I'llBeHome1

Hey Shanfans! Welcome to a new Christmas fic! You'll be getting part 2 next Friday, so enjoy!

I'll Be Home For Christmas
By Pikashan61


The engine roar of the bus faded, until it disappeared completely. Misty stared

down the hill, gathering her bearings. The town of Pallet stretched before her, lit up with the

golden glow of light pouring from windows and the beautiful colors of Christmas lights

twinkling brightly. She took a deep breath, and exhaled, watching her clouds of breath

freezing in the air, and fading into nothingness. Should she have stayed home? Maybe it

would have been better to call first, but she was here. Too late now, she reasoned. She

shivered slightly. Well, if I stay out here any longer, I'm gonna freeze to death, she thought.

She set the pile of presents she was carrying on the ground, and looked inside her

backpack, checking on Togapi. The little egg slept soundly inside, cooing slightly as it

breathed, in and out, in and out. Misty grinned. She put the pack back on, and stared down

once again at Pallet. Would it snow? She hoped it would. It was always too warm in

Cerulean for snow, even on the coldest Christmas day. Ash had once told her a couple of

years ago that they usually got snow during winter, and almost always around Christmas

time. The sixteen-year old water trainer sighed. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow... She

whispered under her breath. With that, she picked up the packages, humming, and started

down the hill toward town.


Misty stopped and stood, watching the Ketchem house. It was festively decorated,

with colored lights hanging on trees and from the eves. At a few places the lights were a bit

uneven, which made her smile. Ash and his pokemon had probably put them up earlier,

and Misty almost giggled when she thought of Ash trying to balance on Bulbasaur's vines,

or fly up on Charizard, probably almost killing himself in the process. He was like that. Too

determined for his own good. Misty liked the way the lights looked. It was almost if she

could see Ash smiling at her through them. She shivered again. Jeez, it was cold. Freezing,

she thought. She looked up at the starless sky. If it snows, I'm, gonna have to get some

warmer clothes. She walked around to the front of the house, where she had a good view

of the inside through the patio doors. It was well lit and well decorated inside the living room,

and an untrimmed Christmas tree stood proudly in the corner, waiting to be covered with

twinkling lights and ornaments. She sighed, and strolled up the walk. Taking a deep breath,

she rang the doorbell.


PIKACHU! THE COOKIES ARE BURNING! The Ketchem's kitchen could have

mistaken for a war zone. Cookie dough was covering a fair amount of bowls, spoons and

other utensils, and a thin layer of white flour was all over everything, including Ash and

Pikachu, who were trying desperately to make Christmas cookies. It had seemed like a

good idea at the time. Ms. Ketchem had gone on a overnight shopping trip to Celedon

City, and was going to be back the next afternoon, leaving the teen and his pokemon to

fend for themselves. Both Pikachu and Ash had been sitting, bored, watching a tenth

showing of Frosty the Snowman, when Ash had suggested that they both try to make

cookies. Pikachu, being of sound mind, had initially protested. Pika pika pi pikachu! Chu pi

pika pika pikachu! [Are you kidding! If we set the house on fire, your mom will kill us!] But

the promise of some of them being coated with ketchup icing had convinced the pokemon.

How hard can a few sugar cookies be? Ash had said. Now, a mere thirty minutes later, the

kitchen was a mess, and Ash was taking the first batch out of the oven. They hadn't burned,

but another minute, the poor cookies would have been beyond saving. Ash sighed with

relief, and set the pan on the counter. He grabbed the second pan full of unbaked cookies

and slid them into the oven, walked over to where Pikachu was and sat down on the floor

next to him. Pi pikapi? Pikachu pika chu chu. [See, Ash? I told you we shouldn't have

baked the stupid cookies.] Ash grinned at his friend. Betcha won't be saying that when

you're chowing down on your half of them. Pikachu smiled, and was about to comment

when... Ding dong! Ash frowned. He looked at Pikachu, who shrugged. He shrugged

back, and got up, walking toward the door. When he swung it open, he was greeted by a

large stack of presents with legs. He began to say, before a red-haired head

peeked out from behind them. His dismay turned almost instantly to shock.

She pushed her way inside. It's freezing out there! She set down her pile of

presents and stood, arms crossed, staring at him. Smiling. Why in heck are you covered in

flour? He suddenly lit up, realizing what was going on. Misty was here, standing in front of

him. Suddenly, he felt amazing happy. Er... a little accident with some cookies, He

commented with a grin. She rolled her eyes. You never could cook. His eyes narrowed.

I'll have you know that those cookies came out good! Misty lifted an eyebrow.

Then, staring at each other, smiling, they both cracked up. Misty practically leapt into Ash's

arms, giving him a monstrous bear hug. Ash was still grinning at her when they released.

What are you doing here, anyway? She shrugged. I wanted to spend Christmas with ya,

Mr. Pokemon Master. My sisters were being their usual pleasant selves, and I thought,

Christmas would be so much more fun if I was in Pallet with Ash and Pikachu... She

paused. Speaking of that, where is Pikachu? Ash shook his head. Probably icing all of the

cookies with that ketchup icing of his... They walked into the kitchen where, indeed, a white

smudged Pikachu was icing a sixth cookie. Pikachu! [Misty!] Hey Pikapal! Pikachu ran up

and jumped into her arms for a hug. Then, she looked around at the kitchen.Gosh, what

happened here? Was there an explosion? Were you hurt? Ash rolled his eyes. Thanks

for those stirring words of encouragement, Mist. She grinned. Ooo...sarcasm! You're

learning! She looked at Pikachu. Been teaching him, right? Pikachu chuckled, and nodded.

She looked around again. I'm surprised that your mom let you do this to her kitchen. Ash

shrugged. She and Mimie are in Celedon, shopping. They're coming back tomorrow.

Misty nodded. She was quiet for a moment, and then said tentatively, It's okay if I stay,

right? Ash smiled. Duh! Of course! What kinda best friend would I be if I said you

couldn't? Misty lit up and was about to comment when she smelled something... Hey,

Ash? Do you smell something burning? Ash's eyes grew wide. THE COOKIES!


Misty yawned, and collapsed on the couch, flipping on the TV. Ash flopped down

beside her. They had just cleaned up the kitchen, which was completely exhausting. Togapi

and Pikachu were both sleeping soundly upstairs, their tummies filled with the unburnt batch

of cookies. Hey it didn't take that long to clean up, right? Ash remarked, watching as Misty

channel surfed. And the cookies weren't burned, just extra crispy. Misty added good-

naturedly, settling on the Pokemon Battle Network (PBN), where two Jynxs were facing off.

Misty was sure she had seen this one before. The one on the right is gonna win with a

Lovely Kiss attack, and then a Double Slap, she commented. Ash nodded. Yeah.

You've seen this one too, huh? She sighed. They only show reruns at night. They both

watched with interest as Misty's prediction came true, and the winning Jynx raised it's arms

in triumph. That left trainer should work on training his Jynx to resist native attacks. You

know, like Lovely Kiss... Misty watched him move his hands as he spoke. He has really

nice hands, she thought. How come she hadn't noticed before? Those dumb gloves, Misty

realized. She smiled in spite of herself. She was growing a bit drowsy. It had been a long

day, why shouldn't she be drowsy? ...and he should probably teach it some more psychic

attacks, take full advantage of Jynx's abilities. Misty? Misty shook herself awake.

Ash grinned. You were almost out there for a minute. She yawned. It was a long bus

ride. So sue me. She got up and stretched. I'm going to bed. Night Ash. She smiled at

him, and he smiled back. 'Night Mist.


Misty laid in the guest room bed for the first time in her entire life. This had always

been Brock's room when the trio had stopped by during the journey, while she had slept in

Ash's bed. It was a comfortable room, kinda simple, and it smelled really good, like soap.

She breathed in deeply. It seemed like a normal friendship, didn't it? But it wasn't. She

always felt a weird kind of tension when she was around him. Electricity... She shook her

head, trying to clear it. Nope, it won't happen. Just enjoy the holiday, Misty, and stop

thinking about... that. With that, she turned over, and fell quickly asleep.

...to be continued...
Hope you enjoyed! Please review, lol, and don't flame too bad. And if you haven't read my other fics, go read them! Pokeshippers Rule!

©Pikashan61 2000, as are all my fics. Don't take!