Title: Possibilities

Author: Chibi/Warlordess

Notes: Oh, wow... I'm so sorry that I haven't updated this in over a month. I just haven't really been able to think clearly. I've fashioned myself a new sleeping schedule and had tons of work at school because finals are coming up in a few months. Plus... I had to choose my classes for next year! Talk about pressure. Anyway, yes, hopefully I'm posting this before my two month deadline as that's obviously what I'm going for.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. I don't own Ash and Misty. I don't own anything. Now can we please stop with the interrogation?

Summary: Ash returns from his week-long stay with Misty and his mental capacity is running low thanks to Misty's admittance of love. What is he to do when he finally realizes that he loves her too? AAMR. The sequel to "Closure".

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Chapter Four: Sleeping Beauty

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"Let's see... Misty, there's so much that I've been holding back from you lately. I'm sorry that I haven't been keeping in contact but things have been kinda strange between us, and we both know that that's putting it lightly. Well, anyway, what I'm trying to say is that there's a reason for my popping up out of nowhere and I just..." Ash shook his head.

"Well, that's nice and all, sonny, but I don't really think that you're my type." The old woman before him looked slightly red in the face and she had her palm to her cheek, "But, maybe if you were a little older..." She looked him up and down and he completed an anime fall.

"Wah! No, no, no! This isn't how it's supposed to go!" He wailed, looking down the street to the Cerulean gym, with it's familiar Seel trim gleaming in the distance, "What am I supposed to do...? I can't just walk up to her and... And say it, can I, Pikachu?" The old woman who'd overheard him began to walk off, muttering about weirdo's who talk to creatures who couldn't necessarily talk back.

"Pikachu chu kachu Pikachupi, Pikapi."

"Huh... You don't think that she'll care how I say it? That she'll appreciate my loving her anyway? But Pikachu... I know Misty. She'd want this to be perfect and, well, I mean... I don't wanna mess it up!" Ash scratched the back of his head in a panic, "I mean, I love her, I really do and... Wow, that sounds weird when you think about it... But, no!" Ash shook his head rapidly and stomped his foot, turning in the direction of his friends' home, "I'm not going to think about it! I'm just going to go up to her and... And... Something."

Pikachu sweatdropped at the thought of how little Ash had thought out his planning and then jumped onto his shoulder as he began to lead the way to Misty's gym and house. His feet were doing something weird, though. It seemed that while one of them was working extra hard to get Ash there in a hurry, the other was almost hoping to turn around and to the other way; it was a reflection of Ash's doubt.

It wasn't like he had any reason to think that Misty had gotten over him so easily. It was just that, every time someone falls in love, no matter how simple and clear it is that the other person feels the same way or not, that person just can't see it. And though Ash knew that Misty had loved him almost four months ago, he couldn't help feeling like a deer caught in the headlights of his possible fate.

What if Misty had moved on? What if she was currently out to lunch with another "dashing, young man"? What if she had done something really stupid like committed suicide because Ash hadn't contacted her in so long and she had been left in doubt of how he felt for her? What if...?

Ash was now at the front door to the Gym. This was it. This was the huge confrontation that he'd been terrified of going through for so long. This was the day, the moment, that had been killing him inside ever since the prospect of it had come to him. This was his "moment of reckoning". Okay, so he was slightly delirious from the thought of denial or heartbreak. But could you blame him? Ash had never been in love before, so he didn't know what to expect. And, for such a long while, hadn't even know that he was.

"Welcome, Trainer, to Cerulean City Gym. Please select one Pokemon at this time, as we will be sponsoring one-on-one Pokemon battles today, and approach the main desk with your final choice. There you will be offered your available battle time. Thank you!" He entered and the chirpy automatic voice reminded him of where he was. Suddenly, he heard footsteps and, feeling his heart flutter madly, he leapt behind the front desk, landing between a couple of potted plants and the wall of the building. (His mind seemed to agree, with a loud resonating cry of, "Dive, dive, dive!")

"Hmm... That's strange. I thought that I heard the doors open..." Misty's voice echoed from around ten feet from him, cold and exhausted from a hard mornings' work, but then he heard her retreating again. Ash sighed, blissfully aware that he was now in the clear, when he realized that Pikachu wasn't next to him.

"Oh, no... He wouldn't do this to me..." But he could hear the soft padding of his little buddies paws across the linoleum floor, and it sounded like he was heading towards, "No!" He didn't want to see Misty right now, and he didn't want her to see him, let alone know that he was even there, "Pikachu! Pikachu, get back here right now...! I-I'll buy you five bottles of ketchup if you do!" He whispered desperately and felt an unbelievable wave of luck wash over him when the scurrying of the paws were suddenly becoming louder.

He sighed in relief as his friend jumped onto his bent shoulder. And, now... He was left to himself, wondering how on Earth he was going to present himself to Misty after a failure of an attempt such as that. He didn't have many choices. He couldn't hide behind a flower pot forever (although the idea was very tempting) and he couldn't just walk up to her and say it, everything that he was suddenly feeling so strongly, just like that. And his throat was so dry that, even if he managed to remember the words he'd spoken to Brock that day almost a week ago, he wouldn't be able to say them aloud to her.

But there was one thing about Ash that always helped him on his journey and in life in general, one thing that propelled him to exceed his greatest limits and everyone's expectations of him, and that was his will to succeed in whatever he chose. Maybe that was why he was such a strong trainer, why he was such a well-rounded person and friend, why he had such a pure heart, and why Misty fell in love with him. Maybe that's why he felt that he owed it to her to be just what she hoped he would, to be the Hero.

Ash found himself on his feet with a determined expression and his fists raised in hopeful triumph. Though his knees felt like pudding and his resolve was slipping away like sands through an hourglass, he still had enough sanity in him to realize just what he was going to do. He wanted Misty to love him no matter what... Pikachu had been right. Sure, Misty was a romantic and everything, and so a hugely-anticipated, lovely, beautiful confession would have won quite a few points in her book, but Ash didn't need those. In the end, her knowing that he did indeed reciprocate her feelings after such a long time away from each other, after such a long, stale silence, and after such a prolonged heartbreak, would be enough for her. He knew it.

Ash took one cautious step out from behind the desk and began heading towards the arena. Pikachu was giving encouraging, "Pika's", every other step and it filled Ash's body with some warm strength that he'd hardly ever felt before. It was like that feeling he got when he bonded with a new friend, or one of his Pokemon, for the first time. Like during that snowstorm back in Kanto, when he'd almost lost Pikachu and ended up having been stranded in a frosted snow burrow with only his Pokemon for company. Or that day when Misty had had to leave him and he'd felt as though a part of his life was just flowing away with the river. It had been even worse when he finally realized that she was going to be gone for such a long time. He'd hoped that it would only be a week before she and Brock were back, but that hadn't been the case for her...

Having reached the Arena entrance, Ash snapped his eyes open (he'd closed them in hopes that it would prolong her unknowing attitude to his being there) and found the area around him completely devoid of any redheaded teenagers. Or teenagers at all.

But then, where had she gone...?

Ash stepped back outside and looked up the staircase to see the dark corridor beyond. He had a feeling that he knew where she was hiding away from the rest of the world... But that meant that he'd have to invade her privacy again... Could he deal with trespassing on her? He'd done it once before and, though it had ended up all right, had almost lost her friendship as a result. He didn't want to feel that bad more than once... He could hardly handle the possibility of her hating him the first time...

Ash, breathing deeply, made a mad jump for the stairs in front of him, leaping higher two steps at a time. When he'd reached the top, he knew that he'd been right. Something he remembered from his last visit to the Cerulean Gym was that Misty had a knack for leaving her door open only when she wasn't inside her room. And, this time around, her door was closed.

Occupation.

No vacancy.

The thoughts passed through his brain as he closed in on her territory, as he knocked on the door but heard no answer. Remembering what'd happened last time, he sighed deeply. She must have been napping. She was asleep, meaning that he could walk inside without expectantly getting his head ripped off...

He felt his hand close in on the doorknob and, before he even comprehended what he was doing, it had been turned and he was staring, once again, at the four beige walls of Misty's bedroom. She had fit herself snugly into her bed on her own this time, which was good, because Ash didn't feel that his nerves would let him handle carrying her weight from her desk chair to her current position.

He tiptoed inside, ignoring Pikachu, who was pulling adamantly on his ear as though to try and forcibly remove him, and picked up the chair to pull it to Misty's side. The tick-tock of the Pidgey Coo-Coo Clock on the wall was almost dreamy, and made Ash feel slightly more comfortable, but he was nowhere near tired. His constant reminder of how mentally ill he felt was his heart, which was beating rapidly, as though it were being driven by a pair of wings. Perhaps it was because he knew that he loved her now, that his soul felt like it could soar to the heaven's and back again so easily...

His hands were trembling, but his eyes were wide enough to take in Misty's unkempt state. Ash knew why she looked so ragged. She must have been worried about them. He hadn't called her before he left for Cerulean (he wanted to surprise her that badly) and it had been over two months before that since they'd last been in contact... He knew that she was probably terrified that he'd not called her up or written on purpose. Her face was pale and, though she was soundly sleeping, the shadows under her eyes proved that it was the first time in a good while since she'd been able to. Her hair, though brushed, looked a little dry, probably because she hadn't bothered to take good care of it in her haste to wait for him in case he showed up at her door, and she'd forgotten to take it out of the ponytail.

Misty always removed her scrunchie before going to bed. She knew better than to let her hair sit like that, especially while she slept, because it would leave her tresses messy and tangled, and she took better care of herself than to let that happen to her. She must have been feeling especially horrible if she hadn't bothered with it this time.

Without thinking twice (let alone, once), Ash leant over her and attempted to remove the ponytail holder himself, but he was caught off guard by the calm expression on her face... Which was barely three inches away from his now. His fingers were trailing in her hair, which lay sprawled as loosely as possible against the pillow, and Ash's eyes were trailing over her facial features...

He'd never felt like this before. He knew that there was something he wanted to do... He felt it inside of him... What was it? It was this deep, gutsy feeling... It was no longer just nerves that kept him there, frozen, it was bewilderment. He could feel Misty's breath on his cheek, and he noticed that he was leaning in...

Suddenly, he felt his lips brush against something. He knew what it was now. That feeling was slowly intensifying, and he knew what it was. He loved that feeling... Ash knew that it wasn't over yet... He could feel his lips against hers again, but...

Wait. Was she stirring?

Ash panicked... What if she woke up and saw him like this...!

He threw himself away from her and the chair that he was sitting in slowly began to teeter in the direction of the door. If he fell, he knew for sure that she would wake up... What could he do to stop everything from going wrong again?

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Notes: Thank you for reading. I was pressed for time on this chapter, and I know that it turned out badly, so you don't have to tell me even once. And please don't flame me, especially since I all ready know that it's bad. Just criticize me and then go on your way. I'm sorry about this... Erm, in any case, because this chapter came up short (or, at least, that's what I think), I wanted to put a few Shout-Outs to some of my reviewers! Since there are so many of you (when you consider my older works and the amount of reviews I got for them), I don't think I'll be able to write all of you a single note, but I'll definitely post all of your names! Remember, this is just for part four of the fic, so if you reviewed numbers one through three and not the last, your name won't be seen. Sorry, but I'm just lazy at this point...

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Shout-Outs!

Brogramn- Well, you were the first person, yet again, to review my last chapter. Wow; you're a real big fan of mine, aren't you? Lol. Anyway, thanks a lot for your continuous support and for being so into my fics that you'd get to reading them even without a computer of your own; that shows Chibi that people actually like her stories... Also, yea, the Writer's Block still hasn't left. It took me this long, sadly, to think of how to end the plot for this chapter, let alone wherever I'm going to head next... Also, yea, something you need to know about me... Any grudge that I may possibly have against a certain character is shown bare-to-nothing in my fics. I don't like my personal issues to come in the line of my writing. It's like poor sportsmanship. I don't wanna have any part of it.

KawaiiCherryBlossom- Well, I'm glad that I could be of assistance. I know what it feels like to come home, exhausted, and find a nice surprise waiting for me. That time when I went to the library after school and found out that you'd dedicated a fic to me was definitely one of them! As for the update, maybe you didn't notice, but it was still a month before I managed to post it... And this time around, it was two... Ouch. (;;) The friendship with May may seem strange or new, but I try to do that in every fic that I write. That, and I also try to refrain from any Advanceshipping. So, yea... There were tons of grammar problems! This is how I can tell that you only skim the chapter, not actually read it! I found three typo's right after I posted the chapter! XD

Uranasu- Oh, I'm sorry for stealing part of your idea! If it helps, you don't have to worry because I didn't disclaim it so it's pretty much open for anybody to use... All though, I'd prefer it if you didn't go and take it just like that... Lol. Anyway, thanks for the review! Those are pretty rare when they're coming from you!

psheartslie- This is funny. One reviewer tells me that they're pleased that I updated in such a short time, and you tell me that it's great that I've finally done so. How funny... Anyway, yea, the only way I'll really include May is as a good friend of Misty's and a probable Pokeshipper. I'm tired of competition fics between them, and I don't support Advanceshipping, so I don't see the use for it.

Hikashi Suzuki- Well, I try not to hate May, though, as you know I've all ready stated on my site, I'm sort of torn with her. Part of me loves her cause she's that adorable, sweet, lil' girl, but a larger part of me doesn't like her at all because she replaced Misty, she had no idea what she was doing at the beginning of the Hoenn/Advanced anime, and because certain whack-jobs think that she and Ash have a thing going on between them. Anyway, do I really rock:P

Okay, one more... Who will be the lucky person?

WaterBlaster- Hey, babe! XD I'm so happy that you reviewed my fics... Every single one of them... (;;) Um, also, something you must know (but you probably guessed this all ready) is that the fic isn't finished yet! Don't worry, though! I think that one more chapter might do it! I hope that I get some more reviews for these last two parts combined because I really wanna surpass my last record: Eight chapters and 153 reviews. Woohoo! So, yea, I didn't leave you hanging! You just misinterpreted the third chapter! ...Come back to me, friend and reviewer...! XD

Ending Shout-Outs!

Okay, so yea, I'm sorry if I didn't give you a personal reply. Perhaps next time I'll do so... In any case, all reviewers names (including those above) will be listed below. Each and every one of you has my thanks! Try to check out my other works by clicking on the link to my Bio-Page!

Thanks to the following reviewers/friends/fans:

1.) Brogramn

2.) Jirachi the Legend

3.) KawaiiCherryBlossom

4.) AbsolKitty

5.) MistyLover87

6.) Sensational Sista

7.) Uranasu

8.) bluejolteon

9.) Hakajin

10.) Funkyafroman

11.) litto-passionfruit

12.) Mocchi

13.) gladdecease

14.) Hikashi Suzuki

15.) Chibimatchmaker

16.) Mulatdood

17.) jade destiny

18.) Chaos-Paladin

19.) Lord Cynic

20.) Queztaxx

21.) WaterBlaster

22.) chibi-b

23.) AerodactylMaster

Thanks to each and everyone of you! (Wow, isn't that unique...? ) I'm really happy that all of you had nothing but positive things to say about my fic so far! Please remember to review again this time, and go easy on me, as I'm still struggling through my Writer's Block, so this is one of those far-from-my-best chapters.

Ja ne!