Yesterday's Tomorrow

Three – The Question Of The Day

Pokeshipping Day 3 Theme:Thinking About Each Other

Universe: 'The Road You Choose' Universe.

...

"So, tell us Ash, do you have a future bride in mind?"

Ash had been lost in his own thoughts until that moment, blinking with surprise and glancing at the teenage girl sitting beside him. She was probably a year or two younger than him, with short blue hair and bright brown eyes that looked positively impish as she waited for him to answer the question. His mind raced over what she asked, coming up with an instinctive, "Huh?"

Shaking her head, Miette appeared more than just a little amused as she repeated, "Do you have a future bride in mind?"

The surprise wearing off, he raised an eyebrow at her, feeling more bemused than anything else. That was before a bit of guilt rose up in his as her eyes flickered to the blonde girl sitting on the other side of him. It took a little while (and by a little while, he meant Bonnie bluntly stating it to his face) that Serena had a crush on him, but once he knew, he found himself picking up on the way she would blush more around him or how she tried to flirt. He almost wished he was oblivious to it, because now that he knew he had to deal with that and he really didn't want to hurt her. She was his friend, after all.

"Of course not," he answered quickly. His bright brown eyes glanced beside him when he heard Serena huff with annoyance. Maybe he should have actually talked to her about this whole thing, but when it came down to awkward situations, he wasn't always known for his tact and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt his friend's feelings. He liked Serena, he really did. He thought she was an awesome person and a baker that could rival Cilan or Brock (no matter what Miette said about her pokepuffs being just okay). He really didn't want things to get awkward by telling her bluntly (because that's how it would come out, he just knew it) that he didn't think of her like that, and that he already had a girlfriend.

That was a whole other issue. Iris scolded him about being too vague about that once she found out about Misty. It wasn't that he was ashamed of her, or that he was trying to keep her a secret, Ash just couldn't bring himself to act possessive (in most situations) or to brag about the fact that he was in a long term relationship. Yes, he talked up and bragged about all of his friends achievements, especially hers, but he also focused on what they were doing rather than how it affected or related to him. Yes, Misty was his girlfriend, but that didn't define who she really was, and he didn't want people to get that impression before meeting her.

Cilan and Iris caught on when they found him writing a letter to her, and when bluntly asked, Ash would never deny it, even though Iris thought he was making it up. That was until Misty met them at Vermillion City when they returned home.

In the end though, the largest reason that none of his friends seemed to know that he already had a girlfriend was simply the time difference. In order to talk to Misty (and his mother, of course), he had to stay up well past when everyone else went to sleep. He would spend an hour, maybe two talking to her, always finding something to say. Of course he always made time to call his mother as well, because he'd have hell to pay if he didn't. This resulted in his new routine of staying at a Pokemon Center for two days, since he would sleep in the first morning, everyone else just assuming that he was lazy.

The thought of Misty made him backtrack over his answer. His brow furrowed as he thought about it. A future bride? He wasn't a genius or an expert on women by any means, not even close, but despite the fact that most of it was long-distance, he had been dating Misty for almost three years now and he was confident enough to say he knew a thing or two about how relationships worked. In the end a couple would either break up or they wouldn't, and though he'd heard of in-betweens like people always hooking up with their ex or open relationships, they kind of boggled his mind. To each their own though.

Ash pursed his lips slightly. If relationships kept going, they would eventually end up in marriage, unless one of the people involved was opposed to marriage itself. He had a pretty open mind and didn't see a problem with not wanting to marry someone but still wanting to be with them. Then again, he didn't see a lot of problems in things that were apparently problems in the world. The end point was still the same either way: they'd break up or stay together.

He had no plans of breaking up with Misty, and he was nearly positive that it wasn't on her mind either, judging from the last time they spoke to one another, so where did that leave them?

He looked up as Serena said something, though he didn't really catch what it was. She fixed Miette with a firm glare that was really more amusing than anything else, turning to walk towards Bonnie. That's probably what she was saying, the girl needed her for something. Ash nodded his head and then went back to his silent musing.

It was an understatement to say that he and Misty argued like it was no one's business. After a couple times of hanging up on each other or storming away, which ended up with both of them fretting over what the other was thinking, they made a system of sorts. Well, it was his mother's suggestion, but it seemed to work. If they were together, neither one would leave the place they were at, be it a Pokemon Center, his house, her gym or even just a forest clearing. They'd give each other some space and time to cool down, and then they'd talk about it no matter how much they didn't want to. Similarly, over the phone, they would hang up (most likely Misty slamming the phone down), and not talk for a few hours. Ash wouldn't leave the Pokemon Center he was at so she could reach him easily, and they swore not to ignore each other's calls no matter how angry they were. They'd talk it out.

When Ash was younger, he kind of the thought that talking about everything was a bit strange, but now that he was a little older, he was starting to understand.

Should he even be thinking about that at 16? If he had any other lifestyle but a traveling trainer, he probably would have shrugged the thought off. Or he would have had some sort of embarrassed panic attack with a red face and wildly flailing arms. Everyone told him that he had grown up a lot over the past six years, and he had been friends with Misty for all six of those years, more than friends with her for over two.

Ash's thoughts moved to his mother, as they normally did when he was contemplating something about relationships. His mother was all he had, the one person he truly looked up to more than anyone else, and her advice was something he cherished and followed more and more each day. Delia was only 19 when he was born, though his father had been in his twenties. So she wasn't that much older than he was now when she started a family, even if some people might call it broken. He didn't see it like that though. They didn't need his father to be a whole family.

Ash wouldn't be like that though. He decided that a long time ago that he would be present in his future child's life. That thought alone made him realize that yes, he would definitely need a girlfriend to make that part come true. It wasn't like he could (or would want to) clone himself. He also knew that if his mother had anything to say about it, he would get married to said person. Then again, he thought warmly, if his mother had her way, she'd have him married off as soon as he was a legal adult with grand kids on the way soon after.

At first, her statements like that made him embarrassed, but now he just shrugged it off as her being quirky.

His mind whirled back to his first inquiry. It wasn't like he hadn't let himself think of the future before. He always had his goals clear in his mind and vivid in his dreams, and maybe it was subconscious or just entirely too natural for it to really stand out at the time, Misty was always there with him. Not just as a friend and colleague who was a powerful Water Pokemon Master, but she was actually with him (and a powerful Water Pokemon Master to boot).

A part of Ash, the part that was growing up faster than anything else, realized that his reluctance might stem from the fact that this really wasn't something he could decide on his own. Not really. He could still figure out what he felt was right without giving any concrete answers.

Ash glanced over towards where Bonnie and Serena were talking, the young girl excited over something as the older one just looked up, amused. He also realized that Miette was still sitting by him, staring at him oddly.

"You sure about that answer?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

Ash smiled and shook his head, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his pokedex. He went through the different functions on it until he found the photo album that had all of the pictures that he took with this pokedex and all the ones before. He opened it, and smiled brightly at the first picture that appeared as a cover for the album.

It was taken at Professor Oak's lab not long before he came to Kalos, with him and all of his pokemon surrounding him. Every time he looked at it, it filled him with so much warmth because he couldn't be prouder of all of them. That wasn't what he was looking for though. He scrolled through some of the newer pictures until he actually got to the ones taken just before he came to Kalos. Here he found the one of Misty and him making weird faces at the camera, Tracey and Leaf clearly making fun of them in the background by copying their expressions. He chuckled a little bit, feeling that warmth build up in him as he stared at his girlfriend in the picture. It wasn't just warmth he felt though, because there was also this sad longing.

He sighed, shoulders slumping just a little bit. There was a part of him, when he actually got time to sit around and think about home, that really wanted to go back. It was strange, he never encountered this before, not even when he was in Unova, but there were times he just didn't want to travel anymore.

He scrolled to the next picture, a selfie that was actually kind of hilarious, because he thought at the time that they were just going to take a normal one. His expression was turned out startled, because she kissed him on the cheek at the last minute. Staring at that, it made him long to actually be home, even if it was just for a little while.

"Maybe I do," Ash spoke up finally, his brow furrowing slightly. He moved his pokedex so that the girl could see the screen, her expression going from amused to surprise. Whatever answer she expected, it wasn't that.

"She's pretty," Miette said finally. "Who is she?"

"Misty. She's the Cerulean City Gym Leader back home." Normally Ash would prattle on about everything that he thought was awesome about her, but that really wasn't what Miette was asking so he decided to get to the point. "She's my girlfriend."

"Your girlfriend?" Miette's eyes flickered over to Serena. "Huh, why isn't she here?"

"She's working to become a Water Pokemon Master," Ash explained, unable to hide the pride in his voice. "Along with the gym, that keeps her pretty busy. I wouldn't want her to follow me here if it put her dreams on hold anyway." He chuckled, his shoulders shaking. "I traveled with her for a few years. Met her the day I left home when I was ten." His voice lowered a bit, filled to the brim with amusement. "She fished me out of a river."

"She fished you out of the river?"

"Mmmhmm," Ash nodded. "Then I stole her bike and Pikachu fried it."

"And she's your girlfriend?" She sounded so incredulous that Ash laughed again and just nodded his head.

Miette shook her head and then looked towards Serena. "Does she know? Do any of your friends?"

"Sure, they know about Misty." He shrugged. Her stare seriously reminded him of when Dawn or May tried to pry something out of him, and he didn't like it.

"And she's your future bride?"

His cheeks turned pink and he looked back at the picture, smiling. "I dunno. It's not like I can make that decision for her, right?" He shrugged. "Is it what I want? Maybe."

"Interesting," her brown eyes looked back at Serena, who was staring at them suspiciously before she started making her way over to them. "Well, I wish you the best of luck with that then. Hope all your friends are happy for you when that comes around in the future."

He just nodded his head, looking through some of the pictures in his pokedex again. He heard Miette move and walk away. There was a sharp intake of breath. "Who is...I didn't know you used to have a girlfriend."

Ash jerked up a bit, not noticing Serena standing over him until then. "Huh?" What had she asked exactly? She didn't know that he had a girlfriend? "Oh! Yeah!" He watched as Serena made a face like she had bitten into a sour berry, but it faded away quickly.

"Oh. Okay. Well Bonnie and Clemont want to head back to the Pokemon Center."

She took that surprisingly well, Ash thought, relief rushing through him. He knew that Serena could take the high road, she was a good person after all. He instantly felt a lot lighter, getting up after her and tucking the pokedex back into his pocket. "Right, lets go."

She nodded and they walked back towards Bonnie and Clemont. Ash drifted off into his thoughts again. A future bride? Yeah, there was really only one person that fit that description to him. He smiled, making a mental note to give Misty a call later that night. This was definitely one conversation he needed to tell her about.

...

Note

The fact that Serena asked if Misty used to be his girlfriend while Ash thought she asked if she is his girlfriend is kind of amusing. They're still on two different pages but they poor Ash thinks they're on the same one. Serena's crush is very much canon in this universe too, and I still want to play with it a bit later on, but Ash isn't heartlessly leading her on or lying. He's just a little dense.

To clarify, the way I pictured Ash when he's older is that he will prattle on about all of his friends talking about their accomplishments and how awesome they are and then forgets to drop in the line 'btw the one that I've been going on about, she's my girlfriend'. Poor Ash, he tries so hard.

No actual Misty here, but she thinks about him all the time too! It's not because I'm lazy, I swear. Okay maybe it is.

I'm glad you guys like these so far!

Written: Skylight Sparkle
Edited by: CLAVUS