Equanimity Chapter 23
Clemont departed shortly after May and the rest of the group. He was off to embark on his own gym leader adventure, with new technology and inventions at every corner. He made a quip about science, said quick goodbyes, and vanished into the night.
Misty felt that there had been some disappointment that Ash didn't seem as heartfelt in their goodbye, but Clemont had already accepted that Ash had been somewhat distant since the beginning. After the party, Misty knew that it was hard to imagine any of Ash's new companions feeling special, Ash had so many of them it was...it was a bittersweet goodbye.
Ash and Misty were both happy for him as they waved goodbye, standing at the end of the street leading to Prism Tower. On a road less traveled, he saw many different people walking the busy streets below the tower, but, the silence that funneled between them was astute. Frightening.
"...So." Ash started, glancing at Misty who stuffed her hands into her dark blue jean pockets and curled her lips into her mouth.
"So..." She echoed while popping her lips and Ash kept his eyes forward while they made their way back to where ever in the dark. Without speaking they started walking for awhile, clearing the air with pikachu trailing slowly behind. Ash hadn't the nerve to tell her that he wasn't sure where they were going, and she didn't seem to mind; so he kept the fact to himself while they circled the pokemon park again.
But it was eating him up—did he do something? Was she going crazy or something? Was there something going on at Cerulean City he wasn't aware of that made her act...so strange? Or maybe this was who they were now. Jagged pieces that didn't fit together properly anymore, and the glue was running thin. He finally glanced up at her, seeing her brows knit together—deep in thought herself.
"...are we...?" heart pounding, Ash watched light hit her eyes.
"Look!" Misty gasped, pointing to a shop in the distance that he couldn't make a name of. She was gone in a flash. Even though all the lights were off, the street lamps above them cast light through the windows. Misty peered in with her nose pressed against the clear glass when Ash made his way over. He hadn't bothered to read the sign, instead, he peeked in after her.
"...Bikes, Misty?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her when a twinkle formed in her eye. Pikachu carelessly chuckled on his shoulder while Misty turned around to glare at the two of them.
"Yeah, Ash, bikes."
"Aren't you a little old to-"
"Don't even finish that sentence." She snarled while pointing with her index finger at one in the back of the display. It was red, with a small basket in the front that reminded Ash far too much of the ruined bike from his childhood. Maybe that was why she liked it so much.
"Looks like your old bike."
"That is my old bike." She rolled her eyes jokingly, how dare he not know that. "The cycle-master 2000 with two adjusting levels, mountain tires, and-" She glanced at him, witnessing the guilt there before shoving him playfully.
"It was 10,000 dollars? What the heck did you buy that for!?" he shouted in his stupor when Misty walked away from the bike shop with a laugh, wanting him to follow.
"Well, mine was more like five, but that was a few years ago."
"No wonder you were so mad, that's a lot of money."
"Yeah, I know."
"Terrible excuse to follow me though." he snapped before she got the edge on the topic, and she shot him a sideways glare, but then smiled.
"I know." She sighed. "but I couldn't leave you out there alone, you might have died without me. I mean, did you see my bike? You probably should have been dead."
"Pika!" the mouse whined unappreciative of her comment, Misty swayed her hand at him, and pat the pokemon nicely on the head in response.
"I know, it wasn't your fault, pikachu." She hummed biting her tongue at how tiny and cute the mouse appeared on Ash's broader shoulders. "But, you have to admit, your trainer is accident prone. If Brock and I hadn't come along, I don't want to think what might have happened."
"I would have been fine!" Ash tried, glaring at her. "And with a lot less arguments from you."
"You would have made it as far as the Viridian forest and blown up."
"Would not." he argued, but she poked her tongue out when their hands touched.
"You would have. I mean, you threw a caterpie at a p-"
"Let it go, Misty." he squeezed her hand affectionately, warning her with a look that resulted in roaring giggles while pikachu held his tongue, and they kept walking.
For hours, they walked. Until the trickle of people vanished, the booming, distant sound of the busy nightlife faded, and they were alone somewhere in the city. They didn't talk, or hug, or take out those horrible pent-up teenage hormones that boiled into their adult lives. They walked, hand in hand, and wherever their feet took them.
"...Remember how easy it was back then?" She asked suddenly, jarring Ash from his trance.
"Easy?"
"Yeah." Misty smiled, "The traveling, the excitement—it seemed that no matter where we went as children, people needed our help—or let us help them, you know?" Her eyes lit up like the lamps above them, but he kept the notion to himself and nodded in response.
"But, it seems like now that we're older, and probably more equip to handle the many situations that we were thrown into as kids—people avoid us like the plague." She released her hand from his to jump onto the brick railing beside the small stream running through city and Ash crossed his arms over his chest in thought.
"...Maybe they realized that we're just as messed up as they are, so what's the point?" Misty winced, feeling as if he was channeling some of her pessimistic views.
"Or maybe we don't see that people need help as easily—I mean." Misty inhaled, jumping down, and directly in front of Ash, her eyes gleaming and narrowed. "When was the last time you saved someone, Ash Ketchum?"
He grinned. "Outside of the whole Kalos league?"
"No, I mean." She whirled back. "helped. Solved a mystery, went out of your way to find a missing pokemon, jumped head first into a situation that you knew nothing about thatdid not pertain to your immediate goal?"
Ash's mouth opened, then closed. He couldn't think of any.
"Well, I guess that's what happens when you grow up?"
She didn't reply after, not right away, anyways. Her shoulders stayed high, back facing him while they ventured into another direction that brought them into downtown Lumiose City. The street lights were aglow, and they could see some straggling trainers gathering their bags to meet curfew at the pokemon center—the perks of being over sixteen meant he didn't have curfew anymore. Lucky for him.
When his eyes returned to Misty, she stopped, staring at the Prism Tower where this started, and Ash spun to look at her.
"Growing up kind of sucks, doesn't it?" She sighed painfully, her chest falling and the hope and excitement in her eyes dying.
"Sometimes I feel like I'm not doing a very good job." She added under her breath while Ash stuffed his hands into his pockets.
"Are you okay, Misty? You seem crazier than usual?" Humor coated his tone, but the gaze he received in turn was nothing short of every emotion humanly possible at the exact same moment.
"I'm over compensating."
Ash had a hard time keeping a straight face when he snorted. "What?"
"Well," she hummed, walking once again. "I figured that since you've been a stick in the mud, someone has to keep things lively."
What? "A stick in the mud?" He echoed, and that was only the first issue with her statement. "Lively? You consider making me question my sanity all day lively?"
"Oh c'mon!" She dodged the question, "I've seen pregnant rattatas with more enthusiasm than you lately!"
"Well!" Ash threw his hands up, while Misty pranced away from him with her arms crossed.
"I mean," She stammered. "If you're enjoying this cardboard cut out of a person where you have to be perfect and heroic all the time—the perfect champion-then that's great! It's just.. it's weird."
"Weird?" Ash echoed, reaching her pace. "I'm weird? You're being weird! I'm not perfect, or cardboard or...hey, I'm—Misty!"
She stopped in front of a very large poster pressed against the brick wall of one of the shops, and Ash came to a complete stop while looking at it. A portrait—of him—next to all of his pokemon, with the perfect super hero smile, hands on his hips and a quote above about reaching his dreams.
Someday, I'll be a pokemon master. Never give up.
Ash's eyes fell back on her while her shoulders stiffened.
"...yeah, but that's just what people say about me—you know me better that, Mist." he muttered while following her closely behind. Misty shrugged in response.
"Since when did what they say matter, anyways? It's not like they-" A news paper almost flew past his head, but he caught it. "Hey, what's the big deal!" He shouted at her while she reeled around to point at the article that was apparently front page worthy and then scampered away while his eyes gazed over the page.
Fitted with some bogus story, but maybe not too far from the truth, were pictures of Ash and Misty's estranged relationship. Misty fleeing with May inside of the tournament, their awkward greeting—the tension between them when they were watching the match. And of course, the slip, when Ash announced Serena as his girlfriend once again, which lead to a multitude of photo shops showing disdain between Serena and Misty. Not true. They hardly even spoke at the event. He hated seeing this. It wasn't like he had any control over what people said about him.
"Why would you show me this?" He asked, bemused, then insulted. Seeing her grim expression forced him to gulp, and try to make light of the situation. "And this just happened today, where in the world do they find the time to..."
When he looked up, her face was dark, her lips curled into a frown, and her body slumped while she stared at him, watching as the pieces connected.
"...None of this means anything." he tried, but she didn't believe a word of it.
"You tell me that I don't tell you everything, well, now I'm telling you." She muttered, as if she was okaying the scenario with herself before telling him. She brushed her hair from her face, and kept her arms calmly at her sides while facing him.
"It doesn't mean anything to you, because they aren't attacking you. They're attacking me, and it affects my way of life, and my reputation, and my gym. " She crooned and Ash tossed the paper in the bin before she could snatch it away from him.
"I know the articles are just bait, and silly and most of the time completely crazy—but other people don't."
"So tell them it's not true." Ash argued, as if it were that easy. It should have been that easy.
"You don't think I've tried that?"
"Well, what do you want me to do about it?" He shouted, throwing his arms up.
"I don't know!" Came the surprising answer and he looked down at his toes while they walked forward once again.
"It was just... Everything was easier back then. When we were still kids on an adventure, we didn't have to worry about what was said about us because it didn't matter! People didn't know, didn't care—we were just kids on an adventure... It didn't hurt us..."
Ash looked up, then rushed to her side, and grabbed her hand ungracefully. "Then let's go on an adventure."
"What?" She shrieked when Ash pulled her forward against their aching, tired bones.
"Where it doesn't matter, and they can't say anything!" he laughed, and while Misty tried to keep her stern expression, she found it melting away with her breath.
"Ash! Stop pulling me!"
"No!" he laughed in response, and she threw her head back in acceptance, the victim of his charades.
XOX
One collective date later, they were sitting outside at a quarter after one, sipping on soda, bought from the twenty four hour convenience store, and kicking their feet back and forth on the bridge over looking the city. They sat, looking down at the occasional car pass by the interstate, and at the distant airport, and the encompassing forest.
"I would argue that this is a better view than from the tower." Misty chimed in gleefully and Ash chuckled.
"Less people, too." Ash added while munching on a stray chip from their shared bag of not-so-healthy snacks.
Misty paused for a moment, and raised her eye brows."Not really an adventure though."
"It's the middle of the night and you refused to take a hike through the forest."
"I don't like bugs. Can't see them in the dark." said Misty instantly, with wide eyes. Ash rolled his eyes playfully.
"My point is that I tried. Besides, it was kind of funny when that guy didn't recognize me and started hitting on you."
"Or," She rolled her eyes. "he recognized you and didn't care."
"Pffth. I doubt that. No one would hit on my girlfriend."
"I'd hit on me."
A pause.
"Is there something you need to tell me?" they shared a look at their combined sentence, followed by a laugh and then Misty dropped one of the marshmallows they purchased from the bridge, trying to catch one of the cars.
"Blast, they drive too fast."
"I think we need something heavier." Ash muttered while tipping his slush over the side, only to have Misty jerk is hand away.
"I don't want to cause and accident!" She roared in laughter, accidentally knocking purple tinted syrup all over Ash's jacket.
"Awh man, thanks." he grumbled, setting the drink off the side and peeling off his over jacket.
"Sorry." She chuckled and he glared at her. She sounded so sincere about it.
"So." She started after a few beats of silence. "What does league champion Ash Ketchum do?"
Ash scoffed, his gaze shifting wearily at her, and then back to the ground below. His forehead hit the railing, his hat long-sense turned back wards.
"Take orders, mostly. The Elite Four tell me where to go, I follow orders. It's a pretty done deal. The regional champion barks orders, and the chief executives of the league make new events for me to go to that the regional champion is too busy wallowing in his own money to come to." he paused vehemently. "In my spare time, I get to put in my two cents about tournaments, get ignored, put in my two cents about infrastructure, get ignored, but in my two cents about rules, regulations, blah blah blah blah—get ignored." She chimed in with him during the last comment. They shared a look, but then Ash tucked at the strands hanging lose from his gloves with a slouch.
"I don't—can't battle unless it's certified by the league, when I do, it's behind closed doors. I can't give away free advice, I have to go to those stupid pokemon schools for those silly lectures that we avoided when we were kids. And that doesn't even touch on the social aspect. I can't get ten feet out of my hotel—that's right, Misty Waterflower, I'm living in a hotel—without being chased down by a mob of fans!" Ash rolled his shoulders.
"I mean, at least when they didn't know me I could go out for a burger—but instead I'm stuck with all this french-based food served around the clock—I swear if I eat one more poke puff I'm going to forgo eating for the rest of my life, and I love food."
After short breath, he exhaled. "...I guess...It's not anything like I expected it to be."
Misty waited for him to finish before speaking.
"...have you considered challenging the Elite Four for that adoring title of Regional champ?"
"You kidding me? They would slaughter me."
Misty's brows furrowed. "No way."
"Kalos is home for mega evolution. I have exactly two stones: one for charizard, thanks Paul, one for pikachu if I ever evolved pikachu." The mouse's ears perked up, and Ash pat him in assurance, he would never do that. "—and of course, my connection with greninja, but that doesn't cut it. They're just as strong as me, and they've been doing it twice as long—plus, at least two of them are undefeated because Diantha has been there for awhile."
Misty waited minute before speaking. "...you done?"
Ash shrugged, or slumped, either way, it was a nod. "I guess."
"I'm sorry. I didn't know about any of this. You sound miserable."
Ash touched his face, squeezed his eyes shut and then looked at her weakly.
Ash smiled. "...to be fair, I didn't tell you."
"Now who is keeping secrets?" Misty grinned, but it was squished by his dark glare.
"I guess I didn't want to. You know. Admit that I have problems. I'm Ash Ketchum I don't have problems." At least that was something they could agree on.
"At least none that you can't solve?"
"Exactly!" He added quickly, then faltered into silence once again. "Then there's everything with you, and I just..." unable to listen to the end of that sentence, Misty chickened out, and bumped his shoulder with her own.
"Hey, why don't we go get some hot cocoa, my treat." snapped out of his funk, Ash blinked at her.
"There isn't a shop open at this hour."
"Didn't you just say this hotel of yours has around the clock service?"
His eyes lit up, so she continued.
"And, and--Maybe if you asked them, we could even use the kitchen to cook up some of this ramen we bought."
Ash snorted, and smiled in spite of himself. "I would still like to live there after this night is over. Can't do that if you burn the place down." he uttered under his breath, earning a cup-o-noodle soup thrown at his head in response.
XOX
The Richissime hotel was far larger than Misty could have ever imagined. Bright lights hung from the tip top of a thirteen story building. A small cafe sat at the side, beside a shop, beside a dinner, beside—how in the world did they fit so much into one building? There was even a lobby before the real lobby to ensure that no one else outside of the upper class were getting inside. Once they were located inside of the real lobby, while Ash tucked his card back into his wallet, Misty was floored.
Ash pointed to a small pub at the center of the many assortment of extras while taking her by the arm.
"That's where I got drunk that night I called you... and that's where I buy food from Kanto because they won't actually serve it to you in this forsaken place—and over there is where I restock my pokeballs—oh, and you haven't even seen the luxurious amenities; we have two pools, three spas—not including personal ones, two gyms—not pokemon, phew, you don't wanna make that mistake—and a pokemon camp and center just around the corner on the second floor."
Misty looked at him as if he grew another head from his shoulder and the obvious sarcasm he had was apparently lost on her. He pursed his lips. "...I have heard them tell this to me a lot." He laughed and Misty made an o with her lips and then laughed.
"For a minute there I thought you learned something about advertising."
"Oh boy have I ever. Did you know they also offer 201 different french cuisines, none of which resemble anything of home—oh, and not to mention the sixteen different variations of cutlery, all for your eating pleas-"
She stopped him by putting her hand up against his mouth—to which he instantly slobbered on her.
"Stop now, you're being annoying." she chuckled but he rolled his eyes boyishly.
"I'm just saying. If you want to be enthralled in Kalos traditions; you've stepped into the correct hotel. You should love this place—it's all French based." He muttered while they walked into one of the five glass elevators, and Misty crossed her arms.
"If you're so miserable, why don't you go somewhere else?"
"...did I mention the ten foot rule of leaving this place?—I mean, I guess now that I know that there isn't a mob waiting for me a quarter after whatever time it is, I'll have to make a note that this is the only acceptable time to leave the establishment."
"You've been watching too many commercials." Misty said with narrowed eyebrows.
Ash blushed, rethinking his words; "I know, I can't turn it off."
"Pikachu pi." The mouse chuckled while Ash leaned against the railing to collect his thoughts. "They do have really nice room service though, that I stopped using after the first week—but hey, maybe we should just-"
"Ash. Stop." She breathed, latching onto his shoulder to stop his bubbling bundle of nerves from exploding from his mouth. He was clearly nervous. "This isn't going to be weird. I've been in your room before. Heck, I used to sleep beside you every night for three years, and we've even shared clothes. Stop freaking out."
"It's just... different now." He mumbled, and Misty rolled her eyes.
"It's only different if you make it so."
He shrugged. "If you say so..."
XOX
He unlocked the door with the card pass, and pressed the door open quietly to reveal what has been his home for the last few months, Misty stepped in quickly rushing past him to look inside before he managed to hide anything. Clothes were strewn around from every corner, pikachu made a bed out of them on top of the television stand. At the corner was his desk, full of important papers collecting dust beside a square couch, next to the mini-fridge and microwave stand. An assortment of lamps decorated the room, with ancient drawings from Kalos years earlier, and the fragrance of...
"Ash, your room stinks."
"I told you!" he barked and Misty stepped over a few of his shirts that he needlessly picked up as she moshed inside. His bed sheets were messy, his pillows strewn around the full length of the bed. On the nightstand beside, he had several remotes, two books that Misty couldn't see the title of, but thought they looked strangely familiar. Then neatly tied up and placed in the corner was his traveling gear, undisturbed since she came to see him the first week.
Without further input, she turned sharply into his washroom, and peered inside at the glowing, white tile, spotless curtain and bathtub, several girly products that Ash clearly didn't bother to use, and the rest of his live-in hygiene products and towels. Surprisingly, it was clean, and smelled nice.
"Your bathroom is larger than my apartment bedroom." Misty quipped while Ash returned from cracking the window and yanking her out of the white room.
"I always forget that you live an apartment now."
"I know, I'm all grown up." She added while dropping their supply of junk food onto the foot of his bed and taking a seat while he paced to the microwave, grabbed a few stray forks, and Misty tossed him two containers of dry soup. Ash disappeared into the bathroom for a moment, where she heard the water running and seconds later, he emerged with two cups of noodles, and after crossing his room of freshly ruined clothes, he plopped them into the microwave.
"So." Misty hummed. "The Richissime is a famous hotel worldwide. Why in the world would you be living in a low-class suite when you could have one on the upper floor where they have a lounge, and fire places?"
Ash scoffed while turning to her, a fork in his mouth. Not surprised that she knew a little bit about the hotel already. Girls dreamed of coming here.
"I don't cook." he explained quickly while scooping up his business attire from the floor and tossing it into an unused hamper beside his desk. "I don't have many hobbies, I don't spend hours in saunas or pampering myself—I don't read-" He snatched the books she was innocently checking out and slammed them into the first drawer of the desk before she could read the titles. "-I don't need a lot, so I live with little. Plus, they offer me free food and laundry services—though I've noticed that some of my underwear hasn't been coming back-" he looked off to the floor where pikachu rolled his dinner bowel out from beneath Ash's bed—where the pokemon's stash was, and Ash naturally found the can of pokemon food to fill his bowl.
"Anyways, this is good enough."
"It smells."
"Yeah, well, you can thank James for that. I can't get the smell of his vomit out of my carpet. It'll air out after the window-"
"That's so gross." She snickered while Ash shot her a dirty look and she grinned at him.
"I'm sure your house is very clean."
"It is! ...Most of the time." She laughed, beginning to gather his discarded clothes, and plop them into the basket—a deed Ash was not to happy with.
"I can clean myself."
"I know, but what the heck. I like to help."
"Liar." he swore at her and she offered a very sincere, and modest smile that made his heart flutter under the gravity of the situation they were in—but weren't in—that Ash kept nodding off of by leading into new topics and..
"H-hey! The food is done." Ash practically launched himself toward the microwave when Misty grabbed his hand and stilled him.
"Ash, you're such a baby."
"I am not." he breathed, but there was no denying his nerves. They were just fighting, or doing something, they definitely weren't on good terms. This was all so strange. Misty went from being docile and cranky, to alive and happy—to angst and angry, to gleeful and supportive. It was too much, and he wasn't sure how much more of this spin cycle he could take.
"Misty, I'm just trying to..."
"Sit." She ordered and Ash did so without complaint as she took a seat beside him, and scooped the plastic bag of goodies onto the floor, where a pinning pikachu wandered into shortly after. Ash's heart thundered so loudly he could barely hear the rattling of the bag as his eyes made their way to hers with one startling revelation: she looked just as nervous as he was.
"If you make a big deal about this. It will be awkward." She groaned, and Ash raised his eyebrows and then looked away to the television.
"Wanna watch TV?"
Misty sighed, a smile on her lips.
"Sure."
XOX
They were at their best when they were together; least, that was what Ash told himself. He was starved, the smell of chicken broth making his mouth water, but unable to move. Misty was snuggled into his side while they found safe ground to watch a movie on. No blankets, lots of pillows, sitting up, and his arms were planted neatly on his lap while jokes from whatever movie Misty picked out squawked mockingly at him.
His breathing stalled in his chest, and he could feel her leaning against him, head on his shoulder, but his body had long forgot the drum of his heart, or the fog in his head—and was replaced by the feeling of hunger.
"You hungry?" he finally belted out after the first hour of complete silence.
"Not really." She murmured, gazing at the television, lifelessly. She was tired, he could tell by the bags under her eyes that she needed sleep, but she wasn't, for whatever reason. This would all be easier if she would just shut her eyes. A snoring Misty he could handle, a no-space between them, eyes wide open, can feel and hear every movement she makes, was one he could not; but they had been this close before, a long time ago, at a movie theater.
But the movie theater wasn't in a small, enclosed space on his bed watching a small screen with pikachu asleep in his Ash-clothes fort and cold soup in the microwave. They weren't divided only by the fabric they wore, and they had a dead line and people watching them and...
"I'm really hungry. You sure you don't want something?"
With a groan, something akin to a sigh, she sat up so Ash could run away to the microwave to retrieve the long forgotten—super soggy soups that he had no intention of eating, and carried them back to the bed where he took a seat that kept them separated by a few inches, and then clung to the soup container without much thought. Mindlessly watching pictures of girls flutter across the screen wearing dresses—that popular actress Misty adored playing an undercover cop in a beauty competition that he couldn't remember the name of. When did it become like this?
"Uhh, Misty." he finally croaked, and at her wits end, she sat up.
"I'm going to go have a shower."
"But you don't-" She indicated to the small bag that she brought with her, that she carried with her all night, that he so easily forgot about and shut his mouth.
"Never mind."
Without further words, she ventured into the bathroom, and Ash waited as long as the water turning on before running to the balcony and throwing out the rest of the cups into the outdoor garbage. Pikachu met him at the door way.
"Pikac, pika chu chu. Pikachupi pi pika." The mouse scolded with his tiny arms crossed while Ash ventured to his desk to grab a bottle of discarded air freshener to spray on the carpet where he thought James barfed.
"Listen, I know you're trying to help, Pikachu, but believe me. I'm fine."
"Pikachu... chu pika."
"I am not. That's weird and. Did you kiss your mother with that mouth?" He snapped upright while pointing at a snickering pikachu who snipped at his trainer while climbing back into his fort.
Pikachu whined laughable from his fort, and mocked Ash while he glanced at the clock.
"You're right, I don't know what I'm doing." 2:30amglared back at him from his digital clock, and he rolled over on his side with a pout. He would just close his eyes for a few seconds to clear his head, and then all of this would be better. Easier. He just couldn't sleep with her around—all he needed were a few minutes and he would be right as rain.
A few minutes...
XOX
Ash woke up when hands pat down his jeans, the sound of his fly coming unzipped forced him to spring out of bed.
"What's going on?" he scrambled for this thoughts, noticing that both his hat and his shoes were missing. He spun around to see the culprit, Misty, staring at him awestruck, a slight blush over her cheeks while she held the discarded items. Ash's face met her blush.
"A...a dream." he grumbled quietly, and her face turned three shades darker.
"A dream!?" She hissed, then folded her arms. "Don't be so crude! I was trying to take your pants off so you could sleep! You can't sleep comfortably in jeans." she gestures to her own cotton, super-baggy togepi themed pajamas.
"Ahh" Ash started, his face darkening. "I'm just fine thank you." he added and Misty wheeled over to him, still stunned from sleep when she dropped his shoes beside his hamper, and his hat onto the top. With a quick glance around, he noticed that she took the liberty to clean the rest of his small room, but none of that mattered while she waved effortlessly at him.
"Whatever, I'm going to sleep." She hummed while falling onto his bed, and kicking the covers up and around her, clearly as distressed as he was. He looked to the clock, almost two hours had passed since he saw it last, and he rubbed his eyes. Her hair poked out from beneath the sheets tied into the high ponytail he knew so well from their childhood.
"Sorry." he grumbled, turning away from her to take a seat on the couch. As if reading his thoughts, she turned around to face him.
"Ash, don't be weird about this again."
He looked over at her, where her puffy, sea-green eyes, blood shot from what he could only assume was exhaustion glared at him from the seas of his endless covers.
How could he say no to that?
Without a word, he climbed over to her with the familiar skill of crossing his room in the dark passing through him naturally as he ditched his pants on the way to the bed, and crossed under the covers before his brain could argue with him about it.
Her arms sprung for him the second his head touched the pillow, and pulled him into a heavy hug while her head slumped against his shoulder.
"Goodnight." he murmured, thankful for the bed. He hated sleeping on the couch—or the floor while she got...
"'night." She whispered and Ash felt a dampness on his shirt he wasn't familiar with, but was far too tired to recall.
"Misty." he called to her, finally wrapping his arms around her shoulders and shifting so that he was facing her, eyes closed and pulling her head into his chest.
"Are we okay?" He asked again, but didn't remain conscious long enough for the answer.
Author's Note:
So they finally reached a point of not crashing and burning. I wanted to show more of their friendship aspect in this chapter, since it's been so blargh. PLUS, we finally got some insight into Ash's world that I've been so super-secret about so far! Weee~
Next chapter!
Real talk about this story:
I was waiting to upload this one because I kept telling myself I was going to write chapter 24 as well and post them as a pair, but instead I think I'm going to wait only because I haven't picked at the chapter well enough and there's some things that happen in the next chapter that I want to be sure are not too off the wall. There's lots of little foreshadowing in this chapter that hopefully you, the readers, won't forget by the time we get to the next chapter! I've edited this one several times and think that I am finally comfortable in posting it. And am finally ready to announce that this story is headed in a direction to (spoilers, no one asked for this one) create a part three.
I'm mainly wanting to create a part three because I've written the full outline for this story and.. well, it's no secret to those I've spoken to about this story, it's been -really- difficult to write. In my opinion, even after this story is -done- it's still not complete. Typically, I would just merge the two ideas together to form one story, but in the case of Spitfire, Equanimity and my current idea of part 3, each story has a 'theme' that is specific to the one story. (see, it's funny that I've thought this much about these things since Spitfire started as a JOKE. Oh man, send help) If I start combining what I want from part 3 into part 2, then it's, well, I just don't want to. I want to get Equanimity over with, and then write part 3, which in many ways, I already feel like is the sequel that Spitfire actually deserved.
Everyone who has ever written has that -one- story that no matter what they do they just don't care for it, unfortunately for me, Equanimity is mine.
Thanks always for reading and leaving feedback and any favs and follows -hearts-
NINT
