A large dining room greets them as they leave the kitchen, big enough that you could have likely fit at least 20 people in it seated at the table comfortably. Misty imagined extravagant dinner parties with guests dressed to the 9's gathering together to share cocktails and delicacies she'd never even heard of some far reaching parts of the world. Pokémon servers dancing around the tables with all manners of other exquisite offerings ready for guests to pluck from their overladen trays.
In reality the room was disheveled and in disarray. Chairs lay stacked and broken in one corner of the room and the matching table embellished with carvings was somehow split in two and lay twisted in the center of the room.
A large archway in the wall opposite the kitchen service doors revealed an expansive foyer. Crossing the threshold of the dining area the first thing they noticed was a giant crystal chandelier lightly swaying from an invisible wind source somewhere up above them, each movement causing the crystals to collide softly and issue a soft jingling chime with each touch.
"I'm amazed it's still in one piece."
"hey check this out misty."
ash shines his flashlight upwards at the light fixture causing large fractured rainbow reflections to appear all around them.
"oh my god ash! it's so beautiful."
Bathed in crystalline light she twirls around in its middle, light flowing over her like sunbeams passing through ocean waves. It reminded her of swimming practice with her sisters and battles in their gym pool.
"I think you're the beautiful one here.." he says sheepishly watching her dance around the room gracefully. It's like he was able to create a dancehall spotlight for her and he was enjoying the private show.
"aww ash you're so sweet! how did you know that would happen?"
"well a while back when I was in galar they have these caves that are filled with crystals, as you walk through them the small lamplights they have in the ceilings and your own flashlight are constantly passing over them and they all shine differently with the light, so I figured it would work with these as well." he said this while shyly running his free hand through his hair, loose strands falling back into his face.
"amazing.." she says with wonder. "that was a super cute idea, I'm so happy you shared that with me! you really have seen a lot haven't you?" she moves over to him and hugs him tightly again. "keep sharing this stuff with me. Ok?"
"ye-yeah.. Of course misty." he hugs her back as the thought dawns on him that that was actually a little romantic, he was just having fun before but the reward was so much better than he could dreamed.
"it's getting pretty dark outside ash, let's find a room to set up in." she says pointing towards the windows that looked on to a blackening forest outside.
Together they continue searching the rest of the first floor but most of the rooms are filled with garbage and ruined furniture making them highly unlivable for them so they make their way up a winding staircase to the second floor. Mostly bedroom here it wasn't too hard to find an empty room that was, in terms of an abandoned mansion at least, relatively nice. It had a couple of small dressers in one corner and it's closet doors had fallen off and were now stacked against the wall, but the carpet was still somewhat soft and it wasn't covered in trash and other broken bits of beds or sofas so it made a logical choice for camping in.
Ash sets up their lantern which fills the room with a nice comforting yellowish glow as misty unfurls their bedrolls. Pikachu had taken a spot atop one of the dressers and was munching happily on the food ash had put out for him. At the same time misty, knowing both of them are quite starving at this point grabs some packaged curry and rice balls from her pack and lays them out for their dinner.
"thanks misty! this'll be much better than bread and jam huh?" he says jokingly.
"very funny ash.. Bread and jam is what happens when we run out of supplies and you get sidetracked by a random pokémon and go off the predetermined path." she replies nonplussed
Finishing his meal as muses about the mansion they found. "I really would have thought we'd have run into some ghost types in here.. It really seems like the perfect place for them to live."
Oh ick.." she shudders at the thought. "no thank you, so far this place has been fairly good and I have had a good day exploring it, so I don't need the thought of some haunter or whatever floating about the room giving me the heebie jeebies while I try to get some sleep."
"ghost types aren't all that bad, they just get a bad rap, that's all"
"I'm sure there are some that are perfectly pleasant but at the moment it's not what I want to be occupying my thoughts!"
"ok, ok. I get it! Sorry I brought it up."
"oh you totally should be!" she says playfully punching his arm.
Playing it up he reels back from the hit.
"oh god misty my arm! I think it's broken! I'll never be able to throw pokéballs again!"
"you think that hurts! Wait till I'm done with you and you'll be begging for your mommy!"
Misty gently leaps at ash tackling him to the floor, a large poof of dust erupts from around them giving them both a momentary sneezing fit. Lying there misty pinning ash to the ground they hold each other, just enjoying the proximity, the physical touch and closeness becoming more and more natural to each of them as more time passes. Misty rests her head on ash's chest as he twirls a strand of her hair in his fingers.
she doesn't want this moment to end.
Bodies starting to feel a little stiff laying as they were, they each get up and move to their bedrolls, laid out right next to each other ash notes smiling. Misty climbs into her blankets as ash dims the lantern for the night and gets under his own. They face each other in the almost darkness, faces filled with happiness. Ash reaches a hand out towards her which she takes in hers, holding hands as they fall peacefully off to sleep.
Neither of them hear the small footsteps of someone else moving through the house, someone who walks through with confidence and knowledge of it, someone making their way deliberately towards the room where ash and misty are sleeping soundly.