Hey Everybody! Wow, this is the fifth chapter published this year! Sadly, that's a bit of a record for me at this point. Anyway, I don't have much to say up here, but I'm excited to see what everyone thinks of this chapter so I guess that's for the best.

Before you read, though, please know that this chapter is dedicated to fan Waterflower moon. Thank you for the encouragement and wonderful feedback!

Alright, get to reading, and REVIEW PLEASE!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any of its affiliated companies including, but not limited to, 4Kids, The Pokémon Company, Game Freaks, or Cartoon Network. The characters written within this story are solely based upon the fictional characters created by these companies, and the story is not meant to, nor will it, receive any monetary funding.

Characters' Ages:

Ash: 18

Brock: 23

Misty: 19

When he returned to the hotel, Misty was waiting for him on the bed's edge.

"When'd you get back?"

"Just a few minutes ago."

"Where'd you go?"

"Out."

In spite of himself, Ash couldn't resist the wave of frustration he felt in that moment. She stormed out of the hotel earlier, ignored his phone calls, and now she was giving him one-word answers?

"Oh. Well, I'm gonna get a room somewhere else, then."

"Ash, don't go."

"Might as well. You didn't wanna be anywhere near me earlier. I'm just giving you what you want."

She stood up and grabbed his arm as he turned. "You know that's not what I wanted."

"Then where were you?"

"I just went to a fountain and cooled my feet. Then I walked and watched dragons fly around. That's it, I promise."

"'Kay."

She saw his eyes were red. "Was it hard on Kingdra?"

"Yeah."

"Have you been at the grave this whole time?"

"Only for the last couple hours."

"Come sit down with me. That's a long time to be at a gravesite."

"I didn't wanna leave him alone. You-" He cut himself short. He was actively fighting the urge to talk with the woman he loved so much. He was angry; he tried to remember that, as hard as it was when he looked into her eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing. I don't feel like talking to you right now, is all."

She took a deep breath. "Listen, I'm sorry, okay? I apologize. I admit I was wrong for how I was acting."

This threw him off. "Wait, really?"

"Yes, Ash. I had a lot of time to think. I was being selfish. Today's been a hard day on you, but I made it all about me."

"I mean, it's been a tough day for you, too."

"Yeah, but you knew Lance personally. You were there with him the day he-well, the day he died. I can't imagine how it must've felt talking with him that morning, and then never again."

"I feel worse for Kingdra than myself. That was hard to watch."

"I know, and that's another reason I'm sorry. You had other things on your mind than my future today, but I tried to turn your attention away from them."

He looked away. "I forgive you. Thanks for apologizing, Mist. I'm sorry for getting so worked up. It's your life, and whatever you wanna do, I'll support. It's not like I wouldn't prefer you to come with me to Vermillion."

"It's just that three years is such a long time," she explained, kicking the thin carpet with her toe. "We've been through a lot, but I don't want to put us through that."

"Are you worried we wouldn't make it?"

"I don't doubt I could make it."

"So, what, you don't think I can?"

She shook her head. "I don't want another fight. It's not that I don't trust you. I do. But I'm going to be in quiet Pallet Town studying with a sixty-five year old professor. No matter what I'd be loyal to you, but there's not even a possibility for me to do something wrong in Pallet. You, on the other hand, will be at a big college. You'll be the Pokémon Master. Everyone already loves you, and there'll be parties and drinking and…well, who knows what'd happen?" Her voice went soft at the last part as she looked away.

He wanted to be angry again. She had no right to question his loyalty, and he'd done nothing to deserve such doubt. However, he could see how embarrassed she was to be admitting this.

"You're one of the strongest women I've ever known, Mist."

"Huh?"

"You're so strong that it makes me feel good to see that you worry about me, kinda."

"Really?" She turned to him again.

"Yeah. I mean, you're completely wrong. I would never, ever think of doing anything with anyone other than you. You've been the love of my life since we were ten. But still, it's sweet to think that someone as independent as you worries about losing me." He gave a small smile. "I must be kind of important to you."

"You are," she whispered, leaning her head against his shoulder. "And even if it's completely crazy, I just don't wanna be apart for that long. Not just because I'm worried, but because I love you, Ash."

"I love you too, Mist." He paused. "But what if I could do something to make you see how committed I am to you?"

"Hm?"

"Like, if I gave you proof that you had nothing to worry about, and that my love for you will never change, would you feel better about being apart?"

"I mean, maybe? But it wouldn't change how much living so far away from you would hurt."

"I know. Unfortunately, I think that hurt is just the price of falling in love. I learned that today. Look at Whitney. She loved Lance, and now she's in pain because he's gone. Falling in love comes with a ton of risks. You could break up, or move, or die."

She winced.

"But we still did it, because the reward outweighs all those risks."

At this, he slid off the bed and onto one knee in front of her.

"Ash?"

"You outweigh all those risks, Misty." He pulled out the felt box, and her eyes became saucers. "Misty Waterflower, will you marry me?"

"What?!"

He smiled. "I know you heard me."

For a long moment she sat perfectly still. Ash looked to Pikachu – who was watching her reaction intently – and worried a Thunderbolt might be needed to bring her back.

"I-I-what?"

"Will you marry me?" he chuckled. "I'll only ask one more time!"

"But, where? Where-I mean how? You had a ring?!" She plucked the box from his hand and ripped the ring out, admiring it. "It's so beautiful!"

She turned back to him. "Marry? I mean, I could be a good wife, right? Like, do gym leaders get married? Do Pokémon Masters? Where would we live? What about our kids?"

"Um, Mist, it's getting hard to stay on this knee."

"I mean, of course I'll marry you, dummy." Tears were welling in her eyes. She launched off the mattress and tackled him to the carpet, planting kisses and teardrops all over his face.

"Of," kiss "course," kiss "I'll," kiss "marry," kiss "you." The last kiss lasted significantly longer than the others.

Eventually, she pushed off his chest and bounced back up. "I have to call everyone I've ever known!"

"Um, wow."

"Huh?"

"I mean, aren't you supposed to be a tomboy? I didn't really expect all this."

Her hands went to her hips. "What? Just because I'm a tomboy, I can't be excited about getting engaged?"

"No, no! Just a dumb thing I said. Ignore it."

"I always do." She smiled brightly at the ring on her finger. "It's a little big, but I don't wanna send it to get resized, because then I'd have to live without it. I'll just have to gain a bunch of weight."

"You'll have to do better than binging on celery, then."

She stuck her tongue out. "Oh my gosh! I have to tell my sisters!"

"Wait, right now?"

"Yes, right now! Are you kidding? Do you know how jealous they'll be that the 'runt of the family' got engaged before any of them?" Her cackle scared Ash.

"I mean, er, you also want them to be happy for you, right? I thought things were good between you guys?"

She looked confused. "They're great between us!"

"Oh, so this is some weird girl thing."

"There's nothing weird about it. They'll be happy and jealous at the same time."

"Right. Nothing weird about that."

She reached for her phone on the nightstand. "Oh! We need to call your mom, too! Did she know you planned this? This ring is too nice. I bet she helped you, didn't she?"

He shook his head. "She doesn't have any idea yet."

"Wait, really?" She put back down the phone. "How long have you been planning this?"

"Since this afternoon."

"What?!"

"Yeah. I mean, I was walking around after you left. At first I was mad, but after a while I talked it out with Pikachu, and I realized you were upset because you were worried this relationship wouldn't last."

"How'd you know that? I just told you."

"I dunno. I just thought about our fight, and about you, and figured out why you were upset."

"Wow. You really will be a great husband. But why did you buy a ring?"

"Wait, are you mad or something?"

"Huh? No! No, no, no, of course not, Ash! I love it, and I love you!" She rushed across the room and hugged him. "This isn't about that. I just figured you'd been planning this for a long time. This is a big decision to make spur-of-the-moment, is all."

"Well, I bought it because I was trying to think of how I could show you this relationship is real. That you can go to Pallet without worrying about us."

Holding onto him, she looked up. "Is that the only reason you proposed, though? To get me to feel better?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Mist. This is a huge decision. I wouldn't have made it just to get out of a fight. I proposed because I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"But we're so young. How do you know you'll still love me in a few years? In ten years?"

"How do you know?"

"I just do!"

"So do I! This is what I'm talking about. Love has all kinds of risks, but you're bigger than any of them, Mist."

Her eyes became glass. "You are too."

They held each other for another moment.

"So, are you gonna give your sisters a call?"

Running her hands up his back, she smiled. "Maybe that could wait just a little while. After all," she sighed and gave a pouting frown, "you got me this wonderful ring, and I didn't get you anything."

He shrugged. "That's okay. You don't have to-Oh!" He smiled. "Yeah, that sounds good. I can wait to call Ma till tomorrow."

"Ash?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's not talk about your mom right now."

"Fair enough."

Author's Notes: So, most of you probably had an idea this was coming given how chapter 77 ended a while back. What do you think? How do you think Misty's sisters will react? Do you think this was a smart move on Ash's part?

To me, Ash proposing at this point in the story made perfect sense. Believe it or not, until a couple years ago I had no intention of having Ash propose during the course of the story. I figured I would write it in an epilogue following the conclusion (since I know many of you read this story primarily for the pokéshipping). However, when I got to this point in the plot, I realized that Ash acts on instinct. It's how he battles, how he makes friends, and I think it's how he would navigate his love life. I don't want to project too much, but I relate because I'm very similar. I do most things in my life based on what my gut tells me, trusting that God won't let me fall. In fact, I married my wife only three months after meeting her, and here we are six years later with kids, dogs, love, and madness all around us.

So, anyway, yeah. I relate a bit to Ash (always have, including being pretty dumb a lot of the time) so I felt like he'd do what I'd do and follow his instincts on why Misty was upset, and what he could do to fix it. Additionally, he's known she's the girl for him for quite a while, so I don't believe he has any doubts this is the right move.

Regardless, I'd love to hear your thoughts. I will see you here next Sunday at midnight (EST) for Chapter 80, "Plans and Planes."