Orange, a pokémon fanfic

«Orange»

Written by ClaudiaDaro, translated by Fox McCloude

Was it hard?

Maybe...

No, it definitely was hard.

Usually, Misty would first scold him with her high-pitched voice, then her hand would grab him by his shirt's collar, and her eyes would stare deeply into his, the aquamarine glaring into the bright brown, in a battle of glares where neither wanted to lose to the other.

That's how Misty was. A girl with an orange fragrance and acid words. Like a suffocating summer, with waves hitting strong against the shore, refreshing the ambient.

And was it hard?

Maybe...

No, it definitely was hard.

Because at some point, her name coming out of his lips stopped being a mockery laughter, to become a sweet water.

She stopped those acid bursts and the citric fragrance now has a sweeter tinge. It completely engulfs his body, giving him an explosive, invigorating energy.

And it was hard, it had been hard since then.

It was at age fifteen that Misty received her first love letter, and Ash was there, watching. It's from a trainer, a tall guy with a coy look adorning a tanned skin. Words are clumsy yet they flow with gentleness, like a scene from those movies she loved to watch between sighs and desires to be adored.

And it was hard.

She accepted the envelope with a smile, her fingers trembling, and he feels tempted to grab a hold of her hand, which today is soft, to tell that guy to scram off. Run away and never return, or some other corny line like that.

But he watched, still unsure as to why he wants to see her reject the silliness, of a wistful thinking sealed in a decorated envelope.

"Will you say yes, miss?"

"Well…" She continued to watch the envelope. The smile came and went, which seemed to encourage the hopeless suitor, while the trainer behind him was clearly annoyed.

"I'll come back tomorrow for my rematch, and my answer. I'm not leaving without any of my two victories."

"Ah!" That seemed to snap her out of it. "I never make it easy for anybody. My badges stay with me, boy."

"We'll see."

'Another Rudy,' Ash thought, who only then remembered that Gym Leader, reliving that situation with his friend. He even laughed at it, because he was right; he'd always been very lucky all the time.

Misty shut the main door, and covered herself more with the towel, as she finishing her drying of her wet hair. She looked at Ash sitting on the pool's edge, and decided to make him some company before letting out a deep sigh. She feels tired, but not lazy, let alone with the personification of energy next to her.

"Nice battle. You only used two in your team."

"Uh-huh..."

She still continued to stare at the envelope with curiosity. She stepped a bit away from Ash to open it, reading the small text. Ash clenched his fingers over his lap when he saw her smile.

"What do we have here...?"

"What? What?! What is it?! What?!"

Misty wasn't stupid; under the energy of those eyes there was nothing but anger, one he fully understood yet was unwilling to accept (yet). Misty would never leave behind her romantic girl facet; she'd just been trying to find his.

"Do you think I'm pretty?"

"What?"

Because she loved the boy, even with that frowning kid's face he made, when he experienced love for the first time.

"That's what says here. What do you think? He's not lying, is he? Of course not."

"Ehm..."

"C'mon, just tell me I'm pretty."

Some thoughts flowed, like silent screams of "You already know, old friend, who's the girl next to you. You know me like the palm of your hand full of scars. We don't exist without the other; because I pulled you out of that rived, and you pulled me out of my comfort zone, as we both seek to fulfill the desires filling our life, when we're next to each other, when we're apart, but always together."

"You won't tell me I'm pretty?"

"I can give you a mirror."

"I don't want a mirror, you have a mouth."

"You don't say!"

She could notice. Ash's smile trembled and he tried to avoid looking at her in the eye. Being so close made him uncomfortable, and amused her. She just wished to know what he was thinking. Ash would always smile everywhere, except towards her.

"You look good to me."

"Not good, pretty. And you can't tell me that if you're not looking at me. Look at me, I'm not doing anything. What's wrong with you?"

Ash took a deep breath, before looking into her eyes. He unconsciously cleared his throat, as it didn't seem to want to let him talk.

There's no connection between his thoughts and his lips.

Because they can't put into words the result of "I see you and I realize that, no matter how far I travel, I'll never be able to leave Kanto."

At some point, Misty shoved him into the pool, frustrated and willing to leave. But Ash had never let her get away with it, so he grabbed her by the ankle to pull her along with him.

His frowning face quickly dissipated as it sank into the water, along with the trainer's strange shyness, who know held onto her, unwilling to let her go.

Misty giggled, because now she had him by her side, knowing how much Ash loved her.

Author's notes (by ClaudiaDaro):

Little dedicatory to FoxMcCloude, though I'm not sure he'll come in xd (but shhh let it be a surprise in the future haha)

This little drabble came up during a sunny morning. I love connecting the sunny sky with them, it gives me energy! And an urge to eat oranges. Thanks for reading and commenting n.n

I just wish F.F. would respect the spacing, everything gets bundled together here. Depending on some things, I'll post them on Wattpad or not.

Translator's notes (by Fox McCloude):

So, here I am again. With this one I don't have much to add, but I personally found it quite cute and funny. It's always nice to see Ash and Misty's relationship still having their typical banter while also having more romantic undertones. In fact, I've actually felt tempted to make a follow-up, see what happens after the two end up into the pool (always wanted to write something about them in a similar situation).

Anyway, I guess this ends my publications for today. See ya next time!