Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Aka the perfect day for new fanfics!

Aiden and Michelle: 7 years old

Elizabeth: 18 months old


Be My Valentine

"Thanks, Anton!"

Ash gave a single wave to the young man outside his house before closing the door behind him. It was times like these that he was really grateful the Pokémon League had so many interns working for them. Ash normally wouldn't have asked any of them to run an errand like this, but his day was going to be tight, and he had to make absolutely certain to shower Misty with affection before it got too crazy.

In his hands, he held Anton's special delivery: a dozen bright red roses intermixed with white baby's breath, a bouquet of colorful balloons, and a heart shaped box of chocolates.

Sure, it was a little cliché, but Ash felt "it's the thought that counts" really applied here. Besides, he mostly wanted to show Misty that he loved her and that he hadn't forgotten it was their wedding anniversary/Valentine's Day. He'd treat her something to more unique once work settled down.

The first thing he saw when he walked into the kitchen was Misty, and instantly, his whole face lit up. He had tried to time the delivery perfectly, and it had worked!

"Hey, Misty," Ash greeted smoothly.

Misty's ears perked. "Oh, there you are! I was wondering where you-"

She trailed off once she looked over her shoulder and saw Ash with his armful of gifts. As soon as Ash saw her look of surprise, he laughed heartily and stepped further into the kitchen.

"I just wanted to give you a little anniversary surprise before I had to spend the entire day at the Plateau," Ash explained, holding the gifts out towards his wife.

"Ash, this is so sweet!" Misty crooned, turning away from the sink to take the roses from him. "These are beautiful."

"The chocolates are a little bigger than I was expecting, but that's okay," Ash commented. "Just means we can share them, right?"

"Maybe," Misty teased, winking at her smirking husband.

"You think you can eat this whole thing by yourself?" Ash laughed, holding up the heart shaped box.

"I know I can," Misty challenged, her eyes glinting with mischievousness. "But really, I love this. All of this. Thank you."

She rose up on her toes to give Ash a delicate kiss on the lips. He smiled against it before she pulled away, placing the flowers on the counter.

"I have to get a vase for these," Misty breathed, gently touching one of the rose's petals. "I want to make sure they fully bloom! If they're this beautiful now, I can only imagine how pretty they'll be once they open up all the way."

"You really love those flowers," Ash noted. "Maybe I should've gotten you some more of those instead of the chocolate!"

"Oh no, I appreciate the chocolate too," Misty assured him, turning back around to take the box herself. "I think I might have to break some rules and eat one after breakfast."

"Whose rules are those?" Ash laughed. "Not mine, that's for sure! And only one? In this house? That's like…shameful."

"Hush, I'm trying to be good," Misty snickered, placing the box of chocolates beside the roses. "You know, not overloading myself on sugar before 9 A.M."

"Well that's no fun," Ash badgered, earning a smirk and a shrug from his wife.

"Most things that are considered 'good for you' aren't," Misty reasoned with him.

"Good point," Ash relented, smirking at her.

Misty giggled and turned her head so her hair settled on her shoulder. "I should go get the kids down here. They'll probably start a riot if they don't get their special Valentine's Day breakfast ASAP."

"I can get them," Ash offered.

"No, it's fine," Misty assured him. "You've got a long day of work ahead of you. You should take the time to relax while you can."

"Mist, it's not that big of a deal for me to wrangle them up," Ash chuckled.

"And it's no big deal for me to do it either," Misty calmly argued. "Sit down and get ready for breakfast."

Just as Misty was about to head for the stairs, however, the sound of shrieking caused her and Ash to freeze.

"Was that a good sound or a bad sound?" Ash asked.

"I think good, but to be honest I can't tell half the time," Misty practically whispered. "Is it bad to admit that as a mother?"

"Considering I'm a father and I don't know, no," Ash answered.

Aiden and Michelle came bustling into the kitchen with big smiles on their faces. Elizabeth, who was in Michelle's arms, looked a little confused by her older siblings' jubilation.

"Okay, it was good," Misty sighed, smiling herself as she covered her heart. "I'm assuming you two are so happy because it's Valentine's Day?"

"Uh huh!" Michelle confirmed.

"We want waffles!" Aiden laughed.

"Ah, well, that can be arranged," Misty teased with a light laugh. "They're pretty much ready to be eaten! Why don't you all sit down while I get everything together?"

"Okay!" The twins chimed simultaneously.

"Here Shelly, I'll take your little sister from ya," Ash chuckled, bending down to lift the toddler out of the older girl's grasp. "Not so easy putting this squirmy kid in her high chair!"

"Thanks, Daddy!" Michelle giggled, scurrying over to the table.

Ash, meanwhile, smiled at the toddler in his arms and gently touched their noses. "Hi, pumpkin."

Elizabeth giggled and buried her hands in his hair, gently tugging at his raven locks.

"You are so cute!" Ash laughed, walking over to the table and placing the toddler in her high chair. He was a bit surprised she hadn't put up a fight (Elizabeth was not a big fan of high chairs in general) but decided to just be grateful that she hadn't.

"Alright! Who's ready for Valentine's Day breakfast?"

Aiden and Michelle both began to eagerly clamor, earning a bewildered look from their little sister. Ash chuckled and sat down beside his youngest daughter, glancing over at her confused face.

"You're going to like this, Lizzie," Ash assured the toddler. "Mommy's special Valentine's Day breakfast is so yummy!"

"Yum?" Elizabeth squeaked.

"Yeah, really yummy," Ash laughed. "Just wait until you try it!"

Misty gave everyone at the table their own plate, filled up by a heart-shaped waffle topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. Aiden and Michelle wasted no time digging in, but Elizabeth simply watched them with very intent eyes.

"She's always so fascinated by her big brother and sister," Misty giggled, taking her seat on the other side of Elizabeth. "Come on, sweetie, let's try yours! You can go slower than Denny and Shelly, okay?"

Elizabeth patiently nodded her head. "Go –ow."

"Yeah, go slow," Misty laughed, cutting off a small piece of the waffle. "Open up!"

The toddler opened her mouth wide and ate the piece of waffle off the fork. Almost instantly, her face lit up, causing both of her parents to laugh gleefully.

"I think she likes it," Ash commented.

"Yum!" Elizabeth shrieked laughingly.

"Yep, she does," Misty giggled.

"Yeah, cause they're so good!" Aiden exclaimed. "This is the very best part of Valentine's Day!"

Michelle raised an eyebrow. "I thought you liked the candy."

"Oh yeah, that too."

Ash chuckled. "What about the actual love stuff?"

Aiden pulled a disgusted face. "No way, that's gross!"

Misty smiled sweetly at her son's comment. "Aiden, you won't think it's gross when you get older and you like a pretty girl!"

Aiden grimaced. "I don't think so."

Ash smirked. "Yeah, I said the same thing, champ."

Aiden furrowed his brow as he swallowed another bite of his waffle. "Mom sure got you good."

Misty nearly spit out her own bite and had to cover her mouth as she tried to compose herself. Ash sighed tiredly and turned his glare onto Misty, who finally managed to swallow her food.

"I can't help it, that was funny," Misty muttered, sheepishly cutting off more waffle to feed to Elizabeth.

"Yeah, hilarious," Ash quipped, though his lips were bending back into a smile.

Once everyone had finished up their breakfast, Misty busied herself with doing the dishes while the kids scurried off to play. Ash, meanwhile, knew he was meant to be leaving for work, but he wasn't in any sort of rush.

"I don't think it's very fair that I have to go to work today," Ash declared.

"Oh, no?" Misty teased.

"No," Ash grumbled. "And I tried to take off, but Goodshow guilt tripped me into working because there's so much to do!"

"Why is there so much to do anyway?" Misty questioned, arching an eyebrow. "The Indigo Conference was a month ago, and the Ever Grande Conference isn't for another two months. Shouldn't it be pretty quiet up at the plateau right now?"

"Wish I knew," Ash groaned.

"Why don't you ask?" Misty prodded.

"Because I'm pretty sure I'll get an answer I don't wanna hear," Ash chuckled lowly. "Sometimes I think it's better to just play dumb."

Misty thought about that for a moment before deciding, "That's actually pretty smart of you, Ash."

"Thanks!" Ash chirped. "Wait…what do you mean 'pretty smart'?"

Unbeknownst to the two adults in the room, their youngest child had come toddling back into the kitchen, her bright green eyes locked on the counter. She scurried over to it, small and quiet enough that she went completely unnoticed. With just a few jumps, she managed to knock down the flowers and grab a hold of the balloon, which finally got the attention of her parents.

"Lizzie!" Ash gasped once he realized the toddler was there.

Elizabeth, in turn, giggled and shuffled past her father. Ash blinked, watching the little girl as she teetered away.

"What's in her hands?" Ash muttered.

Misty blinked and looked over towards their young daughter, trying to get a better look. When she couldn't, Misty shrugged her shoulders and simply beckoned, "Lizzie!"

This time, unlike when Ash had exclaimed it before, Elizabeth turned around and smiled cheekily at her mother. Now, Ash and Misty were able to clearly see that the toddler was holding onto Misty's roses, and that the balloon was bobbing high up above her head, its ribbon clutched in one of the child's small fists.

Ash's eyes widened when he saw what the toddler had managed to snatch. Misty, on the other hand, just giggled.

"How cute!" Misty crooned.

Ash, however, was panicking. Those were Misty's Valentine's Day gifts! And her anniversary gifts! Until he had time to do something better, at least. But still! Elizabeth was only a year and a half old…what if she destroyed the flowers?! Those were Misty's favorite part of the whole gift!

Laughing nervously, Ash slowly approached the toddler, kneeling down to her level. "Hey there, pumpkin. Those are Mommy's presents! Could you give them back to her?"

"No!" Elizabeth squealed, laughing wildly afterwards.

Ash's face fell, but he quickly turned it towards his wife as she continued laughing. "Mist, I'm trying to save your gifts here!"

"It's alright, they don't need saving," Misty assured him, pulling her phone out of her pocket. "This is adorable!"

Ash blinked. "What're you doing?"

"Taking pictures," Misty replied simply. "Your mom is going to love this!"

Ash sighed and sagged his shoulders. "I guess…"

He looked back over at Elizabeth. The little girl was burying her face in the roses, rubbing the soft red petals against her skin and sniffing the fragrant flowers all at the same time. Eventually, she seemed to have sniffed a bit too much, as she quickly picked her head up and sneezed. Ash's trepidation quickly melted away as he started to chuckle, earning a curious look from his young daughter.

"You're a silly girl, Lizzie," Ash laughingly informed the toddler.

"Ya," Elizabeth babbled, letting out her own giggle.

Misty smirked and snapped another picture of Elizabeth before glancing over at Ash. "Can't stay mad, can you?"

"Okay, I was never mad," Ash stressed. "I was just worried about your gifts, that's all. But you're right…this is really cute."

"Of course it is," Misty giggled. "Lizzie is really cute! So almost everything she does is really cute."

"Almost?" Ash asked teasingly.

"Her coming into our bedroom in the middle of the night just because she wants to hang out isn't so cute," Misty admitted.

Still smiling, Elizabeth walked towards her mother until she was only a few inches away. Misty turned her attention onto the girl, and allowed her eyes to widen ever so slightly as the toddler held out the bouquet of roses in her hands.

"Mama!" Elizabeth squealed.

"Oh, are you giving these to me?" Misty asked sweetly. Elizabeth quickly nodded her head, which caused Misty's smile to expand. "That's so sweet! Thank you, baby."

She gently took the roses from Elizabeth, but when she reached for the balloon, the little girl whined and turned away. "Oh, you only wanted to give me the flowers?"

Elizabeth nodded her head as she bounced the balloon up and down by its ribbon. Misty giggled delightedly and assured the antsy toddler, "alright, you can hold onto the balloon."

The tiny girl beamed as her mother stood up to place the roses back on the counter.

"Now I should really put these in a vase, before Elizabeth tries to swipe them again," Misty joked.

"Good idea," Ash chuckled lightly.

"Sorry she took ownership of the balloon, though," Misty apologized.

"Hey, it's no big deal," Ash assured her. "If anything, it kind of become a two-for-one gift!"

Misty smirked as she rolled her eyes. "Really? You're going to choose Valentine's Day to be cheap?"

"It's not cheap," Ash calmly argued as he tapped the side of his head. "Just smart."

"Yeah," Misty drawled, her smirk becoming more mischievous. "Pretty smart."


Writing this one basically rotted my teeth out. And I loved it.