Chapter 26:

"Don't worry," said Lance as they walked out of the restaurant after their midnight snack. "We'll work something out, alright?"

Misty nodded with a small smile. "I am starting to worry, Lan…"

"Hey, its going to be okay," he said in a reassuring voice. "For a change, let me do the worrying. You just sit back and enjoy Ash's first battle."

Misty smiled at the mention of Ash.

"I know your weakness, sis-in-law." Lance gave her a teasing, creepy smile.

Misty frowned. "My weakness?"

"you have a weakness, don't you?" he continued teasing. "Weakness for a certain someone…"

Misty sighed in exasperation. "Like the one you have for Lily?"

He grinned and pulled her into a light, but comforting and reassuring embrace. "Just think of him, and stay happy, alright? Just root for him and see your painful efforts bearing fruit," he advised. "I really mean it, Misty. for once, don't worry about what we'll do next. Let me do the worrying part for a few days, and then you can take over?"

Misty smiled and he released her. "Thanks, Lance."

AS they started walking, he unzipped his jacket and held it before her.

"What?" she asked, confused. "Thanks, but I'm not feeling cold."

He shook his head in amusement. "Its not that," he said. "Just put it on."

Misty looked at him in confusion. After a few seconds, she shrugged and slipped into the warm jacket. "Are you even going to explain?" she asked impatiently.

"People were staring, Misty," Lance said, giving her a cant-you-see-its-obvious look.

Misty raised an eyebrow. "So?"

Lance chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.

"What?" Misty snapped. "Are you going to tell me what's so funny?"

Lance looked at her and continued to smile. "In case you didn't notice," he said in a low voice, walking close beside her, "you arent wearing anything much, except for a bra."

Turning crimson, Misty stared fixedly at the ground. "Its not a bra!" she snapped. "It's a bikini!"

He smirked. "Still functions for a bra, doesn't it?"

Misty elbowed him hard in the ribs. "JERK!" she muttered under her breath, but loud enough for him to hear. They walked in silence for a few more minutes, and she kept the jacket firmly wrapped around her thin body.

He smiled. "If I could – please, don't think I am flirting with you, because I really am telling you the truth – I would just rewind time and free you from all this mess I dragged you into," he said hastily and then took a deep breath, as if to calm himself. "I am not sorry I got you involved, Misty. I am just worried about you, you know. Though you seem to be hiding it, all this stress seems to have taken a toll on your health."

Misty shook her head smiling. "I am fine, Lance. I am not stressed."

"I don't want to argue with you," he said in a firm, but warm voice. "I am not your special someone, neither am I a close friend. But, Misty, very soon, you're going to be a part of my family. In fact, you already are a part of my family… and I cant help, but worry about you."

Misty furiously blinked back the tears that had started filling her eyes. "Lan…" she said, as they started walking towards the cabins that were allotted to the judges. "I am…touched."

"I know I hardly know you, Mist," he replied in a voice thick with emotion, "but thanks to Lily, I have come to know you on a more personal level than I could have ever known you."

Misty didn't say anything. People passed them, most of them not giving them a second glance. They were too excited about the upcoming battles and in discussing the opening ceremony to notice a young couple walking in seclusion.

"You know something, Misty, I never had a family of my own," Lance continued, staring straight ahead. "At least, I don't remember ever having one. Some woman found me on the streets, asleep in a corner. She took pity on me and had me enrolled in the Pokemon Academy. She paid for my education, and from there, I carried on my own. I never found out who that woman was, or who I was."

Misty stared at him, her heart feeling heavy.

"I don't even know what my name is," he said with a sad sigh. "That kind woman who saved me from the streets had me enrolled under Lance, and so I became Lance…"

Misty felt so much of emotion and loneliness in his voice that involuntarily, her fingers curled around his, and she gave him a friendly squeeze.

He looked at her with a gradually spreading smile. "Do you know why I told you about this?"

She shook her head.

"this is the first ever time I have a family, Misty," he said gazing into her electric blue eyes. "Finally, I have found myself the loveliest woman I want to spend my life with, and three sisters I gladly want to tease and look after. I am experiencing for the first time what it feels like to be an older brother… to be protective about a human being instead of only pokemon… to be considered a part of a real family…"

His voice trailed away.

Misty wiped a tear that trickled down her cheek. "You know something, Lan," she said softy, "I wont lie saying I understand what it feels like to grow up without a family, but I will say that I understand the pain of loneliness better than anyone else can." She flashed him a reassuring smile. "You are part of our family, Lance, and I am really glad its you. I'll try not to worry you too much…considering the fact that you're still new to this being-an-older-brother-to-mischievous-younger-sisters-thing!" she winked at him.

He winked back. The two of them were quiet for a long time until he finally broke the spell of silence.

"If anyone didn't know better, they'd think I dumped your sister for you, Misty!" lance said suddenly, with a sly smirk on his face.

Misty took a moment to process what he said and suddenly became aware that she still had her fingers wrapped tightly around hand. We're holding hands! She jerked her hand away from his at once, turning red in the face.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" she hissed, embarrassed.

He flashed her an innocent look. "What are you afraid of? Come on, we were just holding hands, Misty, and everyone knows I am engaged to your sister!"

Misty scowled at him. "if someone caught that on camera and posted it somewhere to make headlines, it'll result in three murders."

"three?" he raised an eyebrow.

"yeah, you, me and the person who clicked the picture!" said misty and burst out laughing.

Lance grinned. "My sweet Lily…"

Misty smiled. "yeah, our sweet Lily…"

They reached misty's cabin and lance waited while she punched in the numerical code to unlock the door.

"Have a good night's sleep, Misty," he said with a wave. "You have three hours before getting up again. The match begins at six."

"Are you going to sleep at all?"

Lance shook his head. "I need this time to rethink things," he said.

"Don't overwork yourself," she requested.

He grinned slyly at her. "Nah… In any case, I don't find sleep without having your sister to cuddle to, you know…"

Misty blushed, her imagination already working in the wrong direction.

"Now, I'll sleep comfortably only after Lily gets here," he said, still grinning. "By the way, when is she coming? Coming Saturday, right?"

Misty nodded. "Saturday, right." She smiled and started to close the door. "Good night, Lance."

"Good night, misty," he called back. "Hey!"

"yeah?" she stopped halfway.

"Mind if I ask you something personal?"

Misty shrugged. "Go ahead."

"You ever cuddled to anyone while you slept?"

Misty instantly turned red.

"You don't have to answer," he said cheekily. "My eyesight is good, you know…"

"NO!" Misty shook her head frantically. "I'll tell you!" she said and hung her head. "Its like, not really like what you're thinking, okay. Yes, I have cuddled to – someone – after a tough training session. Its more like, we were both really exhausted and just fell asleep close to each other…" she admitted embarrassedly. "But that's that. Nothing else happened, so don't get weird ideas."

He smiled and turned to go.

"Hey, Lan!" Misty called.

"yes?"

She threw him his jacket and he caught it deftly.

"And…" Misty turned a shade of deepest crimson. "Don't tell my sisters about this, please?"

He laughed. "Pinky promise!" he called before walking away, grinning to himself, his fists buried deep into his pockets.

Misty closed the door, still blushing, and collapsed on the bed out of sheer exhaustion. Her eyes closed and she fell asleep.

…

Gary checked the time on the red glowing dial of his wrist watch as he casually walked towards the Judges Quarters. It showed a quarter past three. He was glad there were still a lot of people outside, people who were partying, chatting, people who didn't have a care about the Tournament, people who had just come to enjoy themselves.

He easily slipped into the area where the Judges' cabins were located. When he found the cabin number he was looking for, he knocked. There was no reply. He knocked persistently for the next couple of minutes until he heard the sound of walking feet.

"Who's this?" he heard a sleepy voice from inside, the voice he knew very well.

"Gary!" he hissed. "Now open up!"

There was a moment's pause. He waited impatiently hearing her unlock the door. The door opened and Gary's jaw dropped.

A sleepy Misty yawned. "You want to come in or what?" she asked sleepily.

Turning bright red in embarrassment, Gary entered the cabin, keeping his eyes strictly on his shoes and closed the door behind him. The cabin was dark, the only light coming in through the thin gap between the blinds that covered the windows.

"What is it, Gary?" Misty asked him sleepily. "What are you doing here?"

Gary took a deep breath. He knew he was surely going to earn a very painful kick in the wrong place for what he was going to do, but he knew it was important. He threw his arms around a stunned Misty and lifted her up, close to him and pressed his lips to hers. Misty's eyes widened in shock and she tried to fight him off.

"SHHHH!" he hissed in her ear before she could protest in any way. "There're cameras in your cabin!"

He shock and rage changed to thoughtful worry. "What?" she whispered back in confusion.

Gary pressed his lips back to hers for a long minute before pretending to nuzzle her neck. "Just play along," he whispered a frantic request, "and I'll tell you."

Realization crossed Misty's face and Gary knew that she understood. "Okay…" she whispered, batting her eyelids and giggled shyly.

Gary gently set her on her feet, relieved. Okay, he thought, I think I can pull this off… He kissed her cheek again feeling guilty of enjoying using her in this way.

I shouldn't be enjoying all this… he told himself. It is wrong…

"I don't know why, but you're being watched," he whispered into her ear and wondered how she could do such an excellent job of blushing and giggling while working her mind furiously on things.

Now she stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. "How do you know?"

"To put it shortly, I did a bit of research myself," he whispered back, while burying his face in her neck. Aww man! She smells so-so beautiful…like the ocean… he thought as he breathed deeply in her scent. "And I couldn't call you up because your cell phone's tapped too."

Misty flashed him a look that was innocent and naughty at the same time. "Is that so?" she asked in a mischievous voice a little louder than their whispers.

Gary flashed her a lopsided grin, knowing full well that whoever was monitoring the hidden cameras was having a clear view of both of them. He looked into the electric blue eyes of the girl whom he loved and swept her off her feet.

"Hey!" Misty didn't protest, instead, played along putting her arms around his neck, and let him carry her to the bed. "I have to get ready around five," she told him shyly. "So don't get too carried away…"

Gary heard the underlying meaning in her words. She was putting up with him, playing along, only because she wanted to know and didn't want to raise suspicion. Though he agreed with her, there was one traitorous part of his heart that ached for her closeness.

All these feelings she was triggering in him was new to him. His body was already on flames where their skin made contact and there was a new kind of nervousness in his stomach that he hadn't felt before.

"Of course, baby," he said with a smirk. "I'll leave the getting-carried-away for another time…when, things arent so…busy?" he gently lowered her on her bed and for the second time felt his eyes wander down her neckline.

He couldn't help himself. She was the woman he loved with all his heart and right now, she was in his arms, blushing in reply to whatever he said and they were alone in the middle of the night. And he was a man, wasn't he? It was only natural for him to slip. He wished if only the situation was different and they didn't have to pretend this charade.

"Stop staring!" she hissed.

He grinned. "Its your fault for sleeping in only your innerwear!"

If looks could have killed, Gary felt he would have been dead by now. He pushed her back on the bed and bent over her, deciding to tell her everything as quickly as he could without pushing her any further. everyone had their breaking point and Gary was afraid he would lose control of himself and end up doing something he would regret later.

"Someone wants to keep many eyes on you," he whispered pretending to be breathing kisses on her neck. "I dont understand any of this, but I think you do. So I thought I should tell you ASAP."

He noticed Misty was getting sleepy, when she leaned towards him. "okay I get it…"

"And I finally managed to translate all the remaining symbols."

She surprised him by kissing his cheek.

"But I still cant make much sense out of it."

"You'll do fine…" said Misty, her voice trailing away.

Gary was trying not to breathe, not because he was nervous about something, but because he was on the brink of losing his self control. Not only that his skin was already in flames and that his body was already reacting weirdly to all this touching and kissing, he knew that if he inhaled a little more of her fresh ocean scent, he'd just go berserk and do something really improper.

"Could you do something for me?" Misty whispered in his ear, her breath sending shivers down his neck and spine.

"Anything," he managed to choke out.

"I want you to keep an eye on the Mermaid's Diadem," she whispered, pulling him down on the bed beside her.

Surprised, and striving to maintain control, Gary gave her a questioning glare.

She snuggled close to him, resting her head on his arm like a pillow. "And i want you to find out if the statue of the Mermaid has a small piece broken from it."

"Broken piece?" he whispered.

"Yes," she said. "As big as a solitaire gem or maybe even slightly bigger."

"okay," he promised. They lay in silence for sometime, huddled close.

After what seemed like an hour of silence, he realized that Misty had fallen asleep.

Thank heavens that I managed to keep my cool. He got down from the bed, ran his fingers through her hair and pulled the bed covers to her chin. I am so worried about you, Misty… If only you would accept me, I'd whisk you away from all this madness, to somewhere you can find happiness…

His thoughts went back to the moment when he first pressed his lips to hers when he'd entered. She felt so nice, and soft and breakable… so vulnerable in the dark…

Unable to resist himself, and knowing full well that she'd be really mad at him for doing it again, he leaned over her, bent his head and lightly pressed his lips to hers. He liked the feeling of her soft lips beneath his, tasting like early morning mist, salty and sweet at the same time. he broke away to breathe before giving in to the urge of feeling those lips again. He bent lower, practically leaning all over her again.

Stop there! His mind hissed at him. Gary, you've gone far enough! Just leave. It cant be that hard. Just let go, Gary!

Gary was still debating with his inner mind when he felt Misty move her lips a bit. He claimed her lips again and to his surprise, she responded. He was surprised to find out that she was still in sleep. He broke away from her for a moment.

"I love you, Mist…" he whispered, planting a light kiss on her lips again.

"I love you too…" she murmured in a voice barely audible.

Gary's heart leaped with joy –

"-Ash…" she completed after a deep breath –

And Gary felt shattered. He sadly gazed at the innocent, sleeping face, of the girl he had just kissed. "I'll always love you," he whispered and planted a kiss on her forehead. With one last look at the sleeping beauty, he left her cabin, closing the door behind him.

He wiped the tears that had started to trickle down his cheeks and started towards the hotel he was staying. Despite his own heartbreak, he couldn't help but feel proud of his girl. He was proud that she was loyal to the man who wasn't loyal to her.

"You jerk, Ash…" he muttered under his breath. "Someday, you'll pay for what you did to her. And even if no one else bothers, I'll make sure you pay for ruining her life."

…

The alarm went off and Misty stirred in her bed. Still feeling sleepy, she rubbed her eyes and glanced at the alarm clock. Okay, it showed a quarter to five. She had enough time to get ready for the first round of battles.

As she sat rocking herself on the bed, she felt her lips quiver in a strange way. A new sensation… she ran a finger over her lips trying to get the feeling to pass when last night's events suddenly came crashing back to her.

Oh my Gosh!

Before her face showed any shocked expression, she remembered about the hidden cameras and hurried to the washroom as if to freshen up. Stupid Gary… She felt mad enough to scare a nuclear missile to change its course, just thinking about the feelings he had suddenly stirred within her.

Gary Oak! she thought mentally. If I don't make you pay for last night…

To be continued….