Four years had passed; during that time, they had kept in close contact with one another, writing letters and making phone calls whenever they could; as well as that was, however, it just wasn't the same as seeing one another, face-to-face. That dynamic would come into place, one evening.

Lying awake, on a cold December night, Misty heard a doorbell. She looked at her clock – it read 01:32. Who, in their right mind, would come to her gym at 1:30 in the morning? Almost innate, she waited for one of her sisters to wake up and answer the door. And, of course, they didn't.

Agitated, she went downstairs to answer the door. 'Alright, fine, I'll answer the door,' she thought to herself, 'it's not like I'm the only one that does everything around here anyway!'

In a huff, she answered the door; "Look, it's the middle of the night – could you come back for a battle tomorrow, when we're open?"

"That isn't why I'm here…"

'That voice…' She looked up, seeing a very familiar face greet her with a smile. And she was in complete disbelief at who she was seeing.

"It's been far too long, hasn't it, Misty?"

"You… you're here… you're really here…" She smiled in joy, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into an embrace."

Graciously, he returned the embrace, taking in the moment.

"What're you doing here, Ash?"

"What, I can't go and see my best friend for the first time in four years without a reason other than that I missed you?"

"But why this late?"

"Well, I couldn't sleep, so I decided to take a walk from home, and I ended up here and, well… I thought of you…" He blushed at that last statement. "Sorry if I woke you up, by the way."

"No, it's alright. I was still awake, anyway – wait, when did you come back home?"

"Earlier today, I came home. You would not believe how much my mother missed me…"

"I have some idea how much…" She tightened her grip around him for a few moments, before letting go. "Would you like to come in?"

"Sure, thank you," he responded, walking inside. She led him to a couch, out in the main hallway, where they sat down.

"Come on, spill it," she inquired, "what are you really doing here?"

"I already told you why—"

"But at 1:30 in the morning? Uh-uh, that's a little too suspicious for me to believe…" He did not pick up the joking tone in her voice.

"Honestly, I really did miss you, so much… I've wanted to visit you for such a long time…" The tone of his voice was very serious, filled with need.

"Whoa… Ash, calm down, I was just playing…" She back-pedaled, admitting her small joke.

"You… were?" He blushed like a madman over his small confession.

After hearing his sentimental statement, she felt rather touched by his sincerity; she grasped his hand, giving small, light touches to his palm. "Well, you're here, now. And I'm glad I'm seeing you again…" She smiled at him; he smiled back at her. He then stood up, lifting her off the couch, wrapping his arms around her in a warm embrace.

"I missed you so much, Misty…"

Returning the embrace, she whispered to him, "I missed you, too, Ash. I thought about you every day…"