I think I was kind of trying to do updates on a monthly basis, but this is slightly less than a month. Time still doesn't matter, so it's fine.

Chapter 2: Hear the Call

Brock was a very busy man.

As a still relatively new Pokémon Doctor, his shifts were long, and they came at all hours of the day and night. He basically relied on coffee in order to function, but in the grand scheme of things, it was worth it. Brock loved his job. He loved being able to help out all different kinds of Pokémon who were in need.

Working alongside Nurse Joy certainly didn't hurt either.

Despite this, Brock always tried his best to make time for his friends, especially when they needed his advice or companionship. It was, in a sense, not much different than what he did in his line of work.

Today, he was doing just that for Misty.

She'd called him in a huff the day prior, rambling on and on about how she was "completely stuck" and "had no idea what to do with herself." Brock had just sat there awkwardly for a good 10 minutes, letting Misty air all of her grievances until she'd apparently run out of breath to continue. It was at that point Brock offered to meet Misty halfway the next day in order to have a (much calmer) conversation about her current predicament in the hopes that he would be able to help her out. Although Misty had still sounded upset, she'd agreed that the meeting would definitely help her feel better.

And so, in a small café located on Route 4, Brock waited patiently for his redheaded friend to show up. She wasn't running late; he'd simply been early. He figured a little bit of alone time would be good before Misty arrived and began picking his brain for advice on whatever was troubling her.

And it seemed to really be troubling her.

He had already staked claim on a table with his favorite beverage in hand: Celadon coffee with just a splash of milk and cream. It was a lovely change of pace from his usual, bustling day at the Pokémon Center that was demanding from start to finish.

Then Misty showed up.

She burst through the front door like a Charmander being chased by hydro pump, effectively ruining the sanctity of the little shop and managing to get all eyes on her. Brock opened his mouth to greet the young woman but stopped himself as Misty frantically dumped her belongings into the chair beside him before sinking into the next seat over and folding her arms on the table, throwing her head down on top of them.

"Hi," Brock finally murmured.

Misty responded, but didn't bother to pick her head up, so it came out muffled and unintelligible.

At a slight loss for what to do next, Brock pushed his coffee forward and offered, "would this help?"

Misty glanced up and, as soon as she saw the cup, narrowed her eyes. "No, that stuff tastes like mud."

Brock sighed and pulled his drink back towards him. "So, what's on your mind? You're not usually this out of sorts, so it must be a lot."

"You've got that right," Misty grumbled.

Brock frowned. "You know you can tell me anything, right? We're friends, and I want to help you."

"Of course, I know that," Misty replied, finally showing off a bit of a small smile before it quickly disappeared again. "But…before I do, I need you to promise me something."

"Sure, anything."

Misty looked around the room, relieved to see that everyone had gone back to minding their own business, before leaning forward so she was only inches away from Brock. "You have to promise not to tell anyone, but especially Ash."

"Especially Ash?" Brock repeated, sounding confused.

"Brock, I'm serious," Misty whispered urgently. "Not a word!"

"Okay, okay!" Brock hurriedly assured her. "I promise."

"Thank you," Misty sighed, sitting back in her chair and looking down at her hands. She remained silent for a bit too long, which only served to further concern Brock.

"Misty, you're freaking me out," Brock informed her point blank. "What is going on?"

Letting out a long breath, Misty slowly looked up and asked, "remember at the Indigo Conference when my phone wouldn't stop ringing?"

"Yeah, and you refused to pick it up every time," Brock scoffed, unable to help himself.

Misty, however, was unable to join in on the lightheartedness of it. "It was Agatha."

"Agatha…" Brock murmured, trying to rack his brain. Realization suddenly hit him, and he cried, "of the Elite Four?!"

"Shh!" Misty hissed, her eyes darting around the café again. "Not so loud!"

"Sorry," Brock apologized, lowering his voice. "Why would she call you? How'd she even get your number?"

"I'm assuming from the Pokémon League," Misty guessed, shrugging her shoulders. "But she was calling to tell me that they're interested in interviewing me to become a member."

"Of the Elite Four?" Brock breathed.

"Yep," Misty replied shortly.

Brock, for his part, was at a loss. "That's…good news, isn't it? I would think so, but you don't seem very excited."

"Because I'm not!" Misty snapped, her eyes narrowing.

"Why not?" Brock prodded. "This says a lot about how far you've come as a gym leader! You should be proud of yourself for even getting that call."

"Maybe I would if the timing of it wasn't so terrible," Misty growled, shaking her head.

"I'm still not sure what you mean," Brock admitted. "How could there possibly be a bad time to have the Elite Four interested in your talents?"

"When your best friend is literally in training to take them on," Misty answered, saying every word slowly and deliberately.

That was what cued Brock onto Misty's real problem. "Oh, I see. It's not the actual position that's got you so upset…it's Ash."

"It's not Ash's fault," Misty quickly refuted, not wanting Brock to even think that was her concern. "This is what he's always worked towards. He finally gets it, and now the League takes notice of me? It's honestly like a joke."

"I doubt they're doing it to be spiteful," Brock tried.

"Of course, they're not, what do they know?" Misty sighed. "But that doesn't make me feel any better. What if I get picked, and then I'm the one who has to face Ash? The whole basis of my job would be to stop him from getting to the champion."

Brock thought it over for a moment before responding, "yeah, now I see why you're so upset."

"Right?!" Misty cried, her eyes widening.

Humming, Brock held a single finger up to Misty and requested, "give me a minute."

She wanted to protest, but Brock got up and left her alone before she could. Groaning, she stretched her arms across the table and put her head back down, not interested in keeping it up and potentially being recognized by another patron. Normally she wouldn't mind, but right about now, all she wanted to do in this current moment was sit and self loathe, especially after the boisterous way she'd first come into the cafe.

Misty wasn't sure how long she had stayed like that, but it felt like a while before Brock had returned and thrust a warm cup against her outstretched hand. Sitting up, Misty stared at the drink before desolately muttering, "that isn't coffee, is it?"

"No, tea," Brock replied, sitting back down. "That I know you don't hate."

Sitting back up, Misty tentatively took the cup and murmured a grateful, "thank you" before taking a long sip and smiling softly afterwards. It was fruity and sweet, just the way she liked her tea.

"I hate to say it, but you might be overthinking this whole thing," Brock advised the gym leader as she continued to drink.

"How could I possibly be overthinking this?" Misty asked, lowering her cup to stare at Brock.

"You're worried about how potentially getting this position could affect your relationship with Ash," Brock continued. When Misty opened her mouth to protest, Brock cut her off with a hasty, "and you know I don't mean that kind of relationship."

"Well, no kidding," Misty scoffed. "Ash is still as dense as ever."

Brock couldn't help but to smirk at that. "There's no way Ash would ever be upset with you for getting that kind of opportunity. In fact, I think you know he'd be absolutely thrilled for you! He wouldn't stop for a single second to think about himself or how it would impact him."

"Yeah, which would leave it up to me," Misty muttered, shaking her head.

"And I still don't think he'd be upset about it," Brock argued with a shrug. "Ash is a people person. He loves his friends. He loves seeing them succeed. Honestly, I think if he got to battle you as a member of the Elite Four, it would just fire him up even more. I mean, look at how what you said to him right before the Indigo Conference stuck with him!"

"But if I were to beat him- "

"You can't worry about something like that," Brock interrupted her again. "If that's really your only concern, is it worth giving up this opportunity for? Most people will never get this kind of chance in their lifetimes."

Misty bit her lip and looked away. "I know you're right. It's just…Ash is different."

Brock thought she was going to continue, but when she instead raised her tea back to her lips in order to take a sip, Brock realized she had no intention of elaborating any further. "I don't want to pressure you into doing something that will make you uncomfortable, but I think you kind of know my feelings on the matter. You're a really talented gym leader, Misty, and the Pokémon League obviously sees that. You're also a great friend to Ash, and you care about him an awful lot. But don't discount how he feels about you, and how he would feel about this. I think it's different than you think it would be, in more ways than one."

Misty raised an eyebrow, unsure of what Brock meant, but was left unable to ask as his phone started to ring. "Oh, sorry, hold on a second."

"Yeah, sure, no problem," Misty sighed. "Nice to know I'm not the only one with a busy phone."

Brock smirked, but that faltered a bit when he saw who was calling him. Answering the phone, Brock held it up to his ear and asked, "hey, what's up?"

He fell silent as the person on the other end spoke to him. Misty, on the other hand, continued drinking her tea and looking around the café. She definitely felt a little better after talking to Brock, although she still wasn't sure what exactly she wanted to do. As silly as it sounded, she couldn't get the thought of having to battle Ash in such a manner out of her head. Brock was right; it was probably bothering her a lot more than it should've.

"Uh…yeah, I'll be right there. Bye."

As he ended the call, Misty inclined her head and inquired, "work?"

"Something like that," Brock sighed. "Sorry for heading out so abruptly."

"Don't apologize!" Misty rushed out. "This was really helpful. You've given me a lot to think about."

Brock smirked and stood up, Misty doing the same to meet him. Draping one arm over her shoulders, Brock assured her, "listen, whatever decision you make, just make sure it's what's best for you, okay?"

Misty smiled and nodded her head. "I will. Thanks, Brock. You're the best."

Brock chuckled and patted Misty's shoulder. "Well, I don't know about that…but I'm glad I could help, even if just a little bit!"

XXX

Okay, so maybe Brock's personal policy of making time for his friends wasn't exactly the best. Although, in fairness, his friends didn't usually have simultaneous personal dilemmas that needed immediate solving.

Fortunately for him, this poor, unfortunate soul had at least offered to meet him in Pewter City.

When Brock finally arrived at the Pokémon Center, also conveniently his place of work, his other friend was already sitting there waiting for him…looking far worse for wear than Brock could've ever recalled him looking before.

"Ash, you look…awful," Brock deadpanned.

"Thanks," Ash grumbled, rubbing at his visibly tired eyes.

Biting his lip, Brock looked down at his cup of coffee direct from the café and held it out towards Ash. "Want some?"

Ash took one look at the drink and refuted, "no, that stuff tastes like mud."

Brock raised an eyebrow. That sure sounded familiar…

"Have you been getting mobbed by trainers since you got here?" Brock asked hesitantly, deciding the coffee complaint wasn't important.

"No, surprisingly," Ash grumbled. "I think maybe they're scared of me or something."

"Scared?" Brock asked with a chuckle, his eyes rolling as he got lost in thought. He couldn't imagine anyone ever finding Ash Ketchum, of all people, scary.

"I didn't get any sleep last night," Ash complained, regaining Brock's attention. "Seriously, I must've done nothing but toss and turn since the second I got into bed."

"Well, that explains your face…and why you think everyone's so afraid of you," Brock concluded, taking a seat beside him. "Something must really be bothering you then. You usually sleep like a rock. Any ideas?"

After a long pause, Ash admitted, "yeah, a pretty good one."

Brock was intrigued by that comment. "Alright, let's hear it, then."

Ash fumbled with his hands for a minute before whipping his head around to stare Brock deeply in the eyes. "I spent the day with Misty yesterday. She's been acting kinda funny since I won the league, so I wanted to try and figure out what was going on…or at least try and cheer her up."

"You don't think she's mad at you, do you?" Brock asked nervously. Having just spoken to Misty beforehand, he knew that wasn't the case, and wanted to at least make sure Ash knew that as well.

"Nah, I know she's not," Ash refuted, causing Brock to release a sigh of relief. "She told me she's not. And I know she wasn't lying to me."

"Okay, well, that's good," Brock breathed.

"Yeah, except…" Ash muttered, slowly hanging his head so he no longer had to look directly at Brock.

"Except?" Brock prodded when Ash didn't bother to continue.

"I don't know…I'm starting to feel…weird around her," Ash stammered, furrowing his brow and failing to notice that Brock was now doing the same. "We had a battle, which was awesome! But I kept getting distracted. And I never get distracted during a battle."

"That's definitely true," Brock noted. "What had you so distracted?"

Biting his lower lip, Ash hesitated before replying, "Misty."

Brock couldn't help but to chuckle. "Why's that? Was she playing head games with you?"

"No!" Ash cried, becoming frustrated that Brock wasn't just getting it. He was realizing that the more he went on, the more embarrassing this whole thing was. "She was just…battling! She wasn't doing anything different! She wasn't trying to distract me! But I just kept…staring at her. And I was noticing all these things about her that I never noticed before. And then my stomach and my heart were doing all kinds of weird things. It felt like I swallowed a whole bunch of Butterfree! And I don't have any idea what any of this means."

He groaned and buried his face in his hands. Brock's lips parted as the world slowed down around him. It suddenly felt like he was on another plane of existence. "Oh wow."

Ash's head shot back up; his eyes set wide. "What?! Am I sick or something? You're a doctor, can't you help me?!"

He had reached out and grabbed Brock by the shirt, looking and sounding positively panicked. Despite his friend's current state, Brock chuckled and gently patted the younger male's hands. "You're not sick. And even if you were, I'm a Pokémon doctor. I know all you do is think about Pokémon, but that doesn't make you one."

"Brock!" Ash cried, reaching for his head to tug at his raven hair. "Now's not the time for jokes!"

"Ash, relax," Brock cleared his throat as he tried to regain his composure. "I already told you, you're not sick. Now, I don't mean to presume, but if I had to guess, the reason you're feeling all of those things around Misty is because you're starting to look at her a little differently."

Ash lowered his hands and gently inclined his head. "What does that mean?"

Placing his hands on Ash's shoulders, Brock leaned in and point blank replied, "I think you like Misty."

Ash just stared at Brock before breaking into a lopsided smile. "Of course, I like her! She's my friend!"

Brock sighed and gripped Ash's shoulders more tightly. "I meant that you like her as more than a friend, Ash."

"More than a friend?" Ash repeated, his eyes darting wildly before settling on his hands that were set on his lap. "Wait a minute…so that means…"

Brock shook his head. The poor guy was literally short circuiting before his eyes. "You know how I react when I see a beautiful woman?"

"Yeah, like you're crazy," Ash deadpanned.

"I react that way because I feel something for that woman," Brock continued gruffly, choosing to ignore Ash's snarky comment. "And all that fluttering in your heart and your stomach is your body's way of reacting to a woman that you feel something for!"

"Oh," Ash murmured, his face losing quite a bit of its color. "That doesn't mean I'm gonna start chasing Misty around like a lunatic, right?"

Brock scowled. "No, you're not nearly as attuned to love as I am."

"Good," Ash sighed before his eyes snapped open all over again. "Hold on, love?!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself!" Brock quickly warned the flustered conference champion. "Seriously, Ash. This could just be a little crush or something! It doesn't mean you guys have to get married or anything like that. Heck, you don't even have to ask Misty out on a date. I know it feels weird, but take it one step a time."

Ash thought about it before asking, "what if I want to ask her out?"

Brock straightened up. "You do?"

"I've never felt like this about anyone before," Ash mused, slowly looking up towards the ceiling. "And you're right…it's weird. Super weird. But the way I feel when I look at Misty…even when I'm just with her…I'm really happy. I know I'm happy a lot of the time, but it's a different kind of happy. One that I really like."

Brock couldn't help but to smile at Ash's innocent admission. "Well then, there's your answer."

"But how do I do that?" Ash asked, lowering his head to once again look at Brock.

The Pokémon doctor nearly fell over. "Oh boy. Okay, remember what I just said. You have to take this slow. Don't just run to the gym tomorrow and ask her on a date! You should spend some more time with her before you do that. More meaningful time."

Ash frowned. "You mean a battle isn't meaningful?"

"Not really in terms of trying to impress a woman, especially when it comes to you and Misty," Brock noted. "Misty knows how you feel about battling. If you just keep challenging her to battles, she's not going to think anything of it. That's something you guys have always done. You need to approach this a little differently. Think about things Misty would like to do outside of the gym. That might start to clarify things for her, and then you can take it from there."

"Man, this sure is a process," Ash muttered, leaning back against the wall. "I'm used to just going for things!"

A glint appeared in Brock's eyes as he slung his arm around a stunned Ash. "Attracting women is the trickiest process of our lives. But if you play the long game, it'll pay off in the best possible way!"

Ash laughed nervously. "I guess you're speaking from experience, huh?"

Brock groaned and slumped down in his seat. "Not personally, no." Sitting back up and pumping a determined fist, however, he declared, "but I've read enough books and watched enough movies to know that when you find the right girl, it all works out!"

His confidence having been restored, Ash grinned and jumped to his feet. "Thanks, Brocko! This made me feel a whole lot better! I'm gonna get Pikachu and the rest of my Pokémon from Nurse Joy and start thinking of a plan."

"You go for it, Ash!" Brock cheered, his spirit not fizzling out one little bit. "I have faith in you!"

"Thanks!" Ash chirped. He was about to head towards the front desk of the Pokémon Center, but stopped himself when he thought of something. "Oh yeah. Brock, could you do me a favor?"

"Of course, anything!" Brock brightly replied.

Suddenly becoming more sheepish, Ash gently scuffed his sneaker against the floor and requested, "could you not tell Misty about…any of this?"

Brock smiled at his longtime friend. "You can count on me."

"Awesome!" Ash sighed before finally jogging in the opposite direction.

As soon as Ash's back was to him, reality set in for Brock, whose smile faded just as quickly as it had appeared.

Well…these are two awfully big secrets that I'm responsible for now. And for the same two people, no less. Maybe keeping busy isn't such a bad thing after all…