Hello :P It is Wednesday and I am back with the next chapter of my PokeShipping Month fics. Like I mentioned last week, this theme is "Lost Together". It's funny how last year I wrote one for one of the themes called "The One Where Ash and Misty Sleep Together" but it was only them sharing a bed. This time, well, it's more than that. But it happens in the end and I don't write that far. I wanted it to be tasteful. They're only 16 and the last thing I wanted to be was too crude. That's why I made Meowth that way but Jessie and James not that bad. I hope it's an okay balance :P I hope you enjoy!

Ages:

Ash: 16

Misty: 16

Jessie: 23

James: 23

Disclaimer: I own only the story :3

"…Okay, we're definitely lost." My raven haired best friend finally announced and scratched his forehead before his hands went back to his hips, looking around.

I was high up in the air and he was only a dot to me but I could see him better from the television screen. His voice was muffled from coming through a speaker but I knew it was him. Of course I did, he was my best friend.

The orange haired female looked at her boyfriend with exasperation, her own hands going to her hips but in a different way to his. Following that, she snatched the map up from off the floor after Ash was done trying to walk over it to find the way.

"Well done, Ketchum." She muttered to him but in a lot less hot tempered way than she would've when she was ten as she smoothed the creased and muddy bits of paper that was the map. She shot him another glance. "Why couldn't you admit we were lost half an hour ago? It was perfectly clear that we were!"

Ash took a step back at her fiery tone but soon gave her a smirk, stepping forward again to poke her nose knowingly and playfully.

"Ah but Mist, half an hour ago was when you spotted the water Pokémon which caused us to end up getting lost. It seems that I'm actually the innocent one in all this."

After the raven haired Pokémon trainer teasingly gestured a halo above his head and Misty rolled her eyes and wondered why she loved him as much as she did, she flicked his nose back.

"We were sent by the others to the lake for water. Spotting a water Pokémon at the lake isn't exactly taking a detour." The water Pokémon trainer retorted, trying to shake the blush off her rosy cheeks as Ash continued his halo gesture with his hands. She persisted stubbornly. "Besides, you insisted you were happy to chase after it too. In fact, I think you wanted a peek yourself!"

My best friend raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend and folded his arms. Like her, he tried to be stubborn and playfully aloof but he just couldn't. He found it so wonderful that she was over in Kalos to visit him on his journey and make their long distance relationship not so long distance for a few days. He took a step forward to her and this time, wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Of course I wanted to. I was curious by this new Pokémon but I was even more excited because I knew your face would light up when you saw it. I missed this."

The orange haired female rolled her eyes at Ash's words and him being mildly soppy. She pretended to shove his arm off her shoulders but she cuddled into him briefly.

Ash's soft, brown eyes lit up at the small but meaningful bit of affection from his best friend turned girlfriend and poked her nose again. But it was in a different way than before. He spoke again.

"I missed youuuuuuu." He mumbled to her airily but anybody could tell it was true. His arms wrapped further around her and he playfully nuzzled his spiky locks against her neck, causing her to giggle delightedly and contentedly.

Once again, she tried to jokingly shove him away and she was about to respond that she missed him too or give him another kiss (I could tell these things) when she stopped, shoving him away for real. She blinked.

"Hey, where did Pikachu go?" she asked finally, her aquamarine orbs instantly softening with concern while Ash's just grew wider at first and blinked. He comically spun around in circles, looking for me all around. He glanced up high and he glanced down low. Eventually, he spoke.

"I don't know…" he mumbled truthfully, his feet finally paused on the ground from spinning and his hand going to massage the empty shoulder where I usually perched.

While Misty continued looking worried and called my name, Ash just smiled and shrugged.

"Don't worry about it, Mist, he will show up." He leaned forward to press a reassuring kiss to her cheek, causing Misty to look even more bewildered. I understood.

The last time she had travelled properly with my best friend and I was in Johto five years prior. A lot had changed since then. Aside from those two finally admitting their feelings for one and other, they had gone through all kinds of personal growth. She was bewildered why Ash wasn't losing his mind being apart from me, I understood. And he understood too.

He offered her another soft and reassuring smile, his uncovered arms in his blue jacket going around her waist from behind and giving it a quick squeeze.

"Don't worry about it, Mist." He uttered to her in that husky and soothing tone that he often did to really reassure a Pokémon or a person. It got even softer for her as he pulled away to look at her as he spoke. "He's probably just gone back to camp with the others. Or given us some alone time. But you shouldn't worry, because I'm not. I know he's safe."

While Misty nodded her head slowly at her boyfriend's words but doubtfully, I couldn't help but melt. Ash was right. We had this amazing and profound connection, he and I. We knew each other inside and out. We shared our wins and our losses and our laughter and our tears. I knew when to worry about him. And he knew when to worry about me. It was something that we'd always had but became even more tuned in the more time we'd spent together. We were one.

The orange haired female trusted Ash more than anyone and understood that if he said not to worry, then she shouldn't. But she couldn't help it anyway. She tried to push her thoughts of me being lost – or worse still – being overpowered by gross bug Pokémon – by taking hold of her boyfriend's arms herself and wrapping them around her.

Ash chuckled slightly and raised an eyebrow at her but he didn't object. He pressed his chest against her back as he hugged her from behind. Misty turned to look at him for more reassurance. She was tough and independent but she had a soft streak and she knew she could show it around him. Ash was happy to let her fall back on him sometimes.

"How do you know for sure that nothing bad has happened to him?" she asked in her remaining doubtful tone, pausing to look up at the sky. If a tree wasn't in the way, she would've been looking right at me. I was quite pleased to be the focus of their attention even in their couple time that I had indeed wandered off for them to have. "What if a bug has got him?"

The future Pokémon Master couldn't help but laugh fondly as it didn't take long for her bug fears and worries to make an appearance. Instead of hugging her tighter, he pulled away and gave her a playful wink, his finger outstretched.

"Not to fear, Mist. Your amazing and gifted boyfriend has these senses and he knows when exactly his buddy is in danger. And he's not."

My best friend was so impressed by his own words and his own phrases and he was so sure that his assertiveness would soothe Misty no end. So his face fell innocently like a child's when she remained looking doubtful. He pouted at her.

"C'mon Mist, don't you have any special senses?"

Once again the water type Pokémon trainer paused to look up at the sky and almost looked right at me but she soon went back to her boyfriend. She couldn't help but relax at his being himself actions rather than his words. She gave him a smile back which turned into a smirk as she poked his nose again.

"Yes. I have powers." She mumbled airily, pretending to fix her bangs when Ash looked at her with puppy-like and intrigued eyes. She was delighted when she suddenly pushed his cap brim over his nose and laughed. "I sense that you're quite annoying."

When I couldn't help but burst into laughter at my beloved best friends being the couple and people I had always known them to be, the Rocket members who had kidnapped me in the balloon gave me a look to be quiet. But it was the fellow Pokémon that spoke to me.

"Would ya keep it down over there?" Meowth hissed, his blue eyes narrowed at me from his watch tower of making sure that the hot air balloon was flying over all the right places. "If they look up here, we're busted!"

After I just raised my eyebrow at him back and he stuck his tongue out in return, I realised that I hadn't put up nearly as much a fight as I normally did when they kidnapped me. Then again, they had actually done it properly this time.

One covered my mouth so I couldn't cry out. The other held me with rubber gloved hands so I couldn't give them any electric shocks.

Aside from them being competent, I must admit that I had been distracted by their cameras on 'the twerps' as they called them. I had almost forgotten I was up there in the balloon with them when I was watching my best friends engage in their bickering and their banter.

After Meowth watched me suspiciously, I decided I would rather talk to the two humans instead. Despite being species apart, they looked a lot less menacing to me.

So what have you kidnapped me for this time? Let me guess, it's time for a trip to the big boss?

While the lavender haired male looked bewildered and hurt that I seemed to be judging their usual plan and motive, the magenta haired female shook her head and folded her arms over the R on her chest. She looked more prepared and determined than I had ever seen.

"Our mission this time is way better than any genius plan I have come up with in the past." She announced with a confident smirk, her hands moving to smooth down her unusual shaped locks. She continued. "This is a task that even you want us to complete."

I ignored Meowth's continuous side eye glares and raised an eyebrow up at the only female of the group. I couldn't help but be a little weary. They always thought their current plan was the best and it always turned out to stink. What would it be this time? Take me back to Professor Oak's where I started? Deliver me to the Cerulean Gym instead? Keep me for themselves?

Before I could figure out any more ridiculous ideas that they might come up with, Meowth finally stopped being territorial with me and gave me a smirk. To be quite honest I preferred the glare.

"We're gonna get those twerps of yours laid!" the cat Pokémon announced before bursting into fits of half evil, half immature giggles. Jessie nodded and laughed alongside him while I just blinked.

They were going to do what? They were going to do what? I repeated their words over again in my head before I finally decided that I'd probably got it all wrong. It was probably some Team Rocket lingo. Definitely not… That. Besides, even if it was… That… Why would they care what goes on in our group?

I knew that James had always been the sensitive one. He was most definitely that now he was a father, even though they had all softened out somewhat. I found myself looking at him and he was looking at his team mates with wide eyes. His gloved hands went up defensively. And almost… Respectfully?

"No! No, no, no…" he breathed out, standing up in the hot air balloon and nudging the other two into a corner almost. He glanced down at where Ash and Misty were still trying to find their way before explaining. "We had noticed that the red haired twerp – Misty – has come back and they're obviously a couple now. And we came to discussing whether they had…"

He trailed off and gave Jessie and Meowth a look when the former finished his sentence for him by gesturing with his hands while the latter used a very graphic word. After quietening them done, he continued.

"…been intimate." The sensitive male settled on those words, causing Jessie to rest her gloved hand on her children's fathers shoulder and me to relax slightly. It was a lot easier to think of those adults discussing my best friend's romance lives when they used gentle terms. James smiled at the mother of his children before continuing with a sheepish wave of the hand. "Anyway, we decided that we would purposely get them lost and let them discover one of Team Rocket's forest lodges. And if anything happens… It… Well, it's up to them what they do."

All of this was quite a lot for me to fathom and I breathed out, choosing to watch Ash and Misty from the computer screen before I would decide whether or not to help Team Rocket on their mission.

I looked at them softly. Were they ready?

It was beginning to get dark at that point as they wandered through the forest, trying to find their way back to camp. My best friend had his arm around his girlfriend to keep her warm and she was trying to hide it but she was jumping at every rustle she heard. She either thought it was me or it was a bug. And she wanted Ash to find out first in case it was a bug. She breathed out shakily from the cold, nuzzling further against her boyfriend.

"It's getting late and cold out here, Ashy…" she mumbled, glancing at his face and trying to read whether he was getting worried about me or not yet. He seemed okay. It was like he knew that I was off on my own special adventure. Misty continued when he just nodded in agreement at her statement. "Maybe we should just camp out here tonight then try and reunite with the others."

Ash let out a quiet sigh and took a quick glance to the sky before looking at the darkening path ahead. Even though he wasn't worrying about me, I knew he missed me. We were always together, how could he not? On top of that, I knew he was annoyed that he left his other pokeballs back with the others. He couldn't even send his flying type to look out for them.

Misty recognised his quietness and was about to speak when Ash gave her a smile and wrapped his arm back around her. He would've taken his jacket off for her but he would have been left in just a shirt.

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan, Mist." He mumbled and nodded his head in agreement, his arm going further around her and his fingers making their way to entwine with hers. "But we need somewhere nicer than right at this very spot. It's a little in the open."

I was listening to their voices in the speaker and watching their faces on the screen and, once again, I forgot that I was up in the sky with the villains. Meowth broke my thoughtful state with a rude smirk.

"Yeah, they're a little too in the open for them to-"

He was about to say something very crude but it was Jessie this time to cover his mouth and stop him. James just gave him a look and I breathed out in relief. It was comforting to know that Meowth found it easy to joke about those things, probably because he was a Pokémon. But those two adults, despite being on the wrong side of the law, knew when to keep quiet. They especially did since they had become a couple and had children and wouldn't like any other Rocket members making their relationship out to be nothing other than fun.

The cat Pokémon looked deeply insulted at the two humans ganging up on him and me being on the human side rather than Pokémon side made him narrow his eyes. He folded his arms and stuck his (non-existing) nose in the air.

"I dunno why youse two are acting all innocent about all this when it was your idea to begin with." He announced in his thick Brooklyn accent before his blue orbs narrowed at James. "And I can see you acting all sensitive to the twerps feelings when it was you who first posed the question whether they'd been in the sack!"

I couldn't help but raise my own eyebrow and fold my arms. I expected it from the other two, but not him. Besides, I was very uncomfortable to find out he must've done that stuff to have kids after that highly unpleasant fiancée of his.

James' eyes grew wide at this and I knew that he was well and truly busted. It wasn't just Meowth trying to bring the other male down with him. He almost stuttered.

"I actually bought up how it was almost impossible for them get closer in sleeping bags and with everyone around them." He tried to defend himself before sighing and letting it out when the other two raised their eyebrows. He didn't admit to anything but his shoulders shrugging and words said it all. "Sometimes it gets boring talking about ourselves all the time."

When I found myself laughing upon hearing this, James looked down at me to give me an apologetic smile, causing me to believe he really was the softest one in the group. Even though it was rather weird that they would discuss the orange haired and raven haired couple like that, it was clear it came from a good place. Even Meowth.

He had once called them love birds so I knew that despite his uncouth language, he knew that any form of intimacy with them came from a place of love. And that made me glad. Even villains could spot a true and in love couple.

Proving my point that he wasn't all bad, the cat Pokémon stood on the edge of the balloon as he continued keeping an eye out. He had an idea.

"Hey! Let's turn the lights of the lodge on from here and see if they shine bright enough for the twerps to follow!"

After Jessie patted her team mate on the shoulder for a good idea (and almost accidentally shoved him over the edge), James took hold of the remote to turn the lights on. His other hand remained entwined with hers.

I smiled to myself at this but my attention soon went back to the couple at hand. My heart rate was beating slightly. I wasn't sure whether the plan would work. Nobody knew whether Ash and Misty were at that place in the relationship. Maybe they were but I didn't see it. That was a possibility. In my eyes, they were still those two ten year olds. It would be emotional for me too.

On the monitor, I could see the orange haired female's attention suddenly pick up when the lights from every window of the little lodge shone through the trees. She broke away from her boyfriend's arm to follow the sight. He didn't hesitate to be quick on her heels.

Both of them looked rather in awe after they followed the yellow glow for a few moments and stumbled across a lodge right in the middle of their path. I didn't blame their bewilderment. They weren't used to that happening every time they got lost.

While the Team Rocket members rejoiced quietly that Meowth's little idea had worked, I was even more on the edge of my seat. I couldn't take my eyes off my best friends.

Ash gently snapped out of his bewilderment and gave his girlfriend a look before stepping on the front door mat after peering in each other and seeing it was empty. It was invitingly empty rather than haunting. She followed his lead.

He rested his arms behind his head as he let out a quiet sigh.

"This is pretty convenient, huh? Do you think we should stay here for tonight?"

The orange haired female softened slightly to herself at her boyfriend leaving it up to her, knowing that if anyone got bad vibes from a place, it would be her. She couldn't help but peer in the windows herself and smile contentedly at him upon seeing the unlit fire and cosy rugs on the wooden floors.

"Oh I really think we should! It looks so romantic…" she found herself trailing off, her pale cheeks becoming rosy as if she was already in front of the fire. She quietened down. Ash blinked but I understood.

She had always said that things were romantic. Ever since she was ten years old, she loved romance. She thought Kalos was just that. But now she was in a relationship with Ash, she was almost hesitant. She knew they shared romance. But something about that night was different. It was like she didn't want to scare him away. It was like she didn't want to put too much pressure on him. It was like she was ready for a night like Team Rocket had discussed and with Ash.

Misty shook her head so her bangs moved slightly and she gave him a smile but she didn't explain her previous quietness. Instead, she took hold of her hand and squeezed it. I think his palm was unusually warm.

"Yes, I think we should stay here. It looks cosy."

Ash would have normally not thought anything of her changing her words. Ash normally would have just smiled at her and bounded in the lodge. But he didn't her. He looked at her, almost studying her. He kept hold of her hand and spoke to her.

"I heard what you said, Mist." He mumbled, his words making their way to her before she could interject with any of her own. "And… Well, I agree. It does look cosy. And it does look romantic."

Misty blushed gently upon realising that Ash had indeed heard her words but she found herself softening at the way he was looking at her. There was no doubt she felt loved. But she didn't know she could feel even more loved than that moment that night.

The raven haired male let out a quiet and slightly goofy laugh. But he found more of his words coming out for his girlfriend. He didn't look away from her as their hands remained entwined.

"It's… It's our anniversary, Mist." He began with a mumble, his eyes looking more vulnerable and intense than I'd ever seen. But his eyes stayed locked with hers. "Well… It's our anniversary tomorrow. And not exactly a year. But if we spend it together and it happens past midnight, it will be the same day as our day of getting together."

His words could have been innocent. But they weren't. They had meaning. The way Misty heard them could have been innocent. But she didn't. She was hoping. Her fingers held onto her boyfriend's thumb tightly as her eyes shook gently.

"You… You mean…?" she began but she didn't have time to finish. It was happening. It was unravelling. Ash let out a shaky breath but he moved to hold both of his girlfriend's hands and looked at her. He told her nothing but the truth.

"I… I'm nervous." He admitted with a slight shake in his voice but not once did he look away. Not once did his hand leave hers. "But I know that I want to do this with you. You and only you."

Misty's breath hitched in her throat when it all began to feel very real. Her heart rate was picking up in her chest. She was nervous too. But she didn't fear. She had him. And she had his hand in hers.

I knew that I was hearing their personal moment. And I knew that Team Rocket was too. Or maybe they had stopped listening, satisfied that it was going to happen. But the moment was still very much Ash and Misty's. The night was theirs. And they were seizing it.

Misty took a step forward. She finally unclasped her hands from her boyfriend's but did it to wrap her arms around his neck instead. Their eyes didn't leave each other's.

"I'm nervous too." She mumbled, her own voice trembling but somehow feeling more together than ever knowing she was loved and respected by my best friend. "But I can't think of anyone else I'd rather experience this with first."

Ash let out another shaky breath but he laughed, tears almost forming in his own eyes. With love. And relief. He was honoured they had both saved themselves for each other. He thought about making a joke. But he didn't. He got lost in her eyes. And then he leaned forward. He pressed an adoring kiss to her lips.

Their bodies remained close and they lips stayed locked for quite some time. My best friend's lips remained pressed on my other best friend's lips even as his hand unlocked the door. They pulled away and the Rocket members made the hot air balloon float away into the night sky as Ash and Misty headed inside.

We disappeared in the trees as the door shut behind the young couple. There were tears in my eyes. Their fates had been entwined when she pulled him out of the river. Now their bodies were going to do so. They were about to give each other their all. And I was moved.

Moved that I got to see such love develop. Moved that Team Rocket had played a part in the next step in their relationship. Moved that my best friends were no longer children. They were adults. And I knew that I didn't want them to grow in that way with anyone else but each other.

The End.

There you go! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed :3 I never thought I'd ever write a chapter like that but there you go. It was a fun one to write nevertheless. I like writing Ash and Misty at this age where they're still young but they're together. They bicker like when they're ten but they're definitely in love :3 Thanks again for reading and I will be back next Wednesday with the last Pikachu Tales PokeShipping Month chapter. I haven't written it yet but the theme is "Fishing" I do believe. Hopefully I can get round to writing it and I'll see you then!

AmyBieberKetchum signing out :3