"Hey, Ash?"

"Yeah, Misty?"

"I'm really glad you and Brock decided to come here for vacation," Misty said. "Guess even you figured out after a while that even the Sinnoh League Champ has to rest now and then!"

"Misty..." He gave her a look; even now that they were fourteen and sixteen she still knew how to bust his chops. But he didn't mind quite so much anymore...rather, it was a comfort to know she hadn't changed that much. "I'm glad, too. It's been way too long since the old trio got together, you know? We really missed you."

"I missed you, too. I even miss Brock constantly hitting on every girl!" Misty laughed. "At least, until he asked Violet for a date. If he so much as looks at another woman while they're together she'll whack him into next week!"

"Aw, he'll behave himself. He's not as bad as he was in the old days...at least he only told Nurse Joy she looked pretty instead of falling at her feet," Ash said.

"Yeah..." Misty smiled as she leaned against his shoulder. "Say, Ash? Remember our adventure in Shamouti Islands?"

"Boy, do I ever," he laughed. "At the time I thought that was the most intense thing I'd ever go through, being the Chosen One and having to brave the snow and the storms."

"All because you took your role so seriously and ran off alone," she teased.

"Hey, it wasn't all my fault, Pikachu was the one acting strange and he ran off first!" Ash countered. "But yeah, I guess I was pretty dumb back then."

"Not dumb," Misty said, "just...reckless." She sighed. "But aside from that...remember when that girl Melody kept teasing me and calling you my boyfriend? And how I kept saying I didn't like you that way?"

"Kind of. I know you got pretty mad at her," Ash said. "Why bring that up, though?" She blushed, playing with a strand of her hair, and looked down.

"Well...the thing is, I lied," she mumbled. "I...I did like you."

"R-really?" He stammered, his own face darkening a shade. "I..."

"I know, I didn't act like it most of the time, but, well...you drove me nuts! And before you ask the only reason I didn't say anything is because you were so clueless you wouldn't have gotten it anyway!" she said defensively. "But yeah...I did. And I still do."

Ash fell silent, then reached into his pocket and pulled something out...the special lure she'd given him years ago. Misty gasped.

"...you kept it."

"Of course I did." Ash's blush deepened. "The thing is, Misty...you're right, I was clueless, at least most of the time. Sometimes I did think about you that way, but I tried not to because I didn't know how you'd feel if you found out."

"And I didn't make it much easier, did I?" Misty smiled guiltily. "So do you still like me that way?"

"Yeah." Ash brushed a lock of hair away from her face. "Yeah, I do. I don't think I ever stopped." He fiddled with a button on his vest. "Misty?"

"Yeah?"

"C...can I kiss you?"

She brought her face closer to his.

"I thought you'd never ask." His arm looped around her back and her hand cupped his cheek as their lips met.