The Ugly Psyduckling
By: Saori
Misty's eyes hurt from staring into the fire for so long. She was tired, really, really tired, but something just wouldn't let her get to sleep. Okay, so she knew what is was. It was the fact that today was her late mother's birthday. And it brought back all the memories of her family; good and bad alike.
It had been almost four years since her mother's death, and about a month later she had decided to make a rash leave, and then ended up running into Ash. It seemed like so long ago. When she had first decided to leave, she had no clue how to go about it. She knew her sisters wouldn't care, they never really paid her any mind anyway, but it was the fact of venturing out into the unknown that scared her to death.
Her mother had been her stronghold. In her mother's eyes, all four of her daughters were equal, even though everyone else who knew the siblings strongly disagreed. She was the runt. It was a stated fact that everyone knew, and everyone accepted it. Except her mom, of course.
It wasn't her fault she liked swimming the way she wanted instead of learning performances and techniques to make the crowd go wild. It wasn't her fault she liked wearing her hair up instead of styled and down. It wasn't her fault she liked shorts much better than a dress or skirt. It wasn't her fault she wanted to be strong willed instead of the suffering role of damsel-in-distress. It wasn't her fault she didn't want to be clones like her sisters. Was it?
It seemed like everyone thought so though. When her one line of defense was gone, she knew she had to go too. Make something out of herself, besides the gorgeous girl who could stun the boys with one flick of the hand. She had to do something that people would marvel over without looking at how she wasn't as pretty as her sisters were. She had to become a Pokemon Master.
So she had told yelled at her sisters her new dream and then stormed out on her bike and the few things she thought she would need. She had got as far as she could then stopped to think about her choice of the new path. She desperately wanted to turn back and go back to the few friends she had back in Cerulean City.
Then out of no where comes this kid about her age, who looks like he has a few troubles of his own. In and out of eyesight for a total of three seconds, and he had managed to steal her bike. If only she knew later when she tracked him down, made him take her with him, that he could steal hearts just as easily. But that was pointless too.
For once in her life, she actually did want to be considered beautiful. But of course she wasn't really relying on it. Not from Ash anyway. No way in the world would he ever see her as beautiful. Especially compared to her lovely 'Sensational Sisters'.
"Misty?" Ash asked cautiously, pulling her out of her memories. She shook her head, and offered a quick smile, nervous to be caught so deep in her thoughts. Had her eyes teared up, because she sure felt like they were about to now. Or had she just been frowning? Hopefully the later.
"Um, the smoke is kind of hurting my eyes, I think I'll just take a walk before I get to bed." Misty hurried away before Ash could reply, and he desperately wanted to call her back and ask her what was wrong. It was really late, and they had another day of walking tomorrow, so she really should be getting some sleep like the rest of their snoring party. Before he could change his mind, he got up, motioned for the drowsy Pickachu to go back to sleep, and hurried after her.
What he found he did not like, not in the least bit. She was sitting on a large boulder with her arms wrapped around her knees, and she was crying. He almost couldn't believe it; something really had to be wrong for Misty to be crying. He hesitantly stepped closer to her, but when he got within distance he didn't have a clue what to say.
He just wanted to do something for her, do something to show he cared. Because he did- he did so, so much. It was a quick decision, like most all choices he made, but as he reached his arms out to envelop her it seemed to go slowly. He felt her instantly stiffen, and snap her watery turquoise eyes to his warm chocolate brown ones.
He was waiting for her to push him down on the ground or shove him so hard he fell into the tree behind him. So you can tell he was surprised when she wrapped her arms under his jacket and around his waist, laying her head softly on his chest. Soon enough, her sobs quieted down into uneven breathing. He didn't want to say anything to break the spell, and was relieved when he heard her mutter something against his shirt.
"Sorry…" The last thing in the world Misty wanted was for Ash Ketchum to see her at her weakest. Then again, maybe that was the best thing for her. He was above all, her best friend, and even though she hated crying worst in the whole world, this comforting thing wasn't all that bad.
"It's ok, Myst," He said softly into her ear, his warm breath cascading shivers down her spine. "Just tell me what's wrong, please." He almost sounded like he was begging to her ears, and she looked up so that there faces were only inches away. The sudden realization of their proximity brought a dark blush to her face, so she looked down and tried to focus on memorizing the way his black tee fit snug against his developing teenage muscles.
"It's nothing…" Misty started, and then stopped herself. She couldn't come this far, and have him chase her for nothing, she needed to get it out. If not to the love of her life, then at least to her best friend. Hopefully this would be one of the times he wouldn't be boneheaded and laugh at what she was about to say. "Ash… do you think I'm pretty?"
He was blown away at her question. There was no way she couldn't know, right? Was she blind to her own beauty? Didn't she see the glances she got from the boys they met on their journey? Hadn't she ever wondered why she had absently caught him staring at her? Wasn't she aware of the effect she had on him?
But he guessed he took too long in his surprised stupor, because she instantly pulled away as far a she could get before he gently grabbed her shoulders. "Forget it, you don't have to answer. It was just a stupid-" She started, her voice traced very strongly with the hurt she felt. She was stopped going any further by his soft lips on hers.
Her blue-green eyes shot open at her own turn at shock, and then drifted close as she responded to the pressure on her lips. Her tummy fluttered with something like little butterfrees, and her whole body seemed to be frozen and aflame all at the same time. Her mind couldn't quite comprehend this new step both teenagers took from their friendship, but neither seemed to mind the sudden new height.
Ash pulled away slowly, leaving them both breathing hard in the still forest night. "Misty Waterflower, you are the most beautiful girl I have ever met." He gently grabbed hold of her chin, and brought her suddenly shy gaze to meet his, so he could make his words take root deep within her. "It's ridiculous that you could think otherwise, because you're simply gorgeous. And… and I've thought so ever since we had that stupid argument over your bike. Myst, I love you more than you'll ever know."
The air in both of their lungs rushed out as he said the last sentence, and it seemed to echo through their surroundings. Misty's face slowly transformed into the biggest smile he had ever seen, and it lit up her whole face, and made her beautiful orbs dance. This time it was she who grabbed him, and she who brought her lips to his. But given the circumstances, he didn't really complain. "I love you two Ashy-boy."
Ash gave her a playful scowl, and just for that decided to add. "You know, I think this is the longest we've gone without fighting, we should defiantly write this down in some world records book." She stuck out her tongue, and he took the chance to kiss her again.
And I'm sure if you asked either one of them, neither would complain about giving up fighting for kissing.
Author's Note- Man, I totally miss the good old Pokemon days. Like the first three or four seasons, don't you? (Not that there's anything wrong with the new seasons, in fact I don't really watch them so I guess I can't really compare.) But, I was always waiting for Ash and Misty to get over the fighting and get together. Sigh… If only the world was perfect. Haha. Anyways, this is actually my first Pokemon fic, and I hope you guys liked it.