Spitfire, Chapter 25: Accidentally

Everything was happening so fast, her head was spinning, but where was she supposed to begin? When Ash obviously started to act nervous around her; or when he 'gave' her a rose, or when he 'bought' her chocolates, or when he almost fucking kissed her? Misty raised her fingers to her lips at the thought, a scarlet color penetrating her skin. Her chest tightened at the memory. She panicked; something was finally coming from all of this and she freaked out and pushed Ash into a rose bush. After Gary interrupted them, she ran away because of the ringing in her ears. Her chest threatened to implode, and she had to leave; so, she ran to the washroom for cover, darting past Dawn and ditching the black jacket she borrowed from Gary. She thought she was going to be okay, that was, until she looked in the mirror.

Her face was red as a tomato, darker than her own hair. When she placed her hand against her flushed cheek, it was so hot she almost screamed; she was burning up. Gulping, she ran the tap and splashed water over her face to cool off. As she rose, she noticed the flower tucked behind her ear and her mouth drew into a line. It was a strange look for her, she never had the opportunity to wear her down before, it was usually long enough to tie into a pony-tail; so seeing herself with short hair after so many years was shocking, yet, revitalizing. She inhaled deeply, patting her face dry with a cloth and then wiggled her fingers up to the flower that pinned her hair back, and plucked it out to examine it further.

Misty couldn't lie, she loved the smell of roses, and whether it be a second hand rose or not; Ash still gave it to her. Which was odd, considering how little he liked the idea of giving gifts to people, especially because he did not like getting gifts in return. She titled her head to one side, looking down at the chocolates, and then tucking them both into her pack. She left the rose poking out so that it wouldn't be damaged, but the chocolates were stuffed securely at the top of her bag. Better to hide them than to answer a million questions from her friends; even though Ash had bought them for different reasons; random gifts of generosity drew a lot of curiosity and she wasn't ready for that.

Sorry, he said they were for her 'birthday' which only made the gifts more peculiar. Ash hadn't bought her a birthday gift since she was thirteen, and his idea of a good gift was a rock with "Happy birthday, Mist!" written on it in sharpie. He also didn't buy it, and to be honest, Pikachu did most of the work, so unless he really did a massive personality overhaul; there simply wasn't a reason for him to buy her a gift. So, she deduced that he was lying the moment he leaned in close to her. She shuddered at the memory, his breath on hers, it ran shivers down her spine. He was hiding something. Not only that, she never mentioned her birthday when Dawn was around, or Gary for that matter. Dawn mentioned Gary, and the last thing Misty mentioned was dating, in fact, dating wasn't mentioned. Therefore, Ash was either lying, or he actually heard what was said, and was poorly covering it up. Her heart fluttered at the thought.

Oh, please have let him heard. She swore to herself, and then looking over herself once, she stepped out of the bathroom in time to see him talking with Dawn again. He looked frazzled and a little distressed, but in his hat and coat he looked so damn captivating. That was fine, she didn't care if Dawn was there; whatever was going on, Dawn knew all about it. Misty would just do what she was best at; she would confront Ash.

Right.

Now.

And then he looked at her and she made a 90 degree turn into the living room. Her face turned several shades of red, she was sure; but the doubt in the back of her mind kept her firm. The last time she tried to express her feelings for Ash, it didn't go so well. Mostly because it was blatantly obvious that he didn't return those feelings. However, after what almost happened, she wasn't so sure anymore. Did Ash like her? Or was that a freak accident? Either way, she had to know for sure before she put herself out to get kicked. She spent the last day trying to convince herself that she didn't like Ash anymore, that she moved on; and yet here she was—however, oh man, did it seem too good to be true. She glanced over at him carefully as May approached her at the living room entrance.

"Hey, how did following Ash go?"

"Nothing happened!" Misty yelped, still furiously red and wrapped up in her own mind. Upon gazing at May however, she collected what was left of the remaining sanity that she had and cleared her throat. "I mean, it went okay until we got caught, and then Serena bailed on me and I had to walk a bemused Ash home." Misty said swallowing down all of her emotions. May raised an eyebrow and smiled at her friend.

"You know you can talk to me, right?"

"Right, but there's nothing to talk about." She assured May and pat her on the shoulder while making a B-line to anywhere else. She needed to clear her head before she made any life-changing decisions. She gulped at that, was dating Ash really life-changing? Her eyebrows furrowed; oh mew, it was!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOOX

Ash gazed at Dawn with a deeming look, eyes narrowed, lips pursed and shoulders raised. They were standing outside the kitchen at the dining room entrance, and she was pointing happily at Brock with an exaggerated grin over her lips.

"He's an expert." She assured Ash. His eyebrow twitched while watching the pink-apron donning Brock dance around the kitchen like a professional, and Ash had to exhale.

"Only perverts ask Brock for help." He said, quoting Misty word for word, though, Misty's next advice was to always come to her, because she was the 'love guru', but, that was out of the question right now... Unless, Ash looked off to the corner, maybe there was a way to bring the subject up with Misty without bringing up who it was about? Would it be too obvious? Would it hurt her? She did love him after all; would that be too—oh, he already did that.

"Ugghhh" Ash groaned before slamming his head against the door frame. Brock jumped dropping his spatula on the floor as Ash made his presence known so gingerly. Dawn stared in shock at Ash while he swore the words "stupid" repeatedly under his breath.

"What can I do for you there, Ash?" Brock said calmly while putting his hand between Ash's forehead and the wall as to avoid injury. It was at that moment that the reminiscence of that ten year old boy shone through. His eyes grew wide and watery, a baby pout—only on the scale of cuteness, Ash was a grown adult, so it was a little creepy.

"Brock," Ash admit, grabbing his old friends shoulders "I need your help." He wheezed, causing a look of fear to don over Brock's face.

Dawn kinked an eyebrow at Ash, for someone completely against the idea of talking with Brock a few minutes ago; he sure changed gears fast. She smiled slightly, watching as Brock led Ash into the dining room, and shut the doors leading in. Dawn stood at the kitchen entrance, and smacked her lips. Though, she assumed, the six years that Brock and Ash traveled together couldn't be easily forgotten. Brock was Ash's go-to guy, whether or not Ash admit it or not.

"What do you need help with Ash? Did..did something happen with.." Brock quirked an odd brow in Dawn's direction while placing his index and thumb fingers against his chin; he smirked at her as her face turned red, so did Ash's.
"NOTHING HAPPENED." Dawn and Ash yelled in unison, silencing Brock who sat back in his chair.

"Alright, don't hurt me." he whined while raising his hands to his friends, he then exhaled, "So Misty then?"

Ash's face automatically deadpanned and Dawn's attention was grabbed. She moved to the table and sat down opposite of Ash, and stared quizzically at Brock who pursed his lips and ignored her questioning gaze.

"How did you know that?" Dawn inquired, glaring at Brock who whistled. She narrowed her eyes slightly, looked between the boys and then looked at Brock for a moment. Her mouth opened, and then closed, and then she stood up again.

"Where are you going?" Ash asked suddenly, politely; as if he was scared to be left alone, but Dawn needed to go. She pointed at the door.

"I'll go and make sure no one disturbs you. Brock will...uh..." She glanced at him suspiciously, "Catch me up later." With that, she stepped into the hallway, bidding a short goodbye.

"But she did bring up a good question, how did you know?" Ash asked his long time companion, getting a nod from Brock.

"Simply put, the only person I've ever seen put you in a tiff like this is Misty. Even when we were kids."

Ash's face fell, "Thanks." He muttered pathetically, hanging his head onto the table.

"Regardless," He grinned charmingly, "Have you finally discovered that you're completely in love her?" he cooed.

Brock had a way with words; mostly the ability to cut straight to the chase and spin Ash on his head; always asking the tough questions. Why did it seem like everyone else always knew more about his relationships than Ash did? For once, he wished that he had watched all those movies that Misty tried to force on him because honestly, Ash wasn't entirely positive; there was something there for sure. He had a lot of special feelings for Misty, but was it love? He wasn't optimistic. Knowing that Misty loved him, even after all of these years apart made his heart and stomach do things he wasn't quite familiar with, so as he though; maybe, maybe he was in love with Misty; but he had never been in love before. How was he supposed to know what it was?

"It's something."Ash managed, breathing hitching in his throat. Brock quirked an eyebrow.

"Something good?" Brock asked, and got a feverish nod from Ash, face as bright as a cherry.

"So have you told Serena?" And in reply, a violent head shake while paling.

"And you haven't told Misty, but you've tried?" Ash nodded again, the blush returning, albeit slower.

"So...why couldn't you tell her, Ash?" With Ash's voice drawn, he was suddenly very thirsty. His tongue felt like sandpaper in his mouth and he glanced around the room for a few moments. Why couldn't he tell her?

"...cold feet?" He offered slowly, but this didn't come as a surprise to the older man.

"Everything would change, wouldn't it?" Brock asked suddenly, rephrasing Ash's answer to what Ash would have liked to say. While playing with a spoon that was on the table, Ash watched the spoon and then slowly looked up at Brock with a sad gaze. He was spot on. How much would change if he and Misty... What would happen to his training? His title? Serena and his mom? What about visiting, and family, and hell, even the future?

Brock gave him an assuring smile, however, and for that moment at least; Ash knew it would be okay. "But let me ask you something;" Brock hesitated, making sure that Ash was listening.

Ash leaned forward and nodded, "What?"

"Hasn't everything already changed, Ash?" Ash's dark eyebrows rose past his messy hair, pushing them up into imagination land while his insides fell out of his stomach in a splash of realization. A weight lifted off of him and Brock's words were like getting slapped with the truth goldeen. Since Serena kissed him; everything already started to change, and had been on a spiral downward since he arrived home; that was until Misty showed up. With her around, he started to feel like a kid again. Ash swallowed hard, the same, familiar, burning sensation formed in his chest as last time when he thought of his long time friend; and possible future companion. His face turned blood-red, indicating that he understood.

"But Brock; what if it doesn't work? I mean, Misty and I, we don't have the best track record." Ash said skeptically, shocking Brock; for once, he was amazed at Ash's maturity, and yet dumbfounded by his idiocy.

"You. Two. Always. Make. Up." Brock said, pausing between each word for impact, "Now are you going to man up and tell her or be a wuss and lose her?"

Ash pursed his lips, upset by Brock's choice of words; but looked off to the side and frowned anyways.

"...Well, what should I do then? I mean, I don't think that I can tell her without having a panic attack. I'm not like you Brock."

"Why is it so hard, I mean, you know she likes you already."

Ash's eyes shifted, "I don't know, it's complicated."

"Then, why don't you let ol' Brocko help you?" He winked at Ash and gave a sadistic, toothy grin, one that Ash couldn't return. Instead, Ash smiled nervously.

"What did you have in mind?"

XOXOXOXXOXOXOXXOXOXOXOXOX

Because Ash had cold feet, and was terrified of drawing his guests attention, he asked Brock to grab Misty instead, and lead her into the dining room. Brock was such a good friend, that he did it without much convincing; and Ash surprisingly managed to get Misty to talk with Ash easily. Even after that pep-talk with Brock, Ash still fiddled with his fingers nervously; Misty didn't seem as anxious, in fact, she seemed bold.

"Brock, wait outside." Misty commanded the older male. His eyes shifted to Ash who spun around, almost wanting to yell for Brock to wait, but upon looking at Misty's head tilt, Brock shrugged at Ash, and then turned to walk outside of the dinning room. Meanwhile, Misty pursed her lips and turned to face Ash who stood a table-length away from her.

"Hey Ash, what did you need to talk about?" she asked suddenly, catching him off guard. What was it that he needed to say to her again? He felt so brainless around her that when he tried to speak, gibberish spilled out instead.

"...Adorable." Misty cited painstakingly while approaching him. In the dim light of the dining room, he hadn't noticed before; as he was too nervous to make eye contact most of the morning, let alone check her out, as Brock said. He blushed, noticing the way her body moved in those black tights beneath her jean shorts and how her midriff was left unexposed as opposed to when they were kids; hidden by a black undershirt. Compared to yesterday's jeans, and this morning's mom clothes; she looked sulfurous, yet practical, and he covered his mouth as his eye twitched. Ash almost dared to say that she should have shown more skin—but such a thought brought his eyes back to hers embarrassingly. What in the world was he thinking? Check her out Brock said. Didn't tell him she was actually hot now! Ash questioned how he didn't notice before, watching as she stopped about a foot in front of him.

"Stop staring, you're freaking me out."

"I am not staring!" Ash denied, red in the face. He held his fists up in protest, but Misty's sweet smile almost sent him into a spiral backwards. He wasn't ready for this.

"Hey, about before. I'll take you up on your offer."

Ash paused thoughtfully, "...What offer?"

"To take you out! What's a celebration without a few shots, anyways?" She suggested, winking up to Ash with her index finger raised. His heart skipped a beat and he scratched his neck. Ask her on a date Brock said, but obviously he didn't have to, Misty beat him to the punchline.

"When did you want to go?" He asked, trying to come off smooth, but his voice cracked and she chuckled instead.

"Tonight? Around nine?" She suggested coyly, drawing too close for Ash's comfort. He swallowed hard with his eyes wide open, watching her face move closer to his.

"O-okay." he stammered, and then that familiar, mischievous grin pulled on her cheeks and Ash nearly melted. But she didn't stop there, no, Misty was going for it. She leaned in slowly, as he did before; but this time Ash wasn't calm, his brain was screaming at him like white noise and his body was chilled. She neared his lips, familiarizing herself with his scent before abruptly tilting her head and kissing him on the cheek.

"Then it's a date." She reeled back, revealing a quirky smile as she pulled away. Ash raised his hand to his cheek quickly, and Misty's lips burned fierce as she staggered away, suddenly realizing what she had done. It seemed so natural at the time, but now that it happened, she was full of swirls of fright and the need to find an escape route. Ash was stunned, the heat that poured from her lips was a spark of electricity comparable to Pikachu's thunderbolt.

"I guess, I... uh, will see you around then!" Misty conducted, have saluting a goodbye and then fled the room, knocking Brock on his butt as she made a B-line to the back porch to get some air. She needed air!

Brock rolled into the kitchen, staring up at Ash who was a statue with his eyes wide, leaning back slightly and holding his cheek.

"It went well I take it!" Brock suggested and Ash shuddered, coming back to reality.

"Yeah." He said, and couldn't lie as weird as that was, as strange and unnatural; he didn't not enjoy that even the slightest. Sure, he didn't ask like Brock said, but he at least now had a few hours to prepare mentally for this. It was a date, and while notion of this usually mortified him, this time, he felt... giddy? In the background he could see the light of the answering machine flicker on and off again; his mother turned the ringer off to avoid unnecessary noise; but before he could get to it, Brock cut him off.

"So where are you going?" Brock pegged him in the arm excited, and Ash's attention was drawn back to his friend.

"I have no idea," he laughed nervously, and Brock's face deadpanned, "She said she wanted to take me out tonight...?" Ash bested skeptically and Brock raised his eyebrows and nodded.

"So you didn't ask her out?" Brock only seemed a little disappointed while he quirked his eyebrows, "Alright, whatever, I guess we should prepare you for it then." With that, he hooked an arm around Ash's neck, and dragged him out the door, and up the stairs. Whatever tonight would bring, Brock would be damn sure that Ash was ready. Though, secretly Ash wasn't sure what he needed to get prepared for, he wasn't going to pass up a confidence building exercise such as this; especially after two failed attempts on his own.