When the two friends arrived back home, they slowly closed the door behind them. They were glad that they could sit down and relax, since the restaurant that they had just gone to was quite a while away.
Ash smelled a sour smell coming from the kitchen. Curious, he walked into the kitchen and then remembered that he had made mac n' cheese. Ash chuckled a bit at his forgetfulness and paced to the microwave and opened it. The mac n' cheese was all mushy from sitting in the water for a while, so he decided to just strain the water out of it, put the cheese in, and give it to his pokemon. Ash put the bowl down on the floor and released his swellow and his corphish, since those two would eat anything, even if it was Ash's amazing instant mac n' mush. The two pokemon danced joyously with crescent eyes and scarfed down the food as if they hadn't eaten in years.
Ash walked out into the hallway to see where Misty was and leaned against the wall, observing his best friend and crossing his arms. Pikachu followed him. Misty had sat down on the couch and made herself comfortable, playing around with Togepi. She took its two little arms between the thumb and index finger of both of her hands and danced side to side with it, humming a jaunty, childish tune that the Togepi enjoyed. Ash smiled at the sight of her and Togepi. After a few moments of watching them, he actually began to develop another admiration for Misty. She was always so playful with her pokemon and really loved to treat them with happiness. He thought about the way he had trained his pokemon and noticed that he wasn't as nearly as playful with his pokemon. Even though Ash knew that he had to be a hardworking trainer, he still felt like he had a shortcoming when he watched Misty play with her Togepi... he felt like she knew how to show something that he really didn't know how to. He wanted her to teach him... and deep down inside, he wanted her to treat him that way.
"Hah, you and Togepi sure look happy together." he said to Misty. He uncrossed his arms and walked over to the couch, sitting down about two feet away from Misty on the same couch. Misty's large blue eyes followed him as he sat down and she smiled slightly, glad that her friend had joined her.
"Yeah, I love playing with Togepi..." Misty said. She snuggled the pokemon against her chest and the egg pokemon smiled brightly.
"So..." Ash said. He leaned back and put his arms behind his head. Pikachu was sitting on the arm of the couch right next to him. Ash sighed and finished his sentence. "So... What's it like being a gym leader, Misty?"
Misty looked over to Ash with large eyes, surprised that he had asked the question. Ash usually only talked about himself and rarely asked Misty questions about her training experiences or personal life. She smiled and looked up to the ceiling. "Well, it's very exciting. It's fun to battle a lot of different people and to come across so many different pokemon."
Ash nodded. "Yeah, I think I'd really like to be a gym leader, someday." Ash let down one of his arms to pet Pikachu's head, leaving the other one resting behind his own head. "I just know I have a lot of work to do before then."
Misty blinked at Ash's comment. "You could definitely be a gym leader." Misty said. "I think you should be one. I bet you that the Pokemon League would place you at the top of the league. You'd love it."
Ash was surprised at Misty's compliment and blushed slightly. "Hah, thanks Misty." he responded. He felt an extra boost of confidence when she had told him that. When he received compliments from anyone else, he would just feel appreciative for their admiration, but Misty was different. He felt like he was on top of the world when she complimented him... like he could do anything.
"Mmhm." Misty replied. She smiled at him and then looked at Pikachu, who was beginning to fall asleep as Ash pet its head. She thought about the gym in which she lead, and remembered that she had forgotten something there that was very important to her. She really wanted to go back and get it, but she thought it would be rude to just leave Ash after he had just gotten there. Plus, she didn't want to leave him. She felt so wonderful to be by his side again... It felt like she actually meant something to the world, to someone.
Misty set her Togepi down on her lap and crossed her arms, leaning back like Ash had done. She looked up to the ceiling in thought and closed her eyes. Her face was in a blank expression. She wanted to ask him if it would be okay for her to go get what she wanted to get from back at the Cerulean gym, but she was nervous that he would say that he'd stay behind while she went there to get what she needed.
Ash noticed the look on Misty's face as he gazed at her. "What's on your mind?" he asked.
Misty opened her eyes slowly and looked over to Ash. "I was just wondering... if it would be all right with you if I go back to Cerulean city tomorrow to get something that's really important to me."
Ash grinned at Misty. "That'd be a good idea." Ash said. Misty looked over to him in surprise with her glistening blue eyes. "Really?" she asked.
"Yeah..." Ash said. "I bet I'd see a lot of old friends on the way there and it only takes a few hours to get there by foot." Plus, it'd be nice to have even more of those memories from the good old days. Ash thought to himself.
Misty giggled and smiled largely at Ash's statement. "Thanks, Ash." she said.
Ash nodded and stopped petting Pikachu, leaning back more and placing his other hand behind his head again. He closed his chocolate eyes, having a very relaxed look on his face. Little did he know that Misty was staring at him, blushing. After a few moments though, he opened the eye that was closest to Misty, which was his right one, and looked at her, seeing that her face was completely flushed.
Misty laughed and turned away when Ash opened his eyes. Goodness, what's wrong with me? I can't stop looking at him when he's acting so relaxed around me... it's like I'm under some kind of... spell. She thought. Misty opened up her sack so that Togepi could trot on into it and closed it up. "Well, I should really go upstairs and get ready for tomorrow." Misty said. Misty got up from her seat and walked over to the stairs, slowly walking up them. She glanced over to Ash while she walked, noticing that he was watching her every move, which embarrassed her. Once she was upstairs, she walked into the bathroom and shut the door.
Ash sighed, thinking about how much Misty had changed and how much he had missed her over the time they had been apart, even though he never really realized it until now. He got up from his seat too, walking in to the kitchen to clean up the bowl that he had set out for swellow and corphish. Pikachu followed behind him, as always. The two pokemon were asleep on the kitchen floor, their stomachs bulging out from eating too much. He smiled at his slumbering pokemon once he set the bowl in the sink and clicked on both of their pokeballs that he detached from his belt, retrieving them. Once he was ready to go upstairs as well, Pikachu jumped up onto Ash's shoulder as he started heading up the stairs. Once he was upstairs, he walked into his room and laid on his bed. He didn't bother turning on the lights or anything, he just looked up to the ceiling in thought. The light from the hallway shined faintly across his relaxed body. Pikachu sat next to his bed on the floor, examining the room and sniffing the air.
Never would I have thought that Misty would be spending the night at my house. Ash said. Especially when we're the only one's here. He rubbed the side of his neck with his fingers as he thought about her and their situation. After a few moments, Ash heard the water in the shower turn on. Automatically, his cheeks turned a deep red. He knew that Misty was taking a shower. Just the thought of it was enough to make him feel like he had butterflies in his stomach.
Ash also heard another noise coming from the shower. He knew it wasn't the sound of the faucet that sometimes squealed... or the sound of anything else. It was a deep, sighing sound... a very relaxed and mellow moan. The same sound occurred over and over again, and Ash knew where it was coming from. Misty must really love taking showers. He thought as he touched the sweat drops that were beginning to form on the side of his face.
As he kept listening to the sounds, he couldn't help but to form thoughts of her in his head. The thoughts, of course, were not exactly innocent. Being a teenage boy, no matter how hard he tried to block it out, he thought of Misty, a girl whom he admired for her talent, skill, and exciting personality, with her golden red hair hanging at the sides of her gorgeous face... her body becoming warm, clean, and wet... her shiny, pale skin... her smooth, nude curves... just standing under a shower of warm water and becoming one with the steam in the room... moaning... rubbing up and down her sides with her slender hands... all very slowly... standing in relaxation and purity...
As he thought of these things, he body began to become even more sweaty and his heart began to race. He had never felt so much for Misty before as he was feeling now... Of course, he always thought she was a great friend, an awesome pokemon trainer, and even a beautiful girl... he longed to be close to her a few times, but he had never felt this way. It was like his hormones and his fantasies of her were taking over him and paralyzing his body. Every muscle in his body tensed up at the thought of his naked, female friend in the other room... He could feel something growing inside of him... Something warm and strong. The feeling was mostly in between his legs, where he started to feel warm and tingly. The testosterone coursed through his veins as he kept thinking about her, and his breaths became shallow and rapid... No matter how hard he tried to block it out or how much he tried to ignore it, he felt good. No matter how hard he tried... he couldn't deny the fact that he was in love.
"Ahhh..." Misty said as she stepped out of the warm shower. She was squeaky clean and felt refreshed. She grabbed for her towel and dried her hair somewhat. After she was finished drying it, it looked somewhat tangled and mangled, but was still awfully beautiful. She then wrapped the same towel around her wet body and tied it, grabbing her clothes and opening the door, walking out of the room. She didn't notice that Ash was upstairs yet and just walked into the guest bedroom where she was sleeping, closing the door behind her.
Ash sat up the moment that Misty came out of the room, snapping out of his previous trance a little. He wiped the sweat off of his face with his shirt and took off his hat, laying it down on the bed, next to him. He ran his hands through his hair to make sure that it hadn't gotten too wet while he was sweating and then slowly got up, walking to the guest bedroom. He placed his ear by the door and listened to what was going on. He wanted to ask her a question about tomorrow, but definitely had an ulterior motive. He usually wasn't this nosy with his friends, but after the thoughts that he had just had about her, he was hooked on Misty.
Ash heard drawers slamming, meaning that she was probably getting dressed into her pajamas. After he did not hear the drawers slamming anymore, he decided that it was okay to open the door. He opened the door very slowly and saw that Misty wasn't fully dressed yet---she only had her bottoms on, which was a pair of light blue underwear. Despite this, her back was turned towards Ash. Misty screeched in surprise and turned to look at the door. She looked like a deer in headlights as she stood there and covered up her chest with her arms, even though Ash could see nothing. Ash just stood there, blushing deeply. For a few moments, he did nothing but stare at her legs and her back, gazing up and down her body. He couldn't help himself and he had no control over what his body was doing. Misty blushed deeply, her cheeks becoming as red as beets.
"A--Ash..." Misty said. "Can you please...close the door?"
Momentarily, Ash blinked at her and then shook his head, noticing what he had done. He blushed even deeper than before and gulped. He sweat profusely and his voice cracked as he whispered "Sorry." and closed the door.
Ash stood against the door, breathing heavily. Gosh, what have I done? He asked himself. The sight of Misty half naked and looking at him in surprise kept replaying over and over again in his head and he kept trying to shake them out.
I've probably totally weirded her out. He thought. He then went back into his room and sat on the bed, in regret of what he had done. He started at the floor for a long while.
After a whole, Misty walked out of her room and looked into Ash's room, leaning on the door frame. She was wearing a light blue spaghetti strap and tight, navy shorts. The look on her face was partially embarrassed and somewhat angry. She waited for Ash to say something, but he just sat there in the darkness of the room, looking at the floor still. Misty cleared her throat, trying to get his attention. Ash looked to her with sorrowful eyes and the two sat in silence.
"I'm sorry," Ash said. "I just wanted to ask you a question and it sounded like you were finished getting dressed, so I opened the door."
Misty blushed and then crossed her arms. "Well, you could have knocked or something." she suggested.
"I wasn't thinking." Ash responded. He crossed his arms too and looked away from her. In some way, he just wished he could tell her what he was really thinking, but he was far to nervous and unsure of himself to do so.
"Well, I guess I can't blame you." Misty said. She sighed and walked over to Ash's bed, sitting about two feet away from him on it. "You just get too ahead of yourself."
Ash looked over to Misty and frowned a moment, but then smiled. He was sensitive to her criticism, but was happy that she wasn't mad at him.
Misty blushed and rubbed the top of her leg in nervousness. "So, what did you want to ask me?" she questioned.
Ash blinked. "Oh, I just wanted to know when we were going to head out tomorrow."
Misty thought for a moment. "Um... Probably around nine in the morning."
Ash nodded. "Sounds good."
Misty smiled and then looked down to the ground. She bit her lip, nervous. "Well... I guess I should get to bed then."
Ash nodded. "Yeah, we've got a big day tomorrow."
Misty smiled at her friend and then slowly got up from her seat. She stretched, which made Ash look up and down her body. The feelings from before had diminished greatly, but he was still very interested in her. Misty then shook herself out and yawned. "Well, I'll see you in the morning."
"Will do." Ash said with a smile. "Goodnight, Misty."
Misty smiled at him once more before walking out of the room and closing his bedroom door behind her.
Ash thought about his best friend more as he stretched and then dressed into his pajamas, which consisted of a pair of blue-striped boxer shorts and a t-shirt from a pokemon competition that he had watched on TV years ago. I couldn't imagine what he would do if Misty walked in on him, half naked. Even if he only had his shirt off, it would have been quite awkward. After he was finished, he got underneath the covers in his bed. Pikachu, who was previously snoozing away on the ground, jumped up on Ash's bed and got underneath the covers too, laying down right next to Ash's chest. The tired pokemon fell asleep right away after a long sigh... "Chuuu..."
Ash smiled at his pokemon and snuggled up close to it. He closed his eyes for a few minutes, thinking that he'd be able to get to sleep right away, but that wasn't the case. He began to think about Misty again. She's grown into a person that I really like... Ash thought. He thought about their younger days, and questioned why he didn't feel nearly as attached to her as he did now. Was it because she had matured? Was it because they hadn't seen each other in so long? Was it because she had become a better pokemon trainer? Ash didn't know for sure. Ash didn't even know if Misty was feeling similar feelings. The only thing that he was quite sure of was the way he felt... He felt the best he had felt in his entire life. He was pumped up for the Hoenn league championships, and having his best friend and a gym leader on his side at the same time was a major honor for him, in many different ways. Ash fell asleep thinking about the most pleasant things in his life... pokemon, and Misty.
Misty also got into bed, but she could not fall asleep as easily as Ash. She was still thinking about how he had peeped in on her, whether it was an accident or not. She also thought about their past, just like Ash had thought about. Over the years, she had always had feelings for Ash, and they had only grown stronger. She could never find the courage though, to show or to tell him her feelings. She always thought that she'd be rejected... She always thought that she'd mess up... That he'd hate her if she did something wrong or took a step out of place. It was too bad that the two didn't know what each other was thinking, because if they did... it would save them a whole bunch of worries. She was wondering about what he felt... Does he like me? Does he think I'm pretty? Does he think I'm a good pokemon trainer? Does he think I have potential?... The questions rotated around in her mind and the centripetal force of it all kept her awake. She needed a solution... otherwise, she wouldn't be able to travel tomorrow.
Slowly, Misty got up out of her bed, grabbed a pillow and her blanket, and tiptoed down the hall to Ash's room. She carefully opened the door, making sure she didn't make a sound. She didn't bother closing it behind her, since she didn't want to take another risk of waking Ash or Pikachu up.
Misty carefully descended to the floor, stretching herself out and covering herself up with the blanket, placing her head above the soft, plump pillow. The floor was very hard and wasn't the most comfortable spots to sleep on. The lowest bed Misty had ever slept on was a futon or a sleeping bag. But none of that mattered to her.
Despite the fact that she knew she'd be in pain the next morning from sleeping on the floor, she remained there. Misty closed her heavy blue eyes, slumbering away... Even though Ash was her dream when she wasn't asleep at all, she dreamt of him anyway. He was everywhere with her. Overall, Misty felt like she was in paradise. Because she was next to him she fell stone-asleep right away---she felt like she belonged. She could be sleeping on the most comfortable, luxurious bed in the entire world, but it wouldn't feel anywhere near as great as where she was now.
