I Choose You for the Rest of My Days Chapter 2: Part 2: Wedding, a pokémon fanfic

I Choose You for the Rest of My Days

By Fox McCloude.

Part 2: Wedding

Kanto region, two months later…

Ash Ketchum had never felt so nervous in his whole life. And he didn't understand why; what he was about to do today shouldn't be nowhere as hard as taking part in Pokémon League tournaments, to face against criminal teams with plans for world domination/destruction, or even battle against Pokémon considered legendary.

"Can you hurry up, Mom?" he said while fiddling with his fingers impatiently, as he sat in front of a mirror while Delia combed his hair.

"If you don't calm down you're going to ruin it yourself," the woman said. "And there's still two hours left. Take it easy, honey."

That was easy to say, but Ash had never been good for waiting. Even though he was only two hours away from his nuptial ceremony, the trainer from Pallet Town had never felt so anxious and scared all at once. Even though he took the step to propose to the love of his life, as the day approached his nerves were taking him over.

Of course, it wasn't because he intended to run away and stand her up at the last minute, but he'd rather get it over it as soon as possible. So they could be husband and wife soon enough to enjoy their life as a married couple.

"Mom… do you think Misty's as nervous as me?" Ash asked, trying to defuse the tension.

"Maybe even more so. Any woman gets her hair upright on her wedding day. We always want everything to be perfect."

Ash didn't ask anything more. She probably was recalling her own wedding, and by extension his father. For both of them was hard to touch that topic for obvious reasons. His father had left to pursue his dreams, leaving his family behind, but Ash had proved both things didn't have to conflict with each other at all.

Both he and Misty had forged successful careers as trainers, and they never lost contact with their families. Neither had their careers been an obstacle to have a happy and full relationship with each other; in fact, a big part of the reason they waited to get married was to have enough income for themselves and their children, when they decided to have them.

Now he had decided to form his own family, all that mattered was that they'd always be provided for. He'd be an integral part of their life, and he wanted to be present for the important moments.

"Okay, you're ready," Delia said, and Ash could finally stand up from the chair in front of the mirror. "Now, let's just clean this here…"

Delia wiped off some dust off his suit, clearing it off of any wrinkles, until it was immaculate. Ash couldn't help but feel a tad embarrassed at having his mom fixing his clothes like when he was a child, but somehow it made him feel more at ease

"There, now you look perfect," Delia said. "God, I can't believe my baby has grown into such a handsome man, and he's finally getting married!"

"Time surely flies, doesn't it?" Ash scratched the back of his neck.

And then, after staring into her eyes, so similar to his own, he spontaneously hugged her.

"Ash?"

"Thank you, Mom," he said. "Thanks for supporting me on this, and for being with me on this important day. In fact… thanks for always been there for me, for all my life."

"Stop it, Ash, you're gonna make me cry before the ceremony even begins," Delia replied, returning the hug. "You know all I care about is your happiness. If you're happy, so am I."

To know that his mother would be there for him in such an important day was encouraging, as he didn't want to make a mess of things. And although he planned on going to live with Misty to their own place, he wasn't worried about his mother being alone anymore.

Right then somebody knocked on the door, and as soon as he opened, Pikachu entered jumped to his arms. The electric mouse had also dressed up for the occasion. Behind him, the one Ash had chosen to be his best man made his entrance too. It wasn't an easy pick, as in Ash's opinion many people deserved the honor, but in the end, the winner was his old childhood friend, mentor and almost big brother during his early days.

"I see you're ready now," Brock stated upon seeing him. "Well, that takes a worry off of my shoulders. I can't believe you finally decided to settle down and marry."

"Look who's talking; you and Lucy practically eloped together," Ash chuckled, giving him a nudge on the shoulder.

"That's different." The breeder-turned-doctor shrugged. "No really, I'm happy for you both. I always knew you two were meant for each other."

"Well, if you were both so kind to leave the room, I need to get myself fixed too," Delia said, softly shoving them out of the room. "I don't want to look like an old hag on my son's wedding."

Ash laughed at his mom's joke. Delia actually had always been rather youthful-looking for her age, but today she looked so happy, it was almost like she'd turned ten years or so younger. That made him happy, almost as much as he was for soon to be married to the woman he loved.

Leaning against the wall as they waited for Delia to dress up for the ceremony, Ash couldn't help but wonder if Misty was as nervous and anxious as he was.

Meanwhile, elsewhere…

"How long do I have to be this way," Misty asked, her arms raised while her sisters were placing the garnishes on her wedding dress.

"Be patient, little sis, we're almost done," Daisy said, while fixing up her hair and veil. "Today is a very special day, and you have to be radiant like never before."

"I can't believe our baby sister beat us to get married," Violet commented, as she put the lace on the skirt. "Like, that's unfair, I should have been the next one, I got the bouquet!"

"Yeah, because you, like, pushed me away!" Lily reminded her. "That one was rightfully mine!"

"Now, now, girls, get a hold of yourselves," Daisy interrupted. "We don't want to ruin our baby sister's day. Besides, it's your fault for falling behind. Learn from me; I wasn't afraid of proposing to my man after all."

"More like dragging him to the altar," Misty muttered. Then again, it wasn't like Tracey put up any resistance, and he was quite happy with the surprise… once they reanimated him after he fainted in shock.

"Who cares?" Daisy replied. "Besides, you'd have done the same if Ash hadn't manned up to propose to you, am I wrong?"

Misty snorted, laughing at the idea. What did they call it, tough love? Maybe years before she'd have vaguely considered it, but not anymore. For the past three years, Ash had lost his fears of going further in their relationship, and she was certain he would be the one doing the marriage proposal.

Though admittedly, it did take him a little more than she expected, but he'd made her so happy she didn't mind too much. The wait was worth it until the last moment.

"And now, for the final touch." Once Daisy was done with her hair, she handed Misty her bouquet. The older sisters stepped away so she would have room to turn around and see herself on the full-body mirror.

She could barely believe that was her own reflection. The image before her was a woman radiant of beauty and happiness, with that white dress somewhat showing her cleavage but without being indecent, her hair tied in a bun with the veil, and an almost nonexistent makeup, barring some eyeshade and a dark pink lipstick. She involuntarily took a hand to her chest to make sure it was herself, and felt her heartbeat speeding up.

"Not bad, huh? Hope Ash won't faint when he sees you," Daisy joked.

"I'm really nervous," Misty admitted. "I've dreamt of this day for so long, and now that it's here… I don't know what to do."

"So what the wedding rehearsals were for?" Violet protested. "Don't tell me you've forgotten everything we practice."

"Misty, let me give you some big sister words of advice," Daisy intervened. "When you get there, forget about everything and focus on Ash. Do that and even if you forget what we practiced, it'll all come to you."

"You sure?"

"Well, it worked for me and Tracey," the blonde giggled nervously. "And unlike you two, we didn't even have time to rehearse the thing, remember?"

Misty sighed, but somehow those words helped her relax. She'd rehearsed the thing over and over, and even though the last one went perfectly, the moment of truth would decide everything. She couldn't do anything but trust herself and hope for the best.

"Hey… thanks… to all three of you," she said with full sincerity. "I know sometimes we couldn't stand each other, but it means a lot you've all supported me in this. I don't know what I would have done without you girls."

"Right, what would you do without us?" Lily said. "Group hug, sisters?"

The four sisters cuddled amongst each other, carefully so as to not to ruin the bride's dress. No matter that she sometimes felt like the baby sister, the runt or the less talented, Misty couldn't imagine her life without her sisters. After all, they watched over her in her parents' absence as best as they could, and she was grateful for it.

"Okay, it's almost time," Daisy glanced at her PokéGear. "Don't make the groom wait more than necessary, will you?"

"And one more thing, Misty; when you toss the bouquet, try to aim for me, please?" Lily said.

Misty rolled her eyes. She couldn't promise that; once the bouquet was tossed, it was for whoever caught it, and everything was fair game: jumping, pushing, even hair-pulling for some. She herself almost broke a heel when she jumped to catch it at Daisy's wedding, though fortunately that didn't cause her inconveniences when she danced with Ash.

Glancing at the digital clock on Daisy's PokéGear, she saw she had about forty minutes left before she had to depart for the ceremony.

Soon enough, she'd stop being Misty Waterflower to become Misty Ketchum, and the sole thought made him happy like she'd never been before.

One hour later…

In a church of Viridian City, people was starting to gather around. For the Kanto region it was big news that the Pallet Frontier Brain and the Cerulean Gym Leader were about to get married, and many people wanted to sneak into the wedding.

For the same reason, some of the guests offered to do the 'security committee' job to prevent uninvited guests from entering. To avoid overcrowding troubles, Ash and Misty agreed to make the wedding invitation only, and out of money and space limitations, they could only send the invitations to their closest friends.

They arrived in well-defined groups: May and Max were among the first to arrive, with Drew as the former's companion. Soon after Dawn, Kenny and Zoey followed, and after them Iris, Cilan and Burgundy, the latter without showing a lot of enthusiasm at being there. As for his Alolan friends, the only no-shows were Sophocles (whom Ash knew was literally off-planet, in a space mission) and the siblings Lillie and Gladion, although they too send their regards and some wedding gifts as apology for not being able to attend in person. Lastly, among Ash's fellow Frontier Brains, only Lucy, who came along with Brock, and Anabel appeared, with the others sending apology letters. Ash found it rather amusing that she chose to don a black tux as opposed to a dress, like most the other female guests.

While Ash helped in getting the guests to their respective chairs, he saw a familiar face approaching him. Serena, wearing a dark pink gown, a large white stole around her shoulders and her hair short, came walking upstairs. Her companion was a boy with short brown hair, wearing a dark blue suit.

"Serena, glad you could make it," Ash greeted. "We were worried when your flight came in late."

"I wouldn't have missed this wedding for the world," the Kalosian winked at him. She then pointed at her companion. "By the way Ash, I'd like you to meet Calem."

"The famous Ash Ketchum," the aforementioned said, extending his hand for a shake. "Serena has told me a lot about you. I'm pleased to meet you at last."

"Pleasure's mine," Ash accepted the handshake. "Serena has told me many good things about you too. I saw how you won the last Kalos League conference, you were impressive."

"Thanks. I know I'm still far from your level, but I hope we can face each other in the big leagues someday."

Ash smiled at Calem's spirit. He'd always liked people with enthusiasm, and he'd never back off from a good challenge. He'd gladly accept it when they had it.

"Big brother, hurry!" another known voice called out.

Ash turned around to see two blond heads coming upstairs, one of which quickly jumped on Serena for a big hug. The other quickly joined them and had to take some air after evidently having run a fair amount.

"Serena, you're here too!" Bonnie exclaimed. Ash took notice on how much she'd grown; she was now almost taller than Serena. And after letting go of her, she quickly turned to him. "Congratulations, Ash!"

"Haha, thanks, I'm glad to see you guys too," the black-haired boy replied. "It means a lot for me that you're all here, really."

"Are you kidding me? We wouldn't miss this wedding for anything!" the younger blonde said in excitement. "And let's see if my big brother takes some notes for his own, right, big brother?"

"Bonnie, it's still too soon for that," Clemont replied, as he fixed his glasses with a little blush. He then approached Ash. "Some things never change, she's still bent on getting me to marry someone."

"Party pooper, you were going to settle down for being Ash's best man in this wedding," Bonnie puffed up her cheeks, making everyone else laugh.

"Come in, please," Ash said before things could get more awkward. "I'll show you your places."

The four guests entered the temple, heading for the chairs reserved for them. While Clemont took Calem for a moment to socialize with the groom's other male friends, and Bonnie quickly got into a heated argument with Max, Serena approached to talk to Ash.

"It took you longer than I thought, but I'm glad you finally did it," she said.

"Three years of dating seemed long enough," Ash replied. "Hey… I never thanked you for what you told me before."

Serena shrugged. "You don't need to thank me. You two deserved to be together, I always knew."

Ash smiled at her, and then glanced at Calem, who was chatting with Clemont, Brock and Cilan. It looked like they would all get along just fine, and he hoped that would be the case.

He was also glad the honey-blonde girl had found someone who loved her. Ash knew how much pain he'd caused her with his rejection, and it also hurt him because she was a nice, sweet and beautiful girl, not to mention one of his closest female friends. In other circumstances, maybe he would have fallen in love with her, had his heart not be taken already by Misty.

And despite the heartbreak, Serena did everything in her power to push him into pursuing a relationship with the girl he loved. Sometimes he didn't get how his friends knew him better than he himself did, but he was grateful for it.

"Ash, the ceremony's about to start," Delia intervened, pulling Ash back from his thoughts. "I think we better get to our places, including you."

"Yeah, Mom, I'm coming," Ash then went to his place next to the altar. Meanwhile, Pikachu separated from his trainer and sat on Delia's lap on the first row.

Shortly after, Brock joined him on the best man's spot, and as soon as the orchestra began tuning their instruments to start playing, the breeder dared to ask. "Still nervous?"

"Not as much as this morning," Ash admitted. "I think seeing everyone here helped me feel better."

And so it was. His closest friends coming in to support him in this important day meant the world to him. Even those who couldn't be here for circumstances out of their control, Ash could feel they were present in spirt, and that was enough. As much as he wanted to take that step for a new stage of his life, he'd never be able to do it alone.

The next minutes flew quickly, and when the priest arrived to the place, the seven o'clock bell rang, signaling the bride's arrival. The orchestra began playing the wedding march, and at long last, after spending the whole day without seeing her to prevent bad luck, Ash could see his dear bride in all her splendor.

Misty had always been a beautiful girl, but that night, her radiant beauty was simply indescribable. The white dress made her look like a real angel; a rather unusual connotation for Ash, considering that he'd always associated her with mermaids and the sea. Daisy walked in front of her as the bridesmaid, while Tracey escorted her as she walked towards the altar.

After exchanging glances, Ash grabbed Misty's hand, and without further words, they both stood in front of the priest, to begin the ceremony officially.

"We have all gathered tonight, to bear witness to the union in holy matrimony of two wonderful people."

Ash had to hold the urge to sigh. He knew this would be long, but considering how long they had waited, a few more hours wouldn't matter. He'd put up with it to the end.

…

Surprisingly, the wait didn't feel as slow as he expected. Maybe holding hands with Misty for that long helped him enjoy the time a lot more.

In any case, he felt a huge relief and excitement when the priest announced it was time to exchange vows and rings. Misty would go first, and he was anxious to hear what she had to say.

"I, Misty Waterflower, accept you, Ash Ketchum, as my eternal companion in this wonderful journey, this journey we began as children, and we continue now as adults."

"I have no words that can describe how much you mean to me. Neither for the happiness I'm feeling to vow on this day, in front of our families and friends, that I will love you like nobody else has loved you in this life…

"I promise I will be there, in good times and bad times, to support you even when you make mistakes, and to guide you whenever you feel you've lost your path. And in the toughest times, I'll be there to remind you that you'll never be alone, because you'll always have me…"

And with those words, Misty place the ring on Ash's finger. The boy gulped, feeling like he was going to drown in happiness. He had to take a deep breath before remembering he too had to state his own vows.

"I, Ash Ketchum, accept you, Misty Waterflower, as my eternal companion in this journey we began as children, and we continue now as adults. I promise I will make it a great adventure, never forgetting the wonderful person you are.

»I'll do my best to be more responsible, and I promise to try and not to make you mad like when you were children, although I can't assure a 100% of success on that."

Some snickers were heard among the guests, and Ash even noticed Misty slightly curving her lips upwards, clearly trying to hold back the giggles too. That helped him relieve the tension he felt, and now he was more relaxed to say the final lines:

"But above everything else, I promise, in front of all our friends and family members here, that I'll never stop loving you, ever. I'll be there for you in the good and bad times, in those moments where I'd like to say 'I told you so' when you made a mistake, but I'll still hold your hand and walk by your side.

»I said it when we were children, and now I'm more certain than ever: we were destined to meet each other. And after all this time, I couldn't be any happier that our paths crossed on that day…"

With that said, Ash slid the ring into Misty's finger. The two held gazes for a moment, hearing some sobs and low cries among the crowd. Ash managed to catch his mother's voice among them, and through the corner of his eye some of his friends made approval gestures.

Once the ring and vow exchange was done, the priest proceeded to utter the words they were all waiting for.

"By the power I've been granted, in the name of Arceus, I thereby declare you husband and wife. You might kiss the bride."

And in the middle of the cheering and applause, Ash raised the veil, and after letting himself get lost one last time in Misty's bright aquamarine orbs, he approached to kiss her in the sweetest and most tender way he could. That moment would be carved in their minds and hearts forever, marking the beginning of this new stage of their life.

One life that wasn't just his, or hers. It was theirs.

A few hours later…

The reception was the mother of all parties Ash and Misty ever attended, and that was saying a lot.

One of the advantages of waiting for so long to get married, was that they had the chance to watch the newlyweds' waltz in many of their friends' weddings, which ensured they'd knew exactly what to do and what not to do when their time came.

Many funny things happened during the party: first a Kiawe who had taken one too many drunks decided to rip off his jacket and shirt to make a little show with fire batons, and Lana seemed delighted with his muscled frame.

Elsewhere in the hall, the Pokémon Coordinators had gotten into a limbo dancing competition, and May couldn't go down enough, knocking the bar with her chest and needing to be saved by Drew when she almost fell backwards. At the same time, Bonnie tried to force Max into the game, but the bespectacled trainer refused to it.

And maybe the funniest event in all night long, when the time came for Misty to toss the bouquet. The single ladies started fighting amongst each other trying to catch it, and it bounced from hand to hand, until it fell on…

"CLEMONT?!" all girls shouted at once.

"Congratulations, big brother!" Bonnie celebrated. "Now you'll be the next one to get married!"

On one side, there were chuckles from the men and the married women, while some of the singles like Violet and Lily cried out for failing to catch it, and demanded it to be tossed again. Clemont handed the bouquet to Bonnie, and the younger blonde leered at Max, who clearly tried to slip away before she got any ideas.

After a few hours, however, the newlyweds felt they needed a private moment, just for themselves. Thus, when everyone was busy at the hall, everyone in their own thing, they took the chance to discreetly go out to the balcony.

The trainer kindly offered his jacket to his now wife, placing it over her shoulders so she wouldn't get cold, which she gladly accepted. Both of them leaned on the handrail, watching the starry sky without saying a word for a bit. They just wanted to enjoy the moment.

The noise below had diminished a bit, possibly because the guests were tiring out with so much fun. But with all the time they'd spent dancing and attending to everyone, a moment of some peace and quiet was appreciated.

"What a night, huh?" Ash said. "God, my feet are killing me. Dancing in these shoes is pure torture."

"At least you don't have to wear heels," Misty replied. "Hope I don't have to put them on for a long, long time."

"Maybe just until we're invited to another wedding?" he hopefully joked.

Misty glared at him, and then rolled her eyes. While she had nothing against formal parties, neither did she want to miss out important events like the weddings of some of their friends, the truth was that neither felt particularly comfortable with the dress code after a while.

They preferred casual, comfy and easy to wear clothing, better suited for traveling. And speaking of that…

"So the… have you made the travel schedule for our honeymoon?" Misty asked.

"More or less," Ash replied. "I have many places in mind, like Kalos' Prism Tower, or Sinnoh's Great Lakes. What I haven't decided is the order we're going to visit them. There's so much I want to show you… I don't know where to start."

"The lakes sound good for me," the redhead said. "I'll be just like the old times."

"No. It'll be better. Because it'll be just you and me, Misty."

Right on that moment, Ash felt the sleeping Pikachu trembling in his arms and groaning slightly, as if he'd heard him in his sleep. Misty chuckled at that.

"And our Pokémon," she corrected. "Remember we can't leave them behind?"

"True, but… well, you get what I meant, don't you?"

Come to think about it, they started that way when they first met, although it was just for a short time. First when they met on Route 1 on the road to Viridian City, for a few days before they met Brock in Pewter, and then briefly when they left him in Valencia Island before they started the journey through the Orange Islands.

Although he wouldn't admit it out loud, being alone with Misty was never uncomfortable for him, and while he felt embarrassed when Team Rocket suggested they were a couple of lovebirds, his denial was more from the mouth out than anything.

Now the two were about to start a new journey, towards a new and wonderful stage of their lives.

"Misty…" he said while grabbing her hands and staring deeply into her eyes. "I know we have our own goals and dreams, and we had to go separate ways for a while to achieve them. But I want to walk the path with you, to reminisce the path and see what the future has in store for us."

"Me too," Misty said. "There's no point in having so many dreams, unless you have someone special to share them, right?"

Ash nodded. For a long time, he thought his only goal in life was to become a Pokémon Master, and he never lost sight of it. But as he continued to grow and mature, discovering more of himself and others, he realized that to be genuinely happy, that shouldn't be his only goal. In order to chase that dream, he didn't have to leave his family behind, neither did he have to deny himself the chance to form one of his own.

He wouldn't be like his father in that regard. There was no way he'd choose between his career and his family, whether it was his mother, or now his wife, and eventually the children they'd have together. He knew he couldn't do that alone, so it was important to choose the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

And he was certain that he made the right call in choosing Misty.

"Hey!" Brock's voice called them out, and then they saw him on the balcony's entrance. "So you were here all along. It's time to cut the cake, we can't start without you."

"Sorry, we'll go right away," Misty said. "So, are you going my way?"

"After you," Ash courtly replied.

The newly married couple went back to the room, where all their friends had gathered around the cake. The younger ones seemed the most impatient for obvious reasons, so they decided to hurry and serve it quickly to appease them.

The reception party would soon come to an end, but Ash and Misty couldn't have asked for it to be more perfect. Except maybe, the wedding night awaiting them once the party was over.

But that would be a private story, just for the two of them.

FIN.

Author's notes:

First, special thanks to Suki90 for helping me with Ash and Misty's vows, it helped me a lot to get unstuck and finish this part.

So, having written a couple weddings before, this time I tried to focus on something different, namely on the nervousness of Ash and Misty before the ceremony, even though they're eager to spend the rest of their days together as a couple. It wasn't that hard, I guess it helps a lot to revisit themes I've written before, so on that front I had some advantage during this week.

Sorry I didn't gave too much focus on other characters or couples here, except maybe Serena and Calem, but I wanted to give the Kalosian some closure in regards to her rejection from Ash, as mentioned in "Sacrifices for Love". Maybe someday I'll write about that time, and also about her recovery when she meets her second love. I mean, just because your first love didn't turn out well, it doesn't mean you can't fall in love again, right?

This pretty much brings the PokéShipping Week 2019 to a closure. It was a fun ride, and I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did. While I appreciate the favs and followings, I'd insist that you commented a little more, don't be afraid to. I don't know if next year I'll decide to take part, but at least on this one I've left my mark, so for now, I'll focus on other projects. See you soon!