Burnet loved the calmness of mornings.

Since moving in with her dear husband and his rowdy, temporarily adoptive son, it was definitely something she didn't get to experience as much as she wanted. Kukui and Ash were worth it of course, but a quiet, serene morning with just her, her coffee, and the sunrise every now and then was definitely appreciated.

She was torn from her relaxation as the sounds of the shower started running in the adjacent bathroom, and briefly wondered who it might be (Ash and Kukui certainly weren't awake yet at this hour during the weekend) before remembering they were housing a few extra guests.

She smiled. Ash had been so excited to see Misty and Brock, and had burst into the house after school to tell her of their arrival. She had known already of course. Lana had checked with the two of them before solidifying their plans, but she was excited to see him so excited, she couldn't help but match his enthusiasm.

The kids had spent the day before exploring Alola, and to her and Kukui's surprise, Brock had been back early to set up a little camping surprise down on the beach for Ash and Misty to 'rough it like the old days'. She had smiled at that, remembering fondly those days of roughing it out in the wilderness from her own journey, and wondered if Ash missed it as he stayed in their home as well.

After a while, the shower turned off, and young Misty emerged from the bathroom, dressed for the day and drying her hair with a bright pink towel.

"Alola," Burnet greeted her with a grin, which Misty returned exuberantly.

"Alola!"

"You're up early," she said, taking out a mug and pouring her a small cup of Komala Coffee. "I didn't even hear you sneak inside."

Misty gratefully took the mug, took a sniff, and sighed contently before taking a small sip. "Old habits," she sighed. "I have be up in time to open the gym every morning, so my body must be used to it."

Burnet nodded. "It must be very busy running a gym. I think this vacation is much needed."

Misty grinned. "It is. Alola is so amazing! The ocean, the sunshine, the food is delicious, and it's so nice to see A-I mean... everyone again."

"Well good," Burnet said with a smile. "Feel free to come back as much as you like! Any friend of Ash's is a friend of ours."

The young girl got quiet after that, gingerly sipping her coffee, her eyes focused out the window as if she was contemplating saying something, but wasn't entirely sure how to put the words together in the right order. Finally after a while, she bit her lip and cleared her throat.

"H-hey, Ms. Burnet?" she began quietly. "I have a kind of, uh... weird question."

Burnet smiled. So polite. "Yes, Misty?"

"Does Ash..." She blushed. "Does Ash ever... talk about me?"

Burnet blinked, and put down her cup mid-sip in order to get a good look at the girl sitting across from her. To her delight, the look on her face was a familiar one. A very familiar one, actually. One that she recognized and had sported numerous times in her life, most recently relating to the goofy professor snoring away in the other room.

It was happy, bashful, just a little embarrassed, and overall, extremely hopeful.

Misty had a crush.

Resisting the 'Awww' threatening to slip through her lips at the adorable realization, she smiled warmly. Because of course Ash talked about her. He was an absolute fountain of information and stories pertaining to any and all things involving his journey and his friends, and Misty had been there from the very beginning. She had lost count of the amount of times Ash's dinner had gone cold, as he was so wrapped up retelling an adventure, he had forgotten to eat.

But Burnett knew she had to chose her words carefully. This wasn't about adventures or training or pokemon battles, this was about a young, headstrong girl caring deeply about a young, reckless boy, missing him, and wanting to know if he missed her as much in return.

"He does." Burnett grinned. "All the time."

Misty face lit up. "Really? He does?"

"Oh yeah!" Burnett laughed. "I feel like I already know you ,for how much he talks about you!"

Misty's grin stretched from ear to ear as her hands gripped her mug in excitement. "What does she say?!" she asked eagerly.

"Well," Burnet started, enjoying the positively giddy smile on her face. "He talks about your journey together, of course, and your work at the gym. I think he talked about your mega gyarados and the battle you two had for days after they got back from Kanto. He's brought up your sisters and how much of a pain they are... oh! And he likes to show off the lure you gave him."

Misty's eyes were literally sparkling by the time she finished recounting all the ways Ash had sung her praises, and Burnet was almost convinced she was going to float out of the room. Thankfully, the young man in question chose this moment to make his appearance, and Misty managed to simmer her elation to just a small flush in her cheeks as Ash dragged himself into the house, a still sleeping Pikachu draped over his shoulder.

"Alola," he drawled with a yawn.

"Alola," they replied together.

Misty, giggling either from the happiness she felt from their previous conversation or Ash's ridiculous bedhead, gently lifted Pikachu from his unsteady perch and cradled the happily "chaaa"ing pokemon into her arms. "I'm surprised to see you guys up before Brock," she teased.

"No kidding," Ash snorted. "I tried like three times to get him up, but he just kept mumbling 'five more minutes' before conkin' out again. I think med school might be killing him."

Burnet chuckled, slipping up her seat and grabbing two green mugs from the cabinet. "Why don't you go bring him a coffee? That was the only way Fennel was able to get me up in school." She poured the reminder of the pot of coffee into the two mugs, handing one to Ash and taking one for herself. "I'll see if it'll work on Kukui as well."

Ash nodded, taking the cup carefully in his hands, and turning to Misty with a smile. "Wanna help? You were always good at getting him up. Probably 'cause you're so loud."

"Oh, shut up, Ketchum," she scoffed, rolling her eyes, though Burnet noticed her tone was a playful one. She giggled, wishing them luck as they headed out to the tent on the beach, their arms barely brushing as they walked.

Kukui wandered sleepily into the room moments after the door closed behind them, kissing her on the cheek as she offered him the steaming mug with a groggy thank you. After a few sips, he stretched his arms above his head, and raised an eyebrow at Burnet, who was looking wistfully out the window just as she had the night before.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Oh," she said with a dreamy sigh, watching as the kids messed around outside. Apparently they were able to wake up Brock successfully. "Just thinking about our wedding."

"Oh yeah?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

She nodded. "It was so unexpected, but so beautiful. Alola really is the perfect place for a wedding." She grinned to herself. On the beach below, Misty and Pikachu had managed to steal Ash's hat and were holding it just out of his reach victoriously, while Brock took down the tent. "Hopefully we'll be going to another one someday."

Kukui blinked. "Wha-? Who's getting married, now?"

"Don't worry about it," she giggled, spinning around and kissing his nose. "Why don't you make us some breakfast?"

I love Professor Burnet! Wish we could have seen more interaction between the professors and Misty and Brock, but oh well. We can always imagine!

I like the idea of Misty having a positive mother figure that isn't directly related to her crush. I think she'd feel a little more comfortable talking about things than she would with, say, Ash's mom. :P