A/N: Thank you for reading and supporting this story! Here's the next one!

To Duvarishka: Thank you very much for reading and for your review! I'm happy to hear your thoughts :) Even though you found Cilan manipulative I'm glad you thought it was okay, and that you liked the chapter with May. Thank you!

Days

The day of Valentine

Ash

Friday, February 14th

Misty was certainly taking long, Ash thought to himself, lying half stretched out on the couch. His head was turned towards the hallway, waiting for his wife to appear.

He smiled to himself. His wife. Getting ready for their Valentine Day's date. His smile widened.

It was great that they finally could do something together again, properly together. Pikachu was staying at home and they were not going to talk about work.

Ash sat up straighter, giving his own clothes a quick check. Dark trousers, light shirt with buttons, and all clean. He had even attempted to tame his hair, but that was useless as always.

His stomach rumbled and Ash got up from the couch. They were going out for dinner, surely Misty couldn't need to take that long to get ready…

He walked up the stairs and seeing the bedroom door standing half open, he peeked inside.

It looked like Misty hadn't heard him, standing in front of their full-length mirror, inspecting her reflection with a thoughtful frown.

Her red hair was pinned up, showing off her bare shoulders. She was wearing a tight, black dress which followed the curves of her body very nicely. She turned slightly, and then again, knitting her brows.

It took Ash a moment to realize why, but the way she was holding herself and the hands on her stomach-

"You're not fat," was Ash's well practiced reply. Brock had taught him well; never call a woman fat.

Although, if he was completely honest, she did seem to have put on some weight…

Misty turned to face him, raising her eyebrows.

"I'm pregnant," she said, and well, yeah, it was a bit difficult to deny that with the obvious bump standing out beneath her tight dress.

"Uh..." Brock had never told him the correct response to that. "You're still beautiful."

Misty smiled. Well, that seemed to be a correct response then.

"You're a real charmer, aren't you," Misty said, downplaying his words while he grinned at her. "Thanks for the sentiment, but I'll just put on another dress."

Misty made quick work of finding something else to wear, and they were off to the restaurant. It was what Ash would call a great date.

The food was good, the atmosphere was good and Misty and he spoke like they used to, about things big and small.

They talked about their Pokémon and the upcoming League, and they spoke extensively about Ash's training. Misty added a helpful thing or two as they analyzed it together; perhaps others would have called it a boring subject, but for both Ash and Misty was Pokémon and training them their passion. The topic of Misty's work was expertly avoided, though Misty expressed her regret of not being able to work with her Pokémon more because of her other duties.

From Pokémon and training the conversation flowed to the other Pokémon competitions and their participating friends: the Grand Festival in Hoenn, and how great May was doing. Ash and Misty unanimously agreed that she totally deserved to win it and preferably beat Drew in a really good, overkill kind of way. Dawn's participation in the Sinnoh Grand Festival was also discussed, and for some reason Misty was convinced something romantic was going on between Dawn and Paul, though Ash really couldn't see how Misty came to that conclusion.

All in all, it was a wonderful date.

It was raining as they walked back home, and they huddled beneath the umbrella together. Their cold hands were clutching each other as they held the umbrella. Misty giggled and bumped her shoulder against his.

"This was really nice, Ash," she said. "Who knew you were such a romantic?"

Her cerulean eyes sparkled and Ash grinned.

"Brock gave me a step-by-step guidebook," he joked, and Misty laughed shortly.

He squeezed her hand. "I had fun, too."

Misty suddenly pulled a face and she missed a step.

"Misty, are you okay?"

They stopped walking and Misty was frowning, her hand going to her stomach.

"It's nothing, it's like my guts just-" Her frown intensified. "They're acting strange."

"Maybe you ate too much?" Ash tried to joke, though worry leaked into his voice.

Misty softly punched his upper arm. "Are you calling me fat, Ketchum?"

He laughed and they continued walking in companiable silence, but he could see Misty's eyebrows occasionally crinkling as he supposed she felt something.

They were almost home when Misty suddenly stopped. Her face lit up and she let go of his hands and the umbrella to place them on her stomach.

"It's not my guts! It's the baby! It's moving!" She beamed at him, wonder in her eyes.

Ash stared, feeling something heavy drop in his stomach.

"The baby?" he croaked.

Misty smiled and took his free hand, putting it on her stomach. Ash only felt the fabric of her jacket.

"Can you feel it?"

He shook his head.

Misty's smile slowly faded as she looked at their hands together on her stomach. "I suppose I don't feel anything from the outside, either…" She looked back at him with soft eyes. "I'm sure you can feel it later, when it's a bit older."

"Sure," Ash said, mustering up a smile. Misty's smile widened and she gave him a short kiss on the cheek.

"C'mon, let's go home." She placed her hands back on the umbrella, intertwining their fingers.

They started walking again. Ash tried to recall the happy, light feeling from before, but for some reason, it didn't quite come back.

A/N: Thank you for reading! This one came out surprisingly fast. I have some doubts about it, if I'm getting the right vibe, but I hope you liked it. Please review!