Hello! I'm baccckkk! Enjoy this chapter :)

...

Ash had spent most of the next two days, trying to avoid Misty. He was embarrassed about the way he had acted and often found himself dodging her around the gym. This didn't go unnoticed by the red head, who knew he needed space, so she tried to keep herself busy, so it didn't look like she was avoiding him too. The blizzard had only lasted a day or so, meaning the plough trucks were able to clear the streets of snow, Cerulean City now only covered by a light dusting of the substance. The sensational sisters had decided that they would put their underwater ballet on hold for a week, the Pokemon League granting the gym leaders a week off due to the severity of the weather over the holidays.

Two days into her silence with Ash, Misty had been invited out by May, whom she had forgotten was still in her hometown, until she and Drew had to head off to Saffron City, for the first Pokemon Contest of the year. May was excited to finally spend some time with the red head and had told Misty, on the phone earlier that morning, that she had a surprise for her. Deciding the way he was acting was silly, Misty was determined to let him know she wouldn't be home today and confidently headed in the way of her home's spare bedroom.

Misty knocked gently against the closed door, hearing the slight shuffling of feet on the other side of the barrier.

"Come in," he grumbled, Misty pushing the door open, finding him lying on his back the television illuminated as he flicked through the channels.

"I just thought I would let you know that I am going out," she stated bluntly.

He nodded but didn't look at her, his gaze fixated on the tv.

"I don't know when I'll be back, but no need to look around the corners, you'll have the house to yourself," she added sourly, the tone of her voice demanding Ash's attention.

"Oh Mist… don't be like that," he voiced, sitting up and shooting her a disappointed look.

Her stern expression didn't waver, the sound of her cell phone ending their conversation. "I'll see you later," she uttered, closing the door and leaving him alone in the room. She was proud of the way she handled herself, not even his growlithe eyes could break her serious face.

"May! Hey," Misty sung into the phone, her tone doing a complete 180 as she skipped down the stairs. She had been sure to ask Daisy to watch Eevee, considering Pikachu was locked up with Ash, the blonde agreeing so Misty could have a chance to get out without feeling bad for leaving the little creature.

"Hey Misty, I'm outside!" the brunette chirped, excitement lacing her words and encouraging Misty to skip down the staircase.

"Perfect! I'm on my way down!"

Misty collected her bag from the table in the foyer, slinging it over her shoulder as she walked out of the front door. May had driven over in her little, red hatchback, the tinted windows not allowing the gym leader to see inside. With a smile, Misty walked over, reaching for the passenger door handle, yanking it open with the intention of getting inside.

"Surprise!" a voice rang out enthusiastically from the passenger seat, a voice that did not belong to May.

"Dawn!" Misty laughed, forcing the bluenette out of the car for a hug, "what are you doing here?!"

"I'm in Kanto for the Saffron City Contest, too! I only got here yesterday and I was originally planning on staying with my cousin, but May convinced me to stay with her and Drew until we have to leave for Saffron!" Dawn announced, her warm smile was contagious and Misty found herself smiling along with her friend.

"So, does Leaf know you're here?" Misty asked, still standing outside the passenger door. Dawn and Leaf had both entered Misty's lives in such different ways, to say the red head was shocked when she turned up to Leaf's last birthday party and saw Dawn there would be accurate. To say she was dumbfounded when she found out they were related, would be an understatement!

"Yep! I actually stopped by Pallet first, I heard that Ash was home! Leaf told me he came back here with you… so May's offer sounded too good to be true," she giggled, "it's not often we are all in the same place!"

Misty nodded enthusiastically.

"I love you both! But you are letting cold air into my car!" May grumbled from the driver's seat, "get in!"

"Yes boss!" Dawn cried, saluting May with a hand to her forehead. Misty giggled, climbing into the back seat, the door closing with a slam.

"I was thinking we could have lunch at 'Belle'," May remarked, Misty's eyes growing wide.

"Can we go somewhere else? Please!" the red head groaned. The last thing she needed was a reminder of her last encounter with Georgio; she already had one boy on her mind, she didn't need to add another.

"Everything alright, Misty?" Dawn questioned, turning to look Misty in the eye to see if she was okay.

"Mmhm! I just had a bad experience there, the last time I went. That's all…"

"That's okay," May interjected cheerily, "how about Café Bluk Berry?"

"Sounds great! I love it there," Misty beamed, Dawn approving the decision, also.

The brunette turned up the radio slightly, Misty allowing her eyes to wander beyond the windows of the car, admiring how beautiful her town looked, blanketed in snow. It wasn't long until May had reached the café and Misty was happy to see that it wasn't too busy. As gym leader, there would be times when her privacy was invaded, that was less likely to occur with fewer people in the same place a she was.

Their waiter took them to a booth at the back of the restaurant and handed them each a menu. He was fairly handsome and would have been no older than Brock's age. He couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of Dawn, Misty thinking about the comments that would've been thrown at him, if Paul, Dawn's boyfriend were with them. The girls made small talk, asking Misty about her life at the gym, the red head countering with questions about their contest preparations. She knew the big topic was coming, but she wasn't quite ready for it yet. Thankfully their waiter reappeared before either May or Dawn had the opportunity to ask about Ash.

The young man, newly introduced as Billy, brought them their beverages; a hot chocolate for May, a cappuccino for Dawn and a hazelnut latte for Misty. The girls placed their orders for lunch, Misty longing for Billy to hang around so she wasn't forced to answer the questions that would inevitably be thrown her way.

"So…" Dawn began, Misty bracing herself, "May told me about the gift Ash got you for Christmas… did he really reunite you with Togetic?"

Misty nodded, "he hadn't intended to, but he did!"

"That is SO romantic!" Dawn added dreamily, Misty almost choking on her latte, from across the table.

"It was sweet… but romantic? I don't know about that…" Misty mumbled, May giggling from next to Dawn.

"Whatever you say, Mist… looked pretty romantic to me!" May added.

"It was sort of a fluke gift," Misty defended, copying Ash's words from that night, "he didn't plan on it, it sort of just happened…"

"Oh, so what did he plan on giving you?" Dawn asked, listening in to Misty, intently.

"He gave me something else actually… a crystal psyduck, it's beautiful, you should see it!" Misty smiled, thinking about the little figurine sitting on top of her dresser.

May and Dawn exchanged excited looks, both girl looking as if they might explode.

"What?" Misty prompted them, demanding to know why they were looking at her like that.

"Now that's a romantic gift!" May announced.

"Mmmhmm!" said Dawn.

Misty let out a long sigh. These girls were the closest friends she had besides Ash and Brock… weren't you supposed to share secrets with friends? The young girl gathered her thoughts, debating with herself about whether or not she should mention their kiss… it had been eating away at her, keeping it secret. With a nod, she opened her mouth to speak, feeling suddenly warm as Dawn and May stared at her expectantly.

"There's something else… but you have to promise not to repeat it…"

"Well duh!" May giggled.

"I mean it May, not to Drew or Paul or anyone!"

"You got it Mist," Dawn assured her, "what is it?"

"Ash and I… well… after he gave me that gift, the second one, we may have—"

"DID YOU KISS HIM?!" the girls screeched in unison, gaining the attention of a few shocked bystanders.

"Shhhh! Keep your voices down!" Misty hissed, waving apologetically to the people whose lunches they had disturbed. "Yes… but it's complicated... I may have asked him to forget it ever happened… and we have."

"You what? Why?" May asked, "I saw you two almost kiss at the Christmas Eve Bash, have you spoken about that?"

Misty shook her head sadly, "he didn't remember that one…"

Dawn frowned, re-asking May's initial question, "so why did you ask him to forget about the kiss that did happen?"

Misty sighed, "I guess I just don't want to ruin a good thing… our friendship is finally getting back on track…"

"But how do you know it'll ruin it… it may make it better!" said May, the red head shaking her head.

"That's a risk I'm not willing to take…"

Dawn nodded sadly, although still unable to understand the reasoning behind Misty's decision. "So," she enquired, "how was it? The kiss, I mean."

"Augh," Misty groaned, her head falling back against the booth, "so good…" It'd be a lie if she said anything other than that, she had had a total of three dreams about their kiss and thanks to the 'uniform' he wore (or didn't) during his manual labour around the gym, two of them involved him without a shirt. She blushed intensely at the thought.

May giggled, "see what you're missing out on! How has it been since he came to stay with you?"

"Why did he come to stay with you?" Dawn added, perplexed.

Misty found herself debating within her head, once again. She wasn't sure if she should share the details of their altercation, or the mood Ash seemed to be in, OR his random return; but who else did she have to talk to about it all?

"Well…" she began, "he surprised me the week before Christmas saying he missed me—"

"That's nice, isn't it?" Dawn shrugged.

"But that's just it. That's not why he came back, whenever I ask him, he says he doesn't want to talk about it…" Misty went on to explain the details of their run in on New Year's Eve and continued to fill the girls in on how they were acting around each other now. The words had left her mouth before she had a chance to stop them and it felt rather liberating, like a weight had been lifted off her when she had shared it with them.

"So you aren't talking?" enquired May, scrunching her nose in sympathy.

"I'm not sure, it's awkward…" Misty huffed, Billy the waiter placing their meals in front of them. Misty took a bite of her sandwich, making sure to take her time with the mouthful, to be given a few seconds of freedom before the girls continued the discussion.

"Have you spoken to him?" the bluenette voiced through mouthfuls of her salad.

Misty raised an eyebrow in question.

"I mean, have you tried asking him again about why he came back?"

"Every time I try, he either storms off or changes the subject. I'm stuck… and I'm exhausted," the red head muttered, "I care about him so much, I just hate that he is clearly feeling down and I can't help him! It's breaking my heart!"

"That's what you tell him," May pointed a finger at Misty, "tell him just that. I know Ash, there is no way he can keep this up if he knows it's hurting you."

Misty nodded, turning her attention to her lunch. May had a good point. Even today, before she left, noticing one touch of sadness in her voice was enough for him to flip and utter a sentence to her; even as kids he would swallow his pride instantaneously, if he was causing her any type of pain. This situation was completely different… it wasn't about her and her feelings, but seeing him so deflated was altering her mood so it was a case of him helping her in order to help himself. It made much more sense in Misty's mind than it did aloud.

The girls spent the rest of their lunch assisting the red head in strategising the perfect plan to get the truth out of her best friend.

She was so thankful she had managed to let down her guard and open up to them… it seemed to be something she couldn't figure out, alone.

…..

The sound of a car engine filled Ash's ears as he waited patiently for Misty's return to the gym. He had been thinking about it all morning and he needed to apologise to her. His behaviour was out of line and he knew it wasn't her questions that had irritated him, it wasn't her fault at all. As he sat on the front step of the gym, he noticed May's little, red car turn into her driveway. He didn't care that it was freezing out, but he instructed Pikachu to stay indoors, not wanting the little mouse to catch hypothermia or something similar. He waved at the brunette, as she pulled to a stop.

Expecting Misty to jump out of the passenger seat, the young man was astonished when an exuberant Dawn ran over to him, wrapping him in strong hug.

"Dawn?"

"Hey Ash!" she chirped, pulling away from him, "how've you been?"

"Yeah, fine," he tried to answer positively unaware that Dawn and May for that matter, were aware of his current mood, "how have you been?"

"Fantastic! We better get going, but we all should catch up soon!" she uttered enthusiastically, shooting Misty a wink of encouragement as she walked up beside them.

"Yeah!" cried May, standing by her car, "It's not often we are all in the same place at once!"

"But if we don't see you beforehand, make sure you catch us both on TV," Dawn turned to Misty, "remember the contest is in a few days!"

"I'll remember," Misty laughed, accepting Dawn's goodbye hug and waving off May. "I'll talk to you both soon…"

"Can't wait! Bye Ash!" giggled Dawn, hopping into May's car.

Misty stood in front of the raven-haired boy, watching the girls leave her driveway before even thinking about turning to face him. His deep voice hit her ears before she had the chance to dispute it.

"Can we talk?" he asked softly, it would not have been audible had she not been standing right in front of him.

She spun around to face him, nodding as she tucked a piece of auburn hair behind her ear. She moved past him and through the front door, waiting for him to follow before she closed it behind them.

"Follow me," she said, leading them towards the gym's main battle room.

Stunned at first, Ash complied, sitting beside her on one of the chairs overlooking the pool. Chlorine filled his nostrils which reminded him of her; although she was right beside him, he tried to savour the smell. Misty crossed her legs, shifting her body toward him, prompting Ash to do the same.

"I just want to apologise about the other day…" he mumbled, "I didn't mean to get angry with you."

"I know."

"You do?"

"Yeah, I do."

Ash smiled at her warmly. He knew there was something she wasn't telling him, her enchanting, cerulean eyes drawing him in. They looked more intense a blue then he had ever seen them, leading his mind to ponder the reasoning behind this. She blinked a few times before looking away, her gaze hitting her hands, which were entwined neatly in her lap.

She cleared her throat before meeting his eyes once more. She focused on trying not to fall victim to their allure, which would certain throw her off course.

"Ash…" her voice was barely above a whisper, signalling that she was nervous; something he rarely saw from her. "If you're going to stay here… you need to tell me why you came back to Kanto… why you don't want to train anymore…" Her eyes bore into his, piercing through them like a bullet through a bubble.

Ash sighed an unusually long sigh. She had a point, he couldn't keep it hidden from her forever.

"I care about you so much. It's killing me, watching you walk around like nothing is wrong, especially when I know in my heart that something is…"

"You're right," he finally spoke, catching her off guard. "Just promise me you won't get angry at me when I tell you…"

"I…I promise." Misty saw the discouragement in his eyes, almost as if he was worried that he had disappointed her… like he was nervous that she would up and leave him after hearing what he had to say.

Ash cleared his throat. He still looked at her face, but he refused to meet her eyes with his own, Misty suddenly becoming nervous about what he was about to say.

"You and I have known each other for almost thirteen years… that's more than half our lives..." he stated nonchalantly. "I always thought, even before we met, that I would become a Pokemon Master. I was confident I would be, a little too overconfident sometimes, but I knew I would get there… no matter what it took…"

Misty didn't bat an eyelash, she just sat there, listening intently and trying to keep him as comfortable as possible with the look she held on her face. She wanted him to be able to tell her what was on his mind, without the fear of her judgement, looming over his head.

"…when I got to Kalos, I was ready. I knew this would be the place that I would go all the way. I'm twenty-two, after twelve years of training and battling, I knew this would be it. I got through the first seven gyms, relatively smoothly, but the last… let's just say, I was lucky. It wasn't even a real win… After three attempts, I feel like I got a badge out of pity…"

Misty frowned, automatically reaching for his hand, giving it a squeeze to encourage him to continue.

"I guess you could say, I was distracted… but it was more than that. It was like for the first time ever, I couldn't connect with my pokemon. Even Charizard, back then, even when he didn't listen to a word I said, I still felt like we were bonded, you know? After I got the Iceberg Badge, it was like I was falling out of a plane with no parachute… it was loss after loss and with each one, I grew even more frustrated… until—" his voice cracked as he looked to be on the verge of tears "—until I decided that my dream was out of reach. I wasn't going to get there… I wasn't going to end up a Pokemon Master, I wasn't cut out for it. What was the point of even trying anymore? The friends that I was travelling with eventually got annoyed with me moping around; they had their own places to be, so I didn't blame them, and we parted ways. I came home, with the intention of never going back… So, I guess you can say my journey is over… I'm done."

Misty didn't know what to say. She sat there speechless, silent tears spilling down her cheeks. Ash had still refused to look her in the eye, until the red head pulled her hand from his, needing the tool to wipe her own tear-soaked face.

"Oh Misty," he stuttered, a frown of sorrow washing over his face. "Why are you crying?"

"Because…" she mumbled, "I'm sad that you thought you couldn't tell me any of this… but I'm even sadder that you don't believe in how great you are." She was crying harder now, a crease forming between Ash's eyebrows, his frown still tugging his lips downward.

She looked up at him, using her hand to tilt his chin upward, forcing him to look her in the eye.

"I have faith in you Ash. I have more faith in you, than I've ever had in anything in my entire life." He nibbled on his bottom lip, Misty taking his silence as an invitation to continue.

"Every now and then, we fall into holes we don't think we're strong enough to get out of… sometimes we aren't… but this is not one of those times. Your connection isn't broken… your pokemon love you and you love them, you just need to remember that… If you can't believe in your ability to battle, how will they be able to believe in theirs?"

He nodded softly. She made so much sense. More sense than he had made in his conversations with himself. How did he expect his pokemon to perform well, when he had decided he had lost, long before a battle had even begun?

"C-can you help me?" he mumbled, the vulnerability in his voice tugging harshly on Misty's heartstrings. She smiled at him warmly, bringing a gentle hand to his cheek.

"As if I'd be doing anything else…" she spoke reassuringly. "You will achieve your dream Ash Ketchum. Do you hear me? I don't care what anyone says, man, I don't care if Mew himself comes down and tells you to give it up, you were born to be a Pokemon Master and I won't stop helping you until you get there!"

"I knew there was a reason I came to see you first…"

Misty's smile began to tug at her lips once again, a strange memory circling around in her head…

"You are his Leaf, you make everything better, even without talking he knows everything will be okay!" Not really one to think of him as wise, she was shocked when Gary's words had started to make sense. The bond between the best friends of twelve and a half years, would never be broken…

"You'll get through this," she grabbed his hand once more, enveloping it between both of her palms. "I promise you, we'll get you back to where you once were… you'll see."

And like a flower growing magnificently into bloom, his heart began to swell. Just like that, a seed of confidence, of courage, had been planted by her and like the beautiful, water sprite that she was, she had nourished it… for the first time in two months, Ash was ready to believe in himself once again.

…..

"Ring, ring, ring… Ring, ring, ring… Phone call! Phone call!"

The shrill screams of the video phone demanded attention, bouncing off the walls of the apartment's small living room. Its owner had finally rested his head upon the couch on the opposing side of the wall, and who could blame him, after the week he'd had, he deserved a million hours sleep, the phone making that dream impossible.

With a groan of disapproval, his toes hit the floor, the fluffy carpet tickling the soles of his feet, as he struggled to pull himself upright. He loved his job, but he loved sleep even more these days; but as per usual, it would be hard for him to ignore a phone call from Nurse Joy… even if it was more professional than personal.

With a sigh, the pokemon doctor utilized the phone's blank screen to fix his hair, making sure he didn't look half-asleep by the time his face popped up, on the other end. Deciding he was decent, his hand found the answering button, ending the phone's cries with a simple click.

"Doctor Stone speaking," he uttered, his words poised and professional as the image dissolved into the familiar face of one of his oldest friends.

"Why, hello Dr Stone!" Misty teased, her voice dripping with mockery, a foreign accent taking hold of her tongue.

Brock rolled his eyes. "What do you want Waterflower, you disturbed my sleep!"

The red head's smirk faltered before being replaced by an apologetic frown. "I'm sorry Brock… I thought you'd be awake," she said.

The boy glanced at the clock. "It's 2am?"

"I know, but usually you're up well into the morning… 'the joys of shift work' right?" she uttered, repeating his own words.

"Yeah, I guess you're right! But wait! Why are you awake? Are you okay?!"

Misty laughed at his sudden overreaction.

"Never been better!" she exclaimed, "But Brock…"

He eyed her questionably, before raising a suspicious eyebrow.

"I need your help…"