DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokémon, or the characters, or Nintendo, or any of that stuff! Don't sue, I'm too broke and it'd be a waste of everyone's time.
A/N: Wow, that was a rambling disclaimer! Ahem, ANYWAYS, shall we move right along? Okay, this fic, well, I got the idea from that Paul Mac song "Just The Thing" (which I'm listening to right now, woohoo! Good song!) and it's a bit more…I dunno, brasher than my other fics. Not as fluffy I guess. Just broadening my horizons! Reviews brighten my days, so please leave one if you care about my wellbeing, lol!
-ASH-
As you would expect on a Thursday night, the bar I was sitting at wasn't exactly crowded or in hot demand. Just sad sods like me, staring blankly into shot glasses that were once full of triple whiskeys but that had been quickly emptied as more depressing thoughts crossed our minds and fueled our need for alcohol.
Well, okay, maybe we didn't need alcohol, but it sure helped to douse the flames of misery that were coursing throughout us. Then again, maybe these other guys weren't even depressed, or faking it to get away with the enormous amounts of booze they were consuming. I, however, had a genuine excuse.
Today felt like the first day of the end of my life. That feeling hit me the moment I woke up and witnessed a lightning bolt streak across the sky, accompanying a thunder clap to spell out an ominous warning to the day ahead. The walls of my throat felt glued with razorblades, kids on the street below were being too loud for my ears to take, and to top off my morning the hot water ran out, resulting in an unexpected cold shower and no coffee. The room I had at Indigo Central Hotel wasn't bad, I've been in a lot worse, but to have the hot water run out?
At this point I could only pray that my presentation at the League would go more smoothly than my morning had. That thought was quickly dashed when the nerves hit me. Being a part of the newly reformed Elite Four had its kicks, but this definitely wasn't one. A presentation on pokémon training techniques had been put in my so-called capable hands and as bullets of nerves pierced my usually cool exterior, I was doubting my capability.
Despite the ominous storm Indigo Plateau was now consumed in, I have to say that the presentation went alright. As in, I didn't faint, throw up or stutter as much as I originally thought I would. Maybe the bad morning had been a fragment of my over-reactive imagination. However, I was soon to be crossing that possibility out of my mind when I got called to the head honcho's office.
Jeff Manning. Owner of the Indigo Plateau and general guy who can order what I do, despite my status of being a member of the Elite Four. An easy grin was always plastered on his face, no matter what news he had to deliver, and today was no exception.
"Now Ash, it's gonna be tricky these next few weeks, with the arrival of Stuart Cook." He paused and looked me in the eye. "You remember Stuart…?"
"How could I forget" I groaned, remembering the man who had generally made our lives a living hell the last time he had visited the plateau. He was the tournament organizer, and with the next tournament only two months away, he was due to arrive and make sure everything was ready.
"We think we're going to need you here for another two weeks" Jeff announced.
"What?!" I exclaimed in horror. "I'm supposed to be going home in two days!"
"I know, but we really need the help at the moment. I'm sorry Ash, I know how much you were looking forward to going home" Jeff said sympathetically through that damned smile.
He had no idea how much I'd looked forward to going home. I hadn't seen my mother in nearly 6 months and after the hustle-bustle of Indigo Plateau, I was looking forward to a holiday in the rural tranquility of Pallet Town.
I sighed. I had no choice. Shaking his hand, I wished Jeff a pleasant day and sulked out of the room. Mom was not gonna be happy with this. Even if I was 21 and living in my own place either here or in Pallet, she still awaited my arrivals home eagerly and I have to say, without sounding like a mama's boy, that I felt the same way.
The storm outside showed no signs of letting up, as did the storm within me when the most devastating part of my day greeted me. Off went my cellphone and up came my grin at the caller ID display. Mandy. My girlfriend of nearly a year, she was still in Pallet round the year, working as a part-time waitress for a high class restaurant.
"Hey babes" I chirpily greeted her, thinking that this would be the resort from my awful day.
"Um, h-hi Ash" she started. I frowned in confusion and stopped walking down the street on the way to my hotel.
"Mandy? Is everything okay?" I asked worriedly.
"Uh, not really" Mandy said honestly. There was a pause as I expected her to go on and I heard a deep breath before those tainted words hit my ears. "Ash, I, um…I think we should see other people."
Never before had a line sounded so fatal, and I tried to find some sort of self-control to keep a hold of my phone.
"Wha…Mandy, why? What's going on, what have I done?" I asked.
"It's not you, it's…" Mandy paused again and I heard her sigh. "You're never here, I miss you and then I get angry and it's not fair to get angry at you for something you can't prevent. And I -"
"Mandy! How long you gonna be on that damn phone?"
My throat went dry at the male voice in the background and the silence that now occupied the both of us made me queasy.
"Please tell me that was your brother" I pleaded, knowing the answer was hopeless.
"Ash, you know I don't have a brother" Mandy sighed. "I'm sorry Ash, I never wanted to -"
She was cut off as I hung up the phone and angrily shoved it back in my pocket. I could've screamed in the middle of that street, I could've kicked a lamp post and broken my toe in the process at the amount of anger that was surging throughout me. But I didn't. Instead I walked calmly along the road, my sights set on the hotel and its comforting, if not slightly dingy, bar.
And now here I was. Drowning my sorrows in whiskey, as you do. Only five other guys were in the whole bar, that was dimly lit and practically empty.
"Dammit" I muttered, thinking of my misfortunes. "Dammit dammit, god fuckin' dammit!" I yelled, slamming my coiled fist on the bar.
"Hey, take it easy buddy. Sounds like you need another triple" the bartender said, taking away my glass for a much-needed refill. I nodded glumly before my eyes were clouded in darkness and I shot my head up to discover the bar in the same state.
"What the hell's going on now?" I mumbled.
"I think that storm finally got our power" the bartender explained. "Well fellas, you can hang around if you want, but the beer'll be going cold soon if they don't get the power back on."
"I'll stick around" I verbally decided. The bartender nodded and handed me my topped up drink, even if my words were becoming slightly slurred at this point. I think it was about then that I noticed her shadow…
-MISTY-
"Damn." Gulp. "You." Gulp. "Tom." Gulp. "Broughton."
Oooh. My head was spinning already and it wasn't even eight o'clock. The guys on my left were obviously amused by my gulping in between the cursing I was bestowing on my now ex-boyfriend.
I confess, I am not a heavy drinker. The stuff makes me do things I don't and would rather not remember. But I had to tonight, there was no one and nothing else that would comfort me.
Oh Tom. Why did you do this to me? I thought you loved me, and unless I'm naïve, I'd say you proved it. The roses, the teddy bears, the messages at work, the stuff that happened after dark…
"Get me another" I ordered coarsely. The barman obeyed and handed me another martini. "Better get me a tequila too" I added.
"Miss, are you sure you should be drinking -"
"Please. Just get me one" I pleaded. "If I get completely off my head you can kick me out, but for now I need something to make me…forget…" I trailed off as once again my mind replayed that afternoon.
Walking home from my embarrassing but nonetheless rent-paying job of being a checkout chick, I felt on top of the world, even if I was walking through what looked like a storm that was only just starting to brew. I'd been let off work at lunch as part of my new shifts with an increased pay packet, thanks to a strike some of the others had organized the week before, and that night I had planned to cook dinner for Tom, since it was his 22nd birthday.
Humming as the elevator transported me through the apartment complex where our apartment was situated, I smiled to myself. Life was finally falling into place. I was happy, I was earning money and I was in love. What more could a girl want?
I went to unlock our apartment but strangely found it unlocked. Tom wasn't due home for another four hours, and no one else had the key. I managed to shrug off the confusion and walked through, slipping out of my coat and letting my hair down. The colour that had stuck with me since my birth shimmered in the lights as I shook it out, but something stopped me in my tracks.
What was that sound? It had sounded like a scuffle or something, and it had sounded like it was coming from our bedroom. Slipping out of my heels, I armed myself with my left one and cautiously approached the room. The door was closed, which suggested that it probably wasn't an intruder, but I still couldn't help feeling apprehensive about what I was going to encounter.
The sounds got louder as I got closer to the door. This was confusing me no end and, as undangerous as the noises now sounded, I was still armed with my shoe, knowing it could do some damage if it had to.
I wasn't prepared for the amount of damage that would be inflicted on me the minute I walked through that door.
Flinging the door open and raising the shoe in my hand, I froze at the sight in front of me. It was a fear that had plagued me for a year that was now a reality. Ever since we'd started going out, I'd been afraid of finding Tom in our own bed with another girl. Not to mention a girl who was prettier, slimmer and blonder than I ever would be.
Tom abruptly stopped his antics, as if that would rectify the situation, and looked at me with eyes that were probably reflecting my own. Nothing but shock were scrawled in them, only I knew this was a shock different to mine. My shock was mingled with anger and hurt. A raw hurt that I had never before felt in my life.
"Misty, um, I wasn't…uh, expecting you…"
"Obviously" I said pointedly. There was a stony silence before I realized the shoe was still above my head. "Happy birthday, you fucking bastard!" I screamed before I threw the shoe in his direction like it was a shotput and ran out, tears obstructing my vision. I was barefoot and practically a blubbering mess but looks were on the bottom of my priority list.
Slamming the door for more of an effect, I stormed out of the apartment and in an unknown direction. Thank God I had Tom's credit card. The rain was coming down heavier now, and I knew I couldn't spend a night in the rain in weather like this. A hotel would have to do. Not that I'd want to go back to my apartment knowing Tom had done that in my bed.
A lot of hours were wasted crying in my temporary room, making my eyes sore with salty tears and their sting. Nothing could hurt me more than the sting of what Tom had just done. Before I could let the tears overtake me completely, I found my way down to the bar, stumbling down the stairs like I was already intoxicated. Still no shoes on my feet, my eyes all puffy and my melancholy expression obviously didn't hinder the barman in serving me, but it was a good hour later and during a power failure that that certain someone grabbed my attention…
-ASH-
"Can I get you a drink?" I asked this shadow politely. I was now sitting beside her, breathing in her perfume that was mingled with the subtle fumes of alcohol.
"I can buy my own drinks. Don't need a man for that" she replied coolly. Her voice immediately sent chills up my spine, but I couldn't tell if it was because of the tones or because the tones reminded me of something I couldn't put my finger on…
"Come on, you sound like you need one" I urged.
"She's had a few" the barman interjected. No kidding, I thought, then turned back to her.
"What do you have? Martini, B&C…" I trailed off, hoping for a response, but all I got were a couple of giggles. I raised an eyebrow, wondering if this was such a good idea, but I didn't have much time to wonder before her voice penetrated my thoughts.
"Do you know that my boyfriend's a bastard?" she announced.
"Um, no, I don't. But I guess I do now" I mumbled.
"He bloody well is. Can you imagine, screwing some blonde in my bed in my room in my apartment. He wasn't expecting me. God I hate him." She took another swig of…well, whatever it was she was drinking, and I heard her slam the glass down. "Damn him to hell. That's all he deserves, a damning to hell."
"Hey, come on, chill out" I said. Woah, did the room just tilt? How many whiskeys had I had? "I guess I can sympathise, my girlfriend did the same with some guy back home."
"Today?" she asked.
"Yeah, she called today" I replied.
"Well there's a goddamn coincidence for ya!" she exclaimed loudly before erupting into more giggles. She obviously didn't tolerate alcohol very well. "We're in the same boat, stud. Aren't boyfriends and girlfriends and all friends the pits? I'm never, I repeat NEVER gonna bother with that shit again! All they do is string you along and dump you right when you're on the biggest high of your life!" Even in the darkness I could see her waving her arm theatrically.
She wasn't exactly lifting my spirits, and I ordered one more whiskey "for the road." Only two other guys remained in the bar now and the alkie was taking control of the amount of fatigue in my body. I downed the whiskey and stood up.
"I better get going, this blackout is never gonna lift" I said.
"Nooo, don't go" she complained, clutching onto my arm. By now her voice had enchanted me, even if it was a tad slurred, and I knew by the sound of it that she was a beautiful person, both outwardly and inwardly, when she wasn't drunk. Not that I could talk, I wasn't exactly sober myself. "We've got so much in common" she added. "Don't you have this horrible hollow feeling inside of you?" she asked, suddenly sounding a bit more normal.
"Yeah" I admitted sadly. "I thought Mandy -"
"Loved you? Pfft" she interrupted. "Love isn't real. So-called love is just sex, and sex is only real for a moment and then it's over." I was slightly shocked by her blunt words but tried not to show it. "The hollowness is still there now though." Her tone had now turned sad, and I longed to put my arms around her, out of both comfort and my own personal desires.
"I know what you mean." Before I knew what had happened, she was standing up and now leaning against me, and I had no choice but to put my arms around her or else she'd fall. Not that I really minded or anything. "Woah, Miss, are you okay?" My own stability was waning thanks to the drink and I prayed that, as much as I loved having her in my arms, she would be able to stand on her own.
"I'm fine" she said solidly. "Just lonely. So damn lonely."
"So am I" I said softly. I don't know how it happened, but my actions were being dominated by the alcohol, and I found myself stroking her hair in reassurance. It wasn't long before I realized she was crying into my shoulder, and I held her closer, feeling mutual sympathy and empathy (and longing) for her.
"Oh God." Sniff. "You're so nice" she sobbed.
"I'm going through the same thing" I reminded her. "Come on, have you got a room here? I think you need some sleep."
-MISTY-
Did I have a room here? Well, I knew I had a room here, I wasn't that drunk. But I was drunk enough to lie to this stranger's face and say no, in the hope that something, anything, would develop from this. His voice calmed me (or was that the alcohol?) and the feeling of being in his arms was like a protective barrier I thought had dissolved when I'd walked in on Tom.
"So where are you staying?" this guy asked.
"I dunno" I said, portraying innocence and an air of being skeptical. "How many are crashing in your room?" I know, alcohol made me bold, I couldn't help it.
"No one, but there's only one bed" he pointed out.
"That wouldn't bother me" I grinned. I was still leaning against him, and now made no hesitation to put my arms around his neck. "Mmm, that wouldn't bother me at all" I mumbled.
"Okay, hold up, I don't even know your name" he said.
"That's the fun part" I giggled. "We can keep our names to ourselves. No emotional shit, no attachments, just one night and nothing else."
"Are you serious?" he asked. Frustrated with all the questions, I quickly stood on tiptoe and initiated a kiss between us, feeling something I hadn't ever felt with Tom. Delight was a power surge through me as he kissed me back, in fact, he was making it deeper and prolonging it more than I imagined he would.
Pulling away, his face was still a shadow but this didn't bother me. My head was spinning from both intoxication of alcohol and intoxication of lust, and I smiled goofily in the dark.
"So which way to your room, stud?" I asked cheekily. I slightly remember being picked up and carried off in the direction of the rooms before being set down before one, laughing all the way in drunken giddiness. He had stumbled his way there, the darkness contributing to this, and he then pinned me against his door, eyeing me seriously. I could slightly see that his eyes were maybe brown or hazel, I couldn't quite tell.
"No emotional shit?" he asked.
"None whatsoever." With that he opened the door and we stumbled in, filling in a gap that our ex's had bitterly left in us.
**********
Oh my God, my head hurt too much. I couldn't see properly and my tongue felt like cement had just been poured on it. I was in a bed and, despite the fact there were practically no sheets covering me, I was warm, thanks to the person next to me.
Daylight was filtering through the room as I slowly turned my head to face the man beside me. One night, no emotional shit. That was all this had been. And now I had to leave. No doubt I had to go back to my apartment and pack all my stuff.
But my head of lead refused to let me sit up, and I fell back on the pillow with a groan. It was at this point the stranger beside me stirred and opened his eyes, locking them with mine, allowing us to both get a good look at the other - and allowing us to both gasp at the realisation.
This was Ash Ketchum. The same Ash Ketchum I had journeyed with for six years, the same Ash Ketchum I had parted ways with four years ago when he got into the Elite Four. The same Ash Ketchum I had fallen in love with all those years ago.
I couldn't speak, for fear of saying something stupid. What do you say in a situation like this? Ash and I had been good friends, but I'd never confessed my true feelings to him for fear of rejection. And now here we were, having performed the greatest act of love ever thinking the other was a stranger when really we had once known each other better than ourselves.
"Oh…oh shit, oh my God…" I stuttered.
"Misty?" Ash whispered. I nodded and immediately burst into tears, cursing myself for making such a stupid mistake. I hadn't seen him in 4 years, and this wasn't exactly the reunion I'd had in mind. "Shhh, calm down, it's alright" he said soothingly, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
"No it's not" I wailed. "This is horrible! Look what we've done! Oh God Ash, you were my friend, my best friend, and now I've gone and ruined all that!"
"You haven't, shush, come on, it was…" He paused, looking for the right words. "To tell you the truth, last night was better than anything I'd ever experienced with Mandy."
"Better?" I sniffled. Ash nodded and I wiped away my tears. "Oh God, Tom, he's such a bastard, look what he's made me do. I'll never forgive him for this, I'll never forgive myself for this!"
"You have no one to blame but fate in this, Misty" Ash said. I stared at him like he'd just dropped out of a space ship, waiting for him to go on. "Four years ago when we parted, you had no idea I…" He trailed off again and bit his lip. "I was in love with you. And that I had been ever since we met. Maybe this is the fates' way of showing you that, I don't know. But whatever it was, despite all the shit that rained down on me yesterday, it was worth it, don't you think?"
"Oh Ash, I, oh man this is…"
"Overwhelming?" Ash supplied. I nodded and buried my face in his chest.
"I love you Ash" I whispered my thoughts out loud and then immediately gasped, wishing I could keep my mouth shut. "Oh God, I'm sorry, I -" My ramblings were cut short when I felt Ash's lips on mine, engulfing my thoughts and fueling the dreams I thought I had lost four years ago. He pulled away and stroked my cheek as he spoke his next words.
"I love you too, Misty. I guess I forgot that over the last four years, but now I know. You certainly proved it last night, the moment I heard you I just…I dunno, I wanted you."
"Really?" I asked in a choked up voice. He nodded and smiled.
"I wouldn't lie to you, Mist."
"Well, that's kinda unfortunate, cos I kinda lied to you…" I mumbled.
"Really? About what?" Ash asked.
"I do have a room here" I confessed with a grin. Ash laughed slightly and stroked my hair.
"That's a lie I'm willing to let ride over this time" he said. And with that we melted into another kiss, now ready to start this new relationship that had evolved from our deteriorated ones and that had been ten years in the making. But the wait had definitely been worth it, and once again I was feeling on top of the world, especially knowing I could trust Ash. I loved him, and he loved me. And no matter what the circumstances, that was the only thing that mattered to me.
A/N: Done! I wrote this in….wait for it…AN HOUR AND A HALF!!! That's good for me, I never usually just sit down and type till I'm done! So woohoo, hope that's a good sign. Anyways, hope you enjoyed, thanks very much for reading, and I'll try and get some more stuff up ASAP! Big ups to you all, AAML forever, see ya!