Alphabet Challenge

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. I do, however, own this story (but not this idea, which belongs to A Rose for me-A Rose for you).

Author's Note: Everyone's been doing it, and I've been meaning to write some drabbles, so why not? Yes, that's right; I have decided to take the ABC/alphabet/whatever-you-want-to-call-it challenge. The challenge was issues by A Rose for me-A Rose for you (err, I hope I got that right!), whom I don't know but would like to thank for coming up with such a neat challenge. Enjoy!

A—Apple

"Ohh…Misty…" A soft moan startled the Cerulean City gym leader, temporarily distracting her from her work of preparing some nice, warm miso soup. She had definitely heard it, though, and exited her place in the kitchen, entering the Ketchum living room with her hands on her hips.

"What now, Ash?" she snapped.

"I…I changed my mind," Ash began tentatively, a small smile gracing his chapped lips. "I don't want the miso soup anymore."

Misty, shaking her head in aggravation, began making her way towards the couch-ridden teenager, ready to lay her hands on him.

"M-m-misty, wait! If you touch me you might get the chicken pox, too!" Ash eagerly reminded his companion.

"Ash, how many times do I have to tell you? I've already had the chicken pox! Besides, if I kill you now I can just blame your illness. No one will have to know I'm guilty of murder." Misty grinned mischievously, coming even closer to Ash.

"Pikachu, I order you to shock Misty this instant!" Ash cried out to his Pokémon companion, who had been napping peacefully next to the couch Ash was occupying.

"Pika?" The electric mouse opened its eyes briefly, surveyed the scene, and then promptly went back to sleep.

"I'll remember this, Pikachu," Ash said with a shake of his sore head. "Next time there's ketchup in the house you won't be getting any."

"Well, Ash, what are you going to do now? All day it's been, 'Misty, bring me this' and 'never mind, now bring me that.' Honestly, Ash, give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now!" Misty said menacingly.

"Because I'm adorable when I'm sick and because you love me so much?" Ash stated sheepishly, giving Misty his cutest, most engaging smile.

Misty felt her face flush slightly, warmth creeping up into her cheeks. God, why did he have to be so freaking cute all the time? How did she let herself fall in love with such a sweet, endearing, charming…

Ash let out a giggle, pleased at having successfully saved himself from the wrath of his girlfriend.

…obnoxious, moronic, dense loser?!

"Ugh, Ash! Stop laughing or I really am going to kill you!" Misty threatened.

"Alright, Alright!" Ash put up his hands in mock surrender.

"What would you like now?" Misty asked in irritation.

"Some hot tea would be nice, please."

"I thought you didn't want tea anymore? I though you wanted miso soup?"

"Um, I changed my mind again, hehe."

"What's the magic word?" Misty teased.

"Umm…tea? Pikachu? Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious?" Ash asked.

"Ugh, you really are an idiot, Ash! It's called 'please'!"

"Oh, right…" Ash sweat dropped in embarrassment.

The Cerulean City gym leader tapped her fingers in agitation against the counter top as she waited for the water to come to a boil in the tea kettle. Why oh why did she ever answer Mrs. Ketchum's pleas to take care of her sick son when she went out of town for the day? Oh, right. Because she loved Ash.

"Oh…Misty…"

Or at least she thought she did.

***

The Cerulean City gym leader hummed a tune as she waited for the tub to fill. How odd it was that people took oatmeal baths when they were afflicted with chicken pox! Well, if it would make Ash feel better it would be worth a shot, she figured. Poor guy. She would do anything to make him feel better.

"Ash, your oatmeal bath is ready!" she called out a few minutes later.

Ash slowly trudged into the bathroom, dragging his spotted feet along the floor. When he saw Misty and the bath filled with oatmeal his eyes lit up.

"Wow, Misty! This should definitely make me feel better!"

"I hope so, Ash. Well, go on in."

Ash paused, staring at Misty.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Misty asked, growing aggravated and not thinking of what it meant for Ash to get in the tub in front of her.

"Umm, I thought you'd, you know, give me some privacy, but if you want to see my naked bottom that's fine with me!" Ash said with a grin.

Misty felt herself turn bright red.

"Ash! I'm going to kill you!" Misty screamed, chasing a frightened Ash out of the bathroom. She would do anything to make him feel worse.

***

"Thanks for taking care of me today, Misty," a tired Ash said, his head resting in the Cerulean City gym leader's lap.

"You're welcome, Ash. You know I love you…even if you are a pain," Misty replied, stroking the sick boy's black hair.

"There's just one thing I need to make me feel better," Ash began, looking up at his girlfriend.

"Hmm? What's that?" Misty asked.

"Well, it would be really nice if you would give me a goodnight kiss."

"I don't think so, Ash. I know I won't get chicken pox because I've already had it, but there's no way I'm kissing those nasty looking lips…no offense," Misty quickly added, not wanting to hurt Ash's feelings.

"Oh, come on, Mist." Ash sat up and began to pout.

"Uh-uh. No way."

"Please…"

"Oh, alright. I want this kiss to be really special, though, so I want you to close your eyes and wait for me to lean in," Misty instructed.

Ash closed his eyes and puckered up, waiting expectantly for what seemed like forever…until he felt something extremely smooth hit his lips. Opening his eyes, he saw something red and shiny and round in front of him.

"What the?"

"You know what they say, Ash. An apple a day keeps the doctor away!"

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed that little drabble. This challenge is going to have drabbles on all topics and in all genres and is going to be about Ash and Misty at all different ages and at all different stages in their relationship. I'm really looking forward to it.

OK, so apple was probably the most obvious choice for A, but I promise my other ones will (hopefully) be more creative. I don't plan on doing "ball" for "B" or "cat" for "C."

I haven't given up on Together or Always with You. I just wanted to have something shorter as a side project I could work on from time to time. I don't know how frequent updates will be because I have tons of school work, but in a few weeks the semester will be over and I'll have more time to devote to my fics.

Thanks for reading. Don't forget to review. :)