This fic takes place a few weeks after 'Let Love...' and is a drama/romance fic. It mainly deals with our heroes recovery from the events of the occupation, as well as other unsuspected surprises, and focuses upon Ash and Misty's blossoming relationship (which means there are more than a few scenes of moderate sexual content ^_~). I don't know how many ships I have included, from sakashipping, rocketshipping, Brock and OC shipping, and about a dozen other couples, many of which are one-sided. I think every primary Pokemon ship, aside from Palletshipping, is represented, including non-heterosexual ones (so if those aren't to your taste, I'm warning you now).

Ash felt himself being pulled away from blissful slumber by a caress upon his cheek. He tried to resist the call, but he knew it was impossible when he felt a moist, soft touch upon his forehead, and another upon his lips.

Slowly opening his weary eyes, trying to focus his blurred vision, he saw a welcome vision before him. Thick hair of the most sumptuous red cascaded over him, gently tickling his face with its ends. As his sight cleared a little further he saw that it framed a delicately shaped face with a milky complexion. One more, he felt contact upon his cheek, a tender touch that moved up around his temple, and then passing through his hair. His eyes unconsciously shut and a grin spread over his lips. This was definitely a great way to wake up.

His eyes flickered open once more, focusing his chestnut browns onto her aqua ones.

"Morning, Mist," he greeted quietly, unable to find his voice so close to waking.

"Morning, baba," she replied with such a sweet tone he felt his heart instantly leap. They had been together for over two months now, but just a simple sincere word from her could still affect him so deeply.

She kissed his lips again, this time allowing him to return the innocent embrace. She then, changing in a split second from loving to bossy, moved away, grabbed his arm and attempted to pull him from his bed. "Come on. Get up, lazy. Breakfast is nearly ready and everyone is already in the kitchen."

"Can't I sleep for a little while longer? I'm tired," he whined, trying to keep his position on the mattress.

"You're always tired. Now get up," she ordered. She attempted to pull him up once more, but again he barely budged.

"Don't worry. I'm getting up. Just give me a few minutes," he yawned, recollecting the sheet that had been disturbing in their battle.

He heard her sigh, the impatience and annoyance evident in her tone. "Okay," she gave up, "but you better be downstairs within five minutes or you'll get no breakfast."

"I will." He gave her one of his famous smiles, the expression making her blush slightly.

"See you in a minute, then?" she giggled.

"Yeah."

He watched her trace back across the bedroom and leave through the open door. She looked so cute with bed hair, wearing her water Pokemon-decorated pyjamas, the trousers of which hug baggily upon her hips. He didn't think they made anything that cutesy for someone of her age. It looked more like something a ten-year-old would wear, but then Misty had an obsession for anything that was adorable. She would go out of her way to acquire some new trinket that had no other purpose than to look cute. That was one of the many facets of her personality that fascinated him. On the outside she had such maturity and intelligence, but on the inside she was such a free spirit.

He couldn't believe that they were together, that he could call this wondrous young woman his own. And now that the occupation had ended, they were finally free to explore their relationship properly. Fighting in the war had put a dampener upon the start of their new intimacy. They hadn't had the chance to further both the emotional and physical elements of their relationship, and now they were going to make the best of their freedom. Ash couldn't be more thrilled about the possibilities that could perhaps present themselves over the next few months.

His mother had been overjoyed by the news of their newfound love, though it hadn't come as much of a shock to her. Seemingly, he and Misty were the last to realise that there had always been something between them. But it had created one drawback; his mother wouldn't allow them to sleep in the same room as they always had.

He looked around his bedroom. It had barely changed in the six years since he'd left home. He still had his many Pokémon toys, the same blanket, same carpet, same everything. But it wasn't until he had arrived home yesterday that the room, the whole house even, seemed...smaller, and his possessions childish. Over the past few months he'd grown so much and his perspective on life had altered irreversibly. The change he sensed in these familiar surroundings seemed to prove that fact.

The occupation had ended two weeks previously, one week after the revolt in Viridian. The death toll was impossible to guess, especially during that final week of fighting, but most Team Rocket members were now in prison, awaiting trial.

Ash, Misty and Brock had stayed in the city for that period, giving their reports to the authorities to aid in the preparation of the trials due to begin in a few months.  Ash knew it wouldn't change what had happened or bring back those that had been lost, but he couldn't wait to see Nakamora and the others get what they truly deserved.

However, there was still no word of Giovanni, and Ash feared he would never pay for his crimes. 

He thought back to that last conversation in the man's office. One line had been echoing around his head, permeating his dreams, since the words had been spoken:

"However, one day we will be face to face again, I vow, and that time, I will not lose!"

The thought that Giovanni would keep that promise, one Ash was sure he would, shook him down to his very core.

The possibility that the Ash had the ability to kill within terrified him, but it didn't stop him contemplating how different the situation would have been if he had just pressed that damn trigger a second earlier back upon the platform, or forced himself to fire in that office. Kiyoko would have still been alive and this whole situation would have been resolved.  He wouldn't be spending every day of the rest of his life wondering when he would show up again...and which one of his friends he would kill next.

Ash tried to shake off the threatening veil of panic overtaking him.  Things were over, for the moment at least, and that was something he was truly grateful for. He just had to keep reminding himself of that fact, and try to get his life back into some order.

He still had so much to do. He had just been sworn in as a Master trainer, but that was only one step in the future he had planned. Yes, he was what he'd always dreamed of being, one of the elite, but that wasn't enough. He had always told himself, "If I can just become a Master, I'll be happy," but now that he'd had a taste of that victory, he wanted to climb higher. He wanted to be the elite of the elite, the Master of Masters. It was going to be a few months until he had that chance, the League suspending all activities for at least a season due to the after-effects of the war, but he knew the time would come soon. And in the meantime, he was anxious to start training again. A Pokemon battle that wasn't a fight to the death would be refreshing.

He awkwardly moved himself to sit upon his bed, his legs hanging over the side. He looked down towards his left leg and at the white bandages that were wrapped around his wounds. The doctor had told him it would take another couple of months to heal, and until then he would need to use at least one crutch to ease the pressure upon it. But being who he was, that hadn't calmed his hyperness. He would still often take off without any form of support, minutes later cursing his actions thanks to the throbbing pain coming from his thigh. But he couldn't help it. The crutch slowed him down too much. He hated being held back.

He would also always bear the two scars left by those bullets, but instead of resenting them, Ash embraced the marks. They would serve to remind him in the years to come of those experiences that had altered his life so much, and the lessons they had taught him.

He pulled on his jeans clumsily, changed his T-shirt and made his way to the bathroom, placing a great deal of his weight upon that blasted crutch. He turned on the tap, cupping a handful of warm water in his hands. Spreading the clear liquid over his face, he felt it draw him out of his lingering weariness.

He ran his fingers over his dark skin, tracing along the scar that blemished his left cheek, one of the many reminders of the night Nakamora had tortured him and Misty. He lifted his shirt to study the numerous bruises and cuts that still decorated his toned chest and abdomen. Luckily, none of these were deep enough to leave serious scars and the only stitches he had required were on the bullet wounds. Misty was in a similar situation; the worst she had suffered was a deep cut at the back of her head, requiring five staples, and a mild concussion.

He pushed open the small bathroom window and lent upon its ledge, gazing out upon Pallet Town. The burnt-out buildings, fractured pavements, scarred homes... Every time he studied the damage of his homeland he felt a twang within his heart. Yes, most small towns and villages had suffered some form of damage, but he couldn't shake the thought that perhaps he was partially responsible for what had happened in Pallet.

He closed his eyes and took a deep inhale of the fresh morning, putting his troubles aside.

Ash descended the stairs and into the kitchen. Pikachu sat upon a booster seat at the table, contently snacking on an apple. Brock was, as usual, at the cooker, stirring a pot of what smelled like milky porridge.

"Morning, guys," he greeted.

"Pika/Morning," both of his friends answered.

He slowly moved towards Misty, placing his arms around her lovingly. "Hey, again."

"Hey." She kissed him lightly, holding her lips upon his for a long moment.

Brock and Pikachu rolled their eyes. They were happy for the lovebirds, but after months of this, it was beginning to get a little old.

"Can't you guys keep your hands off each other for a minute?" Brock asked sarcastically.

The two, still holding the embrace, looked towards the questioner. "Sorry," Misty replied. "It's just that now, with the war over, we can finally do couple things like normal teenagers," she turned to Ash, "like actually have an official date?"

Ash shook his head. "I can't believe we haven't even had a date yet. We really have to do something about that."

"Any ideas?" she asked excitedly.

"Well, we could go out somewhere for some dinner. I'm sure my mum knows of a good place. Then maybe go to the cinema, or take a little walk in the park or the beach or something. It's really up to you. As long as it's us two, it doesn't matter what we do."

Misty giggled, gazing up into his eyes. "Exactly what I was thinking."

They kissed again, to which Brock and Pikachu could only smile. The couple had been through more than any of the other members of their little group, had been in more life threatening and emotionally damaging situations. They rightly deserved a little peace.

"Oh, honey. You're finally up," a chipper voice called.

Ash turned to see his mother enter through the back door, freshly cut flowers in her arms.  "Morning, Mum." He sat down in the seat between Misty and Pikachu.

"Morning, sweetie," she returned, filling a glass vase with water from the tap, neatly arranging the bunch within it and placing it in the centre of the table.

Ash quickly traced his hand through the flowers, discarding violet, yellow and red blooms to select one with the most perfect sky blue petals. Smiling, he pulled it from the vase and handed it to Misty, making her blush.

"Breakfast's ready," Brock announced, ladling porridge into five separate bowls and setting each one upon the table in front of the human or Pokemon it was intended for. Both Ash and Misty instantly began to shovel the food into their mouths.

"Ah, kids," Brock sighed. "No appreciation at all. Ah, why do I bother?" He gave his two companions a dark glance, one they weren't shy about returning.

"Well, I'll say thank you, Brock," Delia told him as they both sat. "You're always such a help when you're here."

"Finally someone who recognises what I do for them."

In reply, Misty stuck her tongue out at him.

Delia couldn't contain a chuckle. The older her son and his friends got, the more immature they seemed to become. "So, what are you kids going to do today?" she asked.

Ash swallowed a mouthful of porridge. "We were going to head up to the lab and see how Professor Oak and Tracey are," he began excitedly before his tone turned somewhat downcast, "then we were going to volunteer to help repair some of the damage in the town."

Taking notice of his saddened state, she presented him with a warm smile. "Well, if you have any time to spare, there's something else you could do."

Everyone instantly ceased what they were doing, spoons laden with food paused halfway to their mouths.  If she wanted them to do chores, they wouldn't be able to get anything else done.  The last time they helped her, they were exhausted for days afterwards.

Delia studied their expressions for a moment, clueless, until she realised the reason for their reaction. "Don't worry.  I'm not going to ask you kids to do any chores.  I know you all need some down time." The group of four all exhaled a sigh in relief. "Do you remember Izumi?" Ash murmured a 'yes'. "Well, she moved back to Pallet Town a few months ago. I meant to tell you before, but with you qualifying to go up against the Elite Four, beating them," an obvious look of pride flashed over her features for a moment, "and then...everything after that, it slipped my mind."

Ash instantly perked up, a grin planting itself firmly upon his face. "Izzie? She's back?"

Delia nodded. "You two haven't seen each other for years, since her family moved away, so I told her that I'd get you to call her."

"That's great! Ah, do you have the number?"

"Of course, sweetie. I know I can be a little forgetful sometimes, but don't worry. I wouldn't forget something like that." She winked.

"Great. I'll call after breakfast."

"Who's Izumi?" Misty asked.

"Oh, she's an old friend. Her parents used to work for Professor Oak. When we were little kids we always played together until her family moved away."

"And she used to baby-sit you," his mother reminded, never failing to cause him embarrassment.

He blushed lightly.  "Thanks, Mum," he said sarcastically.

"She used to baby-sit you?" Brock joked. "How much older than you is she?"

Ash thought for a minute. "By about...four years. God, she'll be about twenty now." Ash's smile widened and he began to eat faster. "I can't wait to see her."

"Ash, slow down. You don't want to choke," Delia tried to scold, but as usual it sounded too pleasant. "There'll be plenty of time to see her."

Brock turned from his bowl.  "So, ah, Ash," he began, that old look returning to his face. "She's twenty, you say. Is she good looking?"

"Not again," Misty muttered, feeling an immense urge to tug on her friend's ear.

"I haven't seen her in over six years, so I have no idea. You'll have to wait and see for yourself."