Welcome readers new and old! This is a one shot I've wanted to write for quite some time, and I finally got around to doing it! I like how it came out, and I'd like for my writing to do the talking, not some stupid author's note :)
Ash and Misty: 16
Brock: 21
Hearts of Ice
"Oh…why does Ash have to be so stupid?!"
Misty let out a huff, her breath visible in the cold air. There was a snow storm coming in, and she and Brock had warned Ash of it. Repeatedly, in fact. But Ash hadn't listened…of course he hadn't. Right before the three had reached the Pokémon Center, Ash had caught sight of some ice type Pokémon…Misty wasn't even sure of which one. She had just heard his excited shriek, his cry of "come on, Pikachu!"
And then he was gone.
Brock had just sighed, but Misty was angry. She didn't want to be stuck in a snow storm! Ash was just a horrible listener…and it seemed that he only ever cared about himself.
"I'm going to beat him up when I find him, I swear," Misty hissed under her breath.
The snow had already started to fall. For now, it was just tiny flakes, but Misty knew it would pick up in no time. And then she'd really be in trouble. Getting an idea, Misty reached into her backpack and pulled out a poke ball, opening it up and calling, "Eevee, help me!"
The furry brown Pokémon appeared before her, her paws sinking into the snow that was already on the ground.
"Vee?" Eevee squeaked curiously, lifting up one of her front paws as she tried to examine the unfamiliar fluffy white. Twitching her ears, Eevee stuck in her nose into the snow, shrieking in displeasure and snapping her head back up when she realized just how cold it was.
"Yes, Eevee, that's snow!" Misty giggled. The normal type was still just a baby; she hadn't been hatched too long ago. It was the greatest gift Professor Oak could've given the girl, and Misty loved the little Pokémon with all of her heart. She'd always wanted an Eevee, and it was fun to try and teach the little thing about the world.
"Vee!" Eevee turned around and swished her tail, smiling up at her trainer.
"Eevee, I need your help with something," Misty softly asked the Pokémon.
"Ee?" Eevee tilted her head.
Sighing, Misty continued, "Ash has run off, as usual. But this time, it's a lot worse. A snow storm is coming, and if we can't find him, we're all going to get stuck out here. And that's bad. So, do you think you could sniff him out for me?"
"Ee! Vee!" Eevee nodded excitedly. She loved being able to help Misty out. The young Pokémon thought of Misty as her mother; she didn't know anything else. Putting her nose back down (but this time avoiding burying it in the frozen stuff), Eevee tried to sniff out Ash's scent. Or Pikachu's. She was familiar with them both, really. But the young Pokémon wasn't getting anything, and after awhile, the cold became a problem for the normal type. She started to stop walking and began shivering. Misty took notice of this very quickly and instantly frowned.
"Oh, sweetie, are you cold?" Misty asked worriedly.
"V…vee…" Eevee was trembling.
"I can't leave you out here," Misty shook her head. "It isn't good for you." Taking out the young Pokémon's poke ball, Misty held it out and called, "you tried, Eevee, I'm proud of you. Return!"
With the young Pokémon returned to the warmth and safety of her red and white sphere, Misty was left with no other choice but to return to the Pokémon Center. She wasn't wearing a jacket, since she hadn't one on her person and didn't have a chance to take one from Nurse Joy before running after Ash. It was just her t-shirt and shorts…Misty knew she would freeze out here if she didn't head back now.
But as soon as the gym leader turned around, the storm began to grow fiercer. The wind picked up and the snow began to fall just a little more densely. Misty tried to run, wanting to find the Center as quickly as possible, but the quickly thickening snow that had blanketed the ground was making it quite difficult to run. The ability to see was also growing harder for Misty; between the strong wind blowing her fiery locks in her face and the air growing white with snowflakes.
"Oh…" Misty muttered, wrapping her arms around herself in a vain attempt to warm up, "wh…where's the…Pokémon…Center?"
The air was growing colder by the minute, nipping at Misty's bare, porcelain skin. It was as though she was stuck in a snow globe; the flakes had enveloped her and it was impossible to see. Misty was trying her hardest to fight through the storm and find her way back, but it had become far too confusing. In every direction, all Misty could see was snow. She didn't even have the slightest idea as to where she was right now.
"I…I'll find it…" Misty was determined. The last thing she wanted to do was be stuck in this awful snow storm, so she marched on, despite not knowing where she was going.
Unfortunately, that just made things worse.
After wandering around valiantly for Arceus knows how long, the temperature had dropped much too low and Misty felt like she couldn't move any longer. She was completely frozen; her fingers stiff and numb, arms heavy as if they were coated with thick, impenetrable ice. It became harder and harder to breathe, the very attempt at the action causing Misty's lungs to burn. Her legs gave out from underneath her, and with a defeated huff, Misty fell into the snow, her eyes slipping closed with her body frozen in place.
XXX
"Man, I can't believe we lost it."
"Pika."
"Do you think Brock and Misty are gonna' be mad?"
"Pi."
"You didn't even have to think about that one, did ya', buddy?"
"Ka."
Ash knew he and Pikachu were close to the Pokémon Center. Even though the storm had grown quite tempestuous, Ash had developed a good memory when it came to directions. Well…when he applied it to somewhere he had already been. If he was first going there, it was an entirely different story.
"It's gettin' cold out here; don't you think so, Pikachu?" Ash asked his little buddy; the small yellow mouse who rode on his shoulder.
"Pika-chu," Pikachu nodded, his ears bobbing up and down.
"When we get back to the Center, we can sit by the fire and drink hot chocolate!" Ash cheered. "That is…if Misty doesn't kill me first."
Pikachu snickered without shame at this. Ash gave the electric type a glare, but dropped it quickly. He could never stay mad at his best furry friend; they were like brothers of a different species.
Knowing they were getting closer and closer to the Pokémon Center with every step he took made Ash's smile grow just a little wider. He couldn't wait to get into the warmth and be with his friends, talking about Pokémon and the next stop on his-
Thump.
"Huh?" Ash stopped walking, confusing Pikachu.
"Pikapi?"
"My foot just hit something," Ash glanced at Pikachu. "Something in the snow…" Turning his eyes downward, Ash caught sight of something that just about made his heart stop. "Oh no…please, don't tell me…"
He jumped down, not caring that the snow was melting into his pants and soaking them. The figure before him was blueish around the lips, clearly unconscious and shivering quite terribly, lightly dusted with snow and without a doubt unresponsive. What really tore Ash's heart apart, however, was the tell tale sign that he really wish hadn't been there.
The bright red hair, soft as silk.
"Misty!" Ash cried in a pitiful mixture of horror and concern.
"Pikachupi?!" Pikachu gasped, rapidly turning his head between Ash and the limp figure that was apparently his best human friend.
"No, no, no…" Ash just kept repeating that word over and over again, brushing the snow off of Misty's body and shaking her in an effort to make her alert. "No!"
"Pikapi!" Pikachu yanked at Ash's collar. "Pika-chu pika pikapika!"
"Right, Brock's at the Pokémon Center," Ash was breathing heavily, his heart ready to beat out of his chest. "We'll take her to him…he'll know what to do!"
Gathering Misty in his arms, Ash picked her up with surprising ease. He had gotten stronger over the years, and Misty was definitely a lightweight, but it still burned his muscles to a small degree. Ash didn't care. Now was not the time to be weak and give up. The young man would never give up in the first place, but at a time like this, Ash was even more determined to do his best.
With the gym leader in his grasp, Ash darted off in the same direction he'd been going in, knowing that the Pokémon Center laid just ahead. After a few minutes, Ash was greeted by the sight of the Pokémon Center: designed to look like a very large, luxurious log cabin with the trademark red P on the front of the building.
Knowing full well he had no time to waste, Ash charged right through the sliding glass doors, Misty shifting listlessly in his arms. Brock was busy flirting with Nurse Joy at the front desk, but as soon as they saw the unconscious Misty, both jumped into immediate action.
"Ash!" Brock gasped. "What happened?!"
"I don't know!" Ash wailed. "Pikachu and I lost the Pokémon we were tracking, and the storm was getting real bad, so I decided to head back. On the way here, I found Misty in the snow like this. How long was she out there?"
"She went running after you," Brock answered. "I guess she was trying to come back here to beat the storm but didn't make it in time."
"Is she okay?!" Ash was frantic.
Nurse Joy reached out and held Misty's arm. As soon as their skin made contact, Nurse Joy gasped and dropped the younger girl's arm.
"She's on the verge of hypothermia!" Nurse Joy exclaimed.
"What?!" Ash and Brock both shrieked.
"Her body temperature is far too low," Nurse Joy shook her head. "If she had been left out in the cold any longer, her body would have gone into complete shock, and we might have been too late."
"But…is she gonna' be okay?" Ash wasn't sure whether to scream or cry.
Nurse Joy once again picked up Misty's arm, this time to press her fingers against the gym leader's wrist in order to feel out her pulse.
"I think so…" Nurse Joy sounded hesitant to declare such a thing, "but still, her pulse is quite slow and weak. We're going to have to work hard to warm her up."
"I'll put her in bed!" Ash decided, running towards the Center's bedrooms. "She'll warm up under all of the covers!"
He found the closest open room and walked right in, yanking the covers off of the bed closest to the door and gingerly dropping Misty onto the mattress. With her settled, Ash pulled the sheets back up until they covered Misty up to her neck. Brock and Nurse Joy were standing in the doorway, watching nervously as Ash got back up to his feet and turned around to give them a sullen look.
"This will work, won't it?" Ash asked in an almost timid fashion.
"I'm not sure," Nurse Joy answered softly. "We're just going to have to wait and see. It'll take some time to determine whether she's warming up or not."
Grimacing, Ash turned back to Misty and knelt down, staring intently at the young woman. "I'm not going to leave her. I'll watch and make sure she gets warm."
"Pika?" Pikachu sounded very worried himself.
"Don't be scared, Pikachu," Ash smiled comfortingly at the electric type. "I'm going to make sure nothing bad happens to her. Well…nothing worse than this."
Pikachu frowned and allowed his ears to fall. He was going to stay with his trainer; that was that.
"But, Ash-"Nurse Joy tried, but was quickly cut off by Brock.
"No, this will be good for him," Brock refuted. "This will be good for both of them."
XXX
Ash sat there for a full 10 minutes, keeping his eyes locked on Misty. She didn't seem to be on the verge of waking up anytime soon, and she was still as pale as a ghost.
"Come on, Mist," Ash begged quietly. "You've gotta' wake up sometime…right?"
He reached out and touched her blanket covered shoulder, but was quick to gasp and take it away. She was shivering; quite violently, in fact.
"Nurse Joy!" Ash called, his voice laced with worry. The pink haired nurse came running, Brock not far behind. They both looked concerned, especially after hearing Ash's wavering tone.
"What is it, Ash?" Nurse Joy frowned.
"Misty is still trembling," Ash kept his hand on the young woman's shoulder. "She's not getting any warmer!"
"I was afraid of that," Brock mumbled from behind the nurse.
"Let's put her in front of the fireplace," Nurse Joy decided, a determined look overtaking her face. "Misty will warm up much more quickly that way."
"I probably should have put her there first," Ash's cheeks turned a deep red. "I'm so stupid…"
"Don't say that, Ash," Brock stepped forward, gripping the younger male's shoulder. "You were just trying to do what you thought was best for Misty. No one is judging you."
The older boy moved forward to pick up Misty, but Ash was quick to jump to his feet and block Brock from his efforts. Turning scarlet once again, Ash calmly apologized, "sorry. I just…thought I'd take Misty there myself. You'd rather help Nurse Joy anyway, right?"
Brock didn't look convinced, but never the less, he smirked at Ash and nodded his head. "Sure. Whatever you say, bud."
Brock's teasing tone flew right over Ash's head. Instead, he turned to gather Misty in his arms, keeping the blankets draped over her still shivering body as he carried her into the main lobby of the Pokémon Center.
In front of the great fireplace, which was guarded by a large iron screen, Nurse Joy and Brock were busy laying down a big, soft quilt, folding it up to create a makeshift mattress of sorts for Misty. Once it was fully folded, Ash laid Misty down on the blanket, crawling over to her front in order to gingerly brush some hair away from her face. Brock smiled at the sweet and innocent action, but deep down inside knew that Ash had no idea what he was doing could be considered romantic.
"Do you think this will work?" Ash asked softly, looking up at Nurse Joy and Brock with sorrowful eyes.
"It should be more beneficial than just wrapping her up in blankets and putting her in bed," Nurse Joy nodded. "But it will still take awhile."
Ash bit his lip and rubbed up and down Misty's blanketed arm. He could still feel her shaking, and all he wanted to do was cry.
"There's not much else we can do for now," Nurse Joy solemnly informed the boys. "In the meantime, I'll go get you two some hot chocolate."
As she skirted away, Brock stared down at Ash, who wore a static expression on his face as he kept his hand on Misty.
"Ash?" Brock quietly inquired.
"This is all my fault," Ash muttered.
"Pikapi…" Pikachu murmured sadly.
"Don't say that, Ash," Brock frowned and shook his head, "it isn't-"
"Don't tell me it isn't true!" Ash's head snapped up, his eyes blazing. "It is! If I hadn't gone running off looking for that Pokémon, Misty wouldn't have followed after me, and she wouldn't have gotten lost and almost frozen to death!"
From inside the room where Ash had previously put down Misty, the sound of a poke ball opening could be heard. Moments later, Eevee came trotting out into the lobby, her ears and tail twitching as she scampered into the large room.
"Vee?" Eevee squeaked.
"Eevee must be looking for Misty," Brock whispered to Ash.
The future Pokémon Master frowned, unsure of what to do. Eevee thought Misty was her mother; if she saw that Misty was hurt like this, the little Pokémon would likely become volatile and attack anyone who went near her and her trainer.
Before Ash could even think to do anything, Pikachu jumped off of his shoulder and scurried over to Eevee, patting the normal type on the head.
"Pipi," Pikachu began, "pika chu?"
Eevee let out a small yip and nodded, running off with Pikachu chasing right after. Brock and Ash watched the two Pokémon scamper away, seemingly carefree and full of unbridled joy.
"Pikachu must be distracting Eevee so she doesn't see that there's anything wrong with Misty," Brock determined. Ash believed it. Ever since Eevee had hatched, Pikachu had watched after the young Pokémon like an older brother. It reminded Ash of the relationship Pikachu had had with Misty's former Togepi.
Not long after the two Pokémon had disappeared to elsewhere in the Center, Nurse Joy returned with the hot chocolate for Brock and Ash. Brock was happy to take his and begin drinking it, but Ash simply accepted the mug and casted it off to the side. This action caused Nurse Joy and Brock to exchange worried glances, but otherwise, they didn't say a thing.
XXX
Late into the night, Nurse Joy and Brock had decided to go to sleep. They had begged Ash to do the same, and he'd said he would…eventually.
"I never really told them when, though," Ash whispered to the still unconscious Misty, a playful smile appearing on his handsome face. "Hopefully they don't wait up for me."
Misty's face didn't even twitch. Twisting his mouth, Ash placed his hand on Misty's shoulder yet again. She was still shivering to some extent, although not nearly as badly as she had when she was first brought back inside.
"You're still cold," Ash deducted, his voice worn. Smiling sadly, he nodded and said, "I have an idea. Don't worry, Mist."
Jumping up, he hurried into the room he was supposed to be sharing with Brock and tore the blanket off of his vacant bed. Gathering the quilt in his arms, Ash carried it back out into the lobby and perched himself in front of Misty once more, draping the blanket over her already covered body.
"There," Ash beamed. "That must be a little bit better."
Misty still wasn't showing any signs of waking up, causing Ash to frown. He reached out and continued to stroke her hair. It was so soft and straight…other than her eyes, it was Misty's most striking feature. Oh, and her long legs, too.
Misty has a lot of great things about her, Ash thought.
As he became lost in his own mind, Pikachu came trotting back into the lobby, grimacing slightly.
"Pika…" Pikachu groaned.
Ash looked up and chuckled, finding that Pikachu was carrying Eevee on his back. The furry little Pokémon was fast asleep, her front right paw dangling off the side.
"You really wore her out, huh buddy?" Ash asked.
"Pi…" Pikachu grumbled.
"Here, let's set up a place for Eevee to sleep," Ash walked over to the nearby couch and removed one of the cushions, placing it on the floor not too far from where Misty was situated. Skipping over to the pad, Pikachu hopped atop it and lay down, tilting himself to the side so Eevee would gently slide off of his back. She landed on her front with a tiny squeak, batting at her face with her paws a few times before settling back down.
"Pika," Pikachu grinned up at his trainer.
"You did good, Pikachu," Ash gave his partner a thumbs up.
Pikachu replied with nothing but a yawn, curling himself up into a ball and quickly falling asleep right beside Misty's little Eevee.
"I guess he wore himself out, too," Ash smiled warmly to himself.
At that moment, Misty let out a quiet whine, startling Ash enough to make him jolt. Leaning down, he examined Misty's face, but was surprised to see that she was still out cold. But he had heard that noise, for sure. It certainly wasn't a figment of his imagination.
"Hey, Mist?" Ash asked quietly.
Nothing.
"Maybe she's having a nightmare," Ash muttered to himself. "Or maybe she's still cold. She really was out there for awhile…"
Furrowing his brow, Ash thought for a quite a few minutes. He stared at Misty the entire time, studying her as if there would be a test on Misty's physical appearance come morning. After a good 5 minutes or so, Ash came to a decision. One that he was sure he'd regret by the time Misty woke up, but definitely not in the moment.
Crawling up to Misty's makeshift bed, Ash pulled back the many layers of blanket and crawled in next to Misty, wrapping his arms around her and holding the girl close.
"How's this?" Ash whispered. He brushed his fingers against her smooth skin, relieved to feel the goose bumps that had formerly dotted Misty's beautiful skin to be dissipated. She was still rather cold to the touch, however, so Ash decided to rub his hand up and down Misty's arm. "I'll warm you up myself…"
After a few minutes, Misty's trembling stopped completely. Ash smiled gently, pleased to know that she was slowly becoming warmer.
"All I need now is for you to wake up," Ash murmured. That didn't seem to be happening any time soon, however, so Ash just stayed right where he was, hugging Misty close to him and occasionally resting his forehead against her own. Even in this unconscious state, she looked so forlorn and defeated. It was as if the cold had destroyed her completely. Ash feared that Misty would never wake up again. What if that happened? What if he lost her? His best friend?
"I won't," Ash mumbled to himself, tears filling his eyes as he continued to hug Misty. "I won't lose you."
The tears spilled out of his eyes, down his cheeks and creating small wet spots on the quilt beneath him. Ash reached up and stroked Misty's cheek, feeling the still cold skin. He went down to her lips, examining them to find that at least the blue color was fading. She was getting better, Ash believed, but still…none of this would have happened if he had just stayed at the Center and not run after that Pokémon. Then Misty would be okay.
"I'm sorry…" he murmured before feeling his eyes slip closed, another tear falling to the blanket below.
XXX
Ash wasn't sure how long he slept for. All he knew was by the time he opened his eyes, it was just barely the crack of dawn. Sunlight was beginning to shine through the dense clouds outside, and the snow had stopped falling. Looking down, he saw that Misty still had her eyes closed, but her body temperature seemed to be back to normal.
"How are you doing?" Ash murmured, knowing full well she wouldn't answer him. Much to the trainer's surprise, however, Misty murmured quietly in her sleep and craned her neck down to bury her head against his chest. "Misty…?"
The gym leader moaned again and allowed her eyes to flutter open, raising them to look at whoever it was that had their arms around her. Even through her foggy vision, she could tell who it was, and she could've sworn her heart was about to come through her throat.
"Ash?!" Misty gasped, pulling away from the raven haired teenager and pushing herself up against his chest.
"Ow!" Ash managed to puff out, Misty's pressing down on his chest inhibiting his ability to breathe.
"Sorry!" Misty withdrew her hands and held them against her chest. "But what are we doing here? Why are we in the lobby? And why were you hugging me?"
Ash stared at Misty in disbelief, but she didn't back down from her state of bewilderment. Sitting up fully beside Misty, Ash blinked and asked her very seriously, "you don't remember what happened yesterday?"
"No," Misty shook her head.
"Seriously?" Ash couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"All I remember is that we got to the Pokémon Center and you ran off to find some Pokémon," Misty began to recall the event more slowly as she went on, finishing the sentence by narrowing her eyes and glaring at Ash.
"You only remember it up to that point?" Ash had to admit he was a little relieved by that.
"Yes! And you're an idiot!" Misty poked her finger into Ash's chest. "There was a storm coming!"
"I know there was, that's what happened to you," Ash stressed.
"What are you talking about?" Misty was still clearly angry.
"You ran after me because you were so mad, but then the storm picked up and you got lost," Ash frowned. "You couldn't find your way back to the Center because the storm had gotten so bad. I lost track of the Pokémon, and coming back here, I found you passed out in the snow. You basically had hypothermesis, Mist."
"It's hypothermia, stupid," Misty bit.
"Either way!" Ash groaned. "It was really scary. You were completely knocked out and your body was so cold. It took me forever to warm you up."
"Huh? You?"
"Yeah," Ash nodded. "I stayed up all night to make sure you weren't going to go into shock like Nurse Joy said you could have. I fell asleep, after awhile, but that was really early in the morning. I think it was only about 2 hours ago, actually."
Misty really didn't know what to say. It was one of the sweetest, most touching things she'd ever heard in her whole life. Ash had stayed up all night, looking after her like she was a sickly little girl.
"You…you were really that worried?" Misty breathed.
"Of course I was," Ash seemed shocked that Misty would even question it. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Misty. You're my best friend."
Misty blushed and looked away, trying to hide the fact that her face had gone crimson. Ash didn't quite understand, however, so he just pulled her face back so she was staring right at him.
"Are you alright?" Ash asked in quite the serious manner.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Misty smiled and nodded. "But…I have to ask, Ash, what kind of Pokémon were you so excited to see? It had to be a pretty big deal for you to run after it like that."
"Uh…" Ash was now getting nervous as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It was just that…it was cute little Spheal, and I sort of…uh…thought it'd be perfect for….you."
"Me?!" Misty was twice as perplexed as she'd already been.
"It's a dual type: ice and water," Ash grinned at her, "so I thought you'd really like it! Plus, it was cute. I know how you feel about cute Pokémon."
"Oh, Ash!" Misty threw her arms around Ash's neck, surprising the Pokémon trainer and near choking him. "That is one of the sweetest things I've ever heard! I can't believe you put yourself in danger just to try and catch me a Pokémon!"
Groaning, Ash managed to pry Misty off of him before moping, "but you got put into more danger than me. And I didn't even catch it!"
"It doesn't matter," Misty shook her head, still grinning from ear to ear at the clueless teenage boy sitting before her. "What's important is that you were thinking of me, and that's just…incredibly sweet, Ash. Thank you."
"Don't mention it," Ash seemed to be a little happier after hearing this. "It's what friends do!"
"Right…" Misty gave Ash a mischievous smirk, "friends."
Ash gave Misty a confused stare after that, but all the gym leader did was giggle like an angel. He was expecting the girl to give him some kind of explanation, but of course, she never did. Before Ash could even think of interrogating her, a small squeak caused Misty to gasp lovingly and hold her arms out.
"Vee!" A flash of brown shot past Ash and landed right in Misty's lap. It was Eevee, of course, jumping up and down on her hind legs trying to lick Misty's face.
"Hello there, sweetie!" Misty lifted the normal type up from underneath her front arms. "It's so good to see you!"
"Well, well, look who finally woke up!"
Brock was standing in the doorway that separated the Center's lobby from the hallway full of rooms. Beaming, Misty waved up at the Pokémon Doctor in training, giving him a sweet, "good morning, Brock!"
"You're definitely looking a lot better than you did last night," Brock seemed quite relieved to see Misty awake and happy.
"Of course I am," Misty glanced over at the raven haired boy sitting next to her, "Ash took the very best care of me!"
Ash quickly became flustered and embarrassed, leading to what was possibly the world's biggest smile from Brock. His two young friends weren't quite there yet, but they were on their way. This experience, while quite scary and hopefully not to be repeated, had brought them closer. Their hidden feelings were finally beginning to melt away.
Just like the ice outside.
This is a little different than what I usually write, I suppouse you could say, since the characters are younger and Ash and Misty aren't technically together. Not yet, anyway ;)
Since it's a little different, I'd love to know what you guys thought! Leave me a review, please? It'd be super awesome of you! :)