Locked Away, Chapter 32
Ash was good to his word, he spent time with his pokemon at Gary's laboratory. It was strange, that Gary had taken on such a mantle, when less than a year ago, Ash was convinced that Gary was a pokemon researcher, a professor in training; someone like him: a trainer trying to find his place in the world. In reality, Gary had spent the last six years training to be the professor, and had the title given to him early because of his grandfather's death. Ash's face scrunched up bitterly, thinking about the older gentleman who had taken Ash under his wing as a child: Professor Oak.
Gary was a great professor, he might have even been better than the late professor, but it wasn't the same. Out of all the differences in the world, Professor Oak's absence stung about as coldly as Delia's. Both parental figures down, with no proper explanation.
Sitting on the fast train to Cerulean City, Ash leaned on his palm, staring at the flickering lights of Viridian City as he passed through the large city center—regardless of the route he took, all trains led through the growing city.
Viridian City was home to good and bad memories alike; his reunion with Misty and pikachu—the meeting of his younger brother Cole, spending time with a former Elite Four member, Agatha; were among the best memories... but on top of that, the city was littered with the rest.
Ash argued with himself for hours about going to visit his mother. He was going to. Pikachu had convinced him that they could go together, meet Delia once more with a fresh, accepting mind, but it was too complicated. To start, she would be terrified to discover that her youngest son was calling the son she disowned in secret, and the girl, Misty, who saved Ash years ago, was the one who slipped Cole the message. It wasn't exactly the best situation, and Ash wasn't prepared to explain himself—or get the cops called on him again.
Unfortunately, Ash wouldn't visit his mother. He wanted to. More than anything in the world, but he couldn't. Ash wasn't even sure that Cole had put the pieces together that they were related, let alone that Delia had all but disowned Ash. He didn't want Cole to suffer, he didn't want his mother to suffer—and if the woman was happier without him around then...
Ash would just have to accept that.
Ash thumbed the pokeballs on his belt with each bump of the train, and then wrapped his arms protectively around togepi once more—the egg had grown slightly since its hatch, its shell seemed almost too small—but the clear indications of travel were hard to miss. The crack it received during the first match with Brock had never completely healed, and a few chips were on its shell where it had fallen during their travels. Pikachu, who was sleeping beside Ash on the seat, had changed plenty as well—starting their journey as a pudgy, sarcastic, glutton; he was now a sleek, calm, companion. The few battles Ash had been able to use pikachu in where over quickly when the pokemon zapped the opposite pokemon—save for ground types.
Pikachu's electrical attacks seemed just as lethal in this world as they were in others. Ash could understand why his body shut down when he was electrocuted before. Pikachu was insanely powerful for a first evolved form.
Ash kicked his feet up onto the seat across from him, lost in thought as he peeled his gaze from the city, to his feet. He brushed his hand against pikachu's back gently, and sighed happily.
His pokemon team right now consisted of these two, chimchar, snorlax, and greninja. Charizard had been very persuasive about joining him once more—but Ash was determined to allow charizard as much rest as he needed to heal. The last thing Ash wanted on his conscious was knowing that the fire and flying pokemon would never fly again. Battling would never be allowed again. Charizard would hate that, so Ash left him there. Over time, charizard would heal, Ash just needed to give him time.
On top of allowing the pokemon to heal, Ash was aware that he had been a little too dependent on the pokemon as of late—if a situation wasn't going exactly the way Ash had planned, he always had charizard there to bail him out, and Ash thought that if maybe the option was no longer there, he would feel less inclined to preform so many dangerous mistakes.
Ash wished he could stay longer. Visit with each of his pokemon as much as possible—but the reality was that it was still strange that Ash could speak to them; that he shared such a close bond. Not only was his communication with the pokemon unusual, but his bonds were abnormal by normal standards. Trainers didn't gush over their pokemon in this world—the fact that Ash had two pokemon out of their balls at all times boggled most people's mind, and drew, possibly, quite a bit of unwanted attention his way—but he didn't mind.
Ash loved his pokemon, he had nothing to be ashamed of. He spent months looking for them, years building his trust between them; he would be damned if he ever had someone else try to control that.
...which was exactly why he needed to go to Cerulean City.
Outside of his abnormal feelings, he had other goals in mind. To start, he was tired of watching the people and pokemon suffer around him and if he wanted to change the world, he would need to do it by the books, by the law. If Ash learned nothing at all on his journey, it was that anarchy only made matters worse. Back home, Ash already had several people wanting to fix developing issues, and while this was not the world he remembered—he couldn't help but think that someday it could be. Only now, Ash knew that Misty wanted to change the world most of all. If Ash wanted to find a way to help, his best place to start was with the redhead. Then again, maybe he was just making up reasons so the butterfree in his stomach would calm down.
XOXS
It was a quarter after three when Ash arrived at the Cerulean City gym. Right away, he noticed that nothing was as he remembered it—namely because of the large, white, box truck parted at the entrance.
Stumbling over his own feet, he, pikachu and togepi danced around the large vehicle, keeping their eyes posted on the words written in large, red print down the side "Your Move Today!" glared back at him, and with wide eyes, he rounded the corner to see the front door of the gym pried open with bricks, and a tall, womanly figure standing with her blonde hair tied back into a pony tail.
Ash blinked once or twice recognizing her immediately as he approached from behind until he was at her side, pointing at the gym.
"...Uh, Daisy. What's going on?" He asked awkwardly, blinking up at the woman.
"Can't you see we're busy! The gym is closed! Come back in a few weeks!" She hissed in response, loading another brown box into the back of the moving truck. Ash blinked a few times, taken aback by such hostility and then cleared his throat.
"...Err...what?" he asked while pikachu climbed up the back of his leg, and onto his shoulder. This would be the first time the electric pokemon would be meeting the older sister in this world, so he was enthusiastic with his greeting.
Daisy paused her movements and spun around with the grace of a dancer, she inhaled upon seeing the tanned boy's face while a look of absolute wonder danced through her eyes. Ash's eyes were still the same twinkling brown, his hair, while much longer than it had been when he left the gym, was still a spiky mess over his head, cut at several different lengths and tied back into a low ponytail. He still wore a blue, short sleeved jacket over a black t-shirt, and simple blue-gray pants. His face was scuffed a little where he had most likely fallen, his hands were rough and unmanageable, and his head was matted down by a red and white Kanto league hat that made her lips curl melodramatically.
"Oh my gosh, Ash! I almost didn't recognize you!" Daisy whined, pulling the younger boy into a tight hug. Her blazing perfume slapped him instantly once his face was pried into her shoulder, pulling him, and his pikachu into a trademark strong-hug he was growing familiar with in the Waterflower family.
"What are you doing here?" She asked skeptically, separating to get a better look at him.
Ash was easily her height now, his shoulders were long past the scrawny slouch they had been when he first exited the hospital, and were now muscular and broad. His chest had widened, his arms where lean and muscular, and for the first time since she saw him; he looked manly. Grown up, even.
"I came to see everyone." Ash explained rather bashfully, admiring the older woman as she draped an arm around his shoulders and then quickly scooped togepi up, taking the trainer with her.
"It's been soooo long, and we all missed you sooo much!" She gushed, emphasizing her vowels while rubbing her face against togepi's soft shell, who giggled and squealed in delight. In Ash's ear pikachu whispered something along the lines of 'lucky' and Ash snickered while wiping his nose.
Without missing a beat, she yanked on his collar, guiding him into the empty gymnasium. Even the pools had been drained.
"Whoa.." he started, blinking several times. "What in the world are you guys doing?"
"Moving, duh!" She said matter of fact, setting togepi down for a moment, half expecting it to cry, and then when it didn't she dusted off her hands. Apparently, even togepi had grown.
"Didn't you hear?" The eldest Waterflower asked.
Ash's face fell. "Hear what?" He inquired worriedly, his mind racing to the worst case scenario first. Had Misty lost her job as Cerulean City gym leader because of something that he did? Ash was fairly certain that nothing irresponsible could have been tied back to Misty...
Seeing his questioning gaze, Daisy let out a bemused gasp and then giggled. "So you really don't know. Oh my."
As if her gushing were second nature to the young boy, his shoulders drooped tiredly and Daisy waved her hand to no one in particular while shouting up to the living quarters.
"MISTY!" Daisy shouted at the top of her lungs, startling Ash. "You have a guest!" She added with enthusiasm that made Ash swallow hard against the lump forming in his throat. Daisy was so nonchalant, so care-free; acting as if he hadn't been gone for eight months! Maybe if Ash was lucky, Misty would also share in her sisters excitement over other emotions; like distaste, anger, and disappointment.
"Can it wait?!" He heard Misty call back, sounding frustrated as a loud thump erupted from up stairs, followed by the cursing voices of Lily and Violet. Misty's incoherent swearing babble followed suit and Ash found himself relaxing just a little while covering his chuckle.
"No, it's pretty important!" Daisy shouted back look at Ash with a glimmer of excitement and sharing in his brief humor while stomping echoed from the top floor through the empty gym.
"It damn well better be!" Misty cursed under her breath while sucking on the finger she had likely smashed, resulting in her swearing.
Both Daisy and Ash watched her as she descended the stairs thoughtlessly, though, Ash's had arguably stopped breathing, Daisy was still snickering at her baby sister. Misty hadn't spared a single glance in their direction while her black sneakers thud against the metallic steps. Ash heart stilled in his chest, and for a moment, he struggled to breath had it not been for pikachu pawing at the back of his hat, he might have forgotten and passed out. Had it really been so long, that she changed so much again? Her hair, which had been a long, blazing, fiery red the last time he saw her, was now cut up above her shoulders once more, colored by her natural hue of red-orange. To normal fashion, she wore the same cascade earrings as the day she arrived at the hospital, and the same matching water-droplet necklace that she wore everywhere, toppled with a red tank top under a yellow vest, and blue shorts. Compared to the feminine Misty he had come to know, this one looked like his dream-world Misty, only older, with longer legs.
Ash swallowed.
Still grumbling, Misty shook her hand out to reduce the pain from her fingers before stumbling back over to stare directly at Ash, and then look right past him. His stomach dropped.
"What?" Misty said apathetically, unimpressed. Her sea-green eyes gazed over Daisy as her fingers curled into a fist before her eyes returned to the man before her. "Couldn't this have-" she stooped, realizing her error with a faint blush while Daisy responded with a rather abrupt folding of her arms and cock of her eyebrow.
"Jeeze, Mist. Way to make him feel welcomed." Daisy scolded playfully, watching Ash's face turn a deep hue of red.
Misty's mouth hung open while sizing Ash up the same way Daisy had previously, noticing the most glaring changes—but none as bright as the look in his eyes. When he left, he used to look at her with dopey, childish eyes, but what stared back at her now were hardened eyes of determination—maybe a bit of confusion, and a lot of discomfort as his face scrunched up uncomfortably under her gaze. His tanned face turned several shades of red before Misty realized she had been leaning in to get a better look at him.
"Are you taller than me?!" She gasped, raising her hand to briefly touch the bill of his cap and then moved the flat of her palm to her own head.
Like a glass window, the tension shattered, and Ash let out an unmistakable laugh, that was inherently, and always his.
"I've been gone for eight months and that's your first thoughts?" He gasped jokingly before his statement was followed by a sharp, stinging pain his left shoulder. She hit him!
"That's for not calling me, you jerk!" She hissed following her statement with another playful punch—albeit a bit softer than before. "And that's for making me worry!" She shouted, stepping back to have a better look at him before her eyes lit up like fireworks.
"...oww..." Ash muttered, rubbing his sore arm while at his feet, a bashful togepi had all but tried to hide behind Ash's pant leg when Misty scooped the pokemon into her hands and brought it into a tight embrace.
"Oh togepi, I missed you!" Misty sung happily, getting a look of annoyance from both pikachu and Ash, the latter who was still rubbing his abused arm. Togepi let out a shrill, grateful squeal in reply, nuzzling into her chest.
"Pikapi." The mouse complained to Misty from Ash's shoulder, and with a quick glance, she stuck out her lip at him and then without warning snatched both Ash and pikachu into an embrace quite a bit tighter than Daisy's. Ash's chin rested against her collar and pikachu nuzzled into the nook of her neck while his arms timidly twisted to her sides, but were fearful to actually touch. She exhaled into his neck, and her smile pressed against his skin.
"I missed you guys, too!" She grumbled happily while she rubbing Ash's cap with her hand, messing his hair up more, and nearly knocking his hat off. Slowly, another set of arms danced around the duo, linking them together at an uncomfortable closeness. Ash's arms had wrapped around her small frame, togepi was squished between their chests and Misty's joy drained from her face as she looked at Daisy, who had invaded the moment.
"Aww, we're a family again."
"Let go of me." Misty hissed instantly, but the eldest sister did not comply as she forced the duo into a group hug.
For a moment, Ash and Misty grumbled at the awkward strain until his eyes flashed across her red cheeks, and a grin tugged at his lips. Ash laughed, unable to contain his personal glee—which won out any awkward feelings he had developed as the scent of Misty's wildflower perfumes meshed with the harrowing scent of Daisy's lavender coated his senses. Hearing him laugh, Misty rolled her eyes before accepting her sister's grasp with a sigh. She slipped her arm back around Ash's shoulders and shook her head apathetically while togepi and pikachu joined in on the laughter.
Reunited once again, she would enjoy what time they did have to embrace and ignore the thundering in her ribcage.
XOXs
Since Ash returned early enough, Misty put him to work straight away carrying boxes down the stairs. They had little time to converse, or even chat as Misty explained to him the situation. She needed to be packed and out of the gym by 6:00am tomorrow morning. When he asked why she hadn't started earlier, she could only reply that she was 'out of town'.
Between spells of labor, they discussed parts of Ash's journey, the legal stories, he made sure. He talked about some of his training, the pokemon he caught, the ones that he didn't. In the end, he had gone off about himself, rambling stories to her about his time away, mainly to fill the void of silence and awkwardness that ushered between them when they would break for air.
When he wasn't talking about his adventures, he was staring, though probably not on purpose. Misty caught him a few times, but said nothing about it save for her own glances at the boy. Whatever he saw, it had evolved far from the innocent gaze she recalled a few months ago, and so they kept their minds occupied by talking of his journey.
Misty didn't mind, she wasn't a big talker when she was hard at work, since most of her conversation was directional, authoritative commands, she much rather enjoyed listening far more than she enjoyed talking. Besides, what she did want to talk about was information that didn't involve her sisters, and she wouldn't drag the sensational women into her mess of a life.
No, she thought she would talk about Delia, Brock, Agatha, and the Elite Four position much later.
By nightfall, all but a few items in Misty's bedroom had been stashed away into brown boxes, most of the heavy furniture had been carried and maneuvered down the stairs by Ash and Misty, and the rest was taken back and forth by the combined efforts of a trolly, and pure labor. Misty had been pleasantly surprised that Ash was keeping up with her, unlike before.
However, it shouldn't have been too surprising, considering he spent eight months on the road. What was surprising, was her initial lack of anger with the young man—only a few days prior, she wanted to throttle him for making her worry, maybe call him every insult for avoiding her—but the moment she actually saw him, she forgave him instantly. Again, when his puppy-brown eyes stared down at her, she couldn't find it in her soul to stay mad at him. Besides, Ash couldn't have picked a better time to come back. With his help, the sisters would hopefully be loading up the last of the boxes before some unearthly hour. Misty had almost forgotten how much she missed having his help around the gym.
"So," She huffed, dropping a box onto the back of the moving truck and looking over at him. He stalled in his tracks, looking down his shoulder at her. Since they began working, Ash had removed his jacket and while setting a box down beside the one she just placed, he wiped his brow.
"You haven't asked why we're moving?" Misty exclaimed with a slight glare, taking a short break to lean against the back of the moving truck and dust off her sore palms. Awestruck, Ash snapped his fingers.
"I guess it slipped my mind." He acknowledged shyly, earning an unimpressed look from the redhead. He shrugged before continuing. "I assume you got your position as an Elite Four member?" He deduced quickly, earning a grin in response.
"You bet." She clapped in excitement, jumping in place. For a brief moment, she reminded Ash of her sisters, and he snorted appropriately.
"What? I'm allowed to be excited." She defended while walking ahead. "And you already decided on that, and I still haven't gotten a congratulations?"
"I knew you could do it." He muttered with a sincere smile, draping a lazy arm over her shoulders as he closed the distance between them. He grinned down at her from ear to ear and her heart skipped.
Carefully, she removed his arm from her shoulder with a flick of her wrist and stuck her tongue out at him.
"That doesn't mean you shouldn't say it!" She scolded playfully, rushing back up the stairs in a hurry—almost fleeing. Ash snickered in spite of himself, and followed up after her, only sparing a glance to togepi and pikachu who played happily with some of Misty's pokemon who were still around the pool area.
"Congratulations then! I knew you could do it!" Ash called after her.
"Oh, c'mon. That wasn't even sincere!" she shouted back, hearing him laugh in return.
XOXS
One by one, Misty's sisters flaked out as they grew tired and the night drew longer. By 10:00pm, Lily bowed out, expressing that she needed her 'beauty sleep' for tomorrows play at the theater downtown. By midnight, Violet had genuinely bailed on her sisters because she worked the following morning, while Daisy was the last to leave at 1:30am, after the last of the office and books had been packed into the moving truck. Like Violet, she had duties to attend to outside of the gym the next morning, and so she apologized, and said her goodbyes.
By 2:00am, Ash and Misty remained, carrying a seemingly endless amount of boxes down the stairs and into the loading truck. After the joy of walking up and down stairs for the last twelve hours had left them, the rest of the evening was masked in unadulterated, grumpy silence. Misty had no clue how her mind, or body was still functioning at this hour—but Ash, while he yawned occasionally, seemed perfectly optimal. Or, he was just really good at faking it.
"Good to know traveling brought your stamina back." She huffed, slapping him on the back as they made the slow crawl back up the stadium stairs for the umpteenth time. Before, they had practically ran leaps and bounds up the stairs, but now their feet dragged. Ash chuckled, looking over at the tired redhead.
"You don't know the half of it." He muttered, recalling the day he worked in the stadium for the ryhorn races. Snorting, he nudged her in the side. "What, are you tired?" he joked in much of the same way she used to do to him. His knees were sore, his feet were tired, and his calves burned—but he couldn't help himself.
Rolling her eyes, she clucked her tongue as she stepped into the empty living room. Seconds later, she fell to her knees, startling Ash for a second before she exhaled, and sprawled out, exhausted. She looked up at the ceiling while lacing her fingers together on her stomach and sighed.
"I spent three months in a dorm room, going to pokemon related classes at some prestigious school chosen by the league." Misty explained tiredly, raising her hand for emphasis. "I haven't swam laps in at least four months, and the most exercise I had was the walk between classes." She grumbled to herself, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Carefully, Ash took a seat beside her and leaned back on the palms of his hands while crossing his legs. "That's not a good excuse." He complained, looking at the bare walls.
Tired himself, he fell backwards, folding his arms behind his head for support as Misty glared at him from the corner of her eye, crinkling her nose at him.
"We couldn't all disappear on a pokemon journey for however long we wanted." She mocked, earning a look of skepticism directed at the ceiling.
"Technically you could have... you just didn't.." he challenged, earning a very weak punch in his arm. The lingering warmth of her cushion fist left a tingling sensation under his skin, and he looked at her with narrowed eyes. Her eyes were shut, and from there, he could see the black around them, matched with the flushed look of her face due to exhaustion.
"Don't remind me." She mumbled. "There were sooo many other things I would have wanted to do other than learn every rule integrated by the pokemon league for the last ten years, or every water pokemon known to man right now-" She looked at him weakly, as she exaggerated her pain. "..Do you know they made me take a test on the 268 known pokemon, and I had to pass with a one-hundred percent?" She grunted forcing herself to sit up so she wouldn't fall asleep.
Ash gasped mockingly, following her. "Oh no, job requirements."
"I would have much rather spent my time with weirdo gym leader Brock and retired Agatha at the nursing home." She grunted, climbing to her aching feet. Ash followed while she pointed towards her room.
"Or, you know, visiting France." She paused for a moment, glaring at him to convey her anger that he had gone. She had waited patiently, too; there was no way he brought her a souvenir, either.
"Sorry." he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
"That reminds me." She mumbled, kicking her feet against the ground. She directed him to her room with the flat of her hand. "C'mere." She mumbled while his face turned scarlet under her gaze.
"...what?" He swallowed, standing up to follow her into her room. Once in there, he saw that the entire room was bare, like the rest of the gym, and his nerves calmed, if only a little, while she walked over to a box labeled "Ash", and flopped down beside it.
"These are your things." she said, scooting the box to him. Sitting at the top of the box, however, was the very obvious, unwrapped, undamaged gift he received almost a year ago.
"Hey, Agatha's gift." he hummed, sitting beside her to scoop up the small package in his hands. "I hope it wasn't something like food..." He grumbled, peeking through the tissue paper.
"Mmmh.." She muttered, letting her shoulders hit the wall coolly.
"I can't believe I forgot about this." He added nonchalant.
"I can't either. That thing has been a thorn in my side for almost an entire year." Misty grumbled, narrowing her eyes at the present, but Ash didn't move to open it. She waited for a time, but then when he tucked the gift to his side without checking inside, her face lost its humor.
"Aren't you going to open it?" She hissed, but Ash felt a sweat run down his neck as he fought the urge to grin at her.
"...ah, no actually. Agatha told me not to open it when you're around." He explained nervously, chuckling weakly while trying to sort through the rest of his lost items. Inside the box were a few photo albums he picked up in Pallet Town, the light blue vase from the hospital, and a few miscellaneous items. After sitting frozen for a moment, Misty shook her head rapidly.
"Like hell! She has been bothering me about that damn gift for the last six months so I wouldn't forget to give it to you!" She hissed, pumping her fist up. "Open it!" She added coarsely, but Ash pursed his lips.
"No." He mumbled, scooting the gift away from the redheads grabby-hands.
"Why not!?" She yelped, sounding much like a child—but that might have just been the exhaustion.
"Because, she said not when you're around."
"I'll cover my eyes." Misty grumbled relentlessly. "Then you can tell me after wards."
Ash laughed. "Not happening." he said flatly, finding her shrewd look amusing. Her eyebrows twitched.
"Ash..." She growled. "I kept it here for you, patiently waiting. I didn't even peek. I deserve to see what's so damn important!"
"No!" Ash yelped, as she made a grab for it, lunging herself over his lap to grab the small packaged gift. Ash dangled it over her head, and then held it as far left of him as he possibly could. Initially, his brain had been trained on keeping the gift away from Misty, but when her chest pressed into his side, and her waist bounced against his, his stomach lurched, and he all but jumped out of his skin to get away from her.
She landed hard onto the ground where he had been sitting, a tangled mess of her own limbs when she blinked up at the embarrassed man.
"What the hell?" She grunted, rubbing her forehead which had slammed hard against the ground. With wide eyes, he took a few steps back and tucked the gift behind him.
"I..I." he stammered, shaking his head to clear his mind; to stop looking at her that way. "I said no." he muttered, unconvinced. She saw the lack of confidence, and for a single, brief moment, their eyes connected before Ash took a step back and retreated. She was on her feet seconds later, chasing him down.
"Just a peek, Ash!" She whined while he bolted down the stairs in a laughing mess. For only a moment, they acted just as they had before Ash left eight months ago. Like two kids playing, not adults about to embark on an attempt to change the world. For a few moments, it was nice to relax, and remember that, despite all the bad in the world, their friendships still conquered. For awhile it was nice to remember that outside of all the confusion, they were still two kids trying to survive in an otherwise bleak world—laughing when they could.
XOXS
Much like how they used to when Ash housed at the gym prior to his journey, the duo sat in the middle of the living room floor with pikachu and togepi nestled into Ash's backpack, asleep. Between Ash and Misty who sat cross-legged, two opened boxes of pizza were places strategically between the two of them, setting a barrier while the duo played cards. Misty had given up her attempt at stealing the gift about half an hour ago, and they settled for some left-over pizza, and card games. Pikachu and togepi had joined them for a short while, but a quarter after three and unable to drink the same caffeine infused drinks as their trainers, they passed out.
"That's cheating." Ash grunted, flipping his cards into the discard pile.
"It's not cheating just because I won." Misty mumbled, smiling confidently. "So, that would be the third time I've won—can I see what Agatha gave you now?" She pestered, though mostly jokingly.
"No." Ash grunted, taking her cards from her hand and shuffling them into his discard. "Why do you care so much, anyways?"
"I don't." She admit while laying back, resting her tired head against the plush, tan carpet for what would be most likely the last time. "But, that doesn't mean I wont tease you about it."
Ash scoffed, "Thanks." he muttered while exhaling.
As brief pause followed when Ash glanced around the barren walls of the once very-lively living area of the Cerulean City gym, and his face fell a little.
"I missed this." He uttered quietly, listening to Misty breath her agreement.
Silently, she sat up to stare at his disgruntled face as he skillfully shuffled the cards, eyes cast downward.
"You act like it was forever ago." She mocked, cocking an eyebrow. "It hasn't even been a year." She reassured him, but he sighed tiredly. What was eight months to her, felt like years to him. His body was so exhausted from his travels, his mind just as much.
"It feels like it's been forever to me." he added relentlessly, glaring up at her melodramatically.
"Well, for someone who slept for ten years, I don't doubt that." She uttered, taking the cards from his grasp to tuck them into the box they had came in. Stubbornly, he smiled at her.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Misty scoffed, "Don't worry about it." She dismissed quickly, thumbing the cards before throwing them beside his bag. By this point, the last few brown moving boxes would only take a few moments to carry away, and then after, they would only need to double check everything.
Then they would leave. The gym would forever be known under a new leader, and for a split second, he wondered what exactly Misty was thinking. She wasn't looking at him while she sipped the terribly unhealthy energy drinks her sisters left out for them, but he could see the contrasting emotions on her face. Somewhere, deep down, under layers of flesh. She hadn't mentioned her feelings at all—hadn't gloated about her new position as an Elite Four member, and whenever it was brought up, she was dodgy at best. While Ash carried his emotions on his sleeve—really, he couldn't help it, he had the emotional control of fifteen year old—Misty was more complex. Rather than admitting what was going through her head, it almost seemed like she would have an inner conflict with herself where either anger, or blatant sarcasm would win out on most occasions.
Ash might not have noticed it before, but her trained insouciant expressions were exactly that—trained, and controlled. In that regard, she hadn't changed much at all—real reactions were far and in between.
"If you keep staring it makes people uncomfortable, you know." She called him out, staring back at his lingering, thoughtful eyes and causing Ash to choke on his own spit. Embarrassed and chuckling clumsily, he covered his face with the palms of his hands. However, she was still always so crass. Ash didn't press the issue, instead, he leaned on his palm, and pressed his elbow into his knee.
"I can't believe it's already almost been a year..." He muttered, changing the subject as Misty pursed her lips and slapped him on the shoulder to lighten him up.
"I know!" She gasped with a forced glee, adding quickly: "Your birthday is coming up. You're going to turn twenty one; how's that feel?"
"Like I missed eleven years of my life?" Ash laughed awkwardly while knitting his eyebrows.
"Oh, please... You didn't miss eleven years of your life." she folded the pizza boxes closed while speaking, adding nonchalantly; "You missed ten... and a few days."
Perhaps it was the inherent lack of sleep producing such a reaction, but Ash found a strange sense of humor behind her words—and bellowed out a contagious laugh while wiping wetness from his eyes."Thanks, Mist, that helps." he chided while he fell backwards, shutting his eyes. "I feel like I spent an entire year chasing after everything I missed." he muttered. "I haven't moved on at all."
Silence crept forth when Misty folded her arms and slapped his knee.
"That's not true. You've made a lot of progress." She assured him quickly. "I mean, you've found a lot of your pokemon—you've worked with some of them, you've trained and entered a few minor battles. You've healed and, heck, you've even helped Brock and I discover dastardly evil in the world." her voice was laced with sarcasm toward the end, but the message was there as she added with tenacity and tenderness. "I think you've done more than most people do their entire life, Ash. That's not something to be depressed about."
For once, he was grateful not to be looking at her, because her words of encouragement brought a blush to his face. Even after disappearing for so long, she was so kind. In a scary way.
"Why aren't you mad at me?" He asked suddenly, opening his eyes and staring up at the ceiling.
Misty looked at the profile of his face and hunched over, rapping her fingers on the floor, somewhat bashful.
"Oh, boy... If you had asked me that a few days ago, I might not have been so calm." She started, recalling her dream from the night prior with a stony expression. "But, you're here, and you're safe. So, really, I don't have a lot to be mad about." She clarified honestly.
Ash swallowed, thankful once more that he was laying down and could not see her face while she spoke. She was so mature at times, childish and fun when necessary, but understanding when she had to be. However, it was good that he wasn't looking at her, because his face would have given away every secret from his journey. Whether she knew it or not, she had reason to be upset with him. Ash had almost gotten himself killed, and intentionally stopped speaking with her because... well, he didn't have a good reason; at least not one he could explain. For that reason alone she had every right to be disgruntled.
"Misty, I..." he started, stumbling and stammering over his own thoughts. Ready to speak the truth of his visit, his mouth grew increasingly dry, and his chest tightened, racing for the correct words to express himself; but they never came as Misty cut him off.
"Besides, if you hadn't showed up, I would have been stuck here with my sisters and you saw how great they were about helping." She scoffed, stammering. Ash blinked up at her to see that her face had turned a deep hue of red, and her fingers would clench and unclench the carpets.
She continued while Ash sat up to look directly at her, "I mean, they mean well, but sometimes they can be such a hassle—you know they were supposed to have had most of this done by the time I got here? We spent the majority of the morning before you arrived packing boxes, and even then only half of the work was done..." She rambled on for a bit, while Ash's face tilted in comparison.
It might have took him a minute, maybe two, but as he watched her face while she gestured and complained; stammering out her complaints in regard to her sisters; a huge smirk tugged at his lips. She was nervous. He thought sinfully, Misty Waterflower was nervous, for whatever reason.
He had been about to mention it, raising his finger pointedly, when she looked at him with a flash of determination.
"So, did you stay in contact with Cole?" Misty asked, changing the subject. Ash deflated rapidly, sitting back. It was as if she read his mind—or he stalled for too long.
"He called a lot." he replied honestly. Then for emphasis, he added: "Like, a lot."
Misty snickered, the nerves were gone. Ash grumbled to himself—the opportunity missed
"He acts a lot like you." Misty hummed gently, earning a raised eyebrow. "Must be in your genes." She added, and watched as Ash's lips formed into a small frown. He inhaled sharply while looking away.
"Well, we do have the same mother." he grunted, half depressed. Misty inhaled once, and then exhaled.
A long pause followed before they both opened their mouths to speak at the same time.
"Misty, there's something I've been meaning to ask-"
"I needed to talk to you about her, actually." She said strangely, watching as his eyes.
They stammered back and forth for an awkward moment, tossing up a few 'no you go firsts' before Ash could feel his face heat up. He was eager to move past the fogginess in his own mind, but if she had something to say about his mother—that might have been a little more important. Ash forced his feelings down once more, and smiled earnestly at Misty.
"What about her?" he asked weakly disliking the subject of his mother. Misty saw his shoulders coil slowly, closing himself off when she started.
"I saw Delia a few times while you were gone... You know, to drop of letters." She paused biting her lower lip. "She also invited me over a few times..."
"Did she know who you were?"
"Oh yeah." Misty replied automatically. "The girl who saved her oldest son."
Ash's shoulders fell, a long lost look in his eyes. "...Did she mention me?"
"No, not directly, anyways. And not when Cole was around." Misty stuttered, still in disbelief herself. "I mean, she was nothing like you described, Ash. She was really nice, and friendly and almost..."
Crack. Ash felt his neck bend and his heart snap.
"Can we not?" He mumbled, interrupting Misty while rubbing his neck as he smiled weakly, his shoulders dropping to a point. "Talk about this I mean." he explained.
Gently, Misty reached across and grabbed his shoulder firmly, a small, reassuring gesture that drew his attention back to her fully—then down to her well-manicured fingers pressed against his black shirt. A kind, thoughtful gesture.
"I know it upsets you to hear about her but..." Misty offered, thinking that she had actually hurt him. "We think someone is threatening her, Ash." She finished, watching his entire expression change in a fraction of second.
Tidal waves of emotion ranged on his face, from the pale color of his flesh in direct contrast to his normal tan. "D...Do you know who?" He asked worriedly. Anger flashed through his eyes, and then regret, and then some form of gratitude—relief? Misty swallowed.
"No, we don't know." She admitted, removing her hand from his shoulder. Suddenly, he took her hand shortly after, tracing his fingers around hers to calm himself as his eyes searched hers for answers. Misty gripped his fingers comfortingly.
"Brock, Agatha and I have been trying to piece things together while you were away. Brock is convinced that it's Team Rocket, and if they have some control over the league...it's possible that they might have had control over the professors and since your mom was..." she trailed off while he drew to conclusions himself. He threw up his arms.
"So you're saying professor Oak might have been involved?"
"I.. We don't know... there isn't any outstanding proof outside of the fact that most of the other professors in the last ten years have gone missing—Elm, Ivy, Birch, Bill.." Misty listed them with a shrug of her shoulders that brought Ash spiraling back to the floor, squatting in front of her thoughtfully.
"Misty you're joining the Elite Four." Ash gasped, the full realization of what that meant crushing his lungs. Her evasiveness made some sense now, but she could only shrug."You're going right in the middle of all of this."
"I know, but I figured that joining would still be easiest way to find any real, coherent answers and if there are none, then that means the system is only corrupt, and I still made the right choice."
"By being bait?" Ash asked flabbergasted and standing up in disbelief. "And you said that I was the reckless one!" He half shouted, startling pikachu long enough to stir the pokemon awake temporarily, only for it to roll over and fall asleep when shushed him.
"I'm not the one burning buildings down." She fired off, crossing her arms.
"You just told me that they might have had something to do with Oak. I'm not sure if you've noticed Misty, but he's dead. Not only that, the same someone, who may or may not be associated with the league, is most likely threatening my mother. That's a little more serious than burning buildings down."
"You were happy for me a few hours ago!"
"That's before you told me this!" he shouted back, standing his ground, firmly against this 'new' position.
"We don't even know if it's the league!" Misty snapped, and Ash reeled backwards. Besides, what did he expect? It wasn't news that they thought Team Rocket might have been involved with the league—where did he get off worrying now—it wasn't like he cared for eight months. Heated, she took a step back at her own thoughts and reeled away from him, folding her arms.
A bit calmer, she said: "Brock thinks the league might be involved, but I'm not as convinced as you two. Just because some situations are bad, doesn't mean that a greater, evil power is controlling everything! Sometimes people are just screwed up, and I don't think that's any different for the league. There is not point in hiding, if there is nothing to hide from." She turned at him, eyes narrowed. "We don't know anything yet." She added for emphasis, destroying Ash's argument.
Ash's mouth fell open, and his look softened. "I guess so."
"Exactly." Misty hummed, wagging her finger at him, though she appreciated his worry. "We don't know what's going on, so until then, I'm not going to change my plans because Team Rocket might be pulling strings in the background." She paused, glaring into his eyes. "Would you?"
"No."
"Then don't expect me to." She said quickly with a smirk that made him shake his head. He didn't reply, but she hadn't really given him time to.
"Anyways, the league throws a huge party every year to celebrate new rules, new positions, top trainers—that's in the next two weeks..." She exhaled, roping together her emotions into a spitefully calm expression. "Brock and I are going, and since you're here...Well, you might as well come, too."
"Me?" he rubbed the back of his head quizzically, trying to wrap his head around all of this new information. "What would I have to offer?"
"Well, if you're interesting in getting back into battling; there are going to be many prosperous trainers of our time. People from all over the world visit during the Indigo Plateau conference since we reign over three territories. It'll be a central hub to asking an assortment of different questions—you might be able to get some information Brock and I might otherwise be suspicious for asking."
She grinned, that cute half smile of hers—did he just call her cute?-while crinkling her eyes at him. "Besides, I need a date since I'm the newest Elite Four member—I can't go stag."
Ash's mouth fell open as she turned away from him, gathering the pizza boxes off the floor. She could see the sun rising in the distance and sighed to herself. Another all-nighter.
Behind her, Ash gaped like a magikarp. "A-a date?" He asked. "Well that's a way to ask!" he added sarcastically afterward, but Misty waved her hand at him.
"You'll make things awkward." She repeated the line that he had told her a few months ago and his mouth shut and his jaw locked.
Ash watched her leave, standing in amazement. In a spell of exhaustion, his eyelids closed, remembering the tiredness of his mind and body. He looked back at her, and then smiled temporarily taking in the news.
His mom might have had a reason to treat him horribly after all; while he wasn't glad that such a thing existed, it eased the pain of rejection just a little. Now, Brock, Misty and Agatha had started some rebellion group, and he found himself grinning, in spite of his situation.
"What else did I miss?" he called after her, stepping over the sleeping pokemon while she cracked her back.
"We'll discuss it while we finish packing up the rest of this junk!" She yelled, knowing all too well that her sisters wouldn't be returning to help.
XOXs
With the tension between them cut, and Ash caught to speed—they sat in the cabin of the moving truck, drinking the last of their beverage. Now that the girls' entire life was packed into the back of a moving truck, he and Misty were under direct orders to drive to her new residence. He was in charge of keeping her awake, and she was in charge of driving them there—and arriving in one piece. Safely.
It was thirty minutes before 6:00am and Ash had neatly stored Agatha's gift in the protection of his back pack while nestled into the passenger seat of the moving truck. Misty who sat beside him plopped the beverage he had been nursing from his fingers, and threw back the cold liquid with a shudder. In his arms, togepi was still sawing logs, but pikachu had taken some form of consciousness while he curled in Ash's lap. Seeing her brief hesitation as her fingers curled around the steering wheel, Ash inhaled and plopped a rough palm on her shoulder in support.
"Are you ready for this?"
"No." she said honestly. "But if I spend my whole life waiting to be ready—am I ever really going to be?"
Ash looked her over once, and then looked ahead. He could see the sun brightening the city scape, as well as the small forest around the gym and inhaled swiftly. Looking into the side view mirrors, back at the gym he called home for a little over a month, he felt a wash of nostalgia—he couldn't imagine how Misty felt; this was her home for twenty-two years.
"Why didn't your sisters take over?" he asked suddenly, and he could have sworn he saw tears in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall as she exhaled.
"Doesn't work like that." She said flatly. "The league decides on a new gym leader when an old one resigns." Misty answered quickly, starting the engine up. The low rumble of the vehicle jarred Ash's heart and he pat her.
"Don't worry Misty, I'm homeless, too." He assured her but ended up getting something along the lines of a death glare and slowly moved closer to the safety of the door. His efforts succeeded though, because she shifted into drive, and against every tired sensation in her body, she pulled away from the gym, leaving it behind for the last time.
Leaving was bittersweet, and Misty hated goodbyes. A part of her knew that the reason her sisters bailed yesterday was because they all shared in this aspect, but she had to move on. She was ready. Misty had learned a lot working at the gym and she loved it because some of the best times of her life were spent there—she glanced at Ash and gave a sort of smile—with her family and friends. But, if she ever wanted to change the world, she needed to take the next step forward.
XOXs
Over twenty-four hours awake, they were both exhausted when they pulled into the drive way of Misty's new house. As opposed to the gym, it was on the outskirts of Cerulean City, more towards Pewter City... and it was an actual house.
A part of Ash expected a place with many swimming pools, or a huge yard—maybe even a house far away from the city in a farm—not in a suburb of Cerulean City. Misty backed the moving truck into the drive way skillfully, and then pulled the parking break, and engine break on before shutting down the vehicle.
The drive from the gym to the house took nearly thirty minutes, so when the subtle vibrations of the vehicle stopped gyrating beneath the two of them, they both exhaled simultaneously and leaned forward.
"I am so tired." Misty grumbled, earning a look of complete appreciation from Ash.
"I second that."
"I nominate that my sisters to move the boxes inside." Misty grunted before kicking open the door and slipping to the concrete; Ash followed suite, leaving his pack on the seat, but taking the sleeping togepi with him. Pikachu, who had rested for most of the night while his trainers worked, perched himself on Ash's cap.
"Chaaa." the mouse squeaked in appreciation for the large town house. Misty came around the bend, twirling the keys in her hand when she pressed for the door.
"Wanna see inside?" She asked Ash from his place of puzzlement.
"Sure." Ash agreed, following her through the front door.
A mixture of apple cinnamon and new house smell warped his nose, and he shuddered. He hadn't expected it at first, but the entire place was littered with more boxes, and his mouth fell open once more.
"...Why are there already boxes here?" Ash panicked, recalling the thousands of boxes they moved yesterday.
Misty snorted. "You don't think all of my sisters crap fit into one moving truck, did you?" She asked skeptically with a mock tone. Ash looked around, seeing the towers of boxes in the kitchen, living room, and hallway before looking at his friend.
"I assumed wrong." he acknowledges with a laugh.
"We've lived at the gym longer than I've been alive..." Misty mumbled, looking into the contents of one box. "We accumulated a lot of... stuff."
"Misty, I can't see the floor!" he shouted worriedly, keeping togepi and pikachu away from any larger stacks in fear the abyss of boxed goods would eat his pokemon and never return them. Misty laughed loudly while staring into the living room which was to the right of the entrance door.
"I'll show you up stairs." She gestured for him to follow her as he backed up the start of the stairs, both terrified and amused by all of their things.
"It's a three bedroom house." Misty mumbled, stretching. "Two bathrooms." She added while walking to the end of the hall.
Ash watched her skeptically. "There are four of you, though. Who is going to bite the bullet and share a room?"
Misty cocked her eyebrow at the suggestion. "None of us," She reached upward, grabbing the attic's pull string stairs with her hands before lowering the steps. "Since I won't be home often, we decided I would sleep in the attic."
Ash's face froze, stifling his laughter. "...where the bugs live?" He grinned, watching her face drop. She glared at him for a time, and then hit him in the shoulder gently—her emotions and manners were shot from lack of sleep. She walked up each step, Ash noticing right away that dust didn't rise as it did in scary movies, and when he peeked into the bizarre world of storage, he saw colorful decorations, a solid floor, and a neat window that over looked the street.
"This isn't an attic." he mused while placing togepi on the sleeping mat she had on the floor and looking around. He could see that all of her things were already laced around the room—her dresser was in the corner, her vanity was placed beside the window, and a make-shift closet had been put together with curtains at the corner of the room. A few boxes were scattered around, but all in all, it was colorful and homey.
"I moved all of my things up here about a week before leaving the school." she explained. "My sisters were supposed to have moved things over a little at a time as well. But, obviously, that didn't happen." Misty snorted while leaning against her dresser.
"Did you do all of this?" gesturing to the neatly wallpapered walls, the clean floor and over all room appearance, an awestruck Ash's attention fell on the girl who had already kicked off her shoes.
"No, the previous owners did. They had a huge family." Misty muttered, while gripping the short strands of her hair and pulling them back out of her eyes and into a high pony tail. Ash watched her calmly until she sat down on her sleeping mat beside togepi.
"Sit." She pat the spot beside her on the mat, and Ash hesitated for a minute before taking a seat beside her, carefully placing pikachu between them; for safety precautions. The mouse didn't seem as impressed, however, when it glared up to Ash with eyes that screamed 'coward'.
Misty didn't speak right away, she had been entranced with stroking togepi's egg shell while her head bobbed up and down repeatedly. She dozed while Ash watched her, the way her hair flicked in her eyes, and how her eyelids drooped every so often.
He pushed her over gently with his right arm, but she sprang to life once more, glaring at him.
"I'm glad that you and Brock are friends now." Ash muttered, glancing at her vanity mirror where he saw a stack of the letters he sent to her neatly arranged. "And I'm sorry that I didn't call to talk more... I just..."
She waved her hand at him. "I get it, it's fine. You were busy." She dismissed, letting her back fall against the wall. Ash looked at her with lowered eyebrows.
"I wasn't..." he mumbled, seeing her eyes close. Trying to bring up the other reason he came back to Cerulean City, he looked away from her, down at his fingers while shrugging his shoulders. "...I was just..." he started, sighing. "I wasn't sure about us." He admit, looking over at her only to nearly fall over in surprise
Her head was drooped, lolling back and forth; the poor sleep deprived female had passed out! So quickly, too!
"M-misty." Ash tried, shaking her, but she pushed against his face, and fell over, cuddling togepi in her arms, and face planting against her pillow while kicking her legs out over top of his.
"Hey!" he yelped with a scarlet blush, watching as she buried her head into her pillow, leaving Ash to sit with pikachu at his side laughing.
Ash glared at the pokemon for a moment, sleep-deprived himself, but sleep never came as easy for Ash as it did for Misty.
"pika, cha-chu." he mocked with raised eyebrows. Ash puffed out his cheeks, resting his hands on top of Misty's knees and throwing his head back against the wall behind him. Below, he could hear the distant sound of Misty's sisters rolling in, one by one venting about how 'tired' they were, and Ash felt every muscle in his body go limp of frustration.
"I'll try again in the morning..." Ash grunted, closing his eyes, determined not to disturb Misty, but also firmly against the idea of falling over. "...or in a few hours from now." he decided, slowly drifting off into a deep sleep.
Author's Note:
For all you starved pokeshippers, enjoy the awkward, bumbling dorks. XD I felt like it was really important to demonstrate that their interactions were different after being separated for so long; but that comes up again in the next chapter as well. I felt like I should elaborate on some of the more relaxed feelings and moments between Ash and Misty—let him really enjoy himself for a short time and demonstrate that even when things are supposed to be chaotic, things can still be moderately simple.
...before I kick him again. -laughs evilly-
Welcome to Part III! So many fun things are going to happen, and I'm super stoked to get into them. As always, thanks for all the reviews, favs, and follows. (almost 200 favs, I am so excited. ewe)
NINT