Pairing: Ash/Misty, (sort of in a brOTP fashion)
Rated: T
Genre: Humor/Romance
Summary: Where Ash destroys Misty's new bike, and the ordeal starts again. Story board?
Most likely story name: More than a Bike.
XOXS
When Misty stepped into the house, her hands were shaking. Her fiery red hair was pulled up into its classic side ponytail, but was messy where earlier that day, it was neat and pretty. Her yellow, leather vest was zipped to her collarbone, her sleeveless black top beneath it was marred with scorch marks, and her long, slightly flared blue jeans had a nice cut over the right kneecap; and to be honest, she looked pissed.
Not that friendly, mature pissed that Misty oozed the day prior, or the controlled anger she developed back when she was an active player in Ash's life during Johto—no, it was that familiar, blood thirsty anger that clawed its way from the pit of her abysmal black heart, and up, through her eyes.
The door frame cracked where her darkly smudged fingers crushed the white, pliable wood, and the party fell to an eerie kind of silence, only amplified by the roaring thunderstorm outside. Worst of all, her eyes were trained on him, tearing into his very soul with hatred, and contempt far greater than any he had seen in all of his life.
His friends seemed to vanish as their eyes connected across from the room, his deep chocolate iris screamed for mercy, but her tidal-wave green vouched for violence. Once the air was still, everyone's attention drawn to the redheaded vixen at the door frame, her mouth finally moved.
"If the saying 'you hurt the ones you love the most' is true..." Misty started aloud taking in a deep inflation, her tongue clucked against the top of her mouth, and her eyes flashed cold. Ash swallowed hard, feeling a cold sweat and chill run down his spine as he took a single step backwards.
Then, as the thunder roared outside, her voice amplified the treason.
"Then I must be in head over heels in love, because I'm going to kill you Ash Ketchum!" She screamed, rattling every window in the house.
Somewhere in the mass of faces, Delia dropped her tea cup, and a very panicked, and terrified Ash threw down his gifts, turned, and ran as fast as humanly possible.
Earlier...
It didn't require much effort to convince Misty to attend the party following Ash's victory in his last league. The new champion had many reasons to celebrate, but first and foremost was his eighteenth birthday. After winning the championship title, his mother decided to roll one finally, huge birthday party into a celebration party; and invited everyone.
Free food, an endless amount of pokemon battlers, and Delia's cooking? No, Misty didn't require much convincing at all. Oh, and she wanted to see her old friends, of course.
Not that it had been well over four years since any of them last spoke—but, whatever, right? What was weird about that?
The more things changed, the more they stayed the same for their little group—Ash's companions, and the rivals he was on good terms with were in attendance, but it was Misty who was late; mostly because she couldn't close the gym until Friday after 5:00pm, and refused to take a train that would lead her into midnight at Pallet Town.
Rather, she took an early morning drive, which brought her into the midst of the party at noon—anyone who was coming would have been there by now, and when she walked in, she was met with the same excitement as she always had been.
Delia hugged her in that motherly fashion, Brock whined that she was growing up 'too' fast. May and Max welcomed her with generous hugs while Tracey asked how maril was doing, and Daisy, of course. In the living room, Gary pat her on the shoulder awkwardly reminiscing that he thought 'she wouldn't make it', and Ash gawked at her as he always did; but pikachu enjoyed hugs.
"What took you so long?"
"Oh, I don't know, I have a life." Misty mocked in a bitter tone that made Ash's face scrunch up, then a sharp grin tugged at his lips.
"It's good to see you haven't changed." Ash laughed, tucking his hands into his pocket while smiling pleasantly at her.
"Hey!" She barked. "I've changed a lot!" Her argument, however, was invalid and unnecessary, because Ash, as usual, was more interested in food and party streamers than he was in speaking with his long-lost friend. Not like hadn't spoke in four years or anything, and had a billion different topics to talk about—nope, they didn't have any catching up to do at all.
Most of the party went on without a hitch, most of Ash's pallet town residents were gone by five; his rivals were gone by six, and that left for a more intimate collection of his close friends and companions, which made Misty more comfortable—if she had one more person approach her for a battle, only to immediately have said battle stolen by the newest-champion Ash Ketchum, she was going to crack necks.
Pleasantly crack necks.
Meeting Serena, Dawn, and Iris were the strangest events of the night. Iris was a shy, wild child Misty could relate to the most, and while they didn't agree on a lot of things it beat hanging out with coordinators and 'models'. New to the group, was the young Bonnie, who was also mostly interested in battling, so the three created their small group, and spent the whole day swapping battle techniques. Iris and Misty even talked about the requirements and regulations of running a gym, whereas the other gym leaders present weren't so keen on being gym leaders.
When Iris had finally grown tired of the party, she stalked off to a dark place in the shade, and the forever fluctuating Bonnie had wiggled her way back into Serena's good graces by talking about designs for new shows, and fawning over May and Dawn's expertise. Thus, Misty stood alone, watching her groups of friends that she wasn't really a part of. The researchers, Gary, Tracey, Max, were gabbing about new breeds of pokemon; techniques, and regions. The chefs, consisting of Brock, Cilan, and Clemont were ecstatic over breeding, recipes, and whatever else the three of them concocted in their minds—a force to be reckoned with, if Misty knew any better. Then there was the coordinators, well, mostly; Dawn, Serena, May, and Bonnie—who were great by society standards, but Misty wasn't girly enough to hang onto their conversation; she almost didn't understand how May was, but she understood that with May's personality, she could fit in almost anywhere.
With Iris gone, her only crutch, Misty felt like she was standing at the back of the party, watching everyone else mingle, and suddenly had the intense urge to get out of there. The flee, or run, or vanish. It wasn't like anyone would really notice, and later when Brock scolded her for the escape, she could say she had 'urgent' business to attend to.
So, Misty used the free time, falling a quarter after seven, to escape back into the house, and away from all the noise, still tempted to leave. Typically, after years of maintaining appearances at league parties and running the water ballets and gym, she had a high tolerance for crowds—except for today. She couldn't help the strain on her body, mind, and soul.
She wasn't having fun.
This wasn't fun.
Misty felt like she was attending a party for a stranger, an acquaintance she met years ago, and was doing her obligatory duty of support and gift giving.
So, as all socially inadequate people did, they took the moment of silence to retreat; and regain their thoughts. In Misty's case, she had many thoughts; most of which consisted of I'm too old for this, and I've outgrown these people. Because she had new friends; her sisters, bless their valley girl hearts, were her friends now, she had Kasey, and Sakura, and on the rare occasion Duplica would stop in to say hi. That wasn't even including the gym leaders she be-friended over the years. Erica was a hoot, a carnivore, meat loving, crazy woman—but Misty could expect no less from the grass-specialty pokemon.
Eating salads is killing grass pokemon. She argued, and Misty couldn't complain; she liked bacon as much as the next girl.
The last four years, as devoid of her childhood crush Ash, as they were, were not bad years; she was successful, well trained, and building a life for herself outside of the bubble she was trapped in. It took time, and effort—but here she was. Returning to this place was like getting hit in the gut several times, a painful reminder of forgotten friendships and passions.
As she wandered into the living room, a sigh escaped her breath, and in the corner of the living room, where the spin-able rocking chair sat; it creaked and moved instantly, blocking Misty from seeing who was sitting inside. Automatically, she assumed it had to be Delia, kicking back from the extravagant party.
"Hey, what's up?" She asked aloud, feeling obligated to make some kind of statement. Misty hadn't actually talked with Ash's mother since she arrived, and yet she had gorged herself on her sweet tarts and apple fritters. A thank you, was more than likely in turn.
"Dinner was awesome; thanks!" Misty bellowed, but when she still received no reply, she looked around the room. First, she wondered if she was only imagining that someone was sitting alone in the living room, and she had imagined the chair moving; and secondly, she wondered how Delia; who she could see clearly standing outside on the balcony with Professor Oak and Professor Birch, could be also sitting in the living room, and suddenly, she felt really silly.
"Oh, I thought you were someone else." She mumbled, stepping into the living room, and striding across the floor to the back of the chair, where she looked over; expecting to see a straggler from previous in the day, but instead; she stared down at a nervous, cap-toting Ash Ketchum, who looked up at her with wide, yet panicked eyes.
"...Ash?" the words fell out of her lips in a confused stupor, and he stood up—bolted.
"Hey, Misty." He said, clearly agitated. Misty reeled backwards, taking a good look at the anxious man before her.
"...are... You okay?" She asked, gesturing to all of him. His hands were crossed uncomfortably, his mouth twitched, and his bottom lip was gnawed on until they bled. Missing from this scene, however, was Ash's first companion: pikachu.
"Where's pikachu?" Misty added, pursing her lips as she looked around.
"I'm fine." he said, though his tone was unconvincing. "Pikachu is outside with bunneary, and piplup, I think." he added, scratching at his chin while slowly tip-toeing away from the female while she wasn't watching him.
"Hey, where are you going?" She suddenly snapped, though not hostilly. Her attention thwarted, Ash yelped, slapped his hands to his sides, then sighed tiredly.
"I just wanted a break." Ash sighed. "The last five days have been social media and news media hell; then my mom had this huge idea to throw a huge party here in Pallet town when I only wanted my friends around, and I don't know, some sleep. Someone even ate all the sweet tarts!" he whined, much like a child and Misty had to clear her throat to prevent herself from laughing. She ate all the sweet tarts.
"That, really sucks. Being popular, and notarized. Winning: it's such a losers game." Misty mocked him, smacking her lips together while shaking her head. "Man, who wants to be successful, am I right?" She added in a sarcastic tone, to which a small smile finally found perch over his lips.
"Shut up." He laughed, shaking his head. Then, Misty folded her arms.
"I never knew Ash Ketchum to get tired of crowds—you should be loving this attention." She deduced, hands on her hips. "You've been trying to win a league for years, and now you're tired? C'mon, what's wrong with you?"
Then, a slow exhale escaped his lips, and he glanced away from her, back at the crowd of people, not only his friends that were outside in the back yard.
"I would usually, but...I guess I thought that it would be different, you know?"
"No, I bask in my glory daily." She said, crossing her arms and blinking innocently at her. Again, a slightly agitated, more playful look peered back at her from his eyes.
"You're not helping." He announced, and she gave a soft shrug.
She cocked her head to one side, mock-insulted; "I didn't say I wanted to."
"You are so full of it." And then he stepped forward, mouth opened, and then closed it. "How long has it been since we last spoke?" He asked, and Misty's eyes rolled away from him, thinking.
"Three years, 289 days, four hours, six minutes. Buuuuut, whose counting?" She rolled off the tongue so naturally Ash almost believed her, until she followed with quirked eyebrows and and flat expression.
"Ha-ha." He mocked, rolling his eyes. The point was clear, however: four years, roughly. "I'm sorry I haven't called more."
Misty swallowed hard against the sudden lump that formed in her sliver-tongued sarcasm. They were dipping into a conversation zone that she wasn't mentally prepared to have with him. Her heartbeat rapidly, then slowed by sheer will and she finally exhaled; her first honest expression to the wide-eyed boy in front of her.
"Don't worry about it." She lied badly, waving her hand at him and this time taking her leave by walking past him. Honestly surprised by her reaction, he blinked at her, mouth ajar, and then turned.
"Is that your bike parked outside?" He asked hopefully, and Misty's foot stopped at the door frame; her head titled low, and she turned to look over her shoulder at him to see an ear-to-ear grin. Yes, it was she told him with her eyes.
"Can we go for a ride?" He asked stupidly, and a smirk fell over Misty's lips while she jingled keys from her back pocket.
"You're riding bitch." she said humorously, only to receive a dark scowl from Ash.
"Don't call it that!"
Misty's shoulders shrugged mockingly. "Then what else should I call it?" She mused sarcastically, heading out of the front door while tugging on a pair of black gloves with Ash on her heels. She continued, "That's what you're acting like right now; Mr. I'm-Upset-Because-Everyone-Is-Finally-Acknowledging-Me."
"You can be so..." Ash started, but stabilized his repertoire when Misty guided him to her baby.
A handsome, Silph Co. product of last year, rebuilt and exquisitely maintained from handles to rear-wheel. A sports motorcycle with a sleek, black engine coated by a red chrome finish, black tires, black steel frame, and the beautiful, Misty Waterflower touch, a painted gyarados on the side.
Naturally, Misty threw one leg over the harness, settled into the seat, and gripped the handlebars with an overly excited-two-year-old grin over her features.
"It's nice isn't it?" She mused happily, but not wanting to give her the affection, he forced his own excitement from the moment he saw the vroom vroom vehicle, and shrugged nonchalantly.
"It's an improvement from what I did to your last bike." he offered stoically while approaching her. Once there, her left hand shot from the handles, to his collar where she looked at him with dark eyes.
"If you damage this bike, I will not follow you. I will take the payments from your limbs."
A cold chill ran down his spine and Ash put his arms up. "Don't worry, pikachu isn't even with me right now. How could I possibly damage this one?" He laughed nervously, to which she released him, and nuzzled forward so he had room on the back to sit.
"Sorry it's a little awkward." She said while placing the keys into the ignition, then joked; "We just have to pretend to like each other for a little while."
Behind her, Ash stumbled to perch himself on the seat, nearly fell over once, and then finally settled awkwardly at her waist, and sat his hands on his jeans. There was no way he was touching her.
"I do like you." He said without a thought, wondering where he was supposed to hold on, which caused Misty to stumble with a loud sigh. He could be so dense.
"It was satire." Misty mused, jerking his arms that were awkwardly doting at his thighs which bumped against her legs, and forced them to her hips. "I'm not saying you should hold on, but you should probably hold on." Misty advised him, removing the kickstand while rolling slowly forward. Since Delia happily never owned a car, which was probably where Ash's fascination with them came from, she had no use for a drive way, so Misty's bike was parked at the front of the house, on the street.
"Err.." Ash blushed, touching her hips in a manner that seems so blatantly inappropriate. Misty's eyes rolled.
"I told you it was awkward." she said. "Be weird all you want, but don't fall off." Misty warned him, surprised that she, herself was acting so calm when every nerve in her body was on fire and her heart was beating frantically.
When the engine turned over, and Misty kicked forward before catching the gear with a loud, roar, the raged forward, and Ash's arms went from frantically worried about her personal space to; oh dear god, is it supposed to go so fast?!
"Shouldn't we have helmets?!" Ash yelled as he saw over his shoulder his very house zoom past them, as well as his hat, which blew off in the first few seconds. Misty's shrill laughter answered him, like a child's first time hearing of Santa Claus, she was overwhelmingly happy to be on the road.
"No!" She screamed with glee. "If we were going on a long trip, usually, but right now; just enjoy the ride and the wind in your hair!" Misty yelled, revving up the engine and taking a sharp, professionally handled turn into Route One's service road.
Ash tried to contain his own excitement, which was mixed with fear. Where he was at a comfortable distance originally from the sarcastic redhead, his entire body nearly engulfed hers. His legs were likely uncomfortably close to hers while his entire center pressed against her back, and his chin was almost directly on her shoulder, trying to take in the speed. Her back was arched, eagerly and Ash was clinging on for life.
"Relax!" She screamed, watching pidgey fly from the trees above.
As the momentum settled, and the flying trees mellowed into a comfortable rhythm, his body limped, and he sat back to catch the embodiment of wind against his face. It wasn't an uncomfortable speed, it was more like riding on the back of charizard or a rapidash, but the ride was smoother, more exhilarating.
"Go faster!" Ash demanded, lips pursed and shouting in her ear. She flinched.
"No way!" Misty laughed. "It's your first time."
"So?" He challenged her, and if she could have turned to look at him cock-eyed she would have!
"So! If you fall off, I don't want your mom mad at me!"
"I'm not going to fall off!" He indicated by wiggling his arms against her stomach and then latched his hands against his forearms.
"Go faster!" He demanded once more, and a flushed Misty peered ahead, trying to focus on driving rather than how close he was to her at that very moment. She slipped into the next gear, and with a disturbing loud rumble, they kicked up even more dust, and peeled into the transport sector outside of Viridian City, and weaved in and out of the near-city traffic.
"When did they build highways?" Ash asked, while Misty offered a shrug, placing a rather tricky maneuver between two speeding cars.
"They've always been here! They've just been improved. We never knew about them because we stuck to trainer routes our whole lives." Misty explained, switching lanes and kicking into a higher speed.
Gusts of wind forced Ash's eyes closed, which only proved for an euphoric sensation while he pressed his forehead against her shoulder, and took in the breeze. After awhile, the vibrations numbed him, and he was left with nothing more than speed, and the gushing of freedom. Noticing this reaction; the same one she had so many years ago her first time riding, she grinned and peeled into the interstate that would round off into Viridian City.
XOXS
Ash was impossible to handle. When they crossed Viridian City; he suddenly felt like a tourist in his own home region; he wanted ice cream, and fast food, pokemon gear, and adventures. He was like a little kid, and Misty was okay with going along with it all; well, she was actually ecstatic to watch the formerly depressed Ketchum bounce back so quickly,running back to all of his favorite places; which were mostly poke-gear shops, and food places; but she couldn't complain, and she wasn't going to tell him that she was having fun. Because she liked those too.
At a quarter to nine, Misty finally called out the ropes.
"Ash, we need to go back." She told him, slamming closed the door he was at.
"One more...?" He tried, holding up a finger.
"No!" she shrieked. "You have a problem!" Misty gasped, grabbing his arm and yanking him away from the bustling Viridian City food market.
"I don't have a problem." He gushed, but his pupils were dilated, the tell-tale sign of too much excitement for one day. Misty shook her head, and reefed him back to the motorcycle which was parked outside of the market, and Ash had a crazy idea formulate in his brain.
"Do you think I could drive?"
"Not even over my dead body." Misty mumbled quickly, taking a seat. Ash didn't follow.
"Please?"
"You don't have a license!" Misty gasped, whipping her hair at him. Ash fumbled a little, knew she was right, and climbed on behind her only seconds later.
As she started back down the path to Pallet Town, which if they were lucky would only take thirty minutes via the service route; Ash now very comfortably wrapped his arms around her waist. The closeness unfortunately came with the territory, and so long as he looked at it in that light, it wasn't as weird.
"This was fun." Ash announced, to which Misty exhaled politely. As they passed the intersection signs Ash pointed to the passing sign that read "Route One" with an arrow, and nearly caused them to crash.
"Go right! Let's take the scenic route."
"I am not driving a loud motorcycle through Route One!" Misty yelped, and Ash's face scrunched up.
"It's not illegal, and besides, people do worse than that, Mist; don't be a party pooper." Ash nudged her, finally brave enough to converse in their playful, bantering ways.
"Alright, but if we get attacked by spearows, I'm leaving you there." She warned him, taking the turn off into the sightless route.
XOXs
More than halfway through, Ash demanded that they stop; frantically threw his arms about in every which direction, to which Misty thought Ash was hurt, or something was up ahead—but when she came to a quick stop, they jerked forward; and Ash pointed into the forest path, and inhaled.
"Just a minute." He mused, jumped off like a professional now, and taking off into the forest.
Dark, quiet, alone; Misty's emotions ran high with a jerk. "Where are you going?!" She shouted, but he never replied, instead she anxiously peeled herself off the bike, and while straightening out her clothes, she reminded herself inwardly that she was a very tough trainer, and shouldn't be scared of dark, damning forests; just because Ash ran off into one!
When her foot cracked the first twig off the path with her boot; Ash returned with ghost-like speed, and nearly knocked her over in fright.
"Ash! Don't do that!" She shouted, pushing him hard. Ash chuckled, and rubbed the back of his neck. His hair was a mess; and so was hers.
"Sorry." he mused, then walked past her, ruining what could have been a potential romantic moment; Misty's face paled—not that she was thinking of that, or anything!
"What were you doing back there?" Misty questioned aloud, following him back to the bike. He sat before her for the first time that night, and didn't make direct eye contact when he answered.
"Nothing." he said calmly. "I was just checking."
"Checking for what?" She snarled, a bit upset to have stopped for clearly nothing. She sat in front of him, and while his hands wrapped around her waist for what felt like the millionth time that night, it seemed softer this time.
"Oh... uh, that was where you pulled me out of the river." he explained while Misty drove forward, stiff as a board—she hadn't even recalled herself! How stupid!
XOXs
When they checked into Pallet Town, Misty pressed a button on the panel of the bike, that forced the loud, blaring sound of the vehicle to silence itself, but forced the vehicle into a comfortable stall and Ash's mouth fell open.
"You could do that all night?"
"Makes it go slower." Misty explained, then pursed her lips. "And it is a Silph Co electrical production; it can do quite a bit, actually." Indicating that the bike, like most vehicles in this society, also ran on electricity, rather than fossil fuel and gasoline.
Excitement dying down, and nerves settling; Ash sighed awkwardly. "We've been gone for awhile, everyone is going to wonder why..." He acknowledged, suddenly very thankful that the bike could be quieted, so his mother wouldn't see him on it. Eighteen or not, she would freak out.
"Just tell them the truth when you get back then." Misty explained. "You felt overwhelmed, it's a natural reaction."
"You said I was being a b-"
"I was clearly joking." She added, rolling down the hill slowly, she used the momentum of the hill outside of his house to veer beside the white picket fence, and throw down the kick stand before removing the keys.
"Oh." Ash said aloud, having not realized before. The bike was off, the journey was over, and the adventure ended.
Yet, here they sat, very slowly Ash's arms unlaced around her waist, finding themselves nearly hooked on her hips when he tried to remove himself from the bike, but luckily; she had the mental strength to clear her throat, and practically leap off, and away from him.
Ash watched her collect herself, watched as she pulled down her clean, yellow vest and black undershirt, and straighten her hair. Over head, clouds tinted the starry sky, and with the luminescent glow of the living room window peering out, where Ash could see only his friends waiting inside, having cake, and sharing stories, he stared at Misty instead, who was fascinated with anything else that wasn't him.
"Misty." he called to her, earning her scarlet gaze. "Are we okay?" he asked, watching the muscles of her face change from placid to shocked sincerity, then of sudden mockery.
"Depends on how much longer you sit on that thing." She gestured to the bike, where he was still clearly straddling it—whether he realized or not. Embarrassed, he jumped onto the dirt below, and ran his fingers through his hair while Misty came up beside him, and nudged him in the shoulder.
"C'mon, let's go face your mom's wrath. You're taking all the blame for this by the way." Misty added nonchalantly, shoulders high. Ash thought to follow after her, back into the brightly illuminated crevice of his friends and family, but instead, he grabbed her upper arm, and reefed her back to him. The second time that night her face was wretched with complete shock and confusion.
"What are you-" She started, though her statement was cut off loosely when Ash planted a fickle kiss onto her left cheek; leaving a lingering, warm sensation and her eyes wide open.
"That was a fun date!" he exclaimed playfully, finally getting her back for all the sarcastic remarks while he watched Misty's face turn several shades darker. Her mouth fell open and her eyes narrowed to slits while he skipped away from her.
Only, if she had been paying attention to anything other than him, his lips, and his stupid shit-eating grin, she might have noticed her keys were missing.
Author's Note:
"Pokefan" an anon reviewer (from awhile ago, sorry this took so long) wanted something like "A day in the life" by StrawberryTruffle, which is to my understanding of the concept: the focus on one 'subject' or 'idea' as the whole theme of the story. Mine was originally going to be "Swimming shorts and trinkets", but then I thought about bikes and I was like... "Why not?" I'll probably write both, but I wanted to do this one first. (This one wasn't so much about the fixation of one object, was it? That's why I have to try again ahahahah)
I wanted to post something today, but nothing else was quite done yet, so this is it.
Lots of people's aesthetic is that Ash will have a motorcycle when he's older—I honestly think if that boy goes near any mode of transportation, it will blow up. On the other hand, I always imagined bike-loving Misty would turn into a motorcycle loving Misty.
I decided to leave -how- he damaged the bike up in the air for now. XD (sorry) Tell me what you think happened? REALLY, TELL ME. I WANT TO KNOW. (I want to laugh. The person who makes me laugh the most gets a cookie, or something. )