Ash sighed and put his hands on his head as he watched his new apartment building–which he had not fully moved into just yet–went up in flames. It had started because some idiot was playing with fire and quickly consumed much of the two-story building.
And it was a nice apartment building, too. He'd saved up some of his winnings just to get an apartment in Cerulean. Nice to know that his money was literally going up in flames.
"Wow," he heard a woman's voice say to his right while watching firefighters and water-type Pokemon douse the building.
"PikachuPi!" He didn't need to guess who it was. Pikachu had already jumped into Misty's arms and was happy to see the water Mistress.
"Hi, Ash," she said, shaking out her long orange hair. "Sorry about this."
"Thanks Misty," he said. "At least I got insurance before I moved in."
"At least you're alive," she said. "What about all your Pokemon?" Ash pointed at his belt.
"And I haven't completely moved in yet," he said.
"Ash, you're ALIVE," she said to remind him.
"Yeah, but I was out long before the fire started," he said.
"Oh, well, in that case," she said. "Do you need a place to stay?"
"Do I ever!" he replied.
"You can stay at my place," she said.
"Thanks a lot!" he replied.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:
Suffice to say, it didn't take long for Ash to move in, what with so few things he had. Misty gave him a spare bedroom that was already furnished with a bed and computer.
Pikachu made the bed little nest, nuzzling the soft comforter and quikly falling asleep.
"Sorry it's not much," Misty said. "I just wasn't expecting anyone to stay here."
"I know," he said. The awkward silence that followed made Ash just want to get to bed, but Misty grabbed him, hugging him so tightly he was afraid he'd suffocate.
"I'm just glad you're okay," she said before he could ask. It was good enough for him and he hugged her back. "You know… you could always… stay here as long as you want."
"I have to move out," he said. "Wait, did you just say I'm dense?"
"You ARE dense, you idiot," she said. Although it was probably best she not say much about it right now, since he needed all the unconditional help he could get. Her feelings for him could wait a while.
The reason Misty isn't confessing her feelings is because she feels it'd be wrong to make it seem like she only invited him in to confess. She really was helping out of the goodness of her heart.