Coming Home

Disclaimer: So NOT mine. If So, that would bring me flutter and joy.

Trix's Note: I must be sweeping into a depressing writers mode after such a long break away from writing. Hah, If you can call this depressing. Well…SLIGHTLY OMINOUS maybe…for ME anyway. oo

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She had been feeling around inside her purse for the past few minutes now in an endless search for her keys. It was any wonder how she could carry so many useless things and never bother to get rid of them. After ending her search with successfully finding her keys she quickly fumbled to balance her stack of papers hugged to her chest while trying to get the door open.

She walked into her apartment. It was just as she left it, dark, cold and damp from all the breaks in the water pipes that her landlord still hadn't bothered to fix after weeks of pestering. She walked over and plopped both her stack of enormous papers and keys onto the counter and staggered into her living room. Her body fell limp and she dropped onto her couch in a heap of anxiety and exhaustion.

For a moment she stared into the nothingness of her apartment and realized that the deafening noise she kept hearing was actually the extreme silence met by the fact that she was the only one who lived in her there. Somehow television didn't sound all that appealing either at the moment since all day she was met by camera crews and the hustle and bustle that came along with being a gym leader caught in the limelight of the public eye. Cerulean Gym hadn't seen a water show in years with her sisters off on their European expedition, but now it was just another check off the list for common travelers and big up and coming trainers looking to show off their skills. And so, there always seemed to be a camera around to catch the latest defeat. On slow days she worked in the office working odd ends with various papers that meant nothing, but it was something to do. So, she did it.

Sometimes Misty wondered if it all would mean more to her if she had something to come home to after all the trouble she went through during the day. But alike most days, she was alone.

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He had been waiting for an hour but the traffic still wasn't letting up. It was any wonder how he could stand the commute from the city back to town everyday with the drive home being this bad. After listening to the Elite go on for hours and hours about promotional things and stuff that he really didn't matter as much to him compared to the battles themselves and the hectic routine of dealing with the cameras and press all he wanted to do was go home.

Actually, it wasn't really something he wanted to do. If anything, he wanted to just pretend he was anywhere else besides stuck in the middle of this traffic jam, but the realization that going home to an empty house was definitely not something he wanted to do. Over the years he had been surrounded by so many people but as he started to grow older he found there was a lot more time for himself then he needed … or wanted for that matter.

Reaching over, he switched the dial off on his radio and leaned back in his seat knowing it'd be a while. The house hadn't seen much life lately after his Mother left it to him to escape away to a beach house off the Acapulco sometime after she got married.

Speaking of marriage and relationships, Brock had actually managed to find a steady girlfriend after years of unwanted persuasion toward the majority of the girls in Kanto combined and was now living with her. Rather unlike himself, he went in the traditional order of dating and then living together, rather then popping the question to her upon first sight.

Ash looked over to his sleeping friend curled up in a small yellow heap in the chair beside him and wondered if the same thing would happen for him someday. But somewhere inside Ash wished it could happen sooner. Then maybe all that energy he put into his day could mean more if he had someone to come home to. But instead, like most days he was alone.

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Misty had memorized it by heart. Then again, this was aside from the fact that the number was conveniently poster on both her refrigerator and directly next to her phone. She had been debating for the past few minutes whether to call him, but the dial tone just screamed persuasion.

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Ash knew the directions by heart. Then again, this was completely ignoring the fact that he had been there a couple hundred times. He was right before the exit that let off before her apartment and the traffic was dispersing, so naturally he was debating whether or not to turn off when his cell phone rung. Upon answering, he glanced over and noted that the noise hadn't affected the little guy before turning his attention back to his phone and the traffic inching before him.

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Ash put his ear to the receiver and reluctantly answered "Hello?" noting that he forgot to check the caller before picking up.

"Ash?" He immediately recognized the voice and grinned at the irony.

"Hey, Misty. I was just thinking about you." Ash answered, wondering to himself shortly after how that comment came off to her.

"I didn't bother you did I?"

"No." Ash answered, "It's funny you called me actually. I was stuck in traffic coming back from Viridian and I'm right before you're exit. I was debating whether or not you'd be busy."

Misty felt a leap in her throat and hastily replied. "No! No. I'm not busy. I always have time to see you, Ash." Misty laughed before quickly catching herself thinking how Ash took that comment.

She quickly changed the subject. "I just wish my apartment wasn't such a wreck. My ceiling is leaking everywhere."

"Really? Geeze, Misty I don't know why you just don't find some other place to-" That's when an idea hit him. "Hey, why don't you come stay with me?"

"What?" Misty replied.

"You know that I have lots of room. And there's nobody else living with me, so it's no trouble."

Misty grinned at the thought from the other end of the receiver.

"Ash, you're nuts. How can I just up and leave? What about the gym?"

"What about it? Pallet isn't that much further. And on weekends you can catch a ride in with Brock on the way to Pewter."

Secretly, Misty knew that the thought interested her, but the whole idea just sounded so spontaneous and bizarre.

"I don't know. . ."

Ash on the other hand was always brutally honest with his opinions toward Misty.

"Are you telling me that you like the way you're living right now?"

"Hey, it's not that bad." Misty defended herself before looked around at her dark and gloomy apartment with buckets invading the floors. She looked up to the wet spots filling her ceiling and knew that he was right. Her apartment was miserable.

"And my stuff?"

Ash grinned, "Just get what you need now and we can figure out the rest later."

"I can't believe I'm doing this. I thought I would rid myself of your snoring when we stopped traveling together."

"I'm looking forward to it too." Ash grinned into his phone, turning off onto the exit toward Misty's place as traffic definitely begun to move.

And after they both drove off they felt a little bit better about their tomorrows because they were coming home and this time they weren't doing it alone.

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Bleh. Don't know what brought that up. And yeh, it was short. Something just made me want to do a take on Ash and Misty's supposedly "LONELY" lives after everyone's moved on and they realize they're left alone …but…alone TOGETHER….if you get what I mean….oo …I'm just sayin' they DON'T HAVE TO BE!

LONELY…OH SO LONELY….don't be LONELY….

Ah. Whatever. You get it.

I would say this one was kinda FRIEND-SHIPPY considering that there was no romantic anything 'cept for minor thoughts concerning each other. But I always like to start them with a friendship and then lead them into the FIRE! (not literally. Oo) Even though I rarely get to the "FIRE!" part since I'm a person who tends to forget where she was going with a story….haha…OH-KAY! THANKS FOR READING….ta ta!