Terminality
Part Two: Angel among Mortals
By Chris Devlin
E-Mail: devlin1983@hotmail.com
Genre: Romance
AN: Well, this is part two of my Terminality series. If you haven't read part one (And why not?) then you can also find it, as well as all my other fics, on Fanfiction.net.
"Ash? Ash Ketchum?" Misty asked, almost speechless. "What are you doing here?" she asked, the joy she was feeling evident in her voice as she swam over to the poolside. "Oh, not much. I just came to meet the author of this wonderful book and hopefully get it signed." he explained, producing a copy of her book from behind his back, a broad smile on his face. "You've read my book?" Misty asked, slightly taken aback, as she climbed out of the side of the pool. Ash extended his arm to her, helping her to her feet. "Of course I have. I have to read all of the new Pokémon training manuals when they come out. Helps me keep up to date with the latest training techniques." he explained as she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself. "That and because you wrote it." he added. Misty blushed slightly as he said this, but walked over to him anyway, embracing him in a hug. "I really missed you Ash. How's things?" she asked him as she broke of the hug. "Oh you know, being a Gym Leader's great fun, but it can be a bit boring after so many years. I get challenged by so many cocky young kids. Now I know how I must have looked to all those Gym Leaders I used to challenged." he said as they walked together towards the large seating area before sitting down together. Misty listened as he told her, only partially concentrating though. That hug had really reminded her that she still harbored great emotions for him. She sat and thought about it for a few minutes. What a hectic time it was. Countless times she'd made the decision to tell him, but she either lost her nerve before she could broach the subject or some other problem would crop up. When she realized she was day-dreaming she snapped herself out of it and concentrated on Ash. I've spent the last ten years thinking about the past. Now isn't the time for it. she thought to herself. Ash seemed to have picked up on her distant look and stopped talking for a few seconds. "Misty?" he asked her
Ash looked at Misty as they sat together. She seemed slightly distant, as though thinking about something else. "Misty?" he asked. This seemed to do the trick and she turned to look straight at him. "Hmm?" she said. From the moment he'd seen her climb out of the pool he'd noticed how much more attractive she'd grown since he'd last seen her. This had shocked his system slightly. She'd always been attractive to him, especially ten years ago, but now she was even better looking. Her face had kept it's same softness, her hair was now longer and hung down her back, the color slightly darker than it had been. As for her body, she was now noticeably taller, as well as having more developed hips and breasts. Her legs were smooth and shapely and seemed to go on much farther than Ash seemed to remember. She was a vision, an angel among mere mortals. Ash would never deserve such perfection. "You ok Misty?" he asked as she snapped out of her trance. "Hmph." Misty laughed slightly to herself. "Yeah. I'm fine Ash." she said, suppressing the desire to tell him everything. Ash smiled at her. She had always been like this. Evasive and secretive. "Anyway, I've waffled on long enough." Ash said. "Tell me what you've been doing with yourself." he asked. Misty squirmed slightly. "Maybe later." she said not really wanting to talk about herself. "I'll tell you about it all, if you'll go out for dinner with me." she told him. Ash frowned slightly. She was definitely holding something back from him. But who am I to force it from her? he asked himself. "Ok, sure. I'm in town for the next two weeks anyway. I needed a break so I thought I'd come up here for some rest." he told her. Misty smiled at this. "Great." She said. "I was needing some company other than my sisters for a change. Meet me back here in about two hours?" she suggested. Ash smiled back at her. "Sure. It's a date." he said to her as he stood up and started walking towards the exit. "A date." Misty whispered as she watched him leave.
Misty rushed towards her room, to get ready for the evening. Whether it was a conscious decision or not, she made sure she was looking her best. Her best dress, shoes, and jewelry were all brought out for the night. She quickly showered before preparing herself. She applied just enough make-up to enhance her looks, not to smother them. By the time she was happy with herself she sat back and waited. In the background she played her favorite CD's, trying to calm herself down before Ash arrived. While the music soothed her nerves to a certain degree, she could still feel her heart pounding when Ash turned up. They embraced, and Ash kissed her on her cheek, causing her to blush slightly. The pair walked to the restaurant in the cool night air, a gentle breeze causing Misty's long hair to sway peacefully at her back. Small talk occupied the two young Gym Leaders as they walked, mostly chit chat regarding the weather and new Pokémon discoveries. Soon they reached the restaurant. It was a medium sized wooden structure which looked out over the city. The buildings below, distinguishable only as pinpricks of light, looked almost like a small starscape stretching out before them. The pair were seated out on the balcony, with a perfect view over the city. Ash stared out at the light, enraptured by the sight. Misty considered him as he continued gazing out. He was definitely more attractive than he had been, and he was also more masculine than she ever recalled. His shoulders were broader, his hair cut shorter. He was also slightly taller. Apart from that there wasn't much else she could discern. She would bet money that his chest was more muscular than it previously was, and that his arms were thicker. Misty giggled slightly at the thought. Here she was rapidly approaching thirty, thinking about Ash's body like she was a schoolgirl again. Ash must have heard the tiny snicker come from her because he turned round to face her.
"So, you said you'd tell me how you've been. So what have you been doing with yourself?" he asked her. Misty lost the smile that had planted itself on her face. "Ash, I... Oh you have no idea what I've been going through since we last met. For one, I'm fed up with my job. I mean, I love Pokémon, I always have. But... especially recently, I've been more and more dissatisfied. with my life. Part of that is that I no longer get the chance to travel and meet new people. Another is that I never have any real challenge in anyone I battle. I mean, while some of them show the skill you had at that age, most of them are just kids who haven't trained well enough." Ash sat and listened intently, genuinely concerned about what Misty was feeling. He still had an unshakeable feeling there was more too it than that though. She was definitely still holding something back. He decided not to press it. She'd tell him in her own time, he concluded.
She stopped talking about it a few minutes later. Again they resumed their small talk, as they waited for their starters. Soon enough the conversation shifted to the years the pair had spent traveling together. Misty was shocked to hear how Ash had been saving all those years to repay her for her bike. "I would have given you the money, but you left before I had it all." he explained to her. Misty smiled, touched by how thoughtful he had been, even if he'd hidden it from her. "Oh, Ash." she said almost showing her feelings for him. "I had no idea." she added. "Well, I didn't want to ruin the surprise. It was going to be a present for your eighteenth birthday. But like I said, you left before I got a chance to finish saving." Misty's heart melted at the core from this revelation. If it was at all possible she loved him more now than she ever had previously. She smiled again, not caring if he noticed the underlying emotion. "Well, Ash. I think I should let you know that I had long before stopped following you just because of my bike. There was another reason behind it." she confessed and started to blush. This peaked Ash's interest. "Another reason? What?" he asked. "Well, you see.... Oh god, how do I say this without sounding totally stupid. Y'see I was kinda, in love with you." she stuttered out. "You? You were in love with me?" he asked, dumbfounded. "Yeah." Misty said, her face turning an even brighter shade of scarlet. Ash laughed. Not a mocking laugh, but a gentle one of disbelief. "Oh, well in that case I should probably tell you something too." he said, himself turning bright red. "I kinda, loved you as well." he told her. Misty just looked up at him before she burst out laughing. "Oh my god. You mean I could have told you way back then and you would have been happy about it?" she asked, a look of total surprise and shock on her face. Ash just nodded. "More than happy. In fact if it makes any difference, I still would be." he replied. This stopped Misty in her tracks, her laughter sinking away to nothing. "You, you mean you still... You still love me?" she asked, her voice almost totally devoid of emotion. What emotion was there gave away her surprise at the new revelation. Ash nodded again, but remained silent. "I, I need to think about this... I won't be long." she told him as she stood up and headed for the restroom.
Walking in she found an empty cubicle, went in sat down and locked the door. She just sat there, processing all this new information. "He still loves me." she said to herself about a thousand times, a distant look in her eyes. "What do I do? I still love him. Should I tell him? Or would that just scare him off? Maybe he just wanted me to know his feelings. He probably doesn't expect me to reciprocate, not now. Oh what am I even doing here, I should be out there telling him that I love him." her mind told her all this, over and over in an attempt to make some sink in. Her thoughts turned to her condition. "If it hasn't been totally removed, if it's spread, I may never get another chance at this." she whispered to herself. Standing herself up she composed her thoughts unlocked the door and walked out. As she past the sink she looked into the mirror. Flicking the odd strand of hair out of her face she made sure that she was looking her best before leaving the restroom, determined to tell Ash how she felt.
She must have been gone longer than she thought because their starters lay in front of them, long since gone cold. Ash was looking out into the night, obviously thinking about how he'd probably scared her off. As she sat down Ash glanced round at her before going back to his staring. "Figured I'd scared you off." he said a slight smile on his face. "No. It'll take a lot more than that to scare me." she told him. "How bout a Caterpie?" he asked jokingly as he turned round to face her. If looks could kill Ash would have been dead in his seat. "Not funny Ash." Misty told him a slight smirk on her lips. "Anyway. I didn't come back to listen to your bad jokes. I came back to tell you something." she said, her face giving away nothing to Ash. "What is that Mist?" he asked leaning over the table, paying her all his attention. "Well, I think you should know, that... that my feelings for you haven't changed since we went our separate ways. I still love you Ash. In fact I love you more now than I ever did then." she admitted, her cheeks bright red again. Ash simply smiled and brought his hand up to her cheek. He could feel the heat from it long before he brushed it with his hand. Misty shuddered slightly. "Oh Ash. I've missed you so much." she confessed, tears beginning to form in her eyes. One rolled down her cheek, onto Ash's hand. "Listen..." Ash started, Misty looked into his eyes. "Yeah?" she asked. "Do you wanna just skip dinner and go for a walk?" he asked. Misty considered this for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, sure." she said, a smile forming again.
The pair walked all night, until they came to a bench facing out over one of Cerulean Cities many ponds. The sat down, Misty snuggling next to Ash. "You know, no matter how many times I've walked through this town, I never notice how beautiful and quiet it is." he said. Misty merely nodded her head slowly in reply. Ash looked down at her. "But it's nowhere near as beautiful as you Mist." she looked up at him, a smile of contentment on her face. "Thanks." she replied. The couple looked in to each others eyes. Ash gazed longingly into Misty and hesitated before slowly lowering his lips to hers. They met in a understated caress before they both settled into pecking at the others lips. Ash's lips slowly massaged Misty's, rubbing gently across their smooth surface. They both let out soothing moans to each other, stating their desire. Ash brought his arm further round her, drawing her closer into his embrace. Misty moved right hand to Ash's thigh, before placing her other hand on his cheek. She let out another moan, this time opening her mouth. Ash moved his hand up through her hair, resting it on the back of her neck before making circling motions with his thumb that barely touched her skin. He moved his other hand slowly over her top to cup her left breast. Before he could reach it though, Misty broke off the kiss, a mischievous smile on her face. "Woah, easy Tiger. What's the rush?" she asked. Ash shrugged, an embarrassed look covered his entire face. "Sorry. Got kinda carried away." he explained. Misty just looked at him before standing up. "Come on." she said taking his hand and pulling him off the bench, heading back to the Gym. As they reached the back door to the Gym, Misty pulled out her key and put it in the lock. Turning it she opened the door and walked in. She turned round and saw Ash just standing outside. "What is it?" she asked. Ash blushed again. "Nothing, just that this is going just a bit too fast for me." he explained. "I think we'd better just wait a while before we... Y'know." he said, obviously flustered. Misty looked at him. He is the most romantic and sensitive guy I have ever met. she told herself. Walking back towards him she took both his hands in her own before looking him deep in the eyes. "Ash, we've waited over ten years for this. I think we've done more than enough waiting, don't you?" Ash gazed into her blue eyes. She really wants this. his heart and mind told him. "Yeah. Yeah, your right Mist." he replied as she led him inside.
To Be Continued....