A/N: I haven't written anything in forever, so you probably don't remember me. But I was listening to a lot of country pop (Taylor Swift/ Colbie Caillat, The Wreckers ) which usually isn't my kind of music at all, yet it's so reminiscent of these two. I'm trying to write them more in character, yet it's hard given that narrative is not my strong suit and English isn't my first language. Still, I'm trying.

They were alone, lost in the forest. Not that he had much of a sense of direction. In fact, Ash's whole logic was that they had gotten out of worse situations. It was humid, there were mud traps, and the possibility of bug Pokémon they had never seen before. Mentally cursing herself for allowing this to happen, Misty wanted to scream at him but thought about it better, the last thing she wanted to do was to startle the animals.

He kept looking at the trees, momentarily pressing the palm to their trunks until he felt a hiss loud enough to pierce his ears. And then he saw her: tired, aching body, misery herself with a bag on her back. Irked, she motioned him to come closer.

—That only works with walls and not with trees, Sherlock—she whispered but not without a hint of a smirk that he could almost guess.

—How was I supposed to know? — he said, showing that he had taken some offense. He really wasn't feigning innocence. He was this naive.

Misty just pressed her palm to her face and sighed in frustration. Ash he was a few steps away looking at the map on his device, not quite sure how to make sense out of it in the darkness and thickness of their surroundings. Not that he would admit it to her, anyway.

—We'll get out of here, that's for sure— Ash said, with the same exact determination of a few hours ago and unwilling to surrender. It was something she really admired from him in other circumstances, but now it was getting annoying. Her feet were already aching beyond belief and she groaned as she sat on the ground.

—Maybe tomorrow— Misty said, with faked ease, taking out her bottle and drinking a sip of water.

—No, I'm sure we've been here before, so all we have to do is to take the other route— he pointed out with a finger. She peeked from her place and just saw more darkness in a thousand hues. She wasn't convinced, at all.

He heard another hiss and turned his head back to her, again. He raised an eyebrow and waited for her reply.

—T-that wasn't me— all color had drenched from Misty's face.

—I'll protect you! — Ash said, jumping in, hoping to be between her and the source of the sound.

—I had enough of you today, really — she said in a dry tone. He was about to reply but almost immediately, the hiss grew louder. Now she was scared.

Misty got closer to him and from behind she grabbed his right leg closing her eyes in fear. He could feel her tremble against the lower side of his leg but chose not to speak. He felt this strange mixture of sensations, which produced the most confusing emotions: first, an awkwardness to her touch that made a blush creep up on his face, and he was glad the dark disguised it, but also there was a chilling sensation through his spine and started calculating, mentally. He silently made it to his belt and considered his options, brushing each one of them. The tension was growing with each minute and he was a bit anxious as well.

With his free leg, he stepped forward and a branch cracked under the weight of his foot. She expected the worst. But then he realized the mistake, and as he laughed nervously, gesturing to his foot, she glared at him intensely.

After some minutes of silence, she was still uncertain but let go of his leg and got up. Then a new noise, scarier: probably the announcement of something bigger coming their way. She glued to his side. A sudden move, and he had grabbed her hand firmly. She was holding on to him for her dear life.

What was an usual comeback to home turned into this scary tale in the middle of the forest, after so many years of knowing him, she still had accepted, she still was by his side willing to wander, for the same reason that now upset her.

There was a cracking noise. Ash realized that it came from above them, and as both gazed up, they saw a couple of branches breaking, a nest falling. He shoved her to a side and tried to catch the nest. He ended up getting hit by some of the wood in the process. Now she was slightly hurt and so was he. After properly asking each other if they were okay, he apologetically grinned, and showed her the two baby Pidgeys under the mantle of his jacket. She scowled at him but also was impressed by his selflessness.

Now they were both laying in the ground, on their stomachs.

Cautiously, he spoke again

—Do you want to…? – Ash offered her one of the birds, which she took in her palm. He didn't have to ask twice. She smiled, reassuringly and softly. She noted that her clothes were all dusty after that. Now they were even.

She spent a while watching the small fellow looking for warmth in her hand, and took a handkerchief from her right pocket, making a safe haven for him inside the bag that now she carried in front of her. Ash saw some of the motherly instinct she had with Togepi resurfacing.

She got thinking about it all at perhaps the most inconvenient time of all: he took her out of her life plans without even trying to, wrecked her bike, made her tag along. Okay, no, that was more of her choice. But after all those years, she still was sticking around. It was time to be honest: even stranded in the middle of nowhere, she preferred his company.