A little one-shot that I had started for Pokeshipping week last year, but never finished. The theme was fishing. Enjoy. :)

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

The sun was setting on a warm, spring day in Cerulean. Misty sat on the edge of the footbridge, her line in the water. She had taken a day off from the gym, spending most of her time at the river north of Cerulean. It had been a while since she had last been fishing, and her line was dying to be in the water.

It was rough. Nothing was biting. She felt a tug on the line and eagerly reeled it in. Seeing her empty lure, she sighed and casted her rod again, moving it horizontally until the line hit the water with a plop. She waited some more, though she thought it was pointless. She had been there all day and not even a Magikarp.

She kicked the sides of the wooden planks. The banging was too loud for her to hear the footsteps behind her. She had been too lost in thought to feel the planks beneath her bow slightly. No, she didn't notice at all that she was no longer alone.

"Hey Misty," a voice said behind her, causing her to jump.

She whipped her head around to see him standing behind her, Pikachu perched on his shoulder, fishing rod in hand.

"Ash, what are you doing here?" She asked as he sat down next to her. Pikachu leapt from his shoulder, landing on the bridge softly.

He smiled, but said nothing. He threw his own line in the water. Misty stared at him, taking in every inch of his presence. She had to be sure that she wasn't dreaming. He was taller. His voice sounded deeper, so much so that she hadn't recognized it. How long had it been since she had last seen him? It must have been at least a year, maybe more.

A lot of him was the same. He still wore a stupid hat, although this one was a slight variation of the one that she had always known him in. He still was wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Would it kill him to update his wardrobe now and then?

Misty knew that she expected too much of him. He was too busy training Pokémon to care much about anything else, let alone her opinions about his fashion sense, which begged the question—what was he doing here? Shouldn't he be running around some remote region getting himself nearly killed every single chance that he got? Why was he here?

"So, are the fish biting today?" He asked casually.

"Is that all you can say to me?" Her voice had an edge of irritation to it.

"What's the matter, Mist," Ash said, frowning. "Are you not happy to see me?"

He struck her down with the utterance of her nickname, something she hadn't heard in ages. She opened and closed her mouth, reminding Ash of the Magikarp that were apparently not biting that day. Maybe he scared the fish away with his obnoxiously loud walking across the bridge.

"Cat got your tongue?"

"Ash Ketchum, what are you doing here?"

"Fishing," he said, facing the water. "Honestly, Misty, do you need to get your eyes checked or something?"

She groaned in frustration. It was hopeless. He would always be this impossible—impossible—boy. He would always be a boy. She doubted that he would ever get it. He would always be dense to her feelings. How did he not see it yet? How could he not know that she was hopelessly in love with him?

She viciously reeled until her lure hit the top of her rod. She slammed it down briefly while she stood, snatching it back up as she became vertical. Pikachu jumped at her sudden movements, almost falling in the water. He regained his balance a moment, exhaling in relief. Ash stared at her stunned.

"Where are you going, Misty?"

"Why is it any of your business?" She snapped, storming off, the bangs of her feet against the wood echoing underneath them.

Ash threw his rod down, not even bothering to reel it in. He leapt to his feet. Being taller than her now, it took no time to catch up to her. He grabbed her wrist, causing her to stop short.

"Hey," Ash said, almost shouting, "What gives? I come all this way, and you blow me off! I thought you would have been happy to see me, but I guess that was only wishful thinking."

"Why do I have to be happy for you to just show up out of the blue?" she spat back, yanking her arm away from him. "Why should I be happy when I know that you'll only be here a day or two before you run off again and stop talking to me for months? And you won't even give me the courtesy of telling me why you're here. So yeah, I'm walking away."

"But Mist—"

"Don't start with me, Ash Ketchum," she said, the tears starting to form in her eyes. "I'm done with being important only when it's convenient."

His heart sunk. She turned and stormed away, her rod resting over her shoulder dangerously. Ash gulped, knowing that she might use it to impale him if she wanted. He had royally screwed up this time. He looked down at Pikachu, desperate for help. Pikachu motioned at him to go after her. Ash sighed. Pikachu was right. He had to tell her the truth.

He sprinted after her, leaving Pikachu to hold on to his rod. Pikachu sat contently, giant fishing rod in his hands, looking at across the water at the scene that was unfolding before him. Ash had shouted for her again once he had caught up. She whipped around suddenly, and Ash ducked as the rod narrowly almost poked him in the eye.

"Ash, I don't want to hear it!" She glared for a moment before turning and walking away again.

"I came to see you!" He called to her when she had gotten several feet away.

"Well, no shit, Sherlock," she growled, stomping back toward him. Once she was closer, he saw that her cheeks were now wet. "I didn't think you came all the way to Cerulean to admire the scenery. There's no other reason to be here for you. You already have a Cerulean Gym badge, even though it was given to you out of pity."

He winced slightly, trying to ignore the jab she took at him. "I thought that you would want to see me. I guess I was wrong, then."

"Ash," she sniffed. "It's not that I don't want to see you."

"What is it then?"

She hesitated, shuffling her feet and casting her eyes toward the ground. She bit her lip and wiped her face with the back of her hand. The two of them stood in uncomfortable silence for some time. The breeze blew, rustling nearby trees and carrying the yellow pollen around them. Ash reached out his arm toward her, but retracted it when she lifted her head to face him once more. She took a couple of deep breaths before finally speaking.

"I don't want to see you leave."

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He had no idea that it had been hard for her too. At first, it hadn't been so bad. He had many places from which to travel, many people to meet, many Pokemon to catch, and it took a while for the distance to start bothering him. It wasn't until one night—one phone call—that changed all of that.

It had started casually. He had reached some small village with the tiniest of Pokemon Centers. He was travelling alone at this point—in between regions without anyone but Pikachu. It had been pouring that night. He recalled being drenched when he made the call to her. When she had answered, she chastised him for being out in another storm. However, after a few minutes, she had softened and their conversation proceeded like usual.

It has been half-way through conversing that something began to shift within Ash. Misty was updating him on the on-goings of the gym when her sister Daisy interrupted to ask if she was still going out with some boy named Georgio later that night. Misty, stunned, rushed her sister back out of the room and shut the door behind her, but it was too late. Ash started bombarding her with questions about this guy. She brushed it off saying that he was just some guy that came and asked her out one afternoon. Misty had said that she was going out with him to be kind and give him a shot. How could she let a free meal pass her by was her reasoning to him.

They finished up the call not long after that since she had to go meet Georgio. She asked questions about his travels, and he reciprocated by telling her a story or two. After about twenty minutes or so, the call ended, leaving Ash with a mixture of emotions. He carried on for the rest of the night thinking about Misty on a date with this faceless guy. It gnawed at him like a Weedle, leaving him with a hole that filled with unbridled jealously.

It bothered him for days after, distracted him from training. He had almost lost a match with a novice trainer because he had been too busy thinking about Misty getting all dressed up nice. Luckily Pikachu zapped him just as the thought of her kissing this guy crept into his mind, burying it back down and allowing the clarity he needed to narrowly pull out a win.

The thought came back to him, hours later, while he was walking on a path that ran along the sea. He kept peering over the railing, his insides much like the water below, waves crashing against the rocky cliff-side. It reminded him so much of Misty—serene most of the time, but could turn on you in a heartbeat.

He kept thinking about her possibly kissing that other guy, his hands clenched as he walked. Why was it bothering him so much? Why should he care that she might kiss some other guy? It's not like he wanted to kiss her or whatever? Her lips against his—that would be…wonderful?

He stopped cold, his face flushing. Pikachu tapped him on the head, but he was too lost in thought to notice. He…wanted to kiss her? That was strange. Why would he want to do that? It's not like he liked her that way. That would be silly! They were best friends after all. Why would he want to kiss his best friend? She wasn't his girlfriend…yet. Yet? Did that mean that he wanted her to be his girlfriend?

Realization struck him like lightning. He wanted to date her. If he wanted to date her, than that meant that he must like her more than a friend. He had started walking again, mindlessly, not really paying attention to where he was going. How much did he like her more than a friend? He thought of all the other guys that had been in her life before, remembering Rudy in particular. He had hated him with a passion, but he never could quite understand why. Sure the guy was an annoying show-off, but that wasn't a reason to hate him. The only thing that made sense to him now that he was acutely aware of his emotions was that he must have been jealous.

How long had he had these feelings for her? He was mentally kicking himself. Why the fuck did it take him this long in order to figure it out? And why now? Of all times to wake up to his senses, it had to be because of a date with some other guy. What if she really liked this guy? The more he thought about it, the more he knew that he was in love with her. What was he going to do?

He had to go see her. There was no other option. If he didn't, well, it might be too late. He would throw away his shot at them being together. He mulled over the idea. He was in the heart of competing in the latest league. It would really disrupt his training, but he could afford to take some time to go see her and let her know how he felt. Not to mention, he missed her terribly. With new determination, he set a new course for the nearest port city.

So that was why he was there staring at the love of his life, not sure what to say to her. He hadn't expected this. How could he confess to her to only run back to training and leave her behind? It was painful enough when she had to go and be a gym leader, but he hadn't realized how hard it had been on her. If he had called more often, then maybe he would have known, but there was nothing that he could do about that now. Then again, she was running off with other guys without even a second thought, so could it have really been that hard?

"Seems like you've been getting on just fine without me," Ash said bitterly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she shot back.

"Well you have no trouble going out with guys on dates! Guess you don't need me then, huh?"

"God, you are such an idiot," she said, smacking her forehead with her hand. "Besides, why is it any of your business who I choose to go out with anyway? Why do you care?"

"Because I'm in love with you!" The word fell out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Her fishing rod dropped to the ground. Her mouth had fallen open. They stood immobilized, Ash's turned beet red. Neither of them spoke. Ash's heart was fluttering, waiting for her response. Her silence was slowly killing him.

"Misty?" Ash asked timidly.

She did not respond. Her mind was in a daze. Had she heard him right? Did he really say that he was in love with her? Was she dreaming? She had to be dreaming. That was more plausible than the boy actually loving her. Then again…

"Please say something."

He gazed at her with pleading eyes. He had never looked at her that way before? Could he be telling the truth? Her heart was hammering. Hadn't this been what she always wanted?

"Well, it's about time," she said before lunging forward, flinging her arms around him.

He had barely enough time to react. She had almost knocked him completely over, but he managed to steady himself, elated. She had been waiting for him all of this time? If only he had known sooner, he could have spared her from all of that grief.

He held her by her shoulders and pushed her back to get a better look at her. There were still tears in her eyes, which he promptly brushed away. He tipped up her chin and planted his lips against hers. Her eyes widened before she closed them and wrapped her arms around him once more.

It was as good as he had hoped. Her mouth tasted like mint and berries, an odd, but good, combination. He loved the feel of her soft lips against his as they moved together.

He really did want her. She wasn't dreaming. Ash Ketchum was kissing her. Who cared if he would have to leave again eventually? She finally had his heart. And that was what really mattered.

After what felt like an eternity, they broke apart. Ash was beaming. Misty let out a teary giggle. He snatched her hand into his and held it tightly, never wanting to let it go. Something caught his attention from out of the corner of his eye. It was then that he finally noticed Pikachu, who had been watching them the whole time.

"Hey, Pikachu! Look! I went fishing and caught a Misty!"

"Pika!"