Long Walk
By Wishbear-chan
This story is losely based off of Kurt Vonnegut's short story "A Long Walk To Forever." It's really good, go read it, if you'd like. I don't own Pokemon, but that's not hard to fathom.
~ Long Walk an AAMR ~
They had grown up together traveling the world. On the fringe of cities, in fields and woods, and through orchards. Always with the cute yellow rodent.
Now they were twenty, and had not seen each other for nearly two years. There had always been playful, loud, teasing warmth between them, but never any talk of love.
His name was Ashton. Her name was Misty. In the early afternoon, Ash knocked on Misty's front door.
Misty came to the door with a fat, glossy magazine she had been reading. The magazine was devoted entirely to brides. "Ash!" she said. She was surprised to see him.
"You want to come for a walk?" he said. He was not a shy person. But for Misty, this day, he became one. He covered his shyness by speaking absently, as though what really concerned him were far away--as though he were a secret agent pausing briefly on a mission between beautiful, distant, and sinister points. This manner of speaking had not always been Ash's style, and the change did not go unnoticed by Misty.
"A walk?" said Misty.
"One foot in front of the other," said Ash, "Through leaves, over bridges--"
"I had no idea you were in town," she said.
"Just this minute I got in," he said.
"Still in the Pokemon League, I see," she said.
"Like you," he said. He was the current Pokemon master. His league jacket was rumpled. His shoes were dusty. He needed a shave. The constant form of a cute yellow rodent was cluttered with dirt. He held out his hand for the magazine. "Let's see the pretty book," he said.
She gave it to him. "I'm getting married, Ash," she said.
"I know," he said. "Let's go for a walk."
"I'm awfully busy, Ash," she said. "The wedding is only a week away."
If we go for a walk," he said, "it will make you rosy. It will make you a rosy bride." He turned the pages of the magazine. "A rosy bride like her--like her--like her," he said showing her rosy brides.
Misty turned rosy, thinking about rosy brides.
"That will be my present to AJ," said Ash. "By taking you for a walk, I'll be giving him a rosy bride."
"You know it's him?" said Misty.
"Brock wrote," he said. "He moved to Pallet?"
Misty nodded, "He's changed and he's better than that stalking Rudy. You'd like him more."
"Maybe," he said.
"Can--can you come to the wedding, Ash?" she said.
"That I doubt," he said.
"Your break isn't for long enough?" she said.
"Break?" said Ashton. He was studying a two-page ad fir flat silver. "I'm not on a break," he said.
"Oh?" she said.
"I'm what they call missing-in-action," said Ash.
"Oh, Ash! You're not!" she said.
"Sure I am," he said, still looking at the magazine.
"Why, Ash?" she said.
"I had to find out what your silver pattern is," he said. He read names of silver patterns from the magazine."Albemarle? Heather?" he said. "Legend? Rambler Rose?" He looked up, smiled. "I planto give you and your husband a spoon," he said.
"Ash, Ashton--tell me really," she said.
"I want to go for a walk," he said.
She wrung her hands in sisterly anguish. "Oh, Ash--you're fooling me about you being missing," she said.
Ash imitated a police siren softly, raised his eyebrows.
"I'm going to here from Lance, aren't I?" she said.
"Yep," he said.
"How did you get here, Ash?" she said.
"He raised his thumb, jerked it in a hitchike gesture. "Two days," he said.
"Does your mother know?" she said.
"I didn't come to see my mother," he told her.
"Who did you come to see?" she said.
"You," he said.
"Why me?" she said.
"Because i love you," he said. "Now can we take a walk?" he said. "One foot in front of the other--through leaves, over bridges--"
###########################################################################################
They were taking the walk now, were in a woods with a brown-leaf floor.
Misty was angry and rattled, close to tears. "Ash," she said, "this is absolutely crazy."
"How so?" said Ash.
"What a crazy time to tell me you love me," she said. "You never talked about this stuff before." She stopped walking.
"Let's keep walking," he said.
"No," she said. "So far, no farther. I shouldn't have come out with you at all," she said.
"You did," he said.
"To get you out of the house," she said. "If somebody walked in and heard you talking to me that way, a week before the wedding--"
"What would they think?" he said.
"They'd think you were crazy," she said.
"Why?" he said.
Misty took a deep breath, made a speech. "Let me say that I'm deeply honored by this crazy thing you've done," she said. "I can't believe your missing-in-action, but maybe you are. I can't believe you really love me, but maybe you do. But--"
"I do," said Ash.
"Well, I'm deeply honored," said Misty, "and I'm very fond of you as a friend, Ash, extremely fond--but it's just too late." She took a step away from him. "You've never even kissed me," she said, and she protected herself with her hands. "I don't mean you should do it now. I just mean this is all so unexpected. I haven't got the remotest idea of how to respond."
"Just walk some more," he said. "Have a nice time."
"Pika," the yellow rodent nodded.
They started walking again.
"How did you expect me to react?" she said.
"How would I know what to expect?" he said. "I've never done anything like this before."
"Did you think I would throw myself into your arms?" she said.
"Maybe," he said.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you," she said.
"I'm not dissappointed," he said. "I wasn't counting on it. This is very nice, just walking."
Misty stopped again. "You know what happens next?" she said.
"Nope," he said.
"We shake hands," she said. "We shake hands and part friends," she said. "That's what happens next."
Ash nodded. "All right," he said. "Remember me from time to time. Remember how much I loved you."
Involuntarily, Misty burst into tears. She turned her back to Ash, looked into the infinite colonnade of the woods.
"What does that mean?" said Ash.
"Rage!" said Misty. She clenched her hands. "You have no right--"
"I had to find out," he said.
"If I'd loved you," she said, "I would have let you know before now."
"You would?" he said.
"Yes," she said. She faced him, looked up at him, her face quite red. "You would have known," she said.
"How?" he said.
"You would have seen it," she said. "Women aren't very clever at hiding it."
Ash looked closely at Misty's facenow. To her consternation, she realized thatwhat she had said was true, that a women couldn't hide love.
Ash was seeing love now.
And he did what he had to do. He kissed her.
###########################################################################################
"You're hell to get along with!" she said when Ash let her go.
"I am?" said Ash.
"You shouldn't have done that," she said.
"You didn't like it?" he said.
"What did you expect," she said--"wild, abandoned passion?"
"I keep telling you," he said, " inever know what's going to happen next."
"We say good-bye," she said.
He frowned slightly. "All right," he said.
She made another speech. "I'm not sorry we kissed," she said. "That was sweet. We should have kissed, we've been so close. I'll always remember you, Ash, and good luck."
"You too," he said.
"Thank you, Ash," she said.
"Sixty days," he said.
"What?" she said.
"Sixty days probation," he said--"that's what one kiss will cost me."
"I-I'm sorry," she said, "but I didn't ask you to go missing."
"I know," he said.
"You certainly don't deserve any hero's reward for doing something as foolish as that," she said.
"Must be nice to be a hero," said the Pokemon Master. "Is AJ a hero?"
"He might be, if he got the chance," said Misty. She noted uneasily that they had begun to walk again. The farewell had been forgotten.
"You really love him?" he said.
"Certainly I love him! she said hotly. "I wouldn't marry him if I didn't love him!"
"What's good about him?" said Ash.
"Honestly!" she cried, stopping again. "Do you have any idea how offensive you're being? Many, many, many things are good about AJ! Yes," she said, "and many, many, many things are probably bad too. But that isn't any of your business. I love AJ, and I don't have to argue his merits with you!"
"Sorry," said Ash.
"Honestly!" said Misty.
Ash kissed her again. He kissed her again because she wanted him to.
###########################################################################################
They were now in a large orchard.
"How did we get so far from home, Ash? said Misty.
"One foot in front of the other--through leaves, over bridges," said Ash.
"They add up--the steps," she said.
Bells rang in the tower of a near by school.
"School for the blind," said Ash.
"Scholl for the blind," said Misty. She shook her head in drowsy wonder. "I've got to go back now," she said.
"Say good-bye," said Ash.
"Every time I do," said Misty, "I seem to get kissed."
Ash sat down on the close-cropped grass under an apple tree with the yellow rodent beside him. "Sit down," he said.
"No," she said.
"I won't touch you," he said.
"I don't believe you," she said.
She sat down under another tree, twenty feet away from him. She closed her eyes.
"Dream of AJ," he said.
"What?" she said.
"Dream of your wonderful husband-to-be," he said.
"All right, I will," she said. She closed her eyes tighter, caught glimpses of her husband-to-be.
Ash yawned.
The bees were humming in the trees, and Misty almost fell asleep. When she opened her eyes she saw that Ash really was asleep.
He began to snore softly.
Misty let Ash sleep for an hour, and while he slept she adored him with all her heart.
The shadows of the apple trees grew to the east. The bells in the tower rang again.
"Hoot-hoot-oot," went a hoot-hoot.
Somewhere far away an automobile starter nagged and failed, nagged and failed, fell still.
Misty came out from under her tree, knelt by Ash.
"Ash?" she said.
"H'm?" he said. He opened his eyes.
"Late," she said.
"Hello, Misty," he said.
"Hello, Ash," she said.
"I love you," he said.
"I know," she said.
"Too late," he said.
"Too late," she said.
He stood, stretched groaningly. "A very nice walk," he said.
"I thought so," she said.
"Part company here?" he said.
"Where will you go?" she said.
"Hitch back to Indigo, turn myself in," he said.
"Good luck," she said.
"You too," he said. "Marry me, Misty?"
"No," she said.
He smiled, stared at her hard for a moment, then walked away quickly.
Misty watched him grow smaller in the long perspective of shadows and trees, knew that if he stopped and turned now, if he called to her, she would run to him. She would have no choice.
Ash did stop. He did turn. He did call. "Misty," he called.
She ran to him, put her arms around him and kissed him. She pulled back.
"Lance or AJ?" she said
"What?" he said.
"Which one first?" she said.
"Does it matter?" he said.
She smiled and kissed him again because he wanted her to.
By Wishbear-chan
This story is losely based off of Kurt Vonnegut's short story "A Long Walk To Forever." It's really good, go read it, if you'd like. I don't own Pokemon, but that's not hard to fathom.
~ Long Walk an AAMR ~
They had grown up together traveling the world. On the fringe of cities, in fields and woods, and through orchards. Always with the cute yellow rodent.
Now they were twenty, and had not seen each other for nearly two years. There had always been playful, loud, teasing warmth between them, but never any talk of love.
His name was Ashton. Her name was Misty. In the early afternoon, Ash knocked on Misty's front door.
Misty came to the door with a fat, glossy magazine she had been reading. The magazine was devoted entirely to brides. "Ash!" she said. She was surprised to see him.
"You want to come for a walk?" he said. He was not a shy person. But for Misty, this day, he became one. He covered his shyness by speaking absently, as though what really concerned him were far away--as though he were a secret agent pausing briefly on a mission between beautiful, distant, and sinister points. This manner of speaking had not always been Ash's style, and the change did not go unnoticed by Misty.
"A walk?" said Misty.
"One foot in front of the other," said Ash, "Through leaves, over bridges--"
"I had no idea you were in town," she said.
"Just this minute I got in," he said.
"Still in the Pokemon League, I see," she said.
"Like you," he said. He was the current Pokemon master. His league jacket was rumpled. His shoes were dusty. He needed a shave. The constant form of a cute yellow rodent was cluttered with dirt. He held out his hand for the magazine. "Let's see the pretty book," he said.
She gave it to him. "I'm getting married, Ash," she said.
"I know," he said. "Let's go for a walk."
"I'm awfully busy, Ash," she said. "The wedding is only a week away."
If we go for a walk," he said, "it will make you rosy. It will make you a rosy bride." He turned the pages of the magazine. "A rosy bride like her--like her--like her," he said showing her rosy brides.
Misty turned rosy, thinking about rosy brides.
"That will be my present to AJ," said Ash. "By taking you for a walk, I'll be giving him a rosy bride."
"You know it's him?" said Misty.
"Brock wrote," he said. "He moved to Pallet?"
Misty nodded, "He's changed and he's better than that stalking Rudy. You'd like him more."
"Maybe," he said.
"Can--can you come to the wedding, Ash?" she said.
"That I doubt," he said.
"Your break isn't for long enough?" she said.
"Break?" said Ashton. He was studying a two-page ad fir flat silver. "I'm not on a break," he said.
"Oh?" she said.
"I'm what they call missing-in-action," said Ash.
"Oh, Ash! You're not!" she said.
"Sure I am," he said, still looking at the magazine.
"Why, Ash?" she said.
"I had to find out what your silver pattern is," he said. He read names of silver patterns from the magazine."Albemarle? Heather?" he said. "Legend? Rambler Rose?" He looked up, smiled. "I planto give you and your husband a spoon," he said.
"Ash, Ashton--tell me really," she said.
"I want to go for a walk," he said.
She wrung her hands in sisterly anguish. "Oh, Ash--you're fooling me about you being missing," she said.
Ash imitated a police siren softly, raised his eyebrows.
"I'm going to here from Lance, aren't I?" she said.
"Yep," he said.
"How did you get here, Ash?" she said.
"He raised his thumb, jerked it in a hitchike gesture. "Two days," he said.
"Does your mother know?" she said.
"I didn't come to see my mother," he told her.
"Who did you come to see?" she said.
"You," he said.
"Why me?" she said.
"Because i love you," he said. "Now can we take a walk?" he said. "One foot in front of the other--through leaves, over bridges--"
###########################################################################################
They were taking the walk now, were in a woods with a brown-leaf floor.
Misty was angry and rattled, close to tears. "Ash," she said, "this is absolutely crazy."
"How so?" said Ash.
"What a crazy time to tell me you love me," she said. "You never talked about this stuff before." She stopped walking.
"Let's keep walking," he said.
"No," she said. "So far, no farther. I shouldn't have come out with you at all," she said.
"You did," he said.
"To get you out of the house," she said. "If somebody walked in and heard you talking to me that way, a week before the wedding--"
"What would they think?" he said.
"They'd think you were crazy," she said.
"Why?" he said.
Misty took a deep breath, made a speech. "Let me say that I'm deeply honored by this crazy thing you've done," she said. "I can't believe your missing-in-action, but maybe you are. I can't believe you really love me, but maybe you do. But--"
"I do," said Ash.
"Well, I'm deeply honored," said Misty, "and I'm very fond of you as a friend, Ash, extremely fond--but it's just too late." She took a step away from him. "You've never even kissed me," she said, and she protected herself with her hands. "I don't mean you should do it now. I just mean this is all so unexpected. I haven't got the remotest idea of how to respond."
"Just walk some more," he said. "Have a nice time."
"Pika," the yellow rodent nodded.
They started walking again.
"How did you expect me to react?" she said.
"How would I know what to expect?" he said. "I've never done anything like this before."
"Did you think I would throw myself into your arms?" she said.
"Maybe," he said.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you," she said.
"I'm not dissappointed," he said. "I wasn't counting on it. This is very nice, just walking."
Misty stopped again. "You know what happens next?" she said.
"Nope," he said.
"We shake hands," she said. "We shake hands and part friends," she said. "That's what happens next."
Ash nodded. "All right," he said. "Remember me from time to time. Remember how much I loved you."
Involuntarily, Misty burst into tears. She turned her back to Ash, looked into the infinite colonnade of the woods.
"What does that mean?" said Ash.
"Rage!" said Misty. She clenched her hands. "You have no right--"
"I had to find out," he said.
"If I'd loved you," she said, "I would have let you know before now."
"You would?" he said.
"Yes," she said. She faced him, looked up at him, her face quite red. "You would have known," she said.
"How?" he said.
"You would have seen it," she said. "Women aren't very clever at hiding it."
Ash looked closely at Misty's facenow. To her consternation, she realized thatwhat she had said was true, that a women couldn't hide love.
Ash was seeing love now.
And he did what he had to do. He kissed her.
###########################################################################################
"You're hell to get along with!" she said when Ash let her go.
"I am?" said Ash.
"You shouldn't have done that," she said.
"You didn't like it?" he said.
"What did you expect," she said--"wild, abandoned passion?"
"I keep telling you," he said, " inever know what's going to happen next."
"We say good-bye," she said.
He frowned slightly. "All right," he said.
She made another speech. "I'm not sorry we kissed," she said. "That was sweet. We should have kissed, we've been so close. I'll always remember you, Ash, and good luck."
"You too," he said.
"Thank you, Ash," she said.
"Sixty days," he said.
"What?" she said.
"Sixty days probation," he said--"that's what one kiss will cost me."
"I-I'm sorry," she said, "but I didn't ask you to go missing."
"I know," he said.
"You certainly don't deserve any hero's reward for doing something as foolish as that," she said.
"Must be nice to be a hero," said the Pokemon Master. "Is AJ a hero?"
"He might be, if he got the chance," said Misty. She noted uneasily that they had begun to walk again. The farewell had been forgotten.
"You really love him?" he said.
"Certainly I love him! she said hotly. "I wouldn't marry him if I didn't love him!"
"What's good about him?" said Ash.
"Honestly!" she cried, stopping again. "Do you have any idea how offensive you're being? Many, many, many things are good about AJ! Yes," she said, "and many, many, many things are probably bad too. But that isn't any of your business. I love AJ, and I don't have to argue his merits with you!"
"Sorry," said Ash.
"Honestly!" said Misty.
Ash kissed her again. He kissed her again because she wanted him to.
###########################################################################################
They were now in a large orchard.
"How did we get so far from home, Ash? said Misty.
"One foot in front of the other--through leaves, over bridges," said Ash.
"They add up--the steps," she said.
Bells rang in the tower of a near by school.
"School for the blind," said Ash.
"Scholl for the blind," said Misty. She shook her head in drowsy wonder. "I've got to go back now," she said.
"Say good-bye," said Ash.
"Every time I do," said Misty, "I seem to get kissed."
Ash sat down on the close-cropped grass under an apple tree with the yellow rodent beside him. "Sit down," he said.
"No," she said.
"I won't touch you," he said.
"I don't believe you," she said.
She sat down under another tree, twenty feet away from him. She closed her eyes.
"Dream of AJ," he said.
"What?" she said.
"Dream of your wonderful husband-to-be," he said.
"All right, I will," she said. She closed her eyes tighter, caught glimpses of her husband-to-be.
Ash yawned.
The bees were humming in the trees, and Misty almost fell asleep. When she opened her eyes she saw that Ash really was asleep.
He began to snore softly.
Misty let Ash sleep for an hour, and while he slept she adored him with all her heart.
The shadows of the apple trees grew to the east. The bells in the tower rang again.
"Hoot-hoot-oot," went a hoot-hoot.
Somewhere far away an automobile starter nagged and failed, nagged and failed, fell still.
Misty came out from under her tree, knelt by Ash.
"Ash?" she said.
"H'm?" he said. He opened his eyes.
"Late," she said.
"Hello, Misty," he said.
"Hello, Ash," she said.
"I love you," he said.
"I know," she said.
"Too late," he said.
"Too late," she said.
He stood, stretched groaningly. "A very nice walk," he said.
"I thought so," she said.
"Part company here?" he said.
"Where will you go?" she said.
"Hitch back to Indigo, turn myself in," he said.
"Good luck," she said.
"You too," he said. "Marry me, Misty?"
"No," she said.
He smiled, stared at her hard for a moment, then walked away quickly.
Misty watched him grow smaller in the long perspective of shadows and trees, knew that if he stopped and turned now, if he called to her, she would run to him. She would have no choice.
Ash did stop. He did turn. He did call. "Misty," he called.
She ran to him, put her arms around him and kissed him. She pulled back.
"Lance or AJ?" she said
"What?" he said.
"Which one first?" she said.
"Does it matter?" he said.
She smiled and kissed him again because he wanted her to.