Snowflakes of Love
A one-shot story about Ash and Angie having fun together in the snow. Based upon a short story by Lauren, also known as "Displaced Artist" on Bulbagarden, used with kind permission. This story could be placed somewhat before my first story, "Angie's Goodbye, regarding the time line. As can be expected, this story also involves MorpheusShipping (Ash and Angie liking each other) so if you really don't like that idea, perhaps you should stop reading here. The rest, I hope you enjoy this fan-fiction.
"Brrr, it sure is cold outside!" Ash said, as he pulled his cap a little more down over his head.
"Boys are such sissies," Angie sighed.
"Easy enough for you to say, you've got those mittens and a nice scarf," Ash pouted.
"Well, it isn't my fault you picked your usual gloves that have no fingertips, and forgot your scarf," Angie said, as she raised one eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest.
Ash did the same, and for a moment they just stood there, looking away from each other, both too stubborn to be the first to give in. Finally, Angie decided to be the wisest of them.
"You know, Ash..." she started.
"Yeah... what?" Ash asked, still looking away from her.
"Over there is a pond that will probably be frozen now. If we go skating there, you'll get warm in no time," Angie suggested.
"Great idea!" Ash said, suddenly forgetting the little skirmish of a few moments ago, "last one there is a rotten snowball!"
"Hey! Not fair!" Angie shouted, as she tried to keep up with Ash, who started running before finishing his last sentence.
The pond was indeed frozen, and after throwing some sticks on the ice, and stomping a little on it, they decided it was safe enough to skate on. Soon they were standing on the ice, although Ash looked a little wobbly.
"Are you sure you can actually skate?" Angie asked, as she watched Ash take a few careful step-like moves on the ice.
"Eehh, I just need a little time to get the hang of it again," Ash answered, "and remember, we don't have often have a real winter in Pallet Town."
"Okay, well just follow my lead then," Angie said, as she made a few strokes, and skated away from Ash.
Ash looked with amazement at the speed and grace Angie moved across the ice with. "She actually looks like a girl this way..." he thought. But he didn't have time to think long about this sight, since Angie had now almost reached the other side of the pond, and started waving at him.
"Okay, now it's your turn!" Angie shouted, "just try to do as I did!"
"Alright! Here I come!" Ash shouted.
Ash tried to gain some speed, but his skates kept sliding away, and he barely managed to stay on his feet. Angie had trouble keeping in her laughter. She saw her friend making another attempt to get moving, with the same result. Shinx and Pikachu had stayed on the shore, watching Ash's moves attentively, suppressing a giggle every now and then. Pikachu even did a little mime act, moving just like Ash, and suddenly falling to the ground.
"Need some help, Ash?" Angie shouted, having to try even harder not to laugh out loud at his skating act.
"No, I'm fine...whoooaaahh!" he answered, as he fell over on the ice.
"So I see..." she laughed, before skating rapidly towards him, and helping Ash up.
"This ice sure is slippery," Ash explained, in an attempt to save his reputation.
"Gee... I wonder... isn't ice supposed to be slippery then?" Angie said, at a teasing tone.
Ash glared at her, before making another attempt to skate. This time he did manage to make a few strokes, and Angie followed next to him. Then, Ash's right skate decided to take another course, and he moved to the side, bumping into Angie, who couldn't evade the collision anymore. They both fell on the ice, and landed on their sides, close to each other and face to face. Angie could even feel Ash's breath, as they were both lying on the ice. It felt so strange and tingly to her, and yet also quite comfortable. It was hard to explain but even though the ice was cold, she felt warm inside as she looked into Ash's eyes. Then, slowly they both got up again, although Angie kept her eyes on Ash. She felt a blush coming up, but couldn't help herself, and kept staring into Ash's eyes. "Wait a second... is he also blushing?" she wondered, as she noticed Ash's face was also a little reddish.
"Okay, this time it going to work!" Ash said with determination, as he made another attempt to get skating.
This time it went much better, and Ash managed to stay up, and even kept moving forward. Ash started to get a little cocky, and looked over his shoulder, to see where Angie was.
"Wait up Ash!" Angie shouted, as she noticed Ash was skating towards a piece of the pond where there was more snow lying on the ice.
But Ash didn't see the danger and kept skating ahead. So Angie picked up more speed and tried to intercept him. She managed to get to Ash just in time, but then Ash slipped, and almost fell over. He tried to stay up, and as he waved his arms in the air, he suddenly got hold of Angie's right arm, pulling her along in his stride on the snow covered ice. Slowly, they got up again, with snow all sticking to their clothes.
"Wait, I'll clean you up a little," Angie said, as she dusted off the snow of Ash's back.
"Thanks, now let me help you," Ash suggested, as he did the same, while Angie started blushing a little again
"Is something wrong?" Ash suddenly asked, "you look so red in your face. Did you hurt yourself during that fall?"
"Uuuhhh," Angie stuttered, "no... that... that must be the cold. Yeah, that's it."
"And how about you?" Angie asked, "you're also quite reddish."
"Errmmm, probably also the cold, I guess," Ash said as he grinned sheepishly.
"Here, take my scarf then," Angie proposed, as she untied it from her neck.
"Gee, thanks!" Ash said, as he put the scarf around his neck.
Angie felt that same warm fuzzy feeling coming up inside her. "He is wearing my scarf!" she thought, "I'll make sure mom never washes it again..."
"Hey? Angie?" Ash said, as he wondered why she was suddenly so absent minded.
"Huh? Oh sorry, I'm back now," she quickly regained her cool.
"How about we call it a day as for skating, and take the sleigh to ride down that hill we passed on our way to the pond?"
"Sounds good to me, last one at the cabin is a rotten ice cube!" Angie shouted, as she took a little head start.
"Hey, no fair!" Ash protested, as he struggled to follow her to the shore of the pond.
When Ash finally arrived at the cabin, Angie had already gotten the sleigh out. Ash quickly put his skates in the hall also and took the rope to help pulling the sleigh. With Pikachu and Shinx riding on the sleigh, and our two friends pulling it, they soon reached the hill Ash had mentioned before. They pulled the sleigh up, and Ash intended to sit down on it right away, when Angie put her hand on his shoulder.
"What is it?" Ash asked.
"Ladies first, remember!?" Angie said, to explain her actions, as she looked at him with fierce eyes.
"You only say that when it's in your advantage," Ash complained, but as he noticed Angie's glaring look he quickly got off the sleigh.
"Thanks, you can be a true gentlemen, when you try hard enough," Angie said, as she winked at Ash.
Angie stepped on the sleigh, and raced down the hill. Then she slowly pulled the sleigh up the hill again, back to her friend Ash, who was getting more and more impatient.
"Did you see me go!? Did you?" Angie cheered, "I bet you can't go that fast!" she dared Ash.
"No, because I will go much faster!" Ash said, as he took the dare and grabbed the sleigh with both hands.
Ash walked a few steps higher on the hill, took a little sprint, and jumped upon the sleigh. With this extra speed, Ash soon raced down the hill like a madman.
"You see!? I told you I could go faster!" Ash yelled triumphant, as he looked over his shoulder towards Angie. "I think I am close to breaking the sound barrier now!" he added.
"Or close to breaking your neck..." Angie whispered. "Ash, slow down!" she then yelled, getting a certain feeling this had to go wrong one way or the other.
"Shinx! Shi-shinx!" the little bluish Pokémon suddenly screamed.
"What is it?" Angie asked, as she looked in the direction of where Shinx was pointing.
Then it hit Angie. "Oh no, the trees!" she thought, as she looked at the line of trees on the bottom of the hill, that Ash was closing in on faster and faster now.
"Ash! Stop!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, "the trees, look out for the trees!"
"Pikaaa!" Pikachu screamed, as it covered it's eyes with one of it's paws, afraid to look at what would happen next.
"What!?" Ash yelled back, as he could not hear very well what Angie was saying, with the wind blowing in his ears.
But it was too late. With a loud crashing sound, the sleigh hit a tree, and was knocked over. Ash landed in the snow, and didn't move afterwards.
"Ash! Ash!!" Angie yelled, panicking a little.
She ran down the hill, as fast as she could without tripping and rolling down it. Pikachu and Shinx followed her. When she reached the site of the crash, Ash was still not moving. The sleigh was a goner alright, the left glider was broken in half, and the frame was twisted. It clearly showed how hard the impact must have been, and Angie started to worry even more. She bent over, to take a closer look at Ash, when suddenly... he got up and grabbed her by the waist!
"Haha! Got you!" he laughed.
"Oh you!" Angie shouted at him, trying to sound as angry as possible, which was quite hard, since she somehow felt quite comfortable to feel Ash's hands holding her, and she felt a blush coming up.
"That was awesome!" Ash cheered, "except for the hitting that tree part, that is," he added, as he carefully rubbed his forehead, that was beginning to show a bump.
"Serves you just right!" Angie bit at him, although she also felt sorry and a bit worried that he got hurt. "You could have gotten yourself badly wounded or even killed!"
"Okay, okay..." Ash apologized, as he let go of Angie and started to brush the snow of his coat.
Angie sighed a little, disappointed that Ash was no longer holding her, and started picking up the pieces of the sleigh.
"Well, since the sleigh is trashed, I guess we'd better head for the cabin now," Ash suggested.
"You're right, let's go," Angie agreed.
It was a good thing Ash and Angie we're heading home, since it started snowing, and quite a lot as well. When they were close to the cabin, the snow had gotten so dense, they could hardly see ahead. Angie had put Shinx back into it's Poké Ball, and Pikachu was hiding underneath Ash's cap. Since the cabin belonged to Angie's parents, and she had been there before a number of times, they managed to get to the cabin without getting lost. Together they opened the heavy door, and then they stood there, shivering in the hall, and helping each other take off their snowy jackets.
"Now, we've got to get warmed up again," Angie stated, "let's see if I can find that... aah, there it is!" she cheered as she held up a big blanket.
"But... where is my blanket?" Ash said, looking a bit puzzled.
"I'm sorry, but I found only one," Angie answered, "but it's big enough for the both of us. In fact, it is even big enough for three, so you should fit in as well."
Angie sat down in front of the fireplace, holding the big blanket open, so Ash could join her. A little reluctant, Ash got next to her, and they wrapped the big blanket around them.
"Now we've got to make a fire in here," Ash said.
"Huh?" Angie said, unsure how to interpret Ash's words.
"I mean the fireplace," Ash explained, "what were you thinking about then?"
"The same.." Angie answered, although a little blush revealed she had been thinking about something else.
"Pikachu, can you light those logs with a Thunderbolt attack?" Ash asked.
"Pika!" the little electric mouse Pokémon nodded, as it began charging up power.
"I think you hit that tree a little harder than I thought," Angie said, "we just want to make a fire, not blow up the entire fireplace and cabin with it as well!"
"You have a better idea then?" Ash said, a little annoyed.
"Naturally. Shinx, come out!" Angie called out her electric Pokémon. "Can you do Spark on those logs in the fireplace?"
"Shinx-shinx!" was the answer, and with a well controlled Spark it set the logs on fire.
Soon the fireplace was emitting a nice and warm glow. Pikachu and Shinx both sat down in front of the fire, cuddling up close to each other, to get even warmer. Angie looked at her Pokémon, so nicely snuggled against each other, and then to Ash, who was now also very close to her. Ash also turned his head towards Angie, and for a moment they stared into each other's eyes, before both started to blush.
"You're okay?" Ash asked, "you look so red all of a sudden."
"If you had a mirror, you could see that you look a little reddish as well," Angie deflected Ash's remark.
"Oh... then it must be... the heat of the fire," Ash explained.
"Yeah, that must be it," Angie sighed, relieved as it just looked like Ash had discovered her secret crush on him.
On the other hand, now seemed like a perfect moment to confess to Ash, she thought. Angie gathered as much courage as she could, and moved her hand towards Ash's hand. She got closer, and closer... and then touched his hand! Ash turned towards Angie, surprised by her move. Angie looked at him, and opened her mouth when... someone knocked on the door!
"Come in, it's open!" Angie yelled, a bit annoyed at this intrusion.
They heard some footsteps in the hall, and then Brock stepped into the room.
"Hi Brock!" Ash greeted the unexpected visitor.
"Hi," Angie said, a little less enthusiastic, since her moment of confessing to Ash was interrupted by Brock's arrival.
"What brings you here then?" Ash wondered.
"Well, I figured you two would like a cup of hot chocolate and marshmallows when it's winter and Angie's parents told me I could find you two here," Brock started explaining, "it was a good thing I was already close to the cabin when the snow got more dense, or I might have been still been wandering around outside now."
"If you are cold you can come under the blanket," Ash suggested, "Angie just mentioned it is big enough for three."
Angie didn't like that idea too much, and glared at Brock. He probably took the hint, and shook his head.
"Thanks, but that isn't necessary," Brock answered, "I've been in the mountains many times when I was still the gym leader of Pewter City, and it can get pretty cold there as well, so I'm used to it now. But what's with that bump on your head?" he asked, looking at Ash.
"Oh, just Ash versus a tree," Angie replied.
"Do you want me to have a look at it?" Brock suggested, "sometimes brain damage doesn't show immediately."
"Ah, never mind. You can't hurt what you haven't got in the first place," Angie teased Ash, who poked her in the side as he glared at the mint colored girl.
"Okay, I'll get the hot chocolate and the marshmallows then," Brock said.
"Yummy!" Ash and Angie both cheered together.
Brock took out a few mugs from his backpack and the thermos flask with the still hot chocolate inside. He poured the hot drink into the three mugs and handed one over to each of his friends. Then he took his own mug and placed the bowl of marshmallows on the floor in front of Ash and Angie, before sitting down himself.
"Let's get it while it's hot!" Brock said, before taking a sip of his drink.
"Alright!" Ash cheered, as he did the same.
Soon everyone was drinking happily, and toasting marshmallows over the fireplace, until their bellies were filled and they couldn't take another sip or bite. Brock looked at Shinx and Pikachu lying down close to the fireplace, then at Ash and Angie, sitting together under the blanket, and then back to their Pokémon.
"Your Pokémon are so cute together," Brock remarked, "It's almost like they're trying to imitate their trainers."
"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Ash asked, confused.
Brock stood up, and stretched out both of his arms, draping them over each of their shoulders.
"You and Angie," he answered with a smile, "through your sometimes fierce rivalry, you guys actually really care about each other. It's so adorable."
Angie smiled and looked at Brock with gratitude in her eyes, as he seemed to be the only one to really understand her feelings for Ash, and it helped her working up the courage to tell Ash she agrees.
"He..he's right, you know," she stammers timidly, "if Pikachu and Shinx can be be inseparable, perhaps then... we should be too."
Ash turned beet-red and laughs nervously, biting his lip.
"Yeah... I mean you can never have too many best friends, right?" he pushed out weakly.
Angie frowned in slight disappointment that he still didn't quite get what she wanted him to know, but perked back up knowing it was still closer than what she had expected in the beginning.
"Y-yeah... Best friends forever," she jested with a forced smile.
Brock moved his arms from each of their shoulders and grabbed each of their hands instead, pulling them together with a mysterious smile.
"You guys will make a great team someday," he exclaims with an even bigger grin, "you'll find out, trust me..."
Then Brock sat down again. Outside the snowflakes kept falling, and with the setting of the sun, it got colder and colder. But inside the cabin was full of warmth, and not just because of the fire that was burning in the fireplace...
I apologize for any typing errors, or grammatically not 100% correct sentences. Remember, I am not a native English speaker or writer. I tried to make this story as close to the Pokémon series as possible, so that the characters will react roughly the same in this fictional story as they do in the series. Comments are always welcome, you can use the review function on this FanFiction site for that.
Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any trademarks of Pokémon. Any similarities to the works of others is purely accidental, and not meant as an infringement on anyone's achievements.