Thanks once more to my awesome beta readers Elmo-kibafangirl11 and eggplantdance. You guys rock my socks...even when I'm not wearing any! :D Quite the accomplishment!
Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon...*snivels*
Bedroom
"Hey Mrs. Ketchum," Brock began hesitantly, "how long have Ash and Misty been in his room?"
"Oh, I don't know." The older woman put a finger to her chin and cocked her head to the side. "Misty got here around nine...and I had asked Ash to make sure his room was properly cleaned before he did anything else...and I believe she went right upstairs to help him..."
"So they've been up there together for seven hours?" Brock sputtered. "Aren't...aren't you worried about them?" He asked tentatively. "I know Ash and Misty don't seem to be the sort to, you know, do stuff, but they are teens and-"
Delia cut him off with a smile and a laugh. "Don't worry about them Brock," she told him soothingly. "It's because it's those two up there that I don't mind," her smile turned slightly mischievous as she tapped her ear and said, "And I've got a mother's hearing too! They'll be fine. Now, would you mind helping me bring up some things from the basement?"
Brock dutifully followed Delia into the basement and assisted in carrying up some old boxes. After depositing his load in the living room, Delia waved him off saying that she could handle going through them herself. Brock drifted about the downstairs, polishing a lamp here, dusting off a cabinet there. He absentmindedly moved through the rooms, concentrating mostly on trying to discern something from the random noises that would drift down the stairs.
"Mrs. Ketchum has always seen Ash as her little boy," Brock thought to himself, "but he has grown up, even if it's just the slightest bit. And I know there's tension between Ash and Misty...he may be too shy to do anything, but Misty's been keeping her emotions suppressed for a while now. If they're cooped up together for a long period of time, she might end up jumping him, and what teenage boy could resist a fiery red head throwing herself at him?" Brock shook his head. "None."
With these thoughts in mind, the concerned teen tread softly up the stairs. He crept up to Ash's door which, he noted with a twinge of alarm, was closed. Brock quickly pressed his ear to the wood.
"I can't believe we're doing this!" A vision of Misty giggling and batting her lashes appeared in Brock's mind.
A deep chuckle announced Ash's presence as he said, "I know, it seems kind of incredible to be doing this at our age."
"Oh Mew," Brock thought weakly, legs trembling.
"Mmm," Misty hummed in agreement. "It's been far too long since we've done something like this."
"Far too long?" Brock mouthed silently to himself. Dear Ho-oh! How long had they been sneaking around like this?
"I've missed it too," Ash conceded. "And it just feels weird to do it with anyone else. You're the only one who I like to play with."
"Oh Ash!" There was that giggle again. "You're such a smooth talker!"
Brock didn't wait to hear what Ash would say. He burst through the door, squinting his eyes just in case there was something going on in there that might scar him for life. The sound of the door being thrown open silenced the giggles.
"Whatever you're doing in here, stop okay? You're both way to young for this!" Brock cried out, both trying to see what his friends were doing and hoping to prevent himself from seeing too much.
"Um," Misty's voice was filled with more bubbly laughter, "okay. You know, I thought people would say we're too old for this, not too young."
"Nonsense!" Ash scoffed from somewhere to Brock's left. "You are never too old or too young for this kind of thing! I'm always going to love doing this!"
"You're so immature." Brock could hear Misty smiling.
"Who was it that started clapping her hands and jumping up and down when I suggested we do this?" Ash teased back.
"Do what?" Brock finally risked opening his eyes.
Ash and Misty were on the floor of the bedroom, Ash lying on his stomach and Misty leaning against the bed. Misty was wearing Ash's old hat he had worn when traveling in Kanto and Johto as well as his old vest. The hat was twisted to the side, her firey locks let down from their usual ponytail so it would stay on her head. Ash was wearing ridiculous looking necklaces that seemed to be made up of all his old badges. Brock saw a blue teardrop badge hanging lower than the rest, resting right over the boy's heart.
Colorful cards were spread out between the teens, two different groups organized in rows in front of both Ash and Misty. They each held more of the same kind of cards in their hands. Some small, colorful stones decorated those on the floor.
"What are you doing?" Brock asked suspiciously, baffled by their outfits and the odd game they appeared to be in the middle of.
"Pokemon," Ash replied easily, turning his attention back to the cards in his hand. He let out a cry of triumph and slapped a new card down on the carpet. "Ha! My nidorina evolves into nidoqueen! And now I'm going to use mega punch on your lapras!"
"No way!" Misty complained, craning her neck to look over her knees. "How come you always draw the evolved form of your pokemon? I never get anything more than the basic level!"
"My deck is just more kickass than yours," Ash snickered. "And lapras takes forty points of damage! Which, added to the other damage counters already on it, means it's out of the game!"
"No!" Misty wailed, cuddling the card to her chest. She shot Ash a poisonous look. "How could you do that? You used to own a lapras!"
"You're getting way into this game Misty." Ash rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "It's just a card!"
"Says the guy who accused me two minutes ago for using his own pokemon against him when I had my squirtle take down your graveler!" Misty taunted him back.
"You got mad at me when I used a pikachu against your dewgong, protesting that 'my pika-pal would never do that to me!'" Ash waved a finger at her.
"I had a right to be annoyed!" Misty defended herself passionately. "You annihilated like half of my deck with just one pikachu!"
Ash snorted and chucked a damage counter at his friend. "It's not my fault that you only have water pokemon in your deck. Aren't you the one who always tells me to use type differences to my advantage?"
"Yeah, but not against me!" Two more damage counters flew across the battle field to strike Ash in the chest.
Brock shut the door just as pillows and pokemon cards started to fill the air. The older boy rested his head against the wood for a moment or two, listening to the shrieks and thumps that were coming from the room. A soft sigh issued from his lips as Brock straightened up and tromped back down the stairs, joining Delia in the kitchen.
"You're got at least ten years before you even have to start worrying about those two," Brock said dully as he took up a rag and started wiping down the counters. Delia simply laughed and patted his back comfortingly.
I would NEVER draw the evolved forms of my pokemon when I played the card game-NEVER! So my brother and I would cheat and make up our own version of the game...my nidoqueen was the shizz :B
ALSO- I've typed up chapters three and four (Calcium and Dainty) so now they just have to be edited. Hurray! :)
