I can't believe we're finally on the last day of Pokeshipping Week! I've had so much fun this week putting up these stories and looking at all of the other writing, art, and headcanons that have been put out by others. It's really been such a great week for this ship!

So for the final theme, we have "Life as a Couple." Pretty self explanatory! For this one, I just wanted to explore an average day that Ash and Misty would experience as a couple...which, considering Ash's status as a very famous Pokémon trainer, isn't quite so average.

Enjoy!

Life as a Couple

Misty sighed tiredly as she rested her head in her hand, her green eyes shifting towards the open door.

Ash had been signing autographs for close to two hours now. All she'd been doing was watching him, but she was still exhausted. She could only imagine how Ash felt after two straight hours of this.

Still, it was sweet to watch. Most of the people who had lined up for his autograph were young kids. It was obvious they wanted to be just like him…some had even dressed just like him. Some of the kids were completely stars truck and barely able to speak, while the others were brimming with excitement and energy and talking non-stop. No matter what, Ash made sure to indulge them. He would coax something out of the shy kids, and get just as enthusiastic as the outgoing ones.

Misty couldn't help but to smile at the sight. Ash really was the sweetest guy in the whole world…and he was all hers.

As the last kid scurried off, Ash stood up from the table and stretched his arms over his head. Pikachu, who had been sitting on the table, jumped onto his trainer's shoulder, nuzzling the young man's cheek. Ash laughed in response and reached over to scratch behind Pikachu's ears, earning a happy squeal that Misty could hear even from several feet away. With the smile still on her face, Misty got to her feet as Ash entered the back room she'd been waiting in for him.

"All done?" Misty asked.

"Yep!" Ash replied. "I can't believe how many people showed up…"

Misty's smile transformed into a smirk. "Were you really surprised that a lot of people wanted to meet the Kanto League champion?"

"Kind of," Ash admitted, surprising Misty. "I mean, I'm just a normal guy."

Misty's smirk widened as she shook her head. "I hate to break it to you, Ash, but you're no normal guy. A Pokémon League champion is a celebrity, especially when he's already announced he plans to challenge the Pokémon Master for his title."

Ash smiled sheepishly at the mention. "Guess you're right. But still, I don't think of myself as a celebrity. Do you?"

"Personally? No," Misty admitted after a moment of deliberation. "To me, you're still just my lovable oaf of a boyfriend."

"Aw, thanks Mist!" Ash chuckled before stopping himself. "Wait…oaf?!"

Now it was Misty's turn to giggle. "Come on, aren't you hungry by now?"

"Don't change the subject!" Ash whined, sounding more like one of the young kids he had just met rather than his 19-year-old self. "Quit calling me names!"

"Okay, fine," Misty sighed. "What would you prefer me to call you?"

Ash stopped for a moment to think, tapping on his chin as he did so. Pikachu shifted his eyes over to his trainer, looking rather unimpressed. "How about…'the most attractive, smartest, talented Pokémon League champion and future Pokémon Master to have ever lived'?"

Misty shot her boyfriend a deadpan look. "Yeah right, like I'll ever remember that. Half of it is a lie anyway!"

Ash blinked hard. "Which half?"

"That's for you to figure out," Misty teased, throwing in a wink for good measure. "Now, I was serious about eating. Want to go get some food?"

Ash's stomach managed to answer before he did. The teen laughed nervously and blushed, while Misty just sighed and hung her head.

"Well, there's your answer!" Ash finally replied. "Let's go!"

"Hold on!"

Ash groaned and slowly turned back towards his girlfriend. "What? It was your idea to get something to eat."

Misty wordlessly strode forward, gently lifting up one of Pikachu's little paws with her hand. Its fur was covered in black ink, and a matching paw print had been left behind on Ash's shirt.

"Oh," Ash murmured, turning his eyes towards his partner Pokémon. "Pikachu wanted to sign autographs too."

"Pi-ka-chu!" Pikachu squeaked, nodding his head.

Misty sighed playfully and released Pikachu's paw, instead placing her hands on her hips. "You two may be a lot of work, but at least you're cute."

XXX

Since they were in Viridian City, there was a new restaurant Misty had heard a lot about and was dying to try. Ash, who was never one to turn down the suggestion of any food, was happy to oblige. He did, however, have just one question for his girlfriend.

"Misty, what exactly is the price point of this place?" Ash asked as the two walked down the street hand-in-hand.

"Uh…what do you mean?" Misty asked, putting on a false tone of bewilderment. She knew exactly what Ash meant, but she didn't particularly want to answer him.

"I mean is this lunch going to burn a hole in my wallet?" Ash pressed.

"Oh," Misty murmured. "Well…I wouldn't put it that way…"

Ash groaned. "Why do you have to have such expensive taste? I mean, what if I want to save up money to buy you a-um…"

"A what?" Misty prodded, one eyebrow rising.

"A…uh…new pair of shoes!" Ash blurted. "Yeah, that."

Misty smirked and shook her head. "I don't have that expensive of a taste, you know. My sisters are much worse than I am!"

"Yeah, but I'm not dating them," Ash teased, inwardly relieved that his near screw up had been seemingly glossed over.

"I would hope not, considering they're all married," Misty giggled.

"Doesn't matter," Ash replied. "I still like you better."

Misty grinned and turned to gently smack Ash's chest. "When did you get so smooth?"

"Maybe I've always been smooth and you're just realizing it now," Ash joked.

"Please, you used to be as smooth as a jagged rock," Misty scoffed.

"That's your opinion."

"No, that's fact. Do I have to call up Brock and ask him?"

Pikachu sighed and shook his head. He wasn't sure what was worse: Ash and Misty's serious arguments or the flirty ones like he was being forced to listen to now. The first hurt his ears, and the second tended to just gross him out.

Of course, the little electric Pokémon was just happy that his trainer and mate were happy.

The couple's playful laughter and banter was soon disrupted, however, by the sound of a camera snapping. Misty immediately looked up at Ash and frowned, while he ground his teeth together.

"Stupid paparazzi," he muttered.

"Come on, let's just keep going," Misty sighed, retaking Ash's hand into her own. "If we move quickly enough, maybe we can get away from them."

"We can never get away from them," Ash complained, although he picked up his pace per Misty's suggestion. "They always find out exactly where we are! I swear, it's like they installed a tracking device on me!"

Misty twisted her mouth in contemplation. "Hmm, not a bad idea. That could be useful for when I can't figure out where you are."

"Not helping!" Ash cried.

Unfortunately, the two were thwarted in their attempts to escape fairly quickly. Almost as soon as they reached the street corner, a small group of photographers popped out at them. Misty gasped and grabbed onto Ash's neck, nearly strangling him in the process. Once she managed to calm down, however, her shock was easily replaced with anger.

"Hey, what's the big idea?!" Misty fumed. "You can't just jump out at people like that!"

"Misty, stop!" Ash cried, his eyes widening. The photographers were visibly enjoying Misty's outburst, and began snapping away even more quickly. This only heightened Ash's anxiety, and without so much as thinking, he pulled Misty behind him and ordered, "Pikachu, go!"

The electric type jumped off his trainer's shoulder and started to charge up. This succeeded in scaring the photographers off, Ash letting out a relieved sigh as they ran away.

"What the hell was that?!"

Ash whipped around, and was surprised to see that Misty was now directing her anger towards him. "What do you mean what was that? I was saving your ass!"

"What does scaring them away with Pikachu do?" Misty demanded. "They'll still keep coming after us!"

"Yeah, and you going off on a rampage is going to keep them coming after us even more," Ash stressed.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Misty growled.

"You just said it before, Mist: I'm not a normal guy," Ash sighed. "I really wish I was, but I'm not. And anything they can make a headline out of, they will."

"So what? You're saying 'crazy girlfriend' is a great…" Misty trailed off at the end, her lips bending into a slight frown as she averted her eyes. Of course the media thought that would make a great headline. Who wouldn't be entertained by the idea of potentially the world's strongest Pokémon trainer dating a mental case? "Damnit, you're right."

Ash smiled sympathetically at his girlfriend. "Hey, I don't think you're crazy."

"Yeah, but they do," Misty grumbled.

"Who's they?" Ash asked.

"Everybody else," Misty groaned. "Come on, Ash, don't get dense on me now."

"I'm not," Ash assured, a smile on his face. "Misty, the only person's opinion you should be concerned about is mine, and I love you just the way you are."

Misty sighed and tilted her head. "But those photographers…"

"So what?" Ash pressed. "They'll probably be back tomorrow to take more pictures. They're not all gonna be winners. Actually, most of them aren't. Last week, they took a picture of me eating lunch, and my mouth was open with a bunch of food spilling out…it was gross."

Misty remained silent for a moment before replying, "This is why I'm always telling you to chew with your mouth closed."

Ash raised an eyebrow, and Misty couldn't help but to start giggling. "Really? I'm trying to make you feel better and you're picking on the way I eat?"

"I'm not picking on you!" Misty was still giggling. She took a step forward and wrapped her arms around Ash's shoulder, smiling up at him. "I love you. I really, really do, Ash. You're pretty much the only person in the world who can make me feel better when I get too much into my own head."

Ash returned her smile and gently placed a hand against the back of her head. "Thanks, Mist. I love you too."

He craned his neck down and pressed his lips against her own, his heart speeding up as he felt Misty's lips curve up into a smile. She soon began to kiss him back, having to stand on her tip toes to reach him, much to her chagrin. Misty's hands slowly moved up to thread his unruly black hair through her fingers, while Ash settled his hands on her hips, squeezing her gently.

Pikachu blushed considerably at the sight and uncomfortably looked over his shoulder, trying his best to give the two privacy without actually running off somewhere.

Ash's stomach began to growl again, and Misty quickly pulled away, shooting her boyfriend a disbelieving look. Ash, on the other hand, could only chuckle and sheepishly rub the back of his neck.

"Heh…guess we need to keep heading towards that restaurant, huh?"

Misty smirked and shook her head. "I'm glad you just told me how much you love me."

I thought this was a really nice theme to end the week on. I got to culminate all of my passion for these two and just write this sweet portrayal of them.

With that, my participation in Pokeshipping week is officially over! I would like to thank everyone who read and reviewed this story this week. I would also like to thank everyone else who participated in the week and shared all of their hard work! It's amazing to see how much love this ship still gets, and how passionate its fans are. I've had such a great time seeing all of that this week, and I'm already super excited for next year!

Of course, this isn't the end of me working on Pokeshipping content! Not by a long shot! Expect to see another installment of Family Matters up soon. Also, I've been working on a highly requested separate story: the first meeting of Misty and Serena. It was originally something I considered putting up for the week, but then I realized I wanted to follow the themes for the week instead. But that standalone story is nearly complete thanks to that fact, so also expect to see that published quite soon!

Again, thank you for all of the love this week and beyond. The Pokeshipping community really is so great, and I feel honored to have been able to share this week with you all!