Clistare's Notes: In honesty, I finished this as of December 08 last year (even earlier, but the info in MS says the day I modified it) but I despised how it turned out. I hope I didn't disappoint anyone with this, especially since I'm three months late. Gomen. Also, I apologize for the -super- late update. I'll try to avoid those huge gaps in between.

Chapter Rating: Ranging from K+ to T. Take your pick.

Shipping: Pokeshipping. (Ash/Misty)

Dedication: I dedicate this chapter to NoelMistyAlyssa. I'm sorry for the super late chapter, dear! I hope you like this either way. :)

"A ring is a halo on your finger."
-Doug Coupland.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or any of the characters that will be mentioned below. Nor do I own the quote you may read above.

R-Ring

He watched as she drew random objects in the sand, too absorbed in her own thoughts to even reply to his questions. From the distance, Ash could hear May and Dawn's squeals of delight as their Pokemon ran after them, squirting out bubbles from their mouths in a playful manner. Despite their ages, his two old companions always managed to brighten the day with their childish antics.

Misty let out a squawk as Pikachu's beach ball came flying towards her direction, shielding herself with her arm. The yellow rodent bonded off towards their direction, breaking the awkward tension.

"Pikachupi! Pika pipikachu chu pi?" he asked, waving his arms in an apologetic manner.

Misty grinned at her beloved friend. "No worries, Pikachu. I'm fine. You guys go on."

With a teasing frown, Pikachu picked up the small ball between his arms and scampered towards the direction where Marill, Starmie, Chimchar, Glaceon and Empoleon were.

Sighing, Ash cleared his throat to speak, before Misty stopped him with a point of her hand. He trailed her arm and found that she was directing her attention to the beautiful sunrise. "Look, Ash. Isn't it wonderful?"

"Yeah, Misty, it looks great…"

She found herself willing to mock him one more, so with a shrewd smirk, Misty replied, "I am talking about the sun, not that Pokemon you're probably praying for."

"Yes, I know."

Misty was never one to favor awkward silences, but this time, it was an exception. Her boyfriend was so dense and stuck-up, he wouldn't even have the heart to ask her what was wrong. Well, truthfully, it wasn't like she wanted to answer him in the first place.

Many girls dream of getting a fairytale ending and marrying their prince charming. Though cliché as it was, Misty knew she felt exactly the same. She and Ash have been dating for quite a while now – he even commented that it was a new record for him, four years into a relationship. Oh sure, they had their arguments and quarrels, but yet, they've always been like that since childhood.

"Did you see the engagement ring on May's finger?" Misty hinted, with the tone of slight impatience. "It looks beautiful. I wonder if it would look just as amazing in turquoise. What do you think, Ash?"

He turned his eyes from the glittering water to her. "Uh, I haven't really paid much attention to May's fingers before. Why waste time looking at her hands when I could look at you?"

Despite his ignorance over the topic, Misty cursed herself for feeling her cheeks grow hot. Ash chuckled at her, not noticing the flames now erupting on her face. He made a mental note to make fun of her when things weren't so serious.

"Ugh!" Misty cried, throwing her arms up and bolting up on her feet. "You don't get it, do you Ash?"

The raven haired trainer watched her walk away until her back gradually disappeared over the horizon. However, her words were opposing his current thoughts. All he needed was time, and an artist.

And he knew just the person to crawl to.

;;;;;;

"C'mon, please, Tracey? You know I can't draw!" wailed the twenty four year old man, stooping uncomfortably on his knees and clasping his hands together.

The Pokemon Watcher sweatdropped anxiously as he chuckled. It was seriously embarrassing to find a grown up man – specifically the Pokemon Master – begging on his knees for something. But Tracey knew that this was very important for his friend, and he would do just about anything for him to repay him for the awesome times before. "Oh, alright, Ash, I'll do it, but I'm not as skilled in writing."

"That's okay!" Ash cheerfully replied, bounding to his feet. "I can do it! I would want her to appreciate the effort I put into it."

"Okay. So, where do you want it?"

;;;;;;

Misty dove towards the right, placing her hands in an awkward position but still managing to bounce the ball to the opposite side. May noticed this and immediately ran towards the beach ball, hitting it with much force. The redhead soon got up and understood that Dawn wanted to make a shot, so she waited for the blue haired coordinator to strike the ball towards May's side.

The day had been tiring for the team. It was, after all, Ash's celebratory vacation. He said that for putting them through hell during his traveling days, he would use some of his prized money to bring them to the beach. Everyone was ecstatic.

"Empoleon, Water Gun!" Dawn ordered.

The little penguin pokemon followed her master's commands and blasted out a torrent of water from her beak. Dawn watched proudly, as her best friends stared in awe at the powerful attack. May shook out of her reverie and smirked.

"Blaziken, Tackle now!"

And the beach volleyball game continued on as it had been for the past hour. After spending the afternoon tanning, swimming, playing and practically eating everything Brock cooked, the three wanted to lose some of their gained weight as well as train their beloved partners. It had been a great exercise for the pokemon, Dawn, May and Misty. The guys, however, had disappeared off to nowhere. The only ones left were Brock and Paul – Brock was still cooking like a maniac and Paul was inside their beach house, watching previous battles of champions.

"Quick," Dawn screamed to Empoleon, "Counter with Bubblebeam!"

With a given nod, Empoleon performed the attack with much skill. May had not given any instructions to her pokemon, and smiled. The ball landed on the sand, right next to the exhausted brunette.

"Pipikachu, Pikachupi, Pikaka pikachu!" Pikachu declared, raising his paw upwards with a grin.

Dawn grinned happily, dancing around while clutching on Empoleon's hands. Misty stood still as a rock, too engrossed in her thoughts to comprehend that they won. Her blue-haired teammate noticed the glazed, sorrowful look in her eyes and frowned.

"Hey Misty, are you okay?" she asked.

Discerning the fact that she was worrying her two friends, the redhead instantly shook her head and forcefully smiled. "I'm fine. That was a good match, May, but I think I've been too soaked in the sun. I'll be in my room if you guys need anything. Please look after my pokemon for me, okay?"

May opened her mouth to speak, but Misty had already bolted towards the beach house, hoping to silence her muffled sobs.

;;;;;;

"What did you do to her?" Dawn demanded angrily, pointing an accusing finger at his muscular chest. Ash took a step back in surprise and snorted.

"What are you talking about? I've been out since after lunch."

"Exactly!" May yelled. "That's probably why Misty's so upset."

It took a moment for the information to sink in. With his arms crossed thoughtfully and his brows raised in questioning, Ash gave a sigh. He now got what they meant. "Look, I know you think that I've been hurting Misty, but I'm doing this to make her happy."

"Oh, yeah, I'm supposed to believe that!" Dawn replied, stomping her foot on the ground.

Tracey raised a hand to speak, but Ash beat him to it. "I know why Misty's really upset, okay? C'mon guys, you don't really think that I would hurt her, would you?"

"Okay, fine. We'll believe you if you tell us why you've been gone for four hours!"

Ash sighed. It was better to tell them, though. "Well, you see…"

;;;;;;

…doesn't he want to spend his life with me? I mean, am I not pretty enough? Am I too conceited? Or worse…has he fallen out of love for me?

With one frustrated groan, Misty plopped her body over the queen-sized bed and shut her eyes. She and Ash have been dating for so long now, and they were legally adults! May's younger than both of them, yet she got engaged to Drew first. This was all just too aggravating for the gym leader.

She knew that she wanted to give Ash some time and space, so as not to rush him if he didn't want to marry her yet. However, when she tried to make him realize how much she wanted to spend her life with him – like bringing him to ring shops or maybe even gown stores or bringing the topic of May's ringed finger – he shrugged it off and smiled at her.

What's worse was that she was twenty four! God, she's been waiting for him since twelve years ago! Misty was overjoyed when Ash confessed his feelings unceremoniously, but still…she didn't want to be an old maiden when she grew up.

The obsession of the topic about Holy Matrimony probably started when Daisy had teased her about being single – with the exception of having a boyfriend – forever, since she was so clingy towards Ash.

"Hey, Misty!" a shrill voice called. The redhead stood up and wandered towards the window, where a surprising sight took her breath away.

There was Ash, a confident smirk plastered on his face, with a victory pose that she had seen far too much. The beach was empty, and the place looked absolutely gorgeous. The setting sun behind him added such a magnificent effect, Misty wondered if it was a backdrop of the scenery.

But that was not the real reason why she was almost close to hyperventilation. It was the words he was sitting beside, a little far off from the water, written on the fine sand: Marry me, Misty!

Without a second thought, she took off down the stairs, almost tripping down in the process, and proceeded out the door. By now, Ash was standing, with a hand placed behind his neck, and a sheepish grin on his features.

"I know how badly you wanted to get married, so…well, here you go!" Ash said, extending his arms to emphasize his point.

"Ash," Misty answered, walking towards him and wrapping her slender, pasty arms around his torso. "If you don't want to get married, it's fine with me."

He chuckled slightly and bit his lip. "Myst, if you read correctly, it says, 'Marry me' which means I'm not taking 'no' for an answer."

Misty retracted from the embrace, her arms now resting on her hips as she smirked with a brow raised. "Oh? Well, just how can I accept your kind offer, when you're not proposing right?"

"Huh?" he asked, baffled. "But…isn't this the kind of proposal every girl wants? Like a romantic, mushy scene or something, then after you say yes, I kiss you!"

"No, not that, Ash… I love it, and it's a wonder how you pulled this off! But still, where's the ring?"

When she had mentioned the word, his beamed grew larger as he pulled her hand slightly. Without saying anything, she followed his footsteps until he stopped at the eastern coast – where they had been playing with their pokemon a few hours ago.

And again, she gasped.

Before her was a large, illustration of a circular object, its detail skillfully drawn. On the center of the top of the ring, however, there was a large pokeball with a water stone beside it. Misty approached it carefully and looked at Ash, who signaled that it was hers.

"Eevee!" the creature yelled.

Misty took a deep inhale again and smiled, cuddling the pokemon to her chest and picking up the water stone. She sauntered towards Ash again and briefly gave him a kiss, before thanking him with a: "Yes, Ash. Yes."

And as they both walked back to the house, Misty realized that despite his proposal and her answer, her ring finger still felt oddly light. "Are you mad I didn't get you a ring? I promise that when we'll come back, I'll buy you the prettiest one! It was just…I couldn't find the courage until a few hours ago –"

"Ash," she said, stopping him from his ridiculous rant. "You already gave me a ring."

Clistare's Notes: If you don't understand anything, then I failed to do my job for this chapter. Anyways, hope you guys still liked it. No flames, please.

-Marie-