"Come on, guys, do we have to?" Ash whined for what seemed like the thousandth time that evening.
"C'mon, Ash, it'll be fun!" Misty persuaded. "All our friends will be there, there'll be food, and-"
"Wait!" Ash interrupted, no trace of dread apparent on his face anymore. "There's gonna be food?"
Misty scoffed. "Well of course there's going to be food, Ash," she chided. "It is a party after all, and…" she trailed off. There was no point in finishing the sentence. Ash was already halfway closer to their destination, running at full speed despite the dangerous ice that coated the dirt road.
It was just another typical day in the travels of Ash, Misty, and Brock. But there was something different about that particular night. The atmosphere was livelier, anticipation hovered in the air. It could only mean one thing: it was Christmastime, the most wonderful time of the year, and Ash, Misty, and Brock were headed to a Christmas party at Professor Oak's house.
When Misty and Brock finally caught up to Ash, they entered the busy house. Immediately they were surrounded by a crowd of people clad in red and green Christmas sweaters and Santa hats. Misty shuddered-if there was one thing she hated, it was a bunch of old people wearing matching holiday attire. The classic Christmas oldies blasted from speakers set up in all four corners of the living room. Delicious smells of all kinds of sweets wafted in from the kitchen, where tables of food lined the walls. Sure, the music was cheesy, but Misty had to admit the Oaks knew how to throw a good party.
Misty studied the living room more closely. Two couches made and 'L' shape in the center of the room, and a television was positioned against the wall in front of them. Directly next to it was a warm, blazing fireplace, and hanging from the mantle, in all its glory, was the mistletoe. With its lively green leaves and vibrant red berries, the mistletoe was a sight to see, and it made Misty absolutely anxious. It'd always made her shiver when she saw it.
There's a feeling I'm getting
I just can't explain
Makin' me glad tonight
Maybe it's Christmas
Maybe the snow
Maybe the mistletoe
There's a secret I'm keepin'
That no one can hear
A feeling deep in my heart
Maybe this Christmas
My true love will show
Under the mistletoe
Ash noticed the mistletoe as well. "Such a stupid concept. Just 'cause you're standing under the dumb thing, suddenly means you have to kiss someone in front of everyone," Ash scorned. "An embarrassment, if you ask me," he muttered. Misty nodded weakly, and willed her eyes to look away from the plant. If only he knew…
Jolly ol' St. Nicholas
Before the night is through
There's something very special that
I'd like to say to you
Merry, merry Christmas
I'd like you to know
I'm hoping that I meet someone
Under the mistletoe
Now there's a crowd at the party
Our friends are all here
Everyone's warm and bright
Maybe I'll meet him
Where hearts are aglow
Under the mistletoe
Maybe I'll just stand here
And no one will know
I'm under the mistletoe
"Boy, this party sure is crowded!" Ash said to himself. Misty had hastily left for some odd reason, muttering something about root beer.
"Hey, wait a minute! There's Christmas cookies over there! Let's go get some, Pikachu!" he said excitedly to the electric mouse on his shoulder.
"Pika!" the Electric Pokemon agreed.
"Great party, huh?" Misty suddenly popped up, a cup of root beer in her hand.
"Yeah. We were just going to get something to eat," Ash informed her.
"Hey, did you see Nurse Joy?" Misty questioned.
"Yeah. Maybe you should go tell Brock." Ash laughed.
"Maybe not," Misty laughed with him as she saw said teenager, chasing after a bunch of college girls who had apparently smacked him pretty hard, judging by the bright red hand marks that adorned his face.
An awkward silence passed between them. Ash cleared his throat.
"Anyway, can we squeeze past you? We're pretty hungry." He said and started towards the kitchen, where mounds of food awaited him.
"Oh, sure," Misty said, though she sounded a bit reluctant. She stepped aside to let Ash through, but with all the people, it was quite difficult to move anywhere.
"Okay," Ash said. "Um...Ahh!" the two struggled to make a path but nearly fell on top of each other in the process.
Jolly old' St. Nicholas
Before the night is through
There's something very special that
I'd like to say to you
Merry, merry Christmas
I'd like you to know
I'm hoping that I don't get caught
Under the mistletoe
There a crowd at the party
Our friends are all here
Everyone's warm and bright
Maybe he'll find out
You just never know
Under the mistletoe
Misty shivered. After that little incident with Ash, she'd decided that she'd better go find a new place to stand, so that wouldn't ever happen again. She chose the one place that didn't have people crowding around it. So Misty stood there like an idiot under the mistletoe, the one thing that everyone was scared of going near. Except her, of course. There was a small chance that Ash would join her again, and if that happened, maybe they would…
Maybe I'll stand here
Maybe I'll go
Maybe this Christmas
I might let him know
Maybe this Christmas
I just might get - - uh-oh
Finally, Ash approached Misty with at least seven cookies in his hands.
"Hi, Ash. Did you get something to eat?" Misty asked, which was the stupidest question of all considering he was holding the cookies right in his hands.
"Uh, yeah," Ash said plainly, gesturing to the cookies.
Misty nodded. It's time for my master plan to come into action, she thought giddily.
"Um, Ash. Did you realize we're standing under the mistletoe?" she asked innocently, like their whereabouts had just occurred to her.
"Huh?" Ash spun his head around frantically. "Waaa!" he jumped a few feet like his butt had caught fire, and started to sprint away.
"Ash! Where are you going?" Misty screamed helplessly.
"Uh, I'm getting some Christmas cookies!" he shouted lamely.
"You just got some cookies!" Misty hollered in exasperation. So, her plan hadn't worked as she'd thought it would.
"Yeah, I know! Come on, Pikachu!" he yelled to his starter Pokemon.
"What's his problem, Pikachu?" Misty said to the yellow rodent at her feet. He shrugged, his black eyes glittering.
"Pika-pika!" Pikachu shrugged, and bounded after his trainer.
"Come on, Pikachu!" Ash urged his Pokemon.
"Ash, look out for the..." Misty called. But it was too late.
"Waaa!" In his hurry, Ash hadn't been watching where he was going and had ended up crash-landing into a huge table filled with peanut butter balls, peanut butter cookies, and other foods that contained food. Misty just hoped Ash wasn't allergic to peanut butter, though why she even cared anymore was a mystery to her.
"Never mind." Misty said in a small voice and tried to ignore the fact that every eye in the room was on her.
Under the mistletoe
Under the mistletoe
Under the mistletoe
Misty hadn't even waited to see if Ash was okay. She didn't know what could have been a problem; he was covered in a chocolaty peanut butter dream. Food was probably the closest thing he would ever come to love. She stormed out of the Oak's house and into the starry night. She walked about for a little while, until she found herself wound up in a familiar place. She was standing on the river of a lake behind some boulders, in the middle of a path. A good fishing spot, she guessed. She almost jumped when she recalled where she was. This was where she'd first met Ash, when she fished him out of that very river! She found a smile creep up on her face as she remembered that day. She hadn't known it yet, but he was the boy who she would hopelessly fall in love with.
Back at the house, Ash had a dilemma. He'd finally wiped most of the peanut butter off him, except for little bits in case he got hungry, of course. But where was Misty? He got the feeling she was upset and he'd embarrassed her, but why? It wasn't like she'd actually wanted to kiss him, and vice-versa, right? Well, she did look pretty gorgeous in that dress…the other section of Ash's brain fought. Stop it! he thought. I still don't want to kiss her…he thought, but he didn't sound very convicing.
"Hey, did you happen to see a redhead anywhere?" he asked a random guy. He turned around.
"Oooh, that fine looking young lady? She ran out the door a few minutes ago," he answered. Ash's blood boiled. How dare he call her that? I mean, not that I care or anything…he thought quickly to himself. He thanked the man and started for the door, but stopped suddenly. He didn't have an explanation for what he did next, but he found himself marching up to the fireplace and snatching the mistletoe off the mantle. It wasn't like anyone would miss it. These people refused to get within a 10 foot radius of the thing. Then, before he could check what kind of looks people were giving him, he crossed the living room and stepped out the door.
It was pretty stupid of him to not bring a jacket, but he just shrugged off the cold and kept walking. He was halfway down the road when something met his eye. A slim figure seemed to be standing at the edge of some river. That had to be Misty! He quickly ran up, and once his hunch was proven correct, he began to shout her name. She turned towards him, and he almost choked on air. Standing before him was Misty, the pale moonlight making her skin glow. Her cerulean eyes gleamed, and the moon made it light enough to see only some parts of her body, but it outlined her curvaceous figure. Her fiery red hair shone and swished against her arms in the gentle breeze. She was the most beautiful person Ash had ever seen.
"Hi, Ash," she said in a smooth voice.
Ash stuttered. "H-Hi, Misty." She grinned at him, her pearly white teeth shining. Ash shook his head, trying to knock him out of his stupor.
"Look, Misty, I'm sorry about what happened back there. I guess it was kinda rude for me to run off like that. I mean, it's not that I didn't want to kiss you, I did-wait, no…..i just…..you look pretty." He finished lamely. She arched an eyebrow.
"Thank you," she smiled warmly. Ash nodded like he had a twitching problem. Misty wore a dark blue strapless dress that had a white belt and poofed out slightly before it stopped right above her knees. She wore white sling back pumps that added a few inches to her height, and made her even more intimidating to Ash.
Ash ruffled his messy black hair as he tried to get his feelings straight. Lately, he'd been seeing her differently. Yeah, she was still Misty, his best friend, but he often caught himself gawking at her and coming to her just to talk. But he couldn't like her. She was Misty. But, as if to prove him wrong, a flood of memories came back to him that suddenly made everything make sense. That Nurse Joy in Viridian, saying, "You only hurt the ones you love…."
Tracey comparing them to the two love struck Nidoran's trainers.
Even after Ash had defeated that rotten kid Rudy at Trovita Island, he'd said, "I hope you know you're a very lucky guy, Ash…"
Well…could he argue with that? Maybe he did like her after all. Maybe even lo-
Ash froze as he realized exactly where he was.
"M-Misty?" he stammered. She looked at him.
"What?"
"W-Where are we?" he questioned, though he was one-hundred percent positive he knew where he was.
"You know," Misty said firmly. Ash nodded weakly.
"This…is where we met," he said, barely above a whisper. Misty nodded, a nostalgic look in her turquoise eyes.
And that was all it took for Ash. There was no point in denying it, he knew what he was feeling was the real deal. He calmly strode up to her and took her hand.
"Misty." He said as confidently as he could. She looked surprised by his actions, but made no move to free her hand.
"Er, you know the mistletoe?" he questioned. Misty looked puzzled.
"Yeah?" she replied. Before Ash could stop himself, he reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out the mistletoe he'd taken from the Oak's. Her eyes widened as she saw the festive plant.
"A-Ash? Why?" she stuttered. "I thought you hated the mistletoe. You think it's stupid how you have to kiss someone in front of everyone."
Ash flashed her a devious smirk, his chocolate brown eyes sparkling.
"Good thing there's nobody around," he whispered in a husky tone, sending shivers down Misty's spine. They were face to face, inches apart from one another. He held the mistletoe over their heads.
"Misty!" he gasped dramatically. "Did you realize that we're standing under the mistletoe?"
Misty grinned devilishly as she caught on.
"What a shame…" her voice faded away as Ash slowly began to close the gap between them.
Misty's heart leapt into her chest as their lips met. Ash's warm lips smiled into the kiss as he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into him. Misty sighed happily and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. After a few minutes of bliss they realized they couldn't hold their breaths for much longer, and reluctantly pulled away, still holding each other. Aqua met russet.
"A-Ash," Misty breathed. "I….love you."
Ash's heart almost caught in his throat with joy.
"I love you too, Mist," he said before he even realized it. Misty was smiling so widely Ash was afraid her lips would split. And I couldn't have that happen...he thought with a grin.
"You really mean it?" she asked. Ash nodded.
"I've always loved you. I just didn't know it yet," Ash added. Misty exhaled as a huge weight seemed to be lifted off her shoulders. They stood, hugging for a while in comfortable silence.
"Hey," Ash playfully nudged her side. "Aren't you cold in that little thing?"
Misty blushed. "I guess you'll just have to keep me warm, won't you?"
Ash chuckled. "My pleasure." He gently kissed her on the forehead.
"You know, there's something exciting about tonight," Ash observed.
"Love?" Misty guessed.
"No. Well, that, but something else as well."
"Maybe it's Christmas."
"Maybe the snow."
"Maybe the mistletoe."