What prompted this story? I just wanted to write about romantic gushing. That's it. LOL But more importantly, I wanted to try adjusting my style a little bit, just to play around with it and see if there's anywhere I can grow and improve. Here's hoping you enjoy it!

Dedication: Nami, if you happen to read this, half the reason this story happened/was able to happen was because of your encouragement when reviewing some of my fics, so this one's for you.

Third Wheel

Ash was never one for expressing his emotions with any kind of subtlety. Courage, pride, anger; he only knew how to articulate his feelings at max power. As it turned out, that also applied to being love-struck. Between all the flushes of red on his cheeks and the ways he'd keep glancing in Misty's direction, it wasn't hard to figure out how he felt about her. That, and the picture of her I caught him staring at last week.

It had been an accident, naturally. He'd scrambled to hide the evidence, but at that point it was obvious to us both that I knew. Well, I'd known sooner, but he didn't need to know that. Not right away, at least.

After taking a vow of silence for his sake, I'd expected Ash to never bring it up again. He hadn't actually admitted to liking her, and I didn't feel like coercing a confession out of him. I assumed he'd just deny anything if I asked, as he'd often done to everyone who ever teased him about liking her.

And yet...

"Brock, are you even listening?"

I nodded, swirling the wooden spoon through the stew. "Yeah, sure."

"Really? Then what did I just say?"

"You think Misty is pretty."

"...I already said that."

"You've said it every night this past week, after all."

"Well, that's because it's true!"

The night after my photographic discovery, Ash had approached me, his head down and his smile sheepish. Misty was bathing at the river, leaving the two of us alone. Ash coming to me during my preparation of dinner was common; the fluster written all over his face wasn't.

Before I could say anything he'd simply blurted it out. "I like Misty." No build up, no warning, as blunt as I'd come to expect from him. I'd nearly fumbled my knife from shock, which would have been terrible; that would mean leaving dinner to them two, and I actually felt like eating that night.

"You...really?"

He'd nodded, his smile losing its hesitancy and growing in joy. What followed was a spiel of Ash putting all of those amorous glances at her into words. Even as my focus had been on making sure our dinner was cooking properly, he went on and on about Misty's traits that had apparently become flattering practically overnight. Every night since, whenever Misty was off bathing, Ash used that time to unload all his sappy thoughts onto me.

Well, I guess it's not like I hadn't seen it coming a mile away.

It was funny how Misty was quick to call Ash dense when she'd never caught on to all the ways Ash had started falling for her over the years. I'd certainly noticed, though, like how he always made sure to eat next to her or set his sleeping bag by her side, things like that. I don't think Ash consciously knew how he felt right away, but he must have caught on at some point, and Misty was none the wiser to any of it.

Ash prodded at my arm with further annoyance. "You're supposed to be listening here, Brock."

I offered what I hoped was a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, just focusing on dinner. I'll listen this time for sure, promise."

He crossed his arms and huffed, though his face quickly shifted to a more morose expression. "Do you think...does she really only think of me as a friend?"

"Are you talking about earlier?"

For the millionth time over the span of our journey, someone had interpreted Ash and Misty's antics as romantic, and in the usual fashion they both denied it vehemently. Her remarks revolved around Ash simply being a friend and traveling partner, one who still owed her a bike. It was a common dismissive comment for her, and I'd allowed myself a glance at the little twitch in Ash's eye when she said it.

"She's forgotten about it before, so I kinda assumed that she actually likes traveling with m- us."

I grinned at his little attempt to keep me included and I shook my head. "If it makes you feel better, Ash, I've enjoyed traveling with you up until this point. If she's the Misty that we both know, I think she feels the same way, too."

"Well, why does she keep bringing it up? Can't she just say we're just friends? Not that that's any better…"

The last sentence was more mumble than exasperation. I gave the pot an extra stir. "She's probably just used to saying it by now. Y'know, a bad habit. I can't think of many other reasons she'd stick to the bike excuse." I actually could, but I didn't want to assume anything.

He didn't answer right away, opting to lean forward on the log and lace his fingers together. I could hear him inhale slowly, but sigh sharply. "What do you think she would do if I actually paid her back?"

"How are you planning on doing that?"

He shook his head. "I'm not saying I can right now. I'm just thinking, do you think she'd stay on this journey with us?"

Being so used to Ash's musings being upbeat and, well, gushy, it was off-putting to hear his tone get so down with regards to Misty. I didn't have a real answer, but I could at least encourage him. "Y'know, I'm pretty sure she would. Don't forget, she wanted to go on a journey to become a water Pokémon Master, right? I'd say she's doing that and being with us. And besides," I allowed myself another grin, "I'm sure she'd find some excuse to stay by your side even if you got her another bike."

His face began to brighten. "You really think so?"

"You bet. I could imagine her saying that you'd never win another badge without her help."

His first laugh of the evening resonated through the campsite and I savored my own delight at having cheered my friend up. "I could win any badge I wanted to all on my own. But…I'm really glad to have her cheering for me."

"You know, you don't hear everything she says during your battles."

"What do you mean?"

I almost felt guilty at how quickly his mood shifted just by giving different context to Misty and her different relations to him, but since I was using this power for good, I swept it under my mental rug. "Sometimes you'll make a mistake and she'll say 'don't do that, Ash' or 'get it together', you know, stuff like that."

In a flash his grin plastered itself back onto his face, though it had brought along a pair of rosy cheeks. "Does she really?"

"Mhm, all the time, especially when you're losing."

It was like a twinge of annoyance had momentarily tried, but failed, to break through his smirk. "Lucky for me I haven't lost a match in a while, huh?"

I nodded, sensing that Ash's ego was starting to flare up, which was a funny thing to happen when talking about a crush of all things. Then again, I'd never gotten the impression Ash would know what to do with romantic feelings if he ever developed them, so I couldn't say I was surprised.

Actually, what was Ash planning on doing about his crush?

"Are you gonna tell her?"

"...tell her what?"

"That you like her?"

Ideation of his recent win streak was clearly still on his mind and his brain hadn't processed the question yet. Seconds later his mouth twisted as he sputtered out what I assumed was an answer, but it sounded more like the cry of some Pokémon that hadn't been discovered yet. I checked the taste of the stew to hide my smirk. "I'm gonna need you to repeat that, Ash."

"I'm...I'm gonna tell her. Eventually." I wasn't really convinced, and judging by his new expression he could probably tell. "I'm just not really sure of the right time. I kinda wondered if it would be okay to tell her when I got her another bike."

"Whenever that is."

"I'm really gonna pay her back, okay?"

"Are you worried she'll say no?"

"To me getting her a new bike?"

"Ash."

His thumbs began rolling in slow circles, the rest of his body still aside from his breathing. He nibbled at his lip. "Even if Misty doesn't like me back, I don't think we'll stop being friends because of it. It's just...when I think of liking Misty, it makes sense to me, you know? It's the same with me liking Pokémon. I can't really explain it, but I know it. I guess I'm kinda scared that I'll lose something that makes sense to me."

I gave the stew one last good stir before setting the spoon across the top of the pot. The conversation had gotten to the point where Ash deserved my full attention. "What would be the best case scenario if you told her?"

"I guess...she'd say she likes me back."

"And then?"

He leaned his head back, a thousand-mile stare matching his now reddened cheeks. It took him a few extra seconds to break away from his fantasy world. "I guess we'd do what people who like each other do. Y'know, holding hand and...all that stuff." A sudden look of realization straightened his face out, blinking before turning to me. "Actually, Brock, you always seem able to hold a girl's hand or talk about being in love with them so easily."

I chuckled nervously, touching my fingers to the back of my neck. "W-well, my case is a little different from yours, that's all." I wouldn't say jealous was the word, but while I was fascinated in finding an everlasting love somewhere out in the world, it was obvious to me that Ash had already found his. He just needed a bit more time and courage to get to her.

He didn't look fully satisfied with my answer, but shrugged all the same. "I just wonder if it should even be this hard. I want her to like me back, but every time I think about telling her, I get all tense." He smirked. "That's kinda why I wanted to tell her when I got her another bike. It'd be like...I'm not just telling her, but showing her, you know?"

It was always my view that Ash was dense to romance, or at the least didn't understand when it applied to him specifically. However, that little grin and the way his interlaced fingertips started bouncing back and forth said enough about how natural it was for him, at least with regards to Misty. Knowing him he probably didn't even consider what he'd just said as an act of love, just a solution to his nervousness issue.

"If you think that's the best move, then that's what you should go for."

What else was there to say? My gut told me he'd probably succeed no matter what he did, but if he wanted the bike to be his vehicle for delivering his confession, I didn't have much room to say otherwise. Not after that kind of admission.

He nodded, but before he could say anything else the sound of footsteps cut him off. "I'm back."

Our attention was pulled towards Misty re-entering the campsite, her hair down and still damp. Without missing a beat I glanced towards Ash, newly appreciating that giddy little smile he was clearly trying his best to hide. Twice now he'd gushed about how Misty looked with her hair down, but the look on his face said it all.

I still had no idea how Misty hadn't figured it out yet.

"It's your turn, Ash, and don't just jump in and out. Actually clean yourself for once."

"Misty, I always clean myself! At least I don't spend forever taking a bath like some people!"

"For your information, I need to wash away all the dirt and sweat from walking all day! Didn't your mom tell you to clean yourself properly?"

Their squabble was going to last another minute or two, and I used the chance to check the stew once more. Perfectly done, ready to eat.

With a huff, Ash meandered towards the river. I hadn't noticed if he won the argument, but then it never really mattered between the two. If anything, as I watched Ash vanish around the corner, I could probably imagine the smirk he was wearing. I chuckled to myself; I'd probably have to deal with his nightly gushing for a long while.

"Hey, Brock?"

Misty took a seat next to me, returning her hair to its normal ponytail. Her hands fell to her lap, an uncommon awkwardness plastered on her face.

"What's up, Misty?"

Her fingers tensed and relaxed over and over as her gaze glued itself to her knees. She drew her bottom lip between her teeth and I felt a strange sense of déjà vu. The sole of her foot bounced up and down, flatting the dirt below it.

"Can I talk to you...about Ash?"

She turned to me with the same reddened cheeks I'd just finished looking at not a minute ago. Same discomfort, same wavering eyes. I almost wanted to fall back in my seat in disbelief, but I settled for a small grin that elicited a curious look from her. Shaking my head I patted the log next to me, turning to face her.

"I'm all ears."

I guess I wouldn't just be dealing with Ash's gushing for a while, either.

I actually had a case of "I don't mind if this isn't my best work" with this story; I was more focused on trying new things and experimenting, so I'm really happy with how this turned out!