Mad Season Chapter 3
Pairing: Ash/Misty,
Genre: Humor/Romance
Rating: T
Summary: In which Brock and Daisy scheme to get Ash and Misty together. One-shot
Requested by: Razor Of DOOM
XOXs
Ash and Misty were both stubborn, they were oblivious, and in denial. These were facts that Brock had become obsessively aware with since the start of his friendship with the duo. They bickered like a married couple, they joked like best friends, they spoke like peers, and they influenced each other like rivals. They were in the simplest of terms: terribly perfect for each other.
However, staring down his calender like a ticking time clock, he was sure that they would never realize it without help.
"So, uh, Misty..." Brock began, holding the phone close to his ear, he could see the image of the redhead in the video phone while she flicked cyan polish onto her nails. It was their mandatory three-way call between the former trio that took place every two weeks, only, the familiar, raven-haired boy was missing in action.
"What's up, Brock?" Misty hummed, holding the phone skillfully with her shoulder and a tilt of her head.
"Aren't you bothered that Ash isn't here?" he grunted, and she shrugged, tipping her knee up against her chest to begin painting her toes the same color.
"Not really, you know he's busy preparing to return home after his last league match."
"...Yeah, but he lost again—don't you think that, well, you know, he might be a little depressed?" Brock countered, clucking his tongue. Misty briefly glanced at Brock, checked the screen for his icon, and then looked away once again.
"He usually lets us know when something is up." Misty muttered halfheartedly. Brock could see the pain twisted on her face, over the years Ash had started to miss more and more of these phone calls—but none as recent as when he started to travel in Kalos. Lately, he had been too busy to talk with Brock or Misty, or even return emails. However, Misty refused to let any of that bother her, and if it did. She adamantly refused to show it.
That was another thing; they weren't children anymore, long gone were the days when they would sit at their phones, waiting to hear from Ash. Misty had outgrown her school girl crush, and if deeper feelings still existed, she had them barred in the deepest parts of her heart.
"You don't think it has something to do with, uhh, you know, Serena?"
Her eyes looked at Brock like a snakes would its prey, and she sucked back air before setting her nail brush into the cyan bottle, and sealed it.
"Brock, listen." She started. "Whatever you're thinking. Stop thinking it." She warned him, knowing that look in his squinted eyes.
"Thinking what?" Brock exasperated, "What could I be thinking."
"I don't know. But whatever it is. Stop." She warned him while holding the phone and pointed her well manicured finger at the screen threatening. "I would hate to have to fly to Johto to kick your butt."
"Oh Misty, you're too paranoid! What could I do?"
She squinted her eyes glaring over his face for any hints that he would be thinking of something abnormal and then sat back. "Alright, I'm sorry."
"Sheesh, paranoid?" He mocked, wiggling his eyebrow. Misty inhaled.
"When it comes to you, yes." She refrained from repeating disastrous stories before fluttering her eyes at him. "Anyways, I better get going, it's late here and I have to be up early for gym duties, so I will catch you later."
"Alright, take care Misty! Let's talk again soon!"
"Will do," She paused thoughtfully and gave him a warm smile. "And good luck on your test tomorrow!"
"Thanks!"
She clicked off the screen, the black light enveloping where her face had been only moments ago, and Brock found himself stammering and tapping his fingers against his lips and chin. This simply wasn't going fast enough...and if left alone they would drift apart and their friendship—the original threesome- would cease to exist. Brock gnawed his fingers for a few moment, before turning to his cell phone and scrolling through some spare numbers.
It was a long shot, but it was something.
"Hello, Daisy?" Brock murmured,
"Oh, is this Brock? Like, I think you like, have the wrong number. Misty is-"
"No, I wanted to call you." He informed quickly, and the blonde grunted slightly.
"Like, I already said I'm dating Tracey..."
Brock slapped his forehead with his palm. "It's no about that!" He assured her quickly. "I uh, was wondering if you could help me out with a problem..." He rummaged through his things at his desk in his dorm room and pulled out a sheet of paper.
"A problem? Like, don't you think you should tell Misty?"
"No!" Brock shouted and then cleared his throat. "This is about Misty. I need your help."
"...oh no. Do you, like, have the hots for my sister?"-"Daisy, who are you talking to?" Brock heard Misty shout from Daisy's end of the phone.
"No, not me, Ash!" Brock chanted quickly, grabbing his chest before Daisy shouted back at Misty. She licked her lips, thwarted off Misty by shutting a door, and smacked her lips.
"I'm listening."
XOXs
This was never going to work.
Clearly Brock had lost his mind; he was taking the first trip to the loony bin when this was over! He was going to either get strangled by Misty, or ignored forever by Ash after this. Neither were great options!
He sat at Misty's house, watching the woman in blue shorts and red tank top pace back and forth through her kitchen, holding a note that had been pasted together with glue and newspaper cut outs.
"What do you think this means, Brock?" She gasped, slamming the note onto the table.
"I don't know." He said, blinking innocently at her. Seconds later, she slumped down into her seat and rubbed her temple.
"I'm sorry for calling you, just when I tried to reach Ash, that little blonde girl told me he was already on his way back home." Misty swallowed hard. "Some kind of emergency came up—I just didn't know who else to call..."
Brock felt himself begin to sweat while looking over the note: "Don't inform the police, we've taken your sister. Bring Ash and ten thousand dollars or she burns."
Brock swallowed hard, eyes wide. It was a little extreme! When he and Daisy spoke of a plan to bring the duo together, he didn't mean to create a kidnapping—but Daisy was nothing if not one for dramatic flares.
"Do you think Ash got one?" Brock muttered quietly, peeking up at Misty who cradled her head in her hands.
"I don't know. Brock, what am I going to do? Maybe I can tell the police without them knowing?" Misty sniffled—and his heart sank. She was crying or at least starting to. Oh man, when the cat came out of the bag this time, he was a dead man.
"No!" Brock snapped, getting a concerned look from Misty who sat back in alarm, Brock cleared his throat shortly after. "I just mean that they could be watching you, and if they are, they might actually hurt her... We should wait to see if we can reach Ash."
"You think so?" Misty stammered thoughtfully. "When was the last time you spoke with him?" She muttered painfully, wiping her eyes.
Brock shuddered, back stiffening. "Ahh, about a month ago?"
Then she set her head down on top of her arms again. "Oh no. What am I going to do?" She whined, because when Ash was unheard of for a month, that could mean weeks before they heard from him again.
"...Calm down Misty, I'm positive he will be here." Brock shrieked, getting another confused look from Misty.
"Positive? How can you be positive he's coming here?" She asked, scrunching her eyebrows up cutely while Brock's face fell flat and he jolted from his chair to start on a pot of coffee—mostly to distract himself, and keep her attention away from his face. Misty could read him like a book.
She stalled for a few seconds, thumbing the wooden table and then glancing at the note once more.
"Brock, what do you know?" She growled dangerously, and he hummed pathetically while filling the float.
"N-nothing I ju-""MISTY!" A raspy voice called from the front of the front of the gym. Misty sprang to her feet, recognizing the voice automatically and rushed from the kitchen, followed closely in tow by Brock. The doors swung open, revealing an out of breath and panicked Ash who ran the full length of the pool before Brock and Misty made their stop outside of the kitchen.
"Ash!" Misty called in surprise, receiving moments later a barreling hug that nearly knocked her over. Ash's warm embrace brought a bright blush to her face as Brock stared on in awe. Ash had closed his eyes and exhaled in the moment, his heart was still racing and Misty felt it against her own chest when she awkwardly pat him.
"It's good to see you, too." She stammered, then nervously added. "but why the rush?" She added before Ash snapped backwards, sincere relief washing over his face as he held onto her shoulders and pikachu jumped from his shoulder and into Misty's arms with the same amount of relief as she scratched his ears.
"Sorry." he muttered weakly, still catching his breath. He exhaled once, shook his head in disbelief and then removed from his pocket a folded note.
"I got this." He gasped, wiping his forehead with his wrist.
Brock took the note from his hands while Misty looked on as he unfolded each crevice gently. He read the note aloud:
"We've taken the Waterflower. Come on your own and tell no one or she dies..." Brock uttered quietly, looking up with a puzzled gaze at his two companions—while he seemed unconvinced they both seemed genuinely distraught. Misty turned from the two of them, much to Ash's confusion and reentered the kitchen to fetch a note from the table once more.
"I got one, too." She said, handing Ash the letter describing Daisy's capture. His face lightened up for a moment, and then turned serious once more. Just because they didn't take Misty didn't make the situation any better.
"When did you get this?" He inquired quickly, handing the note back to her. She shrugged.
"It was in the mailbox this morning." she said. "What about yours?"
"Yesterday." He said nonchalantly. "I tried to get here as fast as I could, but the flight from Kalos is anything but fast." He breathed, putting his hands on his hips and looking directly at Brock.
"Why are you here?" Ash asked suddenly pointing at Brock who twitched.
"Me? Oh, uh..."
"I called him because I couldn't get a hold of you." She muttered weakly, and Ash's face fell.
"Sorry..." he grumbled, looking down briefly before returning his gaze to her, he clutched her shoulder, and blinked his brown eyes at her. "You're alright, though?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." She reassured him with a bright smile. Brock watched in awe, and while he commemorated Daisy for her efforts—this was too far.
"Jeeze, you got here in a day from Kalos? You must have been worried." She teased, causing a jot of chills to run down Ash's spine and he looked away quickly, folding his arms in the process.
"I was not." he lied, stepping closer to Brock to enter his safety zone and to remove the note from his fingers once more.
"What are we going to do about this?" Ash asked, and Misty raised her eyebrows while looking over the notes once more. A little more level headed, her eyebrows rose.
"There might be another one laying around." Misty muttered, "We should split up and check the gym—they probably knew that Ash would be coming or else they wouldn't have sent one here without an address."
"That's true." Brock confirmed. "We should split up and look around." He shoved the two of them together, and took pikachu quickly. "I'll take pikachu, and search the first floor, you two look up stairs."
Both trainers gave him a awry look, and then looked at each other before shrugging. "Alright. But be careful, they might still be here." Ash warned, using code word gestures.
"Ash you don't even know what those mean." Misty grunted, pinching the bridge of her nose. Ash whispered in response, insisting that she keep her voice low.
"Doesn't matter." he responded, holding his index finger to his mouth before starting the trek up the stairs. Brock had already turned away to start his own investigation when he saw Misty looking back at him with narrowed, green eyes, and then followed Ash up the stairs quickly.
Brock waited until they were gone before pulling out his cell phone. "Pikachu, don't freak out but this is all very good intentions gone very bad..." He said. "Daisy faked her kidnapping in an attempt to bring Ash and Misty together." He warned while flipping through his contacts for Daisy's number.
"Cha!" The mouse whined in displeasure, unimpressed with the incident. "Pika pikapikachu!" It shouted before Brock held up a finger to his lips.
"Pikachu, not so loud! It wasn't my idea. I merely told Daisy to make up a believable excuse and send it to Ash... I didn't expect this!" Brock sighed. He waited a few minutes to look through the bottom floor, making sure that no prying ears were around before he pressed the call button.
"Like, hello?" Daisy answered, the familiar smack of gum radiating from the phone. Brock inhaled.
"What were you thinking telling Misty you were kidnapped?"
"Oh!" Daisy laughed modestly. "It worked that fast huh? How's it going?"
"Bad! She's going to kill me when she finds out—and she will find out!" Brock groaned before the thump of feet racing down the stairs distracted him.
"Brock!" Ash screamed. Brock spun around on his heels to see Ash, and pikachu already began ratting the pokemon doctor out, but Ash's concern, distraught was all-too-real.
So was the blood on his forehead.
"Someone was upstairs!" He gasped. "They took Misty!"
"WHAT?!" Daisy screamed into the phone as Brock dropped the cellphone onto the hard tile floors.
XOXs
The example of a joke gone wrong.
"I didn't send a note to Ash!" Daisy gasped, hands shaking as she searched the upper floor with Ash and Brock, she came right away after Brock's phone call to help them search the area. All they found was the bat the kidnapper used to hit Ash over the head, a broken window, and Misty's cellphone on the floor.
"They couldn't have gotten far!" Ash shouted. "Didn't you hear anything Brock? Where were you!?" He shouted, grabbing the breeder by his vest. Brock yelped, and wiggled out of Ash's grasp.
"I didn't know, I'm sorry! It was just supposed to be a joke!"
"Not a very funny one! What were you thinking? Misty could be seriously hurt!" Ash exclaimed, punching the wall dramatically and then retracting it moments later to shake out the pain. Brock looked on in awe and depression, while Daisy all but broke down, suddenly crying.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen." She gasped, shoulders shaking as tears trailed down her cheeks. She held her face while Ash and Brock watched her sympathetically..
"...It's okay." Ash murmured quietly. "...we just have to find Misty. Do you think they left another note?" Ash asked quietly, looking away from his companions. Daisy wiped her eyes while Brock pat her shoulder sincerely.
"It's possible, maybe we should check her room?" Brock asked, walking towards the area in question. Ash followed at the back of the group, pale and glum while he rubbed his head and adjusted his hat.
This couldn't have been any worse—what if someone had been watching the gym and they saw this joke as the perfect chance to finally kidnap Misty without telling them? What in the world was Daisy thinking! Man, Brock should have never tried to stick his nose into Misty's affairs again and this would have never happened. Now one of his best friends was...gone.
"Another note!" Ash gasped, peeled away from their trail an into the bathroom where a crumpled note laid on the sink counter. He grasped it firmly, and then read the words with a pale expression and handed it to Brock.
"If you ever want to see the redhead again, come to the Cerulean Cave with five thousand dollars at midnight. If we see the police, you will never see her again."
Daisy fell into a squat, holding her stomach and trembling violently as Brock finished the note. Ash's blood boiled as he looked at Brock.
"Do you still think it's funny to pretend to be kidnapped?!" Ash shouted, and then turned away from them, holding pikachu.
"Where are you going?" Brock called to Ash as he made his way down the stairs.
"I'm going to go get that money!" Ash growled back, causing Daisy to rush to her feet and Brock to follow after him.
"You don't have that kind of money, Ash!" Brock suggested, grabbing his friends arm. Ash yanked himself out of his grip and narrowed his eyes at Brock.
"Well I'll find a way to get it! Misty's worth more than five thousand dollars!" He yelled in retort, furious that their little 'joke' wound up sporting one of his best friends kidnapping.
Brock swallowed hard, and then looked at the distraught Daisy who pulled together a few things of her own, including a tazer. She pranced from her bed room, and down the stairs after Ash.
"I'm coming with you!" She said, pulling her hair up into a ponytail as she walked.
Brock watched them with a growing pit in his stomach. How did a small prank turn into this...?
XOXs
"Ash, I have to be honest." Brock mumbled on the trek to the cave. It was a quarter to midnight, and the cave was lets than a quarter mile away.
"About what?" Ash asked.
"If this goes horribly, we were only trying to help you two...and," he glanced at Daisy. "Things just got out of hand."
Ash's fury dropped for all of two seconds as he glanced at Brock. "What do you mean help us?"
"You and Misty... you two were just so perfect together and we thought that-" she sniffed, still trying to control her tears. "If we actually did something, you two would.."
"Really, Brock?" Ash snarled, a red blush over his face. "This again?!"
"I'm sorry... it's just you've been gone for so long now... I didn't want our trio to die."
Ash threw up his arms and slumped a little. "It's not going to die! We'll always be friends." He muttered. "Sometimes we just... get a little busy." Ash offered quietly, looking down at his feet guilty.
Daisy swallowed hard and steeled herself. "That doesn't matter now. We really screwed up this time, I just want Misty back safely." Daisy said quickly, walking in front of Ash to the cave. In her right hand, she held a bag of money, and Ash and Brock nodded their agreement.
"I agree."
XoXs
Brock inhaled softly, peering into the dark cave with only a flashlight. It had been closed off until Ash moved the detour signs and crawled inside himself, followed by Daisy and Brock. The drip of the watered caverns echoed through the tunnels, and they each shuddered. Pikachu stood alert on Ash's shoulder, prepared to attack anyone who appeared, but Ash made sure to tell him not too—they didn't want to put Misty in any more danger.
"We're here." Ash shouted outwardly, getting an alert 'shh' from Brock and Daisy.
"We don't know if they have guns, Ash!" Daisy barked quietly. "Keep your voice down!"
"Sorry..."
Brock kept his focus ahead, when the battery light started to fade in and out. "Shit." He muttered, tapping the object against his hand several times to no avail. Ash's face scrunched up and he looked onward in the dark.
In the distance, he saw something move, and his grabbed the duo two each side of him.
"Did you guys see that?" He asked, and once more, they heard the pater of foot steps around them. Echoes formed down each side of the tunnel, followed by a very ominous, loud creak that brought Daisy in close to Brock's back.
"We brought the money..." Daisy whined, trying to keep her eyes peeled. Ash inhaled himself, and pressed forward.
"Ash wait, maybe we should rethink this?"
"No, she's in here." Ash said affirmatively while squaring his shoulders. Nervously, Daisy and Brock followed behind, keeping the right hand against the cave wall.
"Ash, you're going too fast, we can't keep up!" Brock whined in the dark, nearly jogging to keep at the same pace as his friend, he moved insistently, one hand pressed in front of him, and the other against the wall when they both landed against rock and he inhaled.
"Ash?" he called, but there was no immediate reply.
He tried again, but Daisy beat him to it. "Ash?" She cried into the dark, clasping her hand against Brock's arm.
"...oh no, what if they got him?" Daisy asked, shaking in fear.
"Don't say that, we would have heard something, he probably just got separated!" Brock replied, moving towards the sound of water—the cove that Cerulean Cave was known for. Light illuminated from the waters because of the stars and moon outside, and the duo carefully made their way there, calling for Ash through the darkness, but no sound ever came.
"Chaaa!" Pikachu squealed in pain from within the cave. Brock's throat fell into his stomach as he rushed forward, out into the open of the cove, desperate to find his friends.
"Pikachu! Ash! Misty!" Brock cried, cupping his hands, but the moment his foot made contact with the dirt, the sound of a clicking gun drew his attention to the stone at the far end of the walk, where two figures emerged, dressed all in black and wearing black ski-masks—one held a brown bag which contained a squirming pikachu, fighting for escape.
"Oh, no." Daisy gasped, having caught up with Brock. She looked on at the darkly dressed duo and felt her heart break.
"Where's my sister!" She hissed angrily with narrowed eyes.
"Did you bring the money?" The one of the right asked with the gun pointed at Brock. Her voice was low and raspy—as if it had taken years of smoking to reach such an octave.
"Yes! Now where is Misty!"
"The money first!" The male shouted deviously, his voice cracked lowly, almost like a large pokemon's deep growl.
"What did you do with Ash?" Brock inquired, holding his hands up as Daisy dropped the satchel of money on the ground. Following the motion of the female, they both fell to their knees and looked at one another.
"We disposed of him, we're taking his pikachu." The female replied with a sneer, lumbering forward quickly to grab the bag of money. She looked inside, and then scoffed. Brock fought back the urge to scream for Ash once more when the female spoke again.
"We said ten grand." She muttered, and Daisy and Brock's faces turned pale in response.
"You said five!" Daisy bellowed. "Now give me back my sister!"
The male, who still help the bag with pikachu in it squat before the two of them. "And what are you going to do if we don't?" He asked, taking a few full steps away.
"I think we're at the advantage here."
Daisy hiccuped. "Please! She's my baby sister..." She cooed, wiping her eyes and for a brief moment the duo looked at each other before Brock sprung forward, knocking the female over. The bag of money flew from her fingers, and the male released the brown satchel as he raced to pull Brock off of the girl.
"Brock!" The man shouted. "Calm down!" He added, listening to the high pitched sneer of laughter erupt from the woman Brock had just been peeled off of.
"Let go of me you crazy people!" Brock shouted, when the woman peeled off her mask, laughing hysterically. Brock's movements relaxed immediately when he saw the familiar spikes of red hair. The figure behind him released Brock so that he could grab Misty into a fitful hug, nearly in tears.
"Oh my god, you're okay!" He whined with Daisy in tow, lacing her arms around Misty as well.
It would have been a tearful reunion if the male hadn't removed his mask, showing off his tan skin, lightning bolt scars and black spiky hair with a snark chuckle.
"Wait..." Daisy murmured, reeling away from her sister. "You're okay." She hissed, glaring at Misty and Ash who looked equally amused. Brock followed Daisy suit and their mouths fell open.
"Now, what did you learn about making fake ransom notes?" Misty started twirling the fake gun in her hands, but Brock's temper rose, followed closely by Daisy's
"You two played us!" Brock shouted.
"We were actually worried you were hurt!" Daisy shouted in return while both Ash and Misty took a step back.
"It was just a joke..." Ash tried, while raising his arms in defense to protect themselves from the righteous fury of their companions.
"Just a joke!? I thought we were going to die! My ransom note was way more tame!" Daisy shouted, throwing her arms around her head.
"But you were still going to pretend to be kidnapped! You were okay when it was me who was supposed to be worried!" Misty yelled back, but it fell on deaf ears.
"And what about me, huh!?" Brock shouted, pointed at the two of them. "After everything I've done for you two, you pull a stunt like this! I thought you were both dead!"
"Sorry Brock, Misty said..."
"None of that!" Brock snapped. "I can't believe you two would do this... I could... I could just..." He mumbled, before barreling after them.
"Oh shit, run." Misty gasped, grabbing Ash by his upper arm and fleeing from the angry pokemon doctor—he had more than just words to share with his immature friends.
"Hey, I'm not done with them yet, either!" Daisy called after them, leaving the folds of false green paper behind, floating in the water.
XOXS
Ash and Misty were laughing gleefully the whole run, nearly out of breath and tired from the late night escapade, they finally lost Brock and Daisy about a mile out from Cerulean Cave by dipping into a small enclosure off the side of the road that hid them beside a tree off the path. Because they wore such dark clothing, they blended right into the scenery. They relaxed against the roots of the tree they ducked beside, and exhaled carefully. Adrenaline pumped through their veins, but their laughter was silenced by their hands as they listened to the not-quite-as-athletic Daisy run by them after Brock.
A pause, and then they both relaxed with a chuckle and sigh.
"I can't believe that actually worked." Ash mused, glancing at the road briefly before nestling into the bushes beside Misty once more.
"I know, right?" She scoffed and then pat him on the thigh twice in approval. "You actually did really well, I thought you would mess up."
Ash rolled his eyes, "What, why?"
"Well you've been so serious lately. I wasn't sure you knew how to have fun anymore." She joked, sticking her tongue out at him. He glared in response, and then grinned, noticing her hand hadn't left his thigh yet, he shifted weirdly. She snatched her hand away quickly, and then tucked a strand of her shortened hair behind her ears.
He pointed. "You cut your hair." He dusted his fingers through her hair, getting an odd look, crossed with mortification while shifting her shoulders away.
"You just noticed?" She mocked.
"Well, to be fair, I did think you or Daisy was kidnapped when I first got here." He challenged her, receiving a chaste chuckle as she exhaled, and leaned on her knees.
"Sorry again, I should have just called and told you what was happening instead of getting you mixed up with this." Misty mumbled. "But I'm so sick of..."
Ash put up his hand to stop her. "Don't apologize, it's alright." He mused. "Besides, I haven't seen you in years—it's been fun."
"Hatching a plan to freak Brock and Daisy out is fun? Good to know your sense of humor is still in tact." She teased with a wide grin.
"Hey, you were the one with the plan, you should be the one worried about whose sense of humor is worrisome." Ash replied earnestly, looking at her with narrowed eyes. She looked back and pursed her lips.
"Oh god, when was the last time you actually relaxed, Mr. Pokemon Master? All you do is train your pokemon and travel." She offered in reply, to which he raised an eyebrow.
"It has been awhile..." he muttered, recalling the time he spent in Kalos. "I worked really hard."
"I heard." She spouted. "The little blonde one." Misty gestured with her hand. "told me you kept passing out frequently, why didn't you mention that when we talked?"
Ash's face flushed, and he scratched his cheek. "I guess I didn't want you to worry."
She scoffed in reply. "I worry more when you don't tell me." She muttered and Ash felt heat rush to his face.
"So, what? I'm supposed to call you every time I do something worrisome? I'll never be off the phone!" He gasped, looking at her with wide eyes right as she turned to face him, their noses bumped in the small enclosure, and they both retracted immediately, blushing fiercely.
"I don't mean call me all the time—but it would be nice to know that you're taken care of."
"My friends took care of me.." he wagered, but then Misty glanced up at him meekly.
"I am your friend, too." She scolded. "And so is Brock."
"You know, this is pretty funny coming from someone who just hatched an entire plan about not making people worry falsely." Ash grunted, peering into the forest ahead of them. Misty froze, and then sighed.
"I know." She offered. "but it was fun, huh?"
"Brock is probably going to be pissed for awhile."
"That's okay. It's pay back for always butting into my business." Misty hummed while crossing her legs. Ash blinked at her.
"What does he always butt into?"
Her face flushed. "Just stuff."
"Now who's being secretive?" She glared at him and then frowned, but she had no intention to reply.
"You know, I actually did get a different letter before I came here, but when I saw you were still at the gym, I thought it was best not to show you."
"What was it?" She asked skeptically. Ash dug around his back pocket beneath the black pants he threw over his jeans, and pulled out the note in question. Beside him, pikachu covered his eyes with his ears and tucked himself at Ash's side.
Misty unfolded the torn letter and looked inside. It was her handwriting, a letter she wrote a few months ago and she scoffed at herself, reading off the last of the note that basically reviewed her schedule, what kind of pokemon she saw, and who she battled—then some extra stuff about her sisters, and how boring her days at the gym were. Signed elegantly with "I miss you."
She looked up from it and handed it back to him with a soft smile.
"The funny thing about traveling halfway across the world is that I get your letters in the oddest of times. You don't usually send letters anymore, so when I got this with that fake ransom note, I panicked." he admit honestly. "I had no idea how old the note was so I rushed over here as quickly as possible—you know, what if you had gone missing months ago when the letter was sent..." He grunted. "I did miss an awful lot of our phone calls, and I never checked if you had left any emails for me, so I freaked out." He managed, scratching his chin.
Ash couldn't look at her when he continued; "So when you said you wanted to prank Brock and Daisy, I felt inclined to join in."
"'m glad my mayhem still resonates with you." Misty murmured happily, watching him with mirthful eyes. He pursed his lips at her.
"I used to be mayhem and you were the reasonable one." He laughed loudly. "What happened?"
She extended her neatly manicured fingers and pinched his cheek playfully; "You grew up."
He turned at her, lips parted slightly and one eye closed from her pinched when her palm straightened out to brush his cheek.
"I really do miss you." she said softly, cradling his cheek for a minute. Ash fought the urge to lean into her warmth before she snatched it away and held her hands to her chest. "Anyways, we should probably head back before they start too worry too much again." Misty hummed quietly while motioning for Ash to follow her.
They both stood up slowly, dusting the dirt off their pants when Ash looked up at her, tagging her by the hand.
"Hey, Mist." Ash mumbled, turning her around quizzically.
"What?"
"Does Brock bother you about us, as well?"
Her face flushed at the outspoken question and she shuffled her feet. "W-why would you ask that?"
"Well, you keep avoiding it, and besides..." Ash grinned a little. "He kind of told me on the way to Cerulean Cave."
Misty made a mental note to strangle Brock later—he was supposed to take her secret to his grave. That was what friends did, instead, he ratted her out! She paused, of course, she might have deserved it, she was still frustrated.
"Well, he does some—did you just say as well?" she snapped, looking at him oddly. His face turned red, and he suddenly separated himself from her hand.
"ah, yeah." he grumbled. "He tries to...sometimes he used to..."
Behind them, pikachu watched in pure frustration, and then sighed immensely, releasing a soft 'chaaa' before he ran, then jumped quickly onto Ash's head, projecting him forward with one thrust that tripped him over his feet, and directly onto Misty who screamed loudly. Pikachu winced as that did not go as he expected.
"What the hell, pikachu?" Misty moaned, rubbing her head—that was the second time she smacked her head on the ground today; anymore and she was looking at a concussion. Ash struggled to find grip for his hands as he shambled to get off of her.
"Sorry." Ash grunted, also rubbing his forehead. He hit her shoulder on the way down and could feel a headache starting to build. His hat fell off, revealing the fake blood she put on his head. Her fingers found perch there, suddenly having a mind of their own.
"I can't believe they didn't realize you weren't really injured."
Ash groaned. "I'm pretty sure their minds were occupied with something else." Ash mused, looking down at her. Misty's hands hadn't moved from where they cupped his cheeks, and he leaned down until their noses were touching.
"Have you ever thought we were strange?" He asked, blinking at her.
"...no." She confirmed. "I thought you were strange."
His lips flattened and he narrowed his eyes at her, unmoving and unblinking. A serious look the young Ash she once knew would have never made. She started to sweat slightly at the exposure of his body heat against hers, and her nerves started to race through her body in jots of adrenaline. Slowly, her eyes closed expectantly, and her breath hitched.
"I missed you, too." He offered, but then his warmth was gone in a breathe, and he was brushing off the dirt from his body. She blinked up at him when he extended his hand to help her up and she growled.
"Let's go back." He sung happily, and Misty's jaw fell open. What?!
She followed him, awestruck for a time before she hissed, and stormed beside him with pikachu at her heels.
"Ash Ketchum, what was that?!" She shrieked, getting an alarmed, terrified look from him in response.
"What was what?" He asked, blinking at her.
"That!" She gestured behind them.
"I don't know what you mean..." He muttered weakly, and Misty finally snapped.
"Do you remember that time when you came back from Hoenn briefly and Brock locked us in that closet together—what do you think he was trying to do?"
Ash's face turned beet red as she stood in front of him with her hands at her hips. "How about that time when you were in Sinnoh and Brock put on a call between you and I and then quizzed us on personalities and relationship?" His eyes shifted, looking for an escape, but her index finger had pressed into his chest and he swallowed hard.
"And what do you think he was doing when he continuously called you throughout Unova and bothered you to remember details about me, and keep up with where I was and who I was dating? How about when he sent you letters describing how much I loved Kalos and not so secretly dropped that I wanted to visit the Prism Tower?" She groaned, rolling her eyes. Ash blinked once, and then again, and then he shuddered.
She waited to see if the information would click, stared into his brown eyes for a long time—but then she realized he was the living embodiment of a brick wall.
"He knows that I like you, Ash!" She gasped, throwing up her arms. "There, I said it! Now your turn!"
"I like you, too!" He said quickly, and Misty felt her head spin. He missed the point. "You're my best fr-"
She grabbed his collar, twisted the fabrics between her fingers, and then brought his lips to hers in a fit before pushing him away with a dark scowl. He covered his lips with his hand, flabbergasted at such an expression of love and his stomach danced. Misty put her hands on her hips, and stared him down. Ash thought for a long time before not-so-subtly licking his lips, and then pouncing back at her, cupping her cheeks with his hands and kissing her once more. Eagerly, she grabbed his wrists and then worked her hands back slowly until she wrapped her arms around his neck eagerly.
They separated a few minutes later, blushing and out of breath.
"I wanted to tell you on my own time." Ash breathed, and Misty felt her heart twist—somewhere, in the depths of his oblivious heart, Ash was a romantic.
"And when was that going to be?" She snarled, forcing herself not to roll her eyes.
"When everyone else stopped trying to force it." He laughed modestly. "So...you know, when we were dead."
She punched him in the chest and then spun on her heels to move away from him quickly. He laughed loudly at her reaction.
"I was just kidding!" He gasped, holding hid chest and running at her to take her arm in his.
"Brock never hears about this." She warned him, and Ash grinned from ear to ear.
"Never."
However, in the distance, Daisy and Brock sat huddled behind a rock with the forgotten pikachu.
"Wow, to think Misty actually made the first move in the end." Daisy hummed, quirking and eyebrow. Brock, who stood beside her with tears in his eyes wiped them carefully. Daisy didn't seem as impressed as she crawled out of the shrubbery and onto the road.
"Would you keep your blubbering to yourself? Our plan worked, didn't it?" Aside from some glaring mistakes, of course.
"I-I know." Brock whined, looking at Ash and Misty's backs. "but... I-I can't believe I was the one that helped them."
He leaned on Daisy, crying onto her shoulder while she pat his brown hair awkwardly. "It was about time one of our plans worked. I thought for sure that this was going to be another failure when he got up to leave without kissing her."
Brock eyed her, and then looked back at the new couple. "That reminds me. I won our bet since Misty made the first move after all." Brock grumbled, holding out his hand. Daisy's mood flipped entirely as she laughed into her hand and jogged away slowly.
"...Hey! You owe me money!" He shouted, following after her.
"Pikkaa!" The mouse cried, chasing after Brock with a strong exhale.
Some hours earlier...
"So did someone actually kidnap Daisy?" Ash asked when he reached the top of the floor with Misty. He glanced over his shoulder to Brock who had taken to investigating the bottom hallway and then glanced at Misty who pursed her lips, her attitude having changed one hundred percent the moment she was separated from Brock.
His eyebrows raised when he saw the smeared mascara under her eyes. "Have you been crying?"
Her attention snapped up to him, and she touched her face, leading him down the hallway and into the living quarters of the gym. "Oh, yeah."
His face softened. "Are you okay?"
"I'm perfectly fine." She said nonchalantly while licking her lips and turning to Ash with raised eyebrows. His scrunched in return.
"Your sister was just-"
"Who do you think sent you that letter?"
Ash blinked once or twice, and then his eyes darted around the room, shrugging. "...I don't know?"
"I did." Misty confirmed with skepticism that made Ash gasp defensively.
"You what?" he paused. "Why would you kidnap your own sister?" He asked seconds later, confusion laced in his voice as he stared awkwardly at her.
Misty heaved a loud sigh, and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I did not kidnap her. The whole situation is fake."
"What?" Ash gasped, hands falling to his sides. "Why?" He asked, his nostrils flaring with anger. Misty held up her hand, agreeing to his anger, but then placed her hand on her shoulder to calm him.
"I'm sorry I sent you a letter like that, really I am, but a couple of days ago I saw Daisy and Brock talking about an elaborate plan to..." She paused with a loud sigh. "Well, I'm sick and tired of them always trying to butt into my business and I figure if I finally get them back good enough, they'll leave me alone. I saw Daisy putting together this half-baked plan a few days ago and decided that I would beat her to it... I'm sorry if I worried you."
Ash's anger faded, replaced by a grin. "What were they scheming about this time?" He asked, and Misty slapped her palm against her forehead.
"It doesn't matter, what matters is I need your help to pull this off."
"Why me?" He asked, and Misty blushed—she couldn't tell him it was because they were attempting to get them together, and that's why he was the prime candidate. Instead she scrunched up her nose.
"Because all of my other friends wouldn't support my bad decisions."
Ash scowled. "And I will?"
"It's just a little fun." She offered, holding up her fingers. Ash's face fell before he frowned at her.
"Misty I.."
"Remember when we were kids?" She interrupted him. "And we used to have a bunch of fun tag teaming everyone else? This will be like that, but our last time, I promise." She begged, pressing her hands together and closing her eyes at Ash. Her face scrunched up, and her eyebrows lowered cutely.
He sighed, his shoulders lowering. "How can I say no?" He asked, and then grinned.
"Besides, it'll be fun to get Brock back for all those times he..." he paused, glanced at Misty who waited expectantly for his reply—but Ash couldn't tell her how many times Brock had tried to push Ash into awkward situations with Misty. Instead he pointed at her. "Anyways, what's the plan?"
"Well..." Misty grinned mischievously, reminding Ash how much he missed that look. "Let's just say that we're going to get even."
Author's Note:
I think I might have been drunk when I wrote this. -laughs-
I have this head canon (I have a billion of them, don't hate me hahah) that Brock has compulsively through the years been the biggest pokeshipper of them all, and both Ash and Misty are well aware of his attempts, but are not aware that the other one knows about them.
When I thinking of the word 'scheming' I think of huge, elaborate plans like this; fake kidnapping, fake deaths, etc. So, I hope you're happy with that Razor of Doom, this ended up being quite fun to write. XD If I didn't already spoil the ending, I might have turned this into a full, elaborate story.
Hope you guys enjoy!