A/N: Here's the next chapter. It took me a bit longer to write with all of my current projects. If any of you are also following TBOL, I also updated that one last week, so check it out. After this point, I'm going to go on a brief hiatus for a bit. I have to send out my computer for repairs, so I won't be able to type anything for a couple of weeks. Hopefully, by then I'll have something written for either project. I'm also planning a OTP prompt project for one-shot for various ships, so I'll hopefully have some more one-shots for you all.

Until next time,

Sarah

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of its characters.

6. Freshly Brewed Friendship

Ash woke with a start the next morning. He was sprawled across the bed diagonally, his feet dangling off of one corner. He groaned softly, his body stiff, his head pounding. The light coming from the window was hitting him square in the face. He shifted his body, but it was no use. He would have to get up to shut the blinds. He opened his eyes and jumped at the sight of a dark face hovering over him. He jolted upright, the room spinning.

"Looks like you had a good night then," Brock said.

Ash turned his head to see Misty's sleeping form next to him. She was under the covers, the duvet pulled up to her shoulders. She gave a soft snore and shifted on her pillow, tucking her arm underneath. Her breathing continued its slow, steady pace. Pikachu was by her feet, also oblivious to the world.

"How long have you been standing there?" Ash hissed, acutely aware of the sleeping woman next to him.

"About five minutes."

"Great," Ash muttered as he struggled to lift his body off of the bed. Everything ached. Perhaps it hadn't been the greatest idea to drink so much the night before his lecture. How could he talk to a bunch of young trainers when he felt more like crawling in a hole and dying instead? He silently cursed at Misty. She was a bad influence on him. He should have refused the champagne. What seemed like a good idea at the time was, in hindsight, not so much.

Ash moved over to the other side of the small room and toward the terrace. He slid the door open and gestured over to Brock. Brock followed suit, and they went out to the balcony, which barely fit the two of them. Ash carefully slid the door tightly closed. He peered through the glass. Misty stirred, but as far as he could tell, she remained asleep.

"So," Brock said, causing Ash to jump. "What happened last night?"

"Nothing."

"Ash…"

"Nothing happened!" Ash shouted, indignant.

"Okay, okay," Brock said, putting his hands up in front of his chest, palms facing Ash. "I trust you."

"Thanks," Ash sighed. "We went to dinner, and Misty had a bit too much wine. I didn't want her to drive back when she wasn't sober. She could barely walk."

"That's understandable."

"And we tried to find a room for her, but the hotel was booked up. So, in the end, we got a cot for me to sleep on, and she would have the bed."

"Then, how come you ended up on the bed with her?"

"That I don't remember…."

"Uh huh."

"Well…we got back, and I ordered room service because I was still a bit hungry. She wanted some champagne since she wasn't going anywhere, and so we drank some more….I don't remember very well what happened before I fell asleep."

Brock gripped the rail and leaned forward. These two were going to be the death of him. "So you're telling me that it's possible that you don't remember if you two—"

"Well…"

"Ash!"

"What?"

"She's getting married in five days!"

"I know!" Ash snapped. He stopped to peer back into the room. Misty was still asleep, her breathing steady. "Listen. I would never do something like that with her while she was that drunk. How could you even think that I would take advantage of her like that?"

"Okay. Okay," Brock replied. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to suggest—"

"It's fine," Ash snapped.

This whole situation was beyond frustrating. Why did he have to run into her? Why did he have to invite her to dinner? They could have lived their separate lives without each other in peace. Now that she was back, he didn't know what to do. He didn't even have the time to work through his emotions. Was he having feelings for her? He knew that he had this uncontrollable desire to be around her. His heart went out of control every time he looked at her. What was this feeling? He couldn't even concentrate on figuring out what it even meant because he was stuck on the fact that she would be a married woman in less than a week. He was running out of time.

He sighed and turned to his oldest friend with pleading eyes. "Brock what do I do?"

Misty woke, gasping for breath, flailing her arms. She sat up suddenly, trying to find something tangible in her surroundings. She was in a bed, only it wasn't her own. It took her a moment to realize where she was. She saw Pikachu curled up on the end of the bed, and the previous night's events came flooding back to her.

She groaned, flopped back down on the bed, and flung a pillow over her face. She should not have had as much to drink as she had. Her head pounded, the sunlight filtering in through the windows, intensifying her problem. She couldn't even remember the last time she had such a bad hangover, not even that one time she and some of the island girls decided to drink a whole case of wine at a campfire down by the river. Even after that, she felt fine. Now, all she wanted was an aspirin.

Hearing voices coming from the terrace, she took the pillow off of her face. She sat up once more, the room spinning. With considerable effort, she swung her legs over the edge of the mattress. Her stomach gave a lurch as she leaned over and peaked around the corner. She hoped that she wouldn't have to see the inside of the bathroom any time soon. She saw that Ash and Brock were outside.

She stood, pausing for the vertigo to pass and stumbled over to the sliding door. They were talking in hushed voices, so she couldn't make out what they were saying. She strained her ear against the glass door, but it was no use. She couldn't understand a word, but for whatever reason they were conversing, it seemed intense for some reason.

"I don't think there's much you can do," she heard Brock say as she slid the door open. He stopped short of his next sentence at the sound of the door squeaking against its track. The two men turned in her direction. Neither of them said anything at first. Misty got the impression that she walked in on part of a conversation that she wasn't supposed to hear.

"Hey, Misty," Brock said as she moved the door back to closed. She pursed her lips before brushing her bangs out of her eyes. Ash gave her a sheepish grin, which she trepidatiously returned.

"How are you feeling?" Ash asked.

"Like I got trampled by a heard of Tauros."

"Yeah, I know how that feels."

Misty suppressed a giggle. He did know that feeling, literally. She remembered. He had a herd of about thirty of them back at Professor Oak's lab. At least as far a she knew he still had them. She had a sudden desire to ask about them, but thought better of it. Ash would have been disappointed if he knew that there was a missed opportunity to discuss Pokemon. There were other matters at hand, however, like what the hell happened last night.

"Yeah, well, do you remember what happened last night after we got here?"

"Uhh…" He shifted uncomfortably. "Not every little detail…."

"Well what do you remember?"

"We drank and talked, and as far as I know, we both passed out at some point."

"And that's it?" She pressed. There had to be more to it, right?

"Why?" He said, raising an eyebrow. "What do you think happened?"

"Nothing," she replied, her voice shifting up an octave.

Her heart was hammering for some reason. She could feel it beating against her chest, the sound of blood pumping coursing through her ears. What was the matter with her? Why was she getting all flustered over the thought of kissing Ash? She must be going crazy. Yet, if she were going mental, she'd hate to think what the thought of anything more than a kiss would do to her.

"Earth to Misty," Ash said, waving his hand in front of her face.

"Huh?" she said, snapping back to reality.

"We were just asking you what we were doing for breakfast."

"Breakfast?"

"Yeah, you know," Ash said. "That thing you have after sleeping. It usually involves pancakes and stuff."

"I know what it is," she replied, mentally face-palming.

"Well then," Ash retorted. "You should have no problem telling us what you want to do for it then."

"Uhh…I need to get back to Trovita…like yesterday."

"Can't do anything about that now," Ash said, linking arms with her. "So, you might as well stay and get some breakfast with us."

"But—"

"Oh c'mon Misty. What's the big deal?"

What could she do? Rudy was going to be furious. He probably already was, and prolonging her return would make her situation worse. Even if Daisy kept her word, he would notice her absence. It would make him worry. She hated to think about how much she might be hurting him at the moment. She loved him, right? Although Trovita could be boring at times, she loved Rudy, so that made it worth it in the end. How could she keep doing this to him?

"I really do need to get back. Rudy—"

She stopped short with one look at those chocolate brown eyes. They penetrated her, bringing her to her knees. Why was it that they could always cause her to succumb to his wishes? Was it her Achilles heel, bringing all of Troy down along with her heart?

"What about him?" Ash asked.

"Nevermind," she said. Damn, he was going to win, again. "Fine. I will go to breakfast with you two."

"Yay!" Ash exclaimed, his arm still locked to Misty's. He began to spin the two of them around in a circle. Misty almost tripped at first, stumbling forward. After a few spins, she put her free hand over her mouth. Spinning was an awful idea when hung-over. Ash caught a glimpse of her body language out of the corner of his eye. Coming to his senses, he halted his movements abruptly, catching Misty by the shoulder before she tipped backwards.

"Sorry, Mist," he said. "Guess I got carried away there."

"You think?" she snapped before having to choke back down some bile. How disgusting.

"Glad you think it's funny," Misty grumbled.

"Oh come on, Misty," Brock said. He came between the two of them, wrapping his arms around each of their shoulders. "I'm sure that a bit of food in you will make you feel better."

"Or make her throw up!"

"Shut it, Ash."

After Ash changed and Misty threw on her old clothes from the previous night, the three of them headed downstairs to the hotel lobby. Pikachu joined them, perched on Ash's shoulder. He was half-asleep, being woken up minutes before, but excited by the prospect of ketchup. Ash still had that bad habit of feeling Pikachu's addiction. That hadn't changed one bit.

The three chatted in the elevator on the way down. Misty plucked Pikachu off of Ash's shoulder, wrapping him in her arms. He let out a sigh of contentment, enjoying having Misty around again. She had missed Pikachu. She had a few of her own Pokemon for company, but it wasn't the same. Something about having Pikachu around had such an air of nostalgia about it. It made her long for the days that she had her little Togepi. It had evolved years ago, and though she still had it, the Pokemon spent most of its time in its ball. She should really let Togetic out once she got back. It would be nice to spend time with her Pokemon. With the wedding, she had almost completely forgotten them.

Brock and Misty had to wait for Ash at the entrance for another at the entrance for a little bit before they could all leave. A mob of fans had bombarded Ash as the trio had hit the lobby. The other two had to stand there awkwardly as Ash reluctantly signed autographs. After five minutes or so, Misty, fed up, grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the newly-formed crowd. It was a struggle. They did not want to let him go.

"Sorry about that," Ash said to a miffed Misty as they left the building.

"I guess that's the price of fame, huh?"

"Oh shut up."

They traversed to a place with a huge breakfast buffet a few blocks over from Ash's hotel. Of course he would know about this place, Misty mused. The thing that Ash loved more than Pokemon was food. That was something that hadn't changed from when they were kids. If anything, his appetite had increased in their years apart.

He wasted no time as soon as they had a booth. He ran up to the giant buffet tables and snatched a plate from the colossal stacks next to the fruit. Then, he piled it up with heaps of eggs and sausage, a stack of toast, and a mountain of home fries. For extra measure, he added a couple of pancakes to the top.

"You going to leave some for the rest of us?" Misty asked as she plucked the powdered doughnut out of his mouth.

"Hey! Get your own!" he whined as she stole a bite. Her lips were now white from the sugar. Ash had a horrible urge to lick it off of her. It only intensified as she stuck her tongue out at him in response.

He made a sort of strangled noise in his throat and piled more eggs on his plate, telling himself that they were for Pikachu. She giggled and dropped the half-eaten pastry on top of his mountain of food. Ash couldn't take his eyes off her as she paused in front of the fruit, putting her plate on the counter. She stifled a yawn and began to rub her eye. She paused abruptly, turning her head to face Ash. He averted his gaze immediately, his cheeks burning.

He got close to her once more to grab a second plate. Their shoulders brushed and his heart leapt in his throat. He cleared his throat and placed the second plate under the first. Misty was also done, and they walked back to the table to find that Brock had never left. Instead, he was too busy flirting with one of the waitresses. Ash and Misty caught the other's gaze as he gave her a wink and they both rolled their eyes. Though, when he looked back at the pair, Ash nearly dropped his plate. The waitress was actually laughing at what he was saying.

"Hey, Brock," Ash said, sliding into the booth after Misty. "You going to get something to eat?"

"Huh?" Brock turned his attention away from the waitress for the first time since they had sat back down. "Oh-oh yeah."

The waitress, whose cheeks were now a brilliant shade of scarlet, shuffled her feet over to the other side of the table, next to Ash and Misty. Brock slid out of his side of the booth, grumbling about the interruption. She gave him a side-glance as he left before asking, "What can I get you two to drink?"

"Coffee," Misty said, her hangover not yet subsided.

"Same," said Ash. "Can I have an orange juice as well?"

"You got it!" she said as she finished scribbling on her miniature notepad. She slipped into one of her apron pockets and tucked her pen behind her left ear before slinking away to the kitchen.

"So…since when do women actually like Brock?" Ash asked once she was out of ear-shot.

"I have no idea," Misty replied after taking a bite of pineapple. "I haven't exactly spent much time with him in recent years. The most I usually get is a phone call—though, that is more than I get from some people."

Ash swallowed. "Are you still mad about that?"

"Maybe."

"I said I was sorry. What more do you want?"

She wanted more than that that was for sure. How long would it have been if it weren't for a chance meeting? Would they have ever spoken again for that matter? As much as she loathed the cruel trick fate decided to play on her by thrusting his wind into her sails once more, would she have preferred to be free of him forever? She would have to ride out this storm, rather than be stranded out in the middle of the vast ocean.

"A phone call now and then would suffice."

"Ah," he said, lowering his fork. What if Rudy intercepted his calls again? She would think that he had gone back on his word. That meant that this time, he couldn't give up. He would call until they had to disconnect the phone to stop it from ringing. Then if that happened, he would have to fly in on Charizard. That would surely shock everyone, especially Misty. She had never seen the fire Pokemon listen to him for real. That happened mid-way through Johto. He grunted before answering, "That can be arranged."

"Good," she said, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Besides, I need to hear from Pikachu more often."

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, lifting up his fork in the air, ketchup dripping off the lump of scrambled eggs resting on the end.

Ash opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted by Brock's plate slamming down on the table, creating a loud clatter that caused everyone else at the table to jump.

"Did you guys have to interrupt me like that? I was about to get her number."

"That's what I'm here for," Misty stated. "Protection."

"I don't need you to protect me—"

"Oh no, not you. I meant the girls."

"You are so harsh."

"Guys, she's coming this way," Ash interjected.

The blonde was on her way back, one arm occupied by a round, brown tray, which held about a half-dozen drinks. She stopped at the table diagonal to them, dropped off a couple's glasses of orange juice before finally reaching them.

"So that's three coffees and one orange juice," she said as she placed three white coffee mugs face up on the table.

"Thank you," said Misty.

The girl set the large glass of orange juice down in front of Ash and dropped a wrapped plastic straw next to it. She pulled a fistful of coffee creamers from her apron and left them in a pile at the center of the table.

"Be right back!" She shouted before resting the tray flat against her hip and scurrying away. After a few brief moments of silence, she returned with a full glass coffee pot in her hand. She poured Ash and Misty's cups first. Once her cup had been filled, Misty added three creamers and four sugars. She wouldn't normally do add so much, but in that moment, she needed it.

Ash diverted his attention back to their server, who was now pouring Brock's coffee painstakingly slow. He caught her covertly pass him a white napkin with what appeared to be a phone number written in pink lipstick. Ash gawked at them. What was this? Had he been sucked into some parallel universe where Misty was getting married to some asshole and Brock seemed to be able to snag girls?

"I'll be back in a bit to check on you," she said, giving Brock a wink before she retreated from their booth.

"Misty, can you get married more often?" Brock said, "It would give me an excuse to come here. The girls are amazing. I don't know why I wasted my time chasing after Professor Ivy."

She shook her head, rolling her eyes before shoving a piece of buttered toast into her mouth. Of course that's what he would think about. This was the exact reason why she didn't invite him to the island. Ash chuckled at the sight of Brock staring at the blonde.

"Boys," Misty muttered to herself.

The three of them ate and reminisced for the better part of an hour, their waitress checking in on them more often than what seemed normal. It was after she had left for the fourth time that Ash realized that he was due to give his lecture in about two hours and need to abruptly end their brunch date. He threw a large sum of cash onto the table, easily leaving enough to cover the entire tab. He gave Misty a quick one-armed hug, causing her heart to jump as his hand came in contact with her shoulder. It lasted a few seconds before he withdrew, sliding out and standing. He picked up his hat, and clapping Brock on the shoulder with a promise of seeing him later, he put it on his head before walking away from them and out of sight, Pikachu at his heels.

There was not much left to do other than finish their food and head to the boat. They didn't linger for long. It was different without Ash. Once the food was eaten, they left the diner, the money still on the table, placed under Ash's empty glass by Misty, but otherwise, untouched. Brock had paused to say good-bye to the server, and with that, they began their peregrination to the docks.

"So what's going on with you and Ash?"

They were the first words he had said to her since they had left the diner. They had reached the end of the harbor, heading toward the open ocean. The water was calm, the sun hot overhead. A balmy breeze passed by them. Nothing would get in the way of them getting back safely. Nothing, that was, except for her reaction at the mention of Ash. Her hand slipped off the steering wheel at the sound of his inquiry. Her heart skipping a beat, she grabbed it and placed it back in position.

"Nothing," she snapped.

"That doesn't sound like 'nothing' to me," Brock replied, raising an eyebrow and grinning.

"Listen," she said through gritted teeth. "I got a bit carried away at the restaurant. It was a really good wine, you know."

"Yeah, but what about the champagne afterward?"

"Ash told you?"

"Are you having second thoughts about marrying Rudy?"

Her hand slipped again, causing the boat to turn sharply. A bucket of water knocked over, the water falling down the edge of the boat, the wet rag flopping out and nearly dropping into the sea. Brock almost toppled over as she struggled to turn it back on course.

"Why would you say that?" she shot back accusingly.

"That doesn't answer the question." Brock's gaze was intense, though he was clutching the side rail, his countenance slightly green in color.

"Of course not!" she exclaimed, face flushed.

She had every intention of going through with the wedding. Why would an old flame (if one could call it that—childhood crushes hardly counted) showing up change that? Although, part of her didn't want to admit it, but it was a relief to know that she wouldn't be seeing Ash again before the wedding. Twenty-four hours had been enough time to stir up some ancient emotions. Who knew what a few more days with him would do?

They were almost to Trovita. The island was growing large on the horizon by the second. It felt like a nest of snakes had moved into her stomach. She drummed her fingers against the steering wheel. It filled the silence that had fallen between them. Some Wingulls flew overhead, squawking at the boat. A herd of Seels passed them. It wasn't until they could see docks in the distance before Brock spoke again.

"Well, you had me worried for a second there, you know, with your old crush on Ash and all."

She stopped cold. "M-my what?"

"You heard me."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Misty…"

"Who told you?"

"I've always known."

"Look—" she started, but stopped when she got a better view of the docks that were rapidly approaching. Standing on top of the platform with his arms crossed was Rudy.