Ash didn’t usually spend a lot of time in Cerulean City.
When he was home visiting between journeys, he usually just went back to Pallet, and more often than not, Misty would be itching for the chance to take some time off work and join him there.
This week though, Daisy had some commercial she was filming in Viridian, and Violet was at some book festival thing in Celadon, and Lily was leading hot yoga for a new studio that had just opened in Saffron, so Misty was stuck at the gym and Ash had to visit her for a change.
He and Pikachu had spent the morning slowly picking away at menial tasks and chores Misty had assigned him in between watching a few gym battles, and periodically pestering her to take a long lunch so they could wander around the city for a while.
She finally gives in at a quarter to twelve, just like he knew she would.
“Fine,” she snaps, grabbing her backpack and slipping it over her shoulder, “but you’re buying lunch.”
Pikachu chooses to stay behind with Misty’s pokemon at the pool, so she first leads him to a (thankfully reasonably priced) cafe along the waterfront for sandwiches and pastries, and after lunch, they take in a few of the more touristy sights.
They pose for pictures next to the big Starmies statue outside of the Cerulean Marine Pokebase Stadium, and Ash buys a little Starmies keychain just in case he runs into Casey again and wants to push her buttons.
They window shop at the Bicycle Shop, Misty pointing out just how expensive all the bikes and their various upgrades are, as Ash hums noncommittally before finally chirping out a snarky “Well, good thing your bike got fixed in the end, and you didn’t have to buy a new one, huh?” and patting her condescendingly on the head.
They bicker and tease each other the whole way back to gym, but as they pass the Pokemon Center, Misty pauses, digging around in her shorts pocket and pulling out a singular coin, which she tosses into the large, stone fountain out front.
“Whatcha doing?” he asks, coming up beside her.
Misty shrugs just a little bashfully. “I always make a wish when I pass by here,” she explains. Ash scrunches up his nose.
“Every time? Isn’t that a huge waste of money?”
She rolls her eyes. “It’s one coin, Ash. I think my bank account can handle it.”
Ash pouts as he watches the little ripples in the water from Misty’s coin dissipate across the surface.
“Have you ever even had a wish come true at all?” he asks, and Misty stops for a moment, her eyes trailing over his face in contemplation before a little smirk dances across her lips.
“Once or twice,” she answers cryptically with a playful snort, before turning back in the direction of the gym and leaving Ash feeling like he somehow just heard the punchline of a joke he was never told.
As she disappears down the sidewalk and out of sight, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a coin, tossing it into the fountain with something like a wish of his own.
Nodding once in satisfaction, he runs after her, his coin floating down to join her’s in the water, their wishes a perfect match.
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