Author's Note: Longest chapter and also, last chapter. Didn't see that coming, eh? xD.

And also, hehe, "rare candy" I knew it was nearly impossible to get the facts right after all those years. Oh well. Close enough. xD

NOTE: Text in cursive stands for flashbacks, and in some isolated occasions, thoughts or raising the tone of the voice in some words.

Read on!

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Chapter 15

A lone pidgey flew into the endless sky of a vast sunny day that engulfed the day in an overall good mood. It was definitely the time for something new, a brand new start; a sweet scent of good omen was spreading fast with the rising wind. Misty Waterflower was in her temporary closet, packing away her little belongings. Her orange hair, now longer, was untied and kept lose over her back, and the sun was blaring down on them, forcing them to wear light clothes. She couldn't help but cover the sly smirk on her lips.

There was a knock on her door, and she scurried to the door to greet the visitor. A tall brunette doing her trademark peace sign stood in the other sign. May smiled and pulled Misty into a hug. "I'm gonna miss you, girl" She said tightening her grip on Misty. Misty laughed heartedly and tried to free herself in order to breathe properly.

"Don't be silly May, you're making it sound so... final" She rolled her eyes. "This isn't the last of me you'll be seeing, be sure of it. I owe you, May for knocking some sense into me"

May laughed walking into the room with confidence. "Been there, done that. I know how it is to be frightened, believe me".

---

"Sometimes I think that—" Misty mumbled out, leaning her back on his bed, staring hard at the roof.

May rolled her eyes and threw her purse at her head, her red lipstick falling out. "Girl, No!" May interrupted her. "No thinking, you've tried that before, hasn't really worked out, has it?" May sighed as Misty seemed to look at her sheepishly, and laughed as she knew she was right.

May sighed. "Believe me; I know more about this stuff. Your answers are not here" she said reaching out and pointing to Misty's head. "They're here" she pointed towards her chest. "Your heart, not your boob, obviously" she said light-heartedly, making Misty laugh in the spur of the moment. The red head shook her head and exhaled, giving it some pondering.

"What is your heart telling you to do?" she said, pretending to draw in uncanny wisdom from the air, with her arms. Even in this mocking trace of the entire situation, Misty seemed to contemplate this very seriously. At her silence May just rolled her eyes. "Okay, let's make this easy for you—I'll start the sentence, you finish it"

Misty chuckled and raised her eyebrow in expectation. May cleared her throat. "Okay, my name is Misty and my heart is telling me to..."

"—love him" Misty blurted out before she could even stop herself, interrupting May's sentence.

May gaped for a second, startled at such revelation. "Wow I—I've never—I've... I don't... Whoa, girl" she finally finished her ramble. Misty seemed to lie there, wide eyed, and promptly sat up. She squinted her cerulean eyes and looked promptly towards the door, fearing he could listen their conversation. "Hey, don't freak out on me, May, I'm taking baby steps here"

May grinned. "Still, acceptance is the first step towards mental recovery!"

"Are you implying I'm insane?"

May winked at her. "Why, I think I am!" She replied chuckling afterwards. "So, Hun, are you two together now?"

"Um..." She stuttered. "I... don't know. I mean—we would have discussed it, but he going unconscious kinda made it hard to talk" She replied, being confused herself. May just rolled her eyes, feeling like a viewer of some kind of romantic comedy. She shook her head and sighed. "Well, I'm off. You two have stuff to talk about, and you've got stuff to figure out"

---

"I just still can't believe a month could go by that quickly. You never knew how slow time always went by in this wooden house" She said, taking Misty's brush and brushing her brown hair. "We owe you, girl, more than you think"

Misty smiled, staring off into nothing in particular, but her eyes promptly shifted back to May. "Where is he?"

There were two men in the house but May didn't have to ask to know who she was referring to. She half smirked, loving the romantic comedy way too much for her own liking. "In his room, of course, probably thinking about you"

Misty blushed, May's constant mocks weren't something she was used to; as she knew she should be by now. May laughed. "AW, she's blushing!" She reached out and pinched her cheek grandmother style. "Man, aren't you two cute together!"

"Quit it!" Misty said, slapping her hand away playfully. "We have not been together for too long, I'm still very much susceptible to embarrassment!"

May winked. "Which makes this whole thing much more fun to me" As she nudged her in the ribs.

Misty sighed. "There's a lot to do. I don't know how my sisters will react to this, or Ash..." she stopped short "Oh god, Ash and Brock, they have no idea" she said, gaping.

May laughed. "Oh don't worry about them, they'll know"

Misty's eyes wavered. "What do you mean?"

May shrugged "I mean, it's obvious... sooner or later... Whatever, look I gotta go" May waved and started walking to the door. Misty watched her leave, gently rubbing her ribs from the brunettes nudge. She thought about Gary, inevitably. They had not been an item for too long, and things were moving so fast now. She grinned; because as strange as this could be to anyone else, she wasn't in the last scared, at least not anymore.

---

After May's departure from his bedroom, Misty fidgeted with the edge of her green t-shirt, anxiously. The silence of the room engulfed her, the sobriety and grimness of the colours seeped into her skin and made her feel sympathetic; perhaps for how many years he had felt so low, and she almost blamed herself of not being there before. She paced around the room for what seemed like forever, walking in circles, poking around the pile of birthday presents, warily eying the documents on the desk trying not to wince at the boredom. She sighed, letting her shoulders drop, and made her way towards the door.

Reluctantly she twisted the knob and let herself out, as quietly as she could, as if she was walking away from some sacred grounds. There was still the remaining daylight of a normal afternoon, and recalling the path he had shown her some days before, she could make her way to the stairs, that led down to the room where she could walk to the other wing of the house. But as she opened the door to the stairs, she found him on the other side, about to turn the knob as well.

"Misty" He breathed out, perplexed at her sight. The conversation with his grandfather was still circling around his head, creating a mind numbing knot. He shook his head. "We need to t—"

Misty pulled him by the collar of his shirt, and swiftly captured his lips in a passionate kiss. He hesitated, out of nothing more than surprise but enjoyed having her on charge. The girl was a great kisser and soon it started to evolve, into something more avid than before; so much for the baby steps. The frantic scuffle shifted until he was back in charge, and deepened the kiss as her hand flew to his head, tousling his brown hair.

He had to suppress a groan as he weakly pushed her away to look at her face. She was sheepishly looking at him, her orange hair still tousled, her lips; red and swollen. He gawked at how she bit on her lower lip, mesmerized by the sensual simplicity of the act, but shook his head, trying to gather his thoughts. "—talk" he whispered, dazed.

---

Her bag done and the knot tied up, she looked around the bedroom that had been hers for a whole month. The sunlight was seeping in, making the yellow pick up the haze of light and look shades brighter. Misty sighed happily as she turned around and twisted the knob, looking back one final time; she let herself into the hallway. Her heart was pounding on her chest; after all, a new start was always exciting. Looking at the stairway sheepishly, she raced downstairs and into the other wing of the house, trying not to trip over her clumsy self. She panted from the race, and straightened her clothes, resting a while. She walked coolly to his room, and knocked on the door.

He opened the door reluctantly at the beginning, and then fully as he spotted the orange hair behind it. Misty, trying to get over how great he looked in lighter colours, which were often brought out from the heat of the summer, shook her head and looked up, to find him grinning at her.

"Are you ready?" She inquired, sheepishly.

"More than ready; I can't wait" He replied

Misty smiled as she took a step forward and rested her head against his chest, exhaling. She stole a peek inside his room, which also looked brighter than it normally was. She tried to determine what the difference was and her eyebrows shot up, as she stepped inside, her curiosity on fire, almost shoving him out of the way.

Gary tried not to wince, but teasingly smirked. "You're stronger than you look, you know that?"

Misty inspected the room looking for the factor that made it not look so gloomy all the time. She didn't turn around, but he knew she was smiling "Yes I do, so you better not piss me off". Gary rolled her eyes and leant against the wall, looking at her.

It was funny how he could be in the same room with her and still miss her.

Misty finally saw the difference in the furthest corner of the room. The dark gloomy corner where his working desk was, where his laptop was always on, and it was half buried in paperwork, all those reports, essays, notes, documents...

They were gone.

---

"You quit?" Her shout rose up in the silence of his room, where they had returned after meeting in the hallway. Gary half smiled, sadly staring at the ground

"Misty..." he exhaled. "All my life I've been looking for something to be really passionate about" he said, slowly. "I thought I could find that spark in becoming a pokemon master, but my heart wasn't in it. Then I thought I could find it in researching... but..."

"Your heart wasn't in it..." She finished off for him, understanding. Even though she could pick up the melancholy in his voice, she admired him for standing out even in the fields he did not want to stand out. Misty had always been stubborn, and even though she lived a normal life, and that implied doing things you want and do not want to do, it was always more difficult to do the things you didn't want to do. But him? He excelled in them, with flying colours, being always the best, being always envied, and praised.

"So you've been all this time speaking to your grandfather discussing your resignation?" Misty asked, still surprised. She had seen him research, and even though he had been very committed, she could believe his heart wasn't in it. But quitting all of the sudden? With no other project or life aspiration? It seemed odd.

"The old man just made a mistake, Red. It was... it was just for... my health" he said walking towards her, pulling her to an embrace. Misty exhaled, hidden in his warmth and smiled. "He meant well" he finished.

Misty nodded slowly, resigning her doubts and giving in fully to his arms. "I understand"

Gary pulled away from the hug enough to see her face, and brushed a strand of orange hair aside, smiling. "We still have to talk about us" he mumbled. "I don't want to lose you"

She drew a shaky breath. "Gary, you know I can't stay here forever"

He grinned. "'Course I know. It's why I'm going with you"

---

Gary grabbed his backpack and sleeping bag and tossed them over his shoulder. . "Come on, Red, let's go!" he said going up to her and clasping her hand with his, dragging her out of his room. She rolled her eyes, and followed him, hand in hand to the living room.

In the living room they stopped short. Samuel and May Oak were standing there, ready to say their goodbyes.

Samuel Oak took a hesitating step forward them and stopped before Misty first. "Misty"

Misty's eyes wavered but as she felt Gary reassuring arms over her shoulders she offered a tentative smile. "Sir. I.. um.. Thank you... for everything"

Samuel Oak visibly relaxed at this, feeling the awkwardness falter for a second. "Take good care of him, Misty, don't let him get on your nerves too much" he said smiling and promptly receiving a glare from his grandson. His eyes shifted to his grandson, somewhat taller than himself, and smiled. "Gary..." he fell short of words. "I saw you off when you were ten and wanted the world. For some strange reason, I find this harder to do"

"We'll be alright, old man, stop fretting about it."

Samuel just smiled, and looked distantly into the ceiling. "I know you will grandson"

May jumped into the scene, almost shoving her grandfather out of the way, earning quite a glare from the elder which she promptly ignored. She pulled Misty into a bear hug, ignoring her pleas for air and how she waved her arms around. "Gosh! I'm gonna miss you, girl" She finally let go, looking into her face. Misty widened her eyes for a split second, noticing the tears on May's eyes, threatening to spill.

May wiped her eye with her sleeve. "God, I'm such a cry-baby".

"And you're just realizing this now?" her brother's voice broke through. May looked at him with shocked rage, but as she saw him smiling back, she felt the tears accumulate in her eyes again. She flew and wrapped her arms around Gary's neck, sniffling uncontrollably. "My little bother!" she whimpered out. "Oh my god, I SO should not be doing this, you're so grown up!"

"May..." He started, patting her back.

"These are happy tears, these are happy tears!" she said, letting him go from the bear hug, reassuring. "It's just that... You're gonna be happy, bro! I can't even begin telling you how glad that makes me"

"We're really going to miss your bratty self, May" Gary said light-heartedly. May just rolled her eyes laughing through the tears staining her cheeks with the running mascara.

"Oh my god, Here you are listening to me whine, and you're late for your train ride!"

Misty's eyes widened and Gary started to simultaneously pick up his belongings. Misty went to Samuel Oak and retrieved Togetic, who had been resting on his head. She smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry you couldn't find what made her evolve, sir."

Samuel eyed Gary suspiciously and smiled back at Misty. "Don't be sorry, Misty, some things are just... not made to be"

Misty half smiled. Samuel Oak eyed the clock on the wall. "You should go now, you're awfully late"

Misty eyed Gary, and shared a smile as he approached her and put his arm over her shoulders. After a couple of rushed goodbyes, the couple was on the door making their way to the station as fast as they could go, by foot.

Things definitely looked brighter that day, even the birds sang more beautiful and synchronized, and the bugs of the woods didn't seem so gross. Misty smiled as she pulled the train tickets she and May had gone to purchase the day before. Gary tilted his head trying to steal a peek at the tickets.

"Now, that reminds me, Red... Where are we going?"

Misty grinned, as a shadow settled on her evil face. "Well, I have to check up on some stuff and..." she left the sentence unfinished, letting it fade away into silence.

"Misty? Where are we going?" He repeated the question after she trailed off.

Misty smiled brightly. "Cerulean City!" she said handing him a ticket, which he looked at stunned. Misty threw a dry laugh and patted him in the shoulder. "Hey, I just survived a month with your family. It's your turn to survive my sisters" she said jokingly. She giggled as they approached the train station and she scurried off to the first wagon.

Gary just smiled as he watched her leave in a merry pace, Togetic flying around her chirping happily. "Is that a challenge?" he said as he chased after her and caught her, wrapping his hands around her waist. She laughed, startled, but relaxed into his arms, looking up and giving him a light peck on the cheek, he raised his eyebrow and lowered his head, seeking her lips in hunger, but was interrupted as the siren horn startled them, indicating them the train was about to start.

Their eyes widened as they shared a concerned glance and ran to the first wagon. They ran through the train station, upsetting the passengers, shoving quite a few people out of the way, trying not to drop anything in the way.

So when they handed out the tickets and boarded the train, they felt a wave of relief. As soon as they got on, the train started; a sign of how they almost didn't make it. Their hands clasped together, they shared another look.

Togetic settled on his spiky brown hair, and her heart went out to the sweetness of the image of him, putting their luggage in the overhead compartment, trying to balance Togetic in his head. Her eyes drifted to the window in front of her. The trees begun to be less recurrent, a sign they were soon to leave the Pallet forest. She smiled.

It was only the beginning, that was for sure, but even though she had begun journeys before, she had never started one feeling quite like that.

After all that time wondering, she belonged once again, and that wagon, that window, that pounding in her chest whenever her eyes drifted back to him...

It was the beginning of one of those rare perfect things. A new uncontrollable feeling settled on her stomach.

She had lived for almost 18 years now. And she had never felt happier.

She was starting to understand love.

THE END

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Epilogue:

They were walking, they only knew that much. It was dusty paths that lead them to believe they were walking in earth's driest desert, but they just kept on walking. They had to, the sun was blaring down on them, and if they didn't get to a Pokemon Centre soon, Brock was almost certain Ash would pass out from dehydration.

He was more than relieved when he saw in the horizon an arid town surface from behind the mountains, as they neared the pokemon center, Brock pushed open the wooden door, which made a cowboy like squeak against the wooden floor. Inside, Nurse Joy greeted them from behind the counter, but recognition lit up in her eyes. She walked up to the group, ignoring how Brock's eyes shifted into heart shapes and dropped to the floor, hugging her ankles. Nurse Joy sweat dropped, but Ash waved it off, silently telling her to ignore him.

Nurse Joy rolled her eyes. "Are you Ash Ketchum?"

Ash nodded vigorously, and was surprised when he saw Nurse Joy reach into her pocket a retrieve a small envelope for him. "Here is a message for you" Nurse Joy saw him study it for a while and turned to the female companion to Ash's left. "Excuse me, Miss, could you...?" she said, indicating to the ground where Brock was still clinging to her ankles.

May sweat dropped. "Oh, right, sorry!" she grinned, darkly, as she started pulling Brock by the ankles to let go of Nurse Joy.

They had only arrived there 3 minutes ago but they were already causing chaos.

However, this seemed to go unnoticed by Ash, still engrossed in the envelope, he tore the edge carefully, and revealed the contents inside. A note and a photograph. He pulled out the photograph first and his eyes widened in shock.

The picture was small but the image was controversial; there was Misty, soundly asleep with a thick book pressing against her chest, lying on her back, her orange hair spread all around the white pillow. Next to her, Gary, his old rival, was sleeping, lying on his stomach, close to her, his right arm draped over her stomach and his hand resting on her hip.

Misty and his rival, Gary, sleeping. In the same bed. Misty. Gary. What? Ash shook his head trying to gather his thoughts but sadly, he couldn't even begin to form a coherent sentence. He pulled the note next, still feeling his mind numb and blabbering.

The note was simple, a female handwriting. His eyes widened in shock as his theory proved right.

"A couple. You better believe it"

He looked at the picture, and then back at the note, his glance switched from one to the other multiple times, understanding the meaning of the words, and linking them to the image sent by an anonymous writer. A frown settled on his forehead as he shook his head once again. "... What?"

It would take a day or two to wrap his mind around the news, but in the middle of his denial, something in the picture caught his eyes. She had the tiniest smile tugging at her lips, and there was something strangely relieving at that fact that made his mind stop rambling.

She was happy.

End of epilogue

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Author's Note: the reason I had a constant author's block writing the ending was because originally I was going to put this in two chapters. But in what would have been chapter 15, fragment of which is in cursive text, alone was just... off. It was May and Misty's conversation which took place when Gary left to confront Professor Oak, and then Gary and Misty's conversation when he came back. As much as I needed for them to happen, that chapter of conversation and plot development was too "alike" chapter 14. That is, too many of the same factors of Professor Oak and Gary's conversation kept playing again unnecessarily.

So I just took out some parts, and added them to the last chapter, in form of flashbacks. I do like how it turned out though, it's got a nice pace, and I think it's an overall happy chapter. Fluff for everyone! Hurray!

And I added an epilogue that did not have to do neither with Gary nor Misty. xD That's a first for me, and the first time I write about Ash finding out. xD It was fun to do, and if you didn't catch up on it, I used the same fragment of the first chapter, I think it was good to wrap it up.

It's so hard to see this story go ;; lately my mind's been toying with the idea of doing a sequel, but I know I'd have to take a break before doing a presumably long sequel to a long story (It doubles in size Pumpkin Fights, It's really long! ), so I'm just gonna take baby steps from here on. I don't know, it's just an idea anyway, so I guess It can be pursued or... discarded.

This is hard to do. Maia, I don't know how you gather the strength to say goodbye to such a long and wonderful story like WYB! I'm impressed!

This is Midnight Mist,

Saying... "Farewell!"

I hope you enjoyed it.

Any last comments? An overview of the plot? Something to note? Be sure to review and make my day!

: D