Misty cringed as another gust of relentless wind stroked her with ice, her milky skin now a raw red from the cold. Water was usually the element she adored but she cursed it as she felt her sodden jeans become more and more saturated with every step she took. She tried to pull her coat around her more tightly, one-handed, as the other hand clutched her straying umbrella that seemed desperate to escape her grasp. It was so stormy and dark that Misty could barely see her destination in the distance, not that it particularly mattered, as she kept her head fixated downwards in an attempt to shield it from the blustery weather. After what seemed to take twice the time it usually did, she reached the steps up to Oak's laboratory, the windmill spinning frantically in the unforgiving gale. She descended the steps, quickly realising the sheer amount of water and wet leaves that had fallen from the surrounding trees had made them slippier than normal, and after nearly falling four times she eventually made it to the top. Not bothering to knock, she let down her umbrella and burst through the large oak door. Stepping inside, she lowered her hood to reveal her loose red locks, the ends at the front so damp they now resembled more brunette than ginger, just reaching past her shoulders. Shaking her umbrella off outside, she shut the door with a little more force than she intended thanks to the wind, causing several research assistants who were scurrying about to jump in surprise. Looking at them apologetically, she removed her coat and began to hang it on the nearby rack, leaving her umbrella to drip beneath it.
"Arceus, Red," came a voice from down the hall. "You sure want everyone to know you're here don't you?"
The sound of footsteps caused Misty to turn her head and scowl. Gary smirked at her drenched attire, pushing his glasses further onto his face. "Wet out there is it?"
Misty scowled more. "No, it's positively beautiful!" she said sarcastically. "Where's your grandfather?"
"In his study," Gary stated, and Misty strode past him without another word. Gary followed her, his white coat swirling as he turned on his heel.
"Not in the mood for banter today, Red?"
"It's cold and gross outside, I'm just delivering these papers to your grandfather then I have to get back to my gym, where I have to deal with no doubt a queue of wet, irritable ten-year-olds who think they can 'kick my butt,' despite having two weeks of experience," Misty ranted. "So, to summarise, no."
"Well, once you've spoke to Gramps come by my room. I wanna show you something, I'm sure it'll cheer you up," Gary said.
Misty raised her eyebrows. "That didn't sound suggestive at all!"
"Well," Gary winked. "It wasn't meant to be, but that would cheer you right up too."
Misty cringed. "More like make me nauseous."
Gary rolled his eyes. "Fine, I won't show you the super cute Eevee babies then."
"What?!" Misty squealed. "Umbreon had her litter?"
"She sure did. A few days ago, they're gorgeous," Gary said, proudly.
Misty clasped her hands together and spoke excitedly. "Oh I bet they're so cute! I can't wait! I'll just drop these off and I'll come right by to see them!"
Gary smirked. "You've changed your attitude."
But the words fell on deaf ears as Misty scurried off to find the Professor.
Despite how soaked Misty's bag was, luckily the papers containing the observations Professor Oak had asked her to do were intact. She hurried down to Gary's area of work and knocked on the door gently, excitedly bouncing on her heels. Gary opened the door and she dashed past him and squealed at the sight of seven baby Eevees resting and playing together. Umbreon was laid on her bed in the corner, watching them protectively.
"They're so beautiful," Misty said in awe, clasping her hands over her heart. Gary smiled, then noticed one little Eevee had climbed onto his desk and was about to chew on his research. He scurried over, grabbing the Eevee in his arms.
"Yeah, they're a handful though," he sighed, as he noticed another nearly knocking over the huge, grand bookcase and hurried to scoop it up. Misty giggled as she spotted one Eevee lying down in the water bowl, splashing its paws in the liquid happily. She knelt down to the baby Pokémon.
"You're a little cutie aren't you?" she said, rubbing the Eevee's head, causing the Eevee to purr contently.
"I'm glad that you like that one," Gary said, with the two troublesome Eevee's still under his arms, who were desperately trying to break free. "I was thinking of giving that one to you."
"Me?" Misty said, stunned. "I can't possibly take one, Gary! They're beautiful but they're yours!"
"I'm only going to keep one of them," Gary explained. "The rest I plan to give to friends and family. That one seems to have a particular love of water so I think it'd make a great Vaporeon…"
"Gary, I can't…"
"Well, I'll give it to someone else then," Gary said, jokingly. The two Eevees had now escaped and were chasing each other around the room.
"No!" Misty squealed. Her face softened into a small smile. "Thank you so much, Gary. I don't even know what to say."
Gary smiled back. "You don't need to say anything, just make sure you raise it into a really strong Vaporeon and earn your place on the Elite Four! Koga's meant to be retiring soon, so you're going to need a strong team if you apply."
Misty stood up and put her hands up defensively. "I'm about to do something that has not yet happened in our friendship. But I feel we've gotten quite close over the past few years and you've just given me an Eevee so I'm afraid I have no choice."
Gary didn't have time to question her before she hugged him so tightly for a moment he was worried he'd suffocate. Luckily, the hug was short and she pulled back, smiling happily.
"Well that was freakin' weird," Gary said.
"Deal with it," Misty smirked. "You brought it upon yourself!"
A few weeks passed and Misty was finally allowed to take home her Eevee. The excitable Pokémon had already jumped in the pool three times, and just as she was fishing him out, the videophone began to ring. Carrying the dripping wet Eevee over to the phone, she answered.
"Hey, Mist!" Ash's face appeared, smiling happily. Then, upon noticing the wet Pokémon in her arms, chuckled slightly. "Who's your friend?"
Misty grinned. "Hey, Ash! This is my little Eevee, I've only had him a few hours but he's already well acquainted with the pool," she joked, referring to his wet fur.
"Oh, cool! Where'd you get an Eevee?" he asked.
"I got it from Gary, he think's he'd make a great Vaporeon and seeing as I want to apply for the Elite Four when a space clears up he thinks it'd be a great addition to my team," Misty explained.
"Gary gave it to you?" Ash asked coldly, suddenly far less happy and excitable than he was seconds previously.
"Yeah, but didn't you hear the rest-"
But Ash cut across her. "Why would you take an Eevee from Gary?"
"He offered for me to take it…" Misty said, furrowing her brow in confusion at his reaction.
Ash scoffed. "Oh yeah, wonder why?" he said sarcastically. "The whole Elite Four story is a great cover up, too. He's clearly got other intentions, Mist."
Misty was exasperated. "Ash, he really doesn't. We're just friends."
"Uh huh, well you might think that but he clearly doesn't," Ash scowled.
"Ash, why are you acting like this? I don't see why it affects you even if he does!" Misty yelled, startling her Eevee who she quickly soothed. She put him down so he could go play with the other Pokémon while she talked to Ash. She looked back at the screen to see Ash looking mildly panicked.
"I guess… I guess it doesn't affect me. You go out with him if you want," he said coolly.
Misty groaned. "Ash, I don't want to! I just accepted a present from a friend. Now can we please drop it? I wanna hear about your adventures."
"I'm not really in the mood right now, sorry, Mist. I'll talk to you later."
And with that, the screen went black, leaving an infuriated Misty staring at her own reflection.
A week had passed and Misty still hadn't heard from Ash. She and Brock were in the kitchen of the gym, drinking tea. Misty held her hands around her cup, appreciating the comfort of the warmth.
"I'm worried, Brock. He acted so weird about Eevee and I don't really know why…" she sighed, having explained the incident to Brock. Brock raised his eyebrows over his mug as his sipped his drink.
"You really don't know why?" he questioned.
Misty looked taken aback. "I haven't done anything wrong, Brock," she snapped.
"I know you haven't," Brock said calmly, placing his cup down.
"Then what's his problem?"
Misty folded her arms and looked not dissimilar to how she did as a sulking ten-year-old. Brock began to chuckle, causing the red-head to frown more.
"What?!" she snapped.
"You're just as dense as he is!" Brock said, still laughing lightly.
Misty scowled. "I am not. I just don't get why he's acting so immature."
"Because he doesn't know how to handle stuff yet. Trust me, I've had many confusing conversation with him about you."
Misty flushed. "M-me? Like what?"
Brock smiled softly. "Just be patient with him, okay? He'll work it out eventually but he has to do it on his own."
"Work what out? I'm so confused!" Misty groaned. She was about to protest further but suddenly the doorbell rang. Groaning, she rose from her seat and stomped toward the front door, leaving Brock to laugh to himself about the obliviousness of both of his best friends.
Misty opened the door with such force and such a bitter "What?!" the poor delivery boy on the other side took a few steps back in surprise, his face looking like he'd just seen a rampant Gyarados.
"D-delivery for M-Miss Misty Wateflower," he stammered out, holding out the package to her so tentatively as if he expected her to rip it from his hands with just her teeth. Taking pity on him, realising it wasn't the delivery boy's fault that her best friend was a moron, she smiled softly, and thanked him gently.
"Sorry, I'm just having a bad day," she said, chuckling awkwardly.
The delivery boy smiled and accepted her apology, but he still looked terrified and proceeded to run back down the path from which he came.
"Parcel?" Brock said as Misty returned to the kitchen, placing the package on the table they were sat at.
"Yeah, I've got no idea what it is, I didn't order anything…"
"Well, open it up!"
Ripping off the tape, Misty pulled back the two flaps of the little box. Inside was a single Pokéball, which Misty eyed curiously.
"That's odd," Misty said. "I wonder what it is."
Taking the ball into the gym so she could throw it in a more open space, after all she had no idea what was in it, Misty and Brock were curious as Misty threw the ball into the air.
A beautiful, serpentine Pokemon appeared from the ball, its tail was pink and blue with almost a mermaid-like fin completing it. Its body was mostly cream coloured, with red eyes and pink antenna and long fins at the side of its face.
"Wow, it's a Milotic!" Brock exclaimed. Misty was speechless as she stared at the beautiful creature. Ever since Ash had told her about Milotic when he was travelling in Hoenn, she had longed to own her own. She stepped forward gently to reach to stroke its scaly skin, and the Milotic looked down at her curiously.
"It's got quite long fins at the side of its face," Brock observed. "So I think this one is a female."
"It's beautiful," Misty breathed. "Huh?" she said, noticing that around the pink ribbon that rested on Milotic's neck was an envelope. She pulled the letter gently off the ribbon, and ripped it open to reveal its contents.
'I'm sorry for being a jerk the other day. I love your Eevee and I'm sorry if I made you feel bad about it, it'll make a great Vaporeon, I'm sure. I got really mad about it, and after we hung up I couldn't really understand why. I still don't fully get it. I guess I just didn't like the idea of you using a Pokémon Gary gave you, and I got annoyed that he said you'd need it to get into the Elite Four, because you already have an awesome team and you're a really strong trainer. I've sent you this Milotic because ever since you got all starry eyed (like you do whenever you talk about Water Pokémon haha!) about it I decided I wanted to catch you one. It took me a few days of constant searching but eventually I found one, by sheer luck I'll admit. I really hope you like it. You don't have to use it on your team, but I can imagine with Milotic and your Gyarados you'd be unstoppable. Plus I guess… I guess I like the idea of you using a Pokémon I gave you. Plus, my Pokédex said Milotic has the power to stop arguments and get rid of anger which I feel you could definitely use haha! Sorry again for being a jerk. I miss you.
Ash x'
"Isn't he the sweetest?" Brock teased, causing Misty to realise he'd been reading over her shoulder.
"Did you know about this?" Misty accused, holding the letter to her chest protectively.
Brock shook his head. "Not at all. Although do you now get why he was so worked up?"
Misty rolled her eyes. "Not really, but it sounds like he doesn't either."
"Oh c'mon, Misty, it's so obvious! He's jealous! He wanted you to use a Pokémon he got you, not another guy's!"
Misty flushed red. "N-no way!"
Before Brock could answer, the videophone began to ring.
"This isn't over," Misty warned, before she headed to the phone. As she answered, Ash's sheepish face appeared on-screen.
"Hey, Mist. You get the parcel? I paid extra for 'designated day delivery,'" he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I love it, Ash," she smiled softly. "But you didn't have to do this; you have your dream to focus on."
"I wanna be a part of yours, though," Ash interjected.
Misty sighed gently. "Is that what this is about?"
"Don't you like the Milotic?" Ash asked sadly.
"No, Ash, I love it, thank you so much," Misty said. "But you had a gym battle to focus on this week… Why were you running around looking for Pokémon for me?"
"Because I understand that we have to lead separate lives at the moment, but I want you to know that I'll always be there for you, and I support your dream too."
"You idiot, I knew that already," Misty said, affectionately. "Though I do love the Milotic, and it's nice to hear. Thank you."
"You're welcome," he smiled gently.
"And the feeling's mutual."
Ash chuckled lightly. "I knew that already, but it's nice to hear."
A/N: I hope that was okay. Also sorry for the awful pun in the title haha! I started this a while ago, and based it off the fact that my boyfriend gave me a shiny Milotic once, after we had an argument. I named him Milo, and I love him. My boyfriend and I aren't together anymore but I still treasure all the Pokémon he caught for me and all the time we spent on Pokémon together. I actually only managed to pick up Pokémon for the first time yesterday since we broke up. I miss him a lot, he was my best friend, and now he's just… gone. Just like that. My message here is treasure what you have, live for every moment and don't argue over stupid things, because one day you might lose the most important thing in the world to you and feel like your world has fallen apart. I wanna dedicate this story to VolcanicPanic, who sent me a lovely personal message saying my stories make their day. Well, your message made my day. And my days feel pretty crap right now, so thank you for making it a little brighter, now I've lost the person that made my day, every day. Anyway, sorry for the ramble. All reviews are welcome and I hope this made your day a little brighter x