#tidying a room is alot of back and forth (she never lets her room get messy tbh. its not perfect in anyway but stuff is in its place)

[xsilversprings]

Pokeshipping Week - Day One.

Fishing.

"There we were... running for our lives. Me and Pikachu didn't think we'd make it. A hoard of ferocious pokemon chased us right into this incredible storm after a while- I almost couldn't see where I was going after it started. It happened that quickly."

Orange flames flickered in the fireplace that Ash sat next to, lighting up his face as he spoke. It bounced off of his features in a warm glow while he recalled the memory.

"We ran as far as we could. We were in alot of trouble, you see, running from these wild pokemon. Oh yeah. They were after us, all of them. But I ran. I ran fast. And I had no idea where I was even going."

He raised his hands dramatically while Pikachu lazily twitched an ear in response. Giggling could be heard in the background, fueling the nature of Ash's storytelling.

"Then we came to a dead end. I thought that was it for us. Pikachu was injured pretty bad, and I didn't know what to do. But there was the biggest cliff right in front of me, and do you know what I did? That's right. I jumped right off of that cliff."

"Pika." the pokemon grunted.

"Er, with Pikachu, too, of course."

The pokemon twitched another ear from where he lay and grinned. Ash then returned his attention back to where it was before, leaning in with a wide pair of excited eyes.

"So there we were again, but our quest wasn't over. Oh no. It turned out that Pikachu and I fell right into the deadliest current of water imaginable. Pokemon surrounded us. Some of the biggest I've ever seen, and they swam right past us. Especially this giant Gyrados. Almost took me in one clean bite. And-"

"Ash Ketchum!"

He jumped next to the fireplace that he'd been sitting next to. Sparks fizzled from the log it fell on, now lighting up the startled expression on his face while he reached a hand back to steady himself from falling over.

"What?!"

Misty pinched her lips together, looking very much like the angry Gyrados in his story while the same flames danced in shadows around her. "If you're going to tell this, tell it right."

He blinked. "I was!"

"No," she crossed her arms. "You're embellishing. Although I don't know why I'm surprised."

"Embellishing?"

Misty sighed softly. More giggling. "Yes, Ash. Stretching the truth."

"I wasn't stretching the truth... that's what happened. I jumped off the cliff with Pikachu and swam like no tomorrow."

She lifted an eyebrow. "And Gyrados?"

"What about Gyrados?"

"You said it tried to eat you."

"It came at me with its mouth open!"

"Its mouth is always open!"

"Yeah, well... you didn't see the way it was looking at me."

The redhead rolled her eyes while Ash pouted. It was a look that was never far from the eye, always seemingly present in one way or another. But the look on her face had a way of pointing the finger at him for it. Try as he might, there was very little he was ever able to get away with.

And he relented. "Okay, fine. Then you tell it."

"Fine then, I will."

Misty straightened up in her sitting position.

"Alright, so that's where I came in. Because I just happened to be along somewhere on the other side of that cliff. There was a pretty big rock I came across and decided it would be perfect for fishing that day. So that's what I did. Which I had done plenty of times before, mind you. I was no stranger to it."

Misty absentmindedly stroked Pikachu's fur as she spoke.

"But this time was different. Much, much different. I was expecting maybe a Magikarp. A Goldeen, if I was lucky. Or a Staryu. Gosh, maybe even a Dratini... you know, I always loved Dragonair. They're just so beautiful and mystical, and I was really hoping that-"

"Mist?"

"What? Oh. Right... anyway."

Misty cleared her throat while Ash hid a grin.

"Anyway, I was sitting there with my fishing pole, peaceful as I could hope it to be. It was quiet and everything. Then a few bubbles rose from the water, and that only meant one thing: I had a bite. And I thought right away that it was going to be a big one, so I started to pull as hard as I could. I was trying to reel it in so much that my sneakers skidded on the dirt."

"And then..." Misty inhaled and grinned. "Well, it wasn't Dratini. Or Goldeen. Not even Staryu or Magikarp. It wasn't even a pokemon at all."

Ash was then pointed at, and a gasp filled the room.

"That's right. And I couldn't have been more surprised, I tell you. All day long out there on that rock, and that's what happened. It's a good thing I knew what I was doing."

"Wow..." came the third voice in the room. It was filled with utter astonishment and wonder, trailing off in a near whisper that hung in the air.

"So that's how you and dad met?"

There was a pause for the moment while the information had a chance to sink in. Ash and Misty exchanged a glance; Both wore a smile of mutual fondness, features relaxed into one of nostalgic happiness. They could almost see the memories flashing behind the other one's eyes. And it hardly seemed to either one of them that so much time had passed since then. Even though retelling it now after so many years had a way of making them feel like they were experiencing it themselves for the first time.

But it was Misty who eventually nodded once she looked away.

"That's right. I remember like it was yesterday."

"How do you remember it, mom?" the young child clutched her stuffed Dragonite in her lap.

"Well, let's see..." Misty tilted up her head slightly. "I was with your aunts that morning. We were back at the gym, tidying up, and we had a little talk."

Ash caught Misty's eye in a mischieveous glint as she said that. He knew too well in her words that she had meant blowout argument by them. And it was something he only had a glimpse into on his first encounter with her sisters, which was enough for him to know to that it qualified as a disagreement. But the warning look in her eye silenced him from saying anything about it.

"About what?" their daughter innocently questioned her. Ash smirked.

But Misty gracefully continued. "Mostly about how I was ready to start my journey and explore different places. It was just something I woke up with that morning. I came to them with the idea, and that was that. I left that same day."

"How old were you?"

She smiled at their daughter. "I was ten. Same age as your father."

"What happened after that?"

Ash suddenly laughed into the air while Misty unleashed a tired smile; Both of them were exhausted.

"I think that's enough questions for tonight, little lady." Ash gently eased a hand through his nine year old's hair. But she only looked up to him, blinking her blue eyes at him in the way she knew was a weakness of his.

"Aw, dad, c'mon.. please? She clutched her Dragonite extra tight for effect. And her father looked to be on the verge of caving, but was rescued by the strength of Misty's resolve.

"Tomorrow, sweetheart. It's late enough as it is and you still have to change." she nodded toward the stairs. She had one hand on the ground to support her weight, tilting her head onto her shoulder.

"Go ahead and get into your pajamas. Your dad and I will be there in a minute to tuck you in to say goodnight."

The little girl expressed a frown of sorts. But she obediently rose to her feet, letting the stuffed pokemon dangle from one hand. She knew better than to test her mother's patience.

"Oh.. alright. But I like it, I think it's my new favorite story."

"Really now?" asked Ash through an arch of his eyebrows. "More than Stella Lunatone?"

She nodded frantically, her hair bobbing back and forth. "It's a real one. You didn't have to make it up this time."

She shrugged. "I just think it's pretty great is all, cause meeting someone like that obviously has to mean something."

Ash and Misty traded another glance. Misty was smiling, and she could see Ash's smile in his eyes. Everything about that day was relevant in some way or another. And it was just as present to their very perceptive child as it was to them.

"She's got us there." Misty spoke quietly as she casually covered his hand with her own. Ash blinked and turned it over, curling his fingers around her slender ones.

"She does. It's not everyday that you pull someone out of the river that you spend the rest of your life with." he raised her hand up to his face and kissed the back of it.

"Ugh." their pink haired child exclaimed, having been witness to it all, and rolled her tongue to the side of her mouth.

"That does it for me. I'm outta here."

Ash and Misty turned to their daughter in time to see her shake her head, and laughed as she headed for the stairs. The soft sounds of her thudding footsteps could be heard as she scampered away. The fire in the fireplace was now almost completely gone as well, save for the few sparkling embers that resided at the bottom. It was a nice piece of background noise to fill the momentary silence as the night came to an end.

"We did good, Ash." Misty mumbled as they watched her climb the stairs into her bedroom. She then slowly leaned into his chest, then craned her neck around to meet his gaze once again.

"And she's definitely got your pout."

Ash grunted a laugh and dropped his head, not really able to argue with that. But he was able to follow it up with something he felt she couldn't deny either.

"She's got your clever mind."

Misty smiled away from his view. This time it were his hands that she pulled up to her face and kissed. She couldn't help but reel in the truth, so to speak, of their daughter's comprehension about the both of them. The way it happened was special and different. Real, like she said. It worked in the best way it could. And it wasn't just something she believed, but it was shared among the three of them.

"You got me there."

#pokeshipping week #pokeshipping week 2017 #Ash and Misty #fishing #AAML #pokemon #pokeshipping