhaps this was the euphoria of which everyone spoke.

She stirred. Ash immediately averted his gaze, fearing that he would scare her with his gawking. He wasn't a creep or pervert by any means. She had this strange effect on him, as if he could go all day looking at her without another care in the world. He pretended to be engrossed in the ceiling tiles when she opened her eyes.

"Ash?"

He redirected his gaze to her direction at the sound of her voice. She yawned, rubbing her eyes. As she sat up on the bed, she gripped the sheets, wrapping them around her in an attempt to cover up. Ash saw this and chuckled. She scowled, annoyed that she was missing out on the joke.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing," he said with a grin plastered across his face. "You don't need to cover up. I did see everything last night, remember?"

"Of course I do," she said, her face getting red. She remembered all of it. She'd had sex before with some of her ex boyfriends, but it had never been like this. It was different with Ash. There had been so much history between them that the night before had meant everything to her. She was having a little trouble getting her head around it, though. It was surreal—to think, she actually had sex with Ash Ketchum.

"Are you…regretting it then?" Ash asked. His question hung heavy in the air for what felt like ages to him. His pulse quickened as he waited for her response. There was immense relief when she smiled back at him.

"Not at all."

"Good," he said, sitting up as well, letting the sheet slide down to his hips. He leaned in close to her. "Now I can do this."

He placed his lips upon hers much in the same way as he did hours before. She was caught off guard for a moment, startled by this newfound assertiveness. After the initial shock had worn off, she answered him with the same intensity. She had a familiar sensation in the pit of her stomach—one of ecstasy. She gave a soft moan as he began to place hot kisses on the nape of her neck. To her disappointment, he stopped his movements, leaving her gasping for air. He sat back, thinking better of where this was leading. She whipped her head to face him, confusion plaguing her eyes.

"Why'd you stop?" she demanded.

"Because," he said, getting up. Misty tried to hide her glee at the sight of his bare bottom, but she did a terrible job of this. He sighed in aspiration before continuing. "There is a wedding today. We don't have time to do this again right now. Daisy would have our heads…we have a lot of obligation, remember?"

"I'm sure she would forgive us if she knew what we were doing," Misty purred.

"Maybe we can continue this later tonight," he said. He snatched discarded clothes from the carpet and threw them on before proceeding to the bureau. He pulled out a fresh tee shirt and shorts. He tossed them to where Misty remained sitting on the bed. "You can wear these for now. I'll cook us some breakfast. Does French toast sound okay?"

"Since when do you cook?" She pulled the tee shirt over her head.

Ash walked over to the kitchenette as she finished getting dressed. Once clothed, she followed his lead, the carpet tickling her bare feet. He opened the fridge, revealing a hearty stock of food, mainly basic staples, such as milk, eggs, and cheese. He grabbed milk, eggs, and butter from the fridge and bread, cinnamon, vanilla, a bowl, a frying pan, and a whisk from the cabinet. The items carefully balanced in his arms, he placed them down on the counter next to the stove. Misty sat on one of the stools in front of the island, watching him as he began to whisk the eggs, milk, and vanilla. Once finished, he heated the pan and plopped some butter in the middle of it. It started to sizzle as he dropped a few slices of bread into the egg mixture.

Ash sprinkled cinnamon on the slices as they sizzled away. Misty sat there, silent, wondering what this meant. Were they together then? They never discussed this, too busy exploring each other's body to care. Ash handed her a plate of French toast before filling his own. He brought over the butter and maple syrup before they began to eat.

They chatted idly as they ate their breakfast. Misty had to admit that it was pretty good. She didn't expect that Ash had it in him to make something decent. She was hardly one to talk, being the one that nearly poisoned him years ago. She was finishing up her meal when she decided to ask him about their relationship.

"So what does this all mean?"

"What does what mean?" Ash asked before chugging the rest of his milk.

"Last night. What does that mean for us?"

Before Ash could answer her, there was a knock on his door. He went to answer it, leaving Misty hanging. She sighed as she gathered the dishes and brought them from the sink. She started washing them when Brock walked into view. Startled by his presence, she rushed to finish the dishes. Ash strolled in as well, jumping in to help her. He took the clean dishes and started drying them.

"What are you doing here, Misty?" Brock asked as he took a seat on one of the stools.

"Ash and I were having breakfast together," she said quickly as she made a beeline to the door. "But not that that's done, I'll see you guys later."

"Misty?"

"Hmm?" She paused with clear intentions to bolt at a moment's notice.

"We'll talk about this later," Ash said.

She nodded in response and continued to make her way out of his suite. He watched her go, the feeling of longing deep in the pit of his stomach. Although he had a large breakfast, he felt empty. He faced Brock once he heard the door shut. His best friend gave him a sly look as if he knew something.

"What?" Ash asked.

"What happened?" Brock demanded.

"Nothing."

"Bull shit. I know something's going on. She was wearing your clothes," he said. His eyes grew wide, realizing what that meant. He pointed at Ash in an accusing manner. "You had sex!"

"No we did—"

"Yes you did! You totally did the dirty deed!"

"All right fine," Ash grumbled, his cheeks burning. "We had sex last night."

"So how was it?" Brock leaned his elbow on the counter, holding his head up. There was a sly smile on his face.

"I'm not giving you any details, you pervert." Ash placed the dishes away. As he was putting the food back in the refrigerator, he said, "It was good, though. I will tell you that."

"So you told her how you felt then?"

"Uhh…" Ash said, hesitating. In the hours spent together, the words never made it out of his mouth. "Not exactly."

"Then how did you end up having sex?" Brock wanted to know this because he wanted some pointers. Ash knew this as well. All it succeeded in doing was increase Ash's annoyance.

"It just sorta…happened."

"She doesn't know that you love her?"

Ash sighed. "No, not yet."

"You could tell her tonight at the wedding reception," Brock suggested.

"I'll tell her after when we can have a chance to be alone," he said.

"You better."

Around midday, the women of the wedding party, including the bride herself, piled into Misty's suite in order to get ready for the wedding. There were pictures to be taken in a couple of hours, prior to the ceremony. Misty had ordered room service for lunch, which consisted of sandwiches, chips, and soda. Daisy refused to eat any of it, citing her nerves as the reasoning. After lunch, the girls got dressed in their purple bridesmaid dresses before helping Daisy get ready in her wedding dress. Misty was more cheerful than usual, the thought of being with Ash in the back of her mind. This did not go unnoticed by May, who watched her dutifully.

When the other girls were too busy to notice anything, May grabbed Misty by the arm. She shoved her into the bathroom, startling the water Pokémon trainer. May shut the door behind them, with the knowledge that she had a few minutes before the others noticed their disappearance.

"There's something different about you," May said.

"Huh? Is that why you dragged me in here?"

May sat down on the toilet seat. "This was the only private place I could think of at the time…so, what's up?"

"Nothing." Misty went to the door, her hand resting on the handle.

"Liar," May said. "Something's happened. I can tell. You better tell me what it is."

"Or what?"

May's face was serious. "Or I'll tell Ash how you feel about him."

A small smile erupted on her face. "It might be a little too late for that."

May was stunned. "What? You mean you told him already?"

"Not exactly…"

May stood up. She moved between Misty and the door. "What does that mean?"

"All right fine," Misty breathed. "I'll tell you, but you can't tell anyone."

May nodded in agreement. Misty hesitated, aware that this would be dropping a bomb. She hadn't even had time to process it fully herself, yet. However, she was tired of May's hounding.

"Ash and I had sex last night."

"You what?"

"You heard me."

May sat back down on the toilet seat, clearly in a daze. "I—what—how?"

Misty shrugged. "It just sort of happened."

May's brow furrowed. She needed answers. "No, I need more details than that. Drew and I have been dating for six months, and we haven't even gone that far, yet. Start talking."

Misty began to stare at the floor. "I don't know what to tell you. One minute we were talking about this friend Ash used to have, and before I knew it, he had started kissing me. I guess after that point, we couldn't control ourselves. I know I couldn't hold my desire in any longer."

May stood and moved toward the door. "We'd better join the others before they figure out that we'll be going to your wedding next."

"May!"

"Relax, Misty. I'm only kidding…well…sort of."

Ash waited at the altar (if you could call it that. It was really an empty space on the beach in front of rows of beach chairs) next to Tracey. He was wearing a charcoal suit complete with purple tie, but he would have given anything to be wearing swim trunks instead. With the humidity and heat, it was too stifling. Standing next to Ash were Brock and Gary, the later still not entirely accepting of this situation.

Ash wondered when he would get a chance to talk alone with Misty. There were well over a hundred people at this wedding. Even at the reception, he would have difficulty finding a true moment alone with her, away from those whom he knew would be eavesdropping.

The music started playing as the rest of the wedding party began filing down the aisle. May and Green strolled to the men casually in purple ball gowns. Ash thought that the dresses were a bit over the top for a beach wedding.

As the wedding march began to play, all the guests stood for the bride. Daisy Oak appeared at the end of the rows of chairs in her white wedding gown, which seemed a bit more sensible with its empire waist and tea length. The combination of this dress and the bridesmaid dresses was perplexing. Girls were weird, Ash concluded.

When Professor Oak and Daisy reached the rest of them, the officiant asked, "Who gives this woman away?"

To which Professor Oak replied, "I do."

He gave his granddaughter a kiss on the cheek before taking his seat in the front row. She took her place in front of Tracey, who beamed at her. They took each other's hands as the officiant began the ceremony.

"Friends and family," he declared. "We come here today to witness the joining of Tracey Sketchit and Daisy Oak. Marriage is a beautiful event in life, which is to be celebrated. Let us begin with a reading by Khalil Gibran.

"Love should have no other desire but to fulfill itself. But if your love and needs must have desires, let these be your desires: To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night. To know the pain of too much tenderness. To be wounded by your own understanding of love; And to bleed willingly and joyfully. To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving; To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy; To return home at eventide with gratitude; Then to sleep with a vision of the beloved in your heart and a song of love on your lips."

As Ash listened to the ceremony, he kept sneaking glances at Misty, who had been the last to reach the altar, as she had been busy trailing Daisy and helping her. In that moment, she was holding Daisy's bouquet. Her beauty constantly captured his attention. Even though he questioned the choice of the bridesmaid dresses, he had to admit that Misty was gorgeous in hers. Maybe it was the setting sun…or, perhaps, it was the fact that he now knew what she looked like under the dress.

"Do you, Tracey, take Daisy to be your lawfully wedded wife, promising to love and cherish, through joy and sorrow, sickness and health, and whatever challenges you may face, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"Do you, Daisy, take Tracey to be your lawfully wedded husband, promising to love and cherish, through joy and sorrow, sickness and health, and whatever challenges you may face, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"Could I have the rings, please?"

Ash stepped forward and pulled the two gold bands, one thicker than the other, out of his suit pocket. He handed them to the officiant, who received them graciously. He handed the smaller band to Tracey, who placed it in front of Daisy's hand.

"Now Tracey, repeat after me," said the officiant. "With this ring, I thee wed."

"With this ring, I thee wed," Tracey said as he slid the ring on Daisy's finger.

"Daisy, your turn."

"With this ring, I thee wed," Daisy said as she did the same.

"And now, by the power vested in me, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife. "You may now kiss"."

Daisy and Tracey took this to mean a full make-out session. The kiss lasted a bit too long, to the point where it was becoming awkward to witness. Gary started coughing loudly until they got the message.

"Family and Friends, I present to you Tracey and Daisy Sketchit."

Ash chewed on his steak, listening to the idle chatter of Misty and May next to him. He was sitting at the long table with the bride, groom, and wedding party. Tracey was to his right and Misty to his left. Daisy and Tracey sat in the center. On Daisy's right were her brother, Green, her grandfather, and Ash's mother. To Tracey's left were Ash, Misty, May, and Brock. Ash had tried to be involved in the conversation, but he felt a bit unnerved by the strange looks he had been getting from May.

He stood, sensing that it was time to do his speech anyway. He cleared his throat, and tapped his champagne glass lightly. The guests grew quiet. Ash was relieved that the night was settling in—it made it harder for people to see him clearly, and he was nervous.

"There is a tradition of the Best Man at a wedding giving a speech," Ash began, not sure of where this was headed. He had written it out, with Misty's help, a couple of days ago, but after what had happened, he knew that he needed to speak from the heart. "And since I am the Best Man, here goes."

"Tracey and Daisy, I've known you both for a very long time, and I couldn't be happier for the both of you. Anyone who sees you can tell that what you have there is special, something that should not be taken for granted. It's clear to see that understand each other on a level that none of us could reach. To find someone like that is lucky yes, but you were smart enough to recognize it and not let it pass you. I can only hope that I learn to not let it pass me as well, for I may be lucky, but now I know I must be smart as well. To you two, I give my congratulations. To Daisy and Tracey!"

"To Tracey and Daisy!" everyone else cheered.

There was a generous applause from everyone. Daisy and Tracey muttered their thanks as Ash sat back down. Misty gawked at Ash, unable to believe the words that he had used. Those were not the words of which they had rehearsed. What had he been going on about? As she sat there, puzzled, Ash searched for her free hand, which was dangling to her side. When he found it and took it into his own, Misty's heart gave a lurch. She blushed, glancing back at him in surprise. He grinned at her, goofily and crooked. She relaxed a bit, turning back to her conversation with May.

The night continued on, rather uneventful. It was your typical wedding. They ate cake after they watched Daisy and Tracey attempt to murder each other with it. Daisy threw the bouquet to the women. May fought hard to catch it, only to "drop" it into Misty's hands. Misty's face turned almost as bright as her hair. Misty and Ash locked eyes in the moment. They darted in opposite directions as soon as the connection had been made, however.

It came time for everyone to start dancing. The newlyweds had their first dance, which were then joined by Ash and Misty, and then by the rest of the wedding party. Lastly everyone else jumped onto the dance floor, otherwise known as the beach. When Ash had dragged her on the dance floor, Misty hadn't had the highest expectations that he'd be able to do the traditional dances well. To her amazement, he was competent at the waltz.

"When did you learn to dance like that?"

He shrugged. "My mom gave me lessons when I got back from the Sevii Islands."

"Oh, so that's what you've been doing with your time then Mister Pokémon Master?"

Ash cringed. "Please don't call me that. It's a bit of a sore spot."

"Why did you stop training? You never told me," Misty said.

"It's a long story," Ash said with a small sigh. "I don't feel like getting into it right now."

"Sure," Misty said.

The music changed, as did the style of dance. The music was also slow, but not a waltz. Ash unclasped his hand from hers and moved it to join the other around her waist. Misty moved both of her arms around his neck, resting on his shoulders. An uncomfortable silence fell between them. Both parties had something that desperately needed to be said. However, they were too nervous to get the words out in the night air. Misty, who had never been brave when it came to revealing her feelings for Ash, was the first to speak.

"So are we going to talk about us?"

"Not right now," he replied, briskly.

"Why not?" She demanded.

"Because," he said, brushing a strand of red hair behind her ear. "I want to have this conversation in private. I promise we'll talk up in my room after we leave tonight."

"All right," she conceded. "I can wait…I guess."

"That's my girl," he said, pulling her close to him in order to press his lips against her forehead.

As the song ended, the music turned into a more upbeat tempo. Misty said, "I'll be right back. I'm going to get a drink."

"Don't be gone long," he said.

"I won't."

She strolled over to the bar, plopping down on one of the stools. She ordered her drink. As she waited, she listened to a conversation, held by a few women who had to be her age.

"So I heard that Serena is performing at a New Year's Eve party tonight."

"The Serena? From Kalos?"

This especially caught Misty's interest. The name sounded familiar. Wasn't Serena that girl with whom Ash had used to be friends. Misty shook it off, knowing that it did not matter. The girl probably got famous and let it get to her head, wrecking their friendship in the process.

"The very same one."

"Wow," the other girl said, her eyes growing in side. "I'd love to meet her."

"Yeah that would be pretty awesome," said the other one as the bartender came with Misty's drink. She grabbed it and went to leave, but the next line caused her to stop, the blood draining from her face.

"Did she date Ash Ketchum recently?"

"Yeah. She dumped him for some Pokémon coordinator. I heard he stopped training for competitions and moved back home because of it. Can you believe that?"

The drink slipped out of Misty's hand due to the shock. The glass shattered against the patio, waking her out of the daze. She panicked, conscious of the eyes staring at her. She bent over, picking up the pieces, until a hotel employee came and rescued her, telling her to let him handle it.

She walked back to where Ash was in a daze. He had been dating Serena? That's why he had been depressed for all that long. He had been rejected and dumped. It all made sense to her now, but why hadn't he told her? She would have understood. They were best friends, and if he was hurting, she wanted to know why. She had pressed him and pushed him, but he remained silent.

The more she thought about it, the angrier and more upset she grew. He should have told her. She felt betrayed by his omission. The subject had come up the previous night, and he had lied to her yet again. It made her question everything. He had seen her that morning. Had he been feeling badly because of it? Did he sleep with her to get over Serena? Misty knew that it was all too good to be true. That's why he continued to avoid the conversation about their relationship. He could never possibly feel anything deep for her.

"Hey, where's your drink?" Ash asked when she approached him.

"Never mind that," she growled at him. "Why didn't you tell me the truth about Serena?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't act stupid with me," she said, her voice growing louder. "I know that she wasn't just your friend—she was your girlfriend. She dumped you and that's why you came home, but you couldn't be bothered to tell me about that, could you?"

"How did you find—"

"It doesn't matter how I found out," she said, taking a step forward. Ash backed up, in fear. "What am I to you, Ash? The girl you screwed to get over being screwed? Well fuck that. I'm gone."

She started to walk away, but Ash stopped her, grabbing her arm. "Mist, that's not it at all. I tried to—"

"Don't you 'Mist' me!" She shouted back at him, yanking her arm away. "All I have ever done is give everything to you! And this is what I get in return—nothing but lies. I don't know why I ever let myself fall in love with you. I should have known that I'd get my heart broken in the end."

"Misty, wait!" Ash shouted after her as she went to escape once more. She did not falter in her movements, her legs carrying her into the hotel. Ash tried to chase after her, but got caught in the crowd of wedding guests. Once his knocks on her door later that night went unanswered, he knew that he had just lost the love of his life due to his sheer stupidity.

End of Part IV