So I know I'm late on Misty's birthday one shot, but I've been super busy lately AND I didn't have this story where I wanted it by the right date. So I gave myself the extra time to work on it, and I really love the way it came out! Hopefully you all do as well!

Aiden and Michelle: 4 and a half years old


A Misty Birthday

"Mommy, throw me the ball!"

"Alright, buddy, here it comes!"

Misty tossed the whiffle ball towards her son and watched as he swung his bright yellow plastic bat at it. He managed to make the connection, sending the white ball floating back to her. Misty made no attempt to catch it, which went unnoticed by Aiden as he ran across the yard, laughing wildly.

"What a great hit!" Misty complimented the boy.

Aiden stopped a few feet behind his mother, grinning at her. "That was a double, Mommy."

"Not a home run?" She playfully gasped.

"Nuh uh," Aiden coolly refuted. "A home run hasta go all the way over the fence!"

"Fair enough," Misty playfully relented, shrugging her shoulders.

"Hey guys!"

Aiden looked around his mother, and instantly his face lit up. "Daddy!"

The boy abandoned his spot and charged ahead, causing Misty to giggle. She followed calmly after him, meeting her husband and daughter at the gate which he was in the process of opening.

"Was it a successful trip?" Misty asked.

"Yeah!" Ash confirmed, nodding his head. "We got everything we needed! Right, Shelly?"

"Is hot," Michelle whined, furrowing her brow.

Ash chuckled nervously before letting his head fall. Misty glanced down at the girl and sighed as soon as she saw her.

"You'd be a bit cooler if your hair was up," Misty informed her daughter, kneeling to toy with her bright red hair. "What happened to the ponytail I gave you?"

"I didn't want it," Michelle replied.

Misty groaned and stood back up. "Has she been grouchy like this the whole time you two were together?"

Ash didn't seem to want to answer at first, but finally he conceded, "pretty much. I think the heat's just getting to her."

"Pi," Pikachu sighed, sinking down on his trainer's shoulder.

"It's getting to Pikachu too," Ash mused.

"Well, why don't we go get some water?" Misty suggested. "It is pretty hot out; think we could all use some."

"Yeah!" Aiden cheered, spinning around and running towards the house. Michelle still appeared downright miserable, but slowly followed her brother.

"At least Aiden's in a good mood," Ash chuckled.

"He's been super playful this morning," Misty giggled. "As soon as he woke up, he asked me to play 'baseball' with him! He sure loves that little whiffle ball set you got him. And he's good at it, too! I don't think I was expecting him to hit the ball as much as he did."

"That boy has wanted to do nothing but play baseball since his first season ended," Ash commented with a laugh. "It's too bad they don't let kids his age play during the summer; I think it'd be good for him! He's so competitive, and he's got so much energy, but Michelle's not really as into baseball as he is. She doesn't even like to play along!"

"Maybe I should call Forrest and see if he wants to come over soon with Brandon," Misty mused as she and Ash made it to the back door. "I know that Brandon loves baseball just as much as Aiden, and they always love playing together!"

"That's a great idea!" Ash agreed, following Misty inside and closing the door behind him. "I bet Aiden would love that!"

"What do I love?" Aiden squeaked, tilting his head.

"Water," Ash replied without missing a beat.

"Okay," Aiden chirped, causing both of his parents to laugh.

Misty began walking towards the cabinets to retrieve the twins' water bottles, but Ash was quick to cut her off, much to her surprise. "Don't worry, Mist. I'll do it for you!"

"Really?" Misty breathed.

Ash looked over his shoulder and grinned. "Of course! Consider it the start of your birthday extravaganza!"

"My birthday?" Misty repeated, sounding utterly confused.

Having retrieved the water bottles, Ash grinned cheekily at his wife and replied, "yeah!"

"It's not my birthday," she deadpanned.

"Well yeah, I know it's not today," Ash snickered. "Even I'm not that dense!"

"No, I mean my birthday isn't even close," Misty sighed, shaking her head.

Ash continued to laugh, assuming Misty was just messing with him. When he saw her bewildered face, however, he realized that she was not joking around. "Mist…your birthday is Friday."

Now Misty was convinced Ash was messing with her. "You are not funny."

As he finished filling up the colorful plastic containers, Ash looked over at his (still puzzled) wife. "I'm not being funny. Today is the eighth."

Pursing her lips, Misty strolled over to the fridge and stared at the magnetic calendar that was stationed on the right door. "Mmm…"

"Yeah?" Ash questioned, handing off the full water bottles to the waiting twins.

"You're right," Misty begrudgingly admitted, turning back towards him.

"When was the last time you looked at that calendar?" Ash asked, obviously impressed that Misty had really been completely oblivious. "I thought it was an everyday thing."

"It is!" Misty cried. "But I have to admit I don't really look at the actual dates…just what's written on them."

"Do you ever get worried that I'm rubbing off too much on you?" Ash playfully asked.

"Hardly," Misty scoffed. "I'm just so busy all the time between the kids and the gym and the house that I think I've started to lose my head."

"I'm just surprised you totally forgot your own birthday," Ash breathed. "You've always loved your birthday!"

Seemingly unaffected by his reaction, Misty listlessly shrugged. "Maybe it doesn't matter anymore."

Ash's jaw dropped. "What do you mean it doesn't matter?! It's your birthday!"

Misty giggled at his enthusiasm. "I don't mean that I don't care. I do! It's just…we're getting older, so maybe our birthdays don't have to be such a big deal anymore!"

"You're turning 26," Ash deadpanned.

"I said older, not ancient," Misty sighed.

"Well, whatever, I'm making a big deal out of it," Ash gently chastised. "I don't know any other way! Birthdays are super special, so I'm going to make sure yours is too."

"Hey, I'm not going to stop you," Misty teased, winking at her husband. "As long as I don't have to do any extra work, you can knock yourself out!"

Ash grinned and looked over at the twins. "What do you guys say? Want to help me plan a special birthday for Mommy?"

"Uh huh!" Aiden confirmed after taking a long sip from his water bottle.

Michelle, who had been taking daintier sips, lowered her own bottle and nodded her head.

"Well, I'm super excited to see what you guys come up with!" Misty giggled. "I'm sure it's going to be amazing!"

Ash laughed and snapped his fingers. "Of course it will!"

XXX

"Okay, I've got nothing."

Aiden and Michelle, who had been waiting for their father's brilliant idea on how to celebrate their mother's birthday, both appeared unimpressed by his admission.

"Huh?" Michelle muttered, raising an eyebrow.

"Daddy, that's dumb," Aiden remarked.

"Hey, that isn't a nice word," Ash gently scolded the boy.

"No, but it's true," Aiden replied.

Ash sighed and crossed his arms as he sunk back against the couch. "I'm usually a lot better at coming up with ideas! But I think I've known Mommy for so long that I'm just…out of 'em."

Michelle jumped to her feet and climbed up onto the couch beside her father. "Let's go out and eat!"

"Right now?" Ash asked. "It's kind of early in the day for that, Shelly."

The little girl growled. "No, Daddy. For Mommy's birthday!"

"Oh," Ash breathed before breaking out into a big smile. "That's a great idea! Mommy loves going to nice restaurants! Should I get Grammy to watch you guys when we go?"

Michelle's jaw dropped. "No! We're coming!"

"You guys?" Ash questioned, twisting his mouth. "I don't know, princess. You guys have to be on your very best behavior in a restaurant, and you're…well…you're not always on your best behavior in restaurants."

"I am," Michelle challenged, pointing at herself before turning her finger onto her brother. "Aiden's not."

"Hey!" Aiden cried.

"That's not nice either," Ash warned his daughter.

"But it's true," Michelle chirped, mimicking her brother.

Ash sighed and rubbed the side of his face. "Alright. But you guys have to promise me you're going to behave, okay? We don't want to make Mommy upset on her birthday."

"Okay," they agreed simultaneously.

"Oh, and get her flowers!" Michelle squealed.

"And candy!" Aiden added.

"And something for her Pokémon!" Michelle continued.

"Wow, you two are full of ideas," Ash chuckled. "Is that where all of mine went?"

"Uh huh," Michelle giggled, nodding her head.

"Well, thanks for the help!" Ash crowed. "I think those are all really great ideas."

"Can we do all of 'em?" Aiden asked.

"Yeah, we can," Ash replied, causing the boy to excitedly pump his fist. "I'll work my magic and get everything together!"

Aiden and Michelle both started to cheer, causing Ash to proudly puff his chest out. There was nothing better than his kids thinking he was the coolest person around, and he was going to prove them both right!

XXX

Dining reservations. Flowers. Candy. Something Pokémon related.

That was the shopping list for the finely detailed birthday plan Ash had for Misty. None of it seemed too complicated, so Ash was confident he'd be able to complete the list all in one day.

"Better to knock it all out at once, right buddy?" Ash asked his partner Pokémon.

Pikachu rapidly nodded his head before tossing a piece of Pokémon food in his mouth.

Misty was working at the gym, and she believed Ash was at work as well. In reality, he'd taken the day off and left the twins with his mother so he could get everything he needed. They'd protested, but Ash didn't back down (for once) because he knew having the twins with him would make things far more complicated. As much as they'd promised they'd behave and not complain, Ash knew how the two got when it came to shopping…it was exactly the same way he got. Fortunately, it was a lot easier to suck it up and deal with the torture that was shopping when it was for a special someone's birthday!

It was also a lot easier when he only had Pikachu to grumble to about it.

As soon as both he and Pikachu had completed their breakfasts, Ash shoved the piece of paper he'd written the list down on into the back pocket of his jeans and scooped Pikachu up into his arms, watching as the mouse crawled up onto his shoulder.

"You ready?" Ash asked.

"Pi!" Pikachu confirmed.

After stepping outside and locking the front door behind him, Ash and his trusted partner made their way to downtown Cerulean. That was where all the best restaurants and shops in the city were located, and where Ash knew he'd be able to get everything he needed.

The first of those things was to score a dinner reservation. At this point, Misty's birthday was only two days away, but Ash wasn't worried about finding something. There were so many restaurants downtown, and Misty had quite a few favorites, so he was sure that there'd be availability somewhere.

"I just have to make sure it's not too stuffy, for the twins' sake," Ash murmured to himself. While he was still a bit hesitant about bringing Aiden and Michelle, and he knew Misty would be as well, he also knew that she wouldn't want to exclude them from the celebration, especially if she knew that Michelle had specifically asked to be included. That did, however, knock out a majority of the more upscale eateries.

As Ash and Pikachu made their way down the long, bustling street, they passed a familiar restaurant with a navy blue and white striped awning. Ash slowed to a halt, looking the place up and down before grinning at his Pokémon.

"Hey, this place would be great!" Ash crowed. "We've brought the twins here before, so I know they have a kid's menu. And it's not too fancy or anything like that."

"Ka-chu!" Pikachu squeaked.

"Alright, let's give it a shot!" Ash decided.

He pushed open the glass door, finding that the hostess at the front of the place was busy shuffling menus around. As soon as she looked up and locked eyes with Ash, a fierce blush overtook her face, which didn't seem to have any effect on Ash.

"M-Mr. Pokémon Master, sir!" She gasped.

Now Ash was taken a bit off guard. "Oh, no, you don't have to call me that! That's super formal…too formal, actually. You can just call me Ash!"

"Ash…" the girl parroted breathlessly.

A somewhat awkward silence settled between the two, until it was broken up by an equally awkward chuckle from Ash. "And your name is…?"

"Oh, right!" She hissed. "I-I'm Mayu."

"Nice to meet you, Mayu," Ash greeted, smiling at the girl. Had he been more aware, he would've realized the girl was on the verge of passing out. "Anyway, I just stopped in because I was looking to make a dinner reservation."

"O-of course!" She stammered. "Anything for the Pokémon M-oh, I mean, you!"

She began typing away on a small computer that sat on the desk in front of her. Ash, meanwhile, smiled to himself. This was going to be a piece of cake!

That reminds me…I should probably add a cake to that list.

He reached into his back pocket, pulling out the now crumpled piece of scrap. Realizing he had no writing utensil on him, Ash looked back over at Mayu and asked, "sorry, do you happen to have a pen I could borrow?"

Mayu jerked out of her apparent trance. "Yes!" She reached for something on the desk, holding a black gel pen out towards the man. "Here you go!"

"Thanks!" Ash crowed as he took the pen and messily scrawled "cake" beneath the previous last point.

"How many on the reservation?" Mayu asked, finally sounding a bit more composed.

"Four," Ash replied effortlessly, placing the pen back on the desk.

"And for what date?"

"July 12th."

Mayu slowly looked up from the computer, suddenly appearing a bit nervous again. Ash had apparently missed this little cue and was still grinning at the girl.

"You mean this Friday?" She asked timidly.

"Yep!" Ash confirmed.

Mayu hummed nervously and glanced back down, scrolling through the computer. It finally hit Ash that something was amiss, and his smile faltered a bit.

"I'm very sorry," Mayu apologized slowly. "But we're totally booked up for this Friday."

Ash's jaw dropped. "Seriously?"

Mayu nodded her head. "I wish there was something I could do! I could try and ask my manager, but- "

"No, it's alright," Ash gently interrupted Mayu, his smile returning in a much weaker fashion. "I'm not super comfortable with special treatment, but I especially don't want to get you in trouble!"

Mayu's frown deepened. "Are you sure?"

Ash nodded his head. "Positive. I should've checked in sooner. Thank you for offering!"

After he walked out of the restaurant, Ash decided to try the next one. And the one after that. And then a third. But every single one had the same story: they were totally booked up.

Ash sighed and dragged a hand down the side of his face after his latest attempt to get a reservation. "Okay, so I guess I should've realized that two days' notice for a Friday night is kind of a tough request."

"Pi…" Pikachu muttered sadly.

"Maybe we should take a break from reservation hunting for now," Ash decided. "Let's go order some flowers. There's no way that can be a problem!"

XXX

"I'm so sorry, Ash, but the shop is closed on Friday!"

The Pokémon Master's jaw dropped. "Wh-what?!"

Kami, one of the proprietors of Cerulean City's flower shop, sadly nodded her head. "We're getting flowers ready for a big wedding on Saturday, and we don't have nearly enough hands on deck to fulfill other orders while we prepare for the event."

Ash couldn't believe this was happening. He really just couldn't catch a break! The man looked over in distress at Pikachu, who was busy sniffing a nearby display of flowers.

"You could get one of our pre-made arrangements," Kami suggested, motioning towards a large refrigerator in the back of the store. "They should stay perfect over the next two days!"

"Kami, have you met me?" Ash groaned. "I'm kind of a disaster when it comes to keeping things alive."

"Not your kids! Or your Pokémon!" Kami refuted.

"Yeah, and I worry about them every day," Ash sighed.

"I believe in you," Kami stressed, stepping out from behind the counter and walking towards the pre-made arrangements.

"I appreciate that, but your belief in me isn't going to keep a bouquet of flowers alive," Ash droned.

"What colors does Misty like?" Kami asked, deciding to ignore Ash's pessimism.

"Her favorite color is green," Ash replied, knowing he wasn't going to be able to convince Kami of his inability to care for plants. "But she also likes blue and yellow."

"Let's see…" Kami murmured. She observed the case for a few moments before pulling open the door and selecting a bouquet. It was quite large in size, consisting of yellow roses, blue hydrangea, and green carnations, filled out with other greenery and white baby's breath. "How's this?"

Despite his nerves over actually keeping the flowers alive, Ash grinned. "Wow, that's perfect! It's got all of her favorite colors! And it's just the right size, too."

Kami nodded her head. "I knew we'd have something just right! And you don't have to worry about the upkeep. I'm going to give you a detailed list of instructions on how to care for the flowers. As long as you follow those, there's no way they won't make it to Friday!"

"Thanks, Kami, that's great," Ash sighed, relief evident on his face. "We finally did something right, huh, Pikachu?"

Pikachu, who was still sniffing flowers around the store, apparently inhaled one too deeply and caught some pollen, as he sneezed rather loudly for his small stature and went flying back. Ash chuckled at his Pokémon, who was shaking his head after the jarring sneeze.

"You really are no different than the twins, buddy."

XXX

Fortunately for Ash, the rest of his list had been much easier to obtain: candy (he splurged on a nice box from the local chocolate shop), something Pokémon related (a net ball), and a cake (vanilla with chocolate filling…Misty's favorite.)

The flowers he'd purchased for her had initially been put into the backyard shed. It had windows, so sunlight was still coming through, which Kami had noted on her instructions was important. Aiden and Michelle, who knew the flowers were there, enjoyed checking on them to ensure they were still alive…seemingly every five minutes. Ash didn't mind, but he had stressed to the twins that they could not, under any circumstances, tell their mother that the flowers were in there.

On Thursday morning, just as Ash was about to head out the door for work, he decided to check on the flowers before leaving. Aiden and Michelle, naturally, wanted to tag along. Misty, who had not yet left for the gym and was waiting on the twins so she could bring them with her, was utterly confused.

"They are following you around way more than usual," Misty noted.

Ash blinked hard. "What? They follow me around all the time!"

"Not like this," Misty scoffed. "Even Aiden isn't usually this attached to you. Every time you announce you're going in the backyard, they jump up like you're taking them to Pokémon Land."

"I don't know," Ash mumbled, shrugging his shoulders. "Guess it's just a phase. I don't really get it either; I'm not doing anything exciting."

"Yeah, that's my next question: what are you doing?" Misty prodded.

Ash froze as Misty's inquisitive eyes bore into him. "Uh…you know…checking on pipes, grass, concrete…all that manly…husband-like stuff."

Misty blinked at the explanation. "There are no pipes outside."

"Oh yeah?" Ash playfully challenged. "Then what's all that metal stuff around our roof that shoots out water when it rains?"

"Gutters," Misty replied simply. "Those are gutters."

Ash stopped and suddenly looked like he was thinking very hard. Misty attempted to choke back a laugh but failed miserably and wound up letting out a short, hard chuckle.

"I'm not going to ask any more questions because, quite honestly, I'm scared of the answers," Misty quipped. "Go enjoy your…manly, husband-like stuff."

Much to Ash's relief, Aiden and Michelle came running back into the kitchen with their shoes on, beaming up at him.

"Let's go, Daddy!" Michelle cried, reaching for his hand and grabbing it.

"Yeah! Come on!" Aiden agreed, charging ahead towards the sliding back door.

Ash gave Misty one last look, winking at her as he crowed, "thanks, we will!"

Misty giggled once more, this time far more sweetly than the first, and approached the front door without another word.

Ash and the twins, meanwhile, made their way to the backyard shed in order to check on the flowers. As soon as Ash opened the door, however, the trio was met with a very unpleasant sight: a completely dead bouquet.

"Uh oh…" Aiden breathed.

Ash was unable to move, but Michelle was. She slowly approached the small table the vase was perched on, resting her hands against it as she got a closer look at the gruesome scene. Every last flower was drooped over, their petals shriveled up and dry. Several had fallen off and were now scattered across the tabletop.

"They look bad," Michelle plainly stated.

Ash nearly fell on his face. Leave it to kids to be painfully blunt! "How did they end up like that?!"

Michelle looked over her shoulder at her father and frowned. "You didn't take care of them right."

"I did!" Ash cried. "I followed all of the instructions Kami gave me!"

"I think you followed them wrong," Aiden added, striding up to his sister's side in order to get a better look at the flowers.

Ash groaned and buried his face in his hands. "This isn't happening, this isn't happening…"

"Yeah it is!" Aiden cried. "We're lookin' at 'em right now!"

"I didn't mean literally, buddy," Ash grumbled, lowering his hands.

Michelle turned around so her back was to the dead bouquet. "It's okay, Daddy! Mommy will like dinner!"

Ash's shoulders sunk lower. "Um, about that Shelly…I wasn't able to find any place for us to have dinner."

Michelle was utterly confused by that. "There's lots of restaurants!"

"I know, but none of them had any room for us," Ash explained. "I waited too long; Fridays are very crowded at restaurants."

The little girl's confusion only seemed to increase. "But…you're the Pokémon Master. You can get whatever you want."

Now it was Ash's turn to be confused. "What?"

"Shelly's right!" Aiden practically shouted, turning towards his father with a huge smile on his face. "Let's go back, Daddy! Tell 'em you wanna eat there or else! They have to!"

"No, we're not going to do that," Ash calmly replied.

"Why not?" Michelle asked with a pout. "We want to give Mommy the best birthday ever!"

"Yeah, you said you were gonna get everything!" Aiden cried.

"Okay, no," Ash sighed heavily, kneeling down so he was at eye level with both children. "Guys, that's wrong. I know you want us to do everything we can to make Mommy's birthday extra special, and I do too. I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about pulling the 'Pokémon Master' card. But I didn't, because it isn't right. That's called taking advantage. We shouldn't expect to be treated differently because of who I am. Mommy thinks the same way, and if she knew we did something like that for her, it'd make her really upset."

Aiden and Michelle suddenly seemed bashful. It wasn't because they thought their father was mad at them (they knew he wasn't) or because he had yelled (he hadn't), but because they knew he was right, and they were both a bit embarrassed that they had suggested doing something like that.

"You don't have to feel bad," Ash assured the two with a smile. He was still a bit dense, but very often, he could read his children like a couple of books. It helped that they were both very clear with their emotions. "You just really love Mommy and want to make her happy. I do too! So, we're going to find a way to do just that."

"But how?" Michelle asked softly.

Ash twisted his mouth in thought for a short moment before smiling at his children. "I think I have an idea."

XXX

"Come on! Can't I at least get a hint about where we're going?"

"Nope!"

"It's a birthday surprise, Mommy!"

"I know…" Misty sighed. "I'm just not the biggest fan of surprises."

Aiden stopped in his tracks, his jaw dropping. "Not even fun ones?!"

Misty couldn't help but to giggle at her son's shocked face. "Those are definitely better. But I still get a little nervous!"

"You don't hafta be nervous!" Aiden assured her. "It's a fun surprise!"

"It's alright, Aiden," Ash chuckled. "I think Mommy is only nervous because I planned this."

"I'm still not much a surprise person, but that definitely doesn't help," Misty quipped, winking at him.

The family soon made it into downtown Cerulean and ambled upon a restaurant; one that Ash hadn't visited two days earlier when he'd been trying to book a table.

"Retoro Diner?" Misty asked, sounding slightly confused.

"Yeah, the best restaurant ever!" Michelle giggled.

"I figured this would be a little different choice for your birthday dinner," Ash tried. "Do you hate it?"

Misty hummed before shaking her head. "No! It does sound like fun."

"I told you!" Aiden crowed, his face lighting up. "I told you it was fun!"

"You sure did!" Misty laughed.

The foursome walked inside, and as soon as they did, Misty's eyes widened. A table against the wall was dressed up far fancier than the rest: covered in a white linen tablecloth with a small vase of flowers sitting in the middle. Balloons were tied to one of the chairs, and a small mountain of gifts sat off to the side.

"Wh-what is this?" Misty asked, a nervous laugh now seeping into her voice.

"Your birthday surprise!" Ash cheered. "The owner kind of did us a bit of a favor."

"Yeah, cause Daddy made a bunch of mistakes," Aiden remarked, causing Michelle to giggle.

Misty smirked and glanced over at Ash, who was now red in the face. "Well, that was awfully sweet of him! And you three, of course. I wasn't expecting anything like this!"

"Do you like it?" Michelle asked hopefully.

"I do!" Misty confirmed. "And I can't wait to sit down and eat; I'm starving!"

Once they were all enjoying their meal, and the twins were busy chatting with one another, Ash looked up from his burger and asked Misty, "so, is this what you were expecting for your birthday?"

"No," Misty reluctantly admitted. "But I'm really enjoying it!"

"That's great," Ash murmured, smiling sheepishly. "I'm just sorry I blew it."

Misty raised a curious eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I promised you a super special birthday," Ash explained, shaking his head. "But I dropped the ball on the whole thing. I tried to do so many different things, but nothing was working out."

Misty smiled sympathetically at her husband. He really was the sweetest. Leaning forward in her chair, Misty assured him, "Ash, this is an amazing birthday! It's obvious how hard you worked to put together something fun for me. Besides, I can't really accuse you of 'blowing' my birthday when I didn't even realize it was this week."

Ash wanted to argue that, but he struggled to find the right words, and finally conceded, "you've got a point."

Misty giggled at his admission. "Our lives are super hectic. You and I both have a lot going on, all of the time! But I wouldn't change a single thing about it. Including my really awesome birthday surprise."

Ash's smile became more genuine. "You really like it?"

"I do!" Misty confirmed.

Ash was going to tell Misty how relieved that made him, but he didn't have time before their waiter brought Misty's birthday cake to the table, complete with lit candles. Her eyes sparkled, which Ash quickly noticed and chuckled at. He was, of course, familiar with Misty's affinity for desserts and sweet things.

"See? I couldn't mess everything up!" Ash boasted.

Misty giggled before blowing her candles out, leading the rest of her family to clap.

"I want the first piece!" Aiden cried, lunging for the cake.

"No, me!" Michelle whined, jumping up simultaneously.

Ash gasped, holding his hand out. "Guys, be careful, don't- "

Too deep in to heed their father's warning, they wound up butting heads and knocking right into the cake, sending it toppling to the floor. Misty's formerly sparkling eyes were now set wide, while Ash groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"…oops," Aiden murmured.

"Uh…how about we order some ice cream instead?" Ash practically squeaked after lowering his hands.

Despite what had just unfolded before her, Misty laughed, gently tilting her head. "You know I've always liked ice cream more than cake!"