Mist in the Moonlight

The moon in the night sky cast its soft glow upon the Viridian forest. A gentle zephyr twirled through the forest, enticing the leaves to dance, their music being the soft rustling they created. A small, beautiful lake was stationed in a large clearing, small waves splashing silently in the blackness of night. While many Pokémon slept peacefully in their homes, a few could be seen wandering the forest. On this particular night, the Pokémon shared their habitat with five other guests.

A tan-skinned young man with spiky brown hair was the first one to be noticed. Lying on his back, his right arm rested haphazardly over his chest, the other was above his head. A goofy grin spread across his face, muttering the words, “Jenny” and “Joy”. The second was a young girl, snoring softly in her red sleeping bag. She wore a yellow tank top, as well as some jean shorts. Her red suspenders, which she usually wore, were lying next to her red bag. Her orange-red hair was out of its ordinary pulled-up state, flowing delicately down her face.  She lay on her side, her lips parting and closing as she slept. Her egg Pokémon, the third occupant, was lying next to her, curled up in her egg. The fourth was asleep in his trainer’s sleeping bag, his yellow fur rising up and down in his sleep, his lightning bolt tail curled around his body.

The final occupant, unlike the other four, was not asleep. Wearing a black shirt and blue jeans, as well as black shoes and green fingerless gloves, he sat atop a large tree branch, his back against the tree, staring out into the sky. Both of his legs hung haphazardly over the sides of the branch. His eyebrows were furrowed, the chocolate brown of his eyes reflecting a look of deep concentration. His fingers were intertwined behind his head, pillowing his head from the tree.

He closed his eyes, and sighed. Why couldn’t he be asleep like his companions?

Opening his eyes, he already knew the answer. He glanced down at the red-haired girl, Misty. She was the reason he wasn’t joining them in their slumber. There was something about the girl he couldn’t figure out. Everything about her intrigued him. How she was able to make him laugh one minute and fighting furiously with her the next. How she believed in him when even he didn’t. How she made him work hard to be the best he could be.

And that was the main source of his confusion. Why was he so interested in her? What was it about her that made him want to know more and more about who she was? She was his friend, he knew that much, but this seemed to go way too far to be just friendship. There had to be something more about their friendship he didn’t get.

As he continued to observe her, he noticed she was slightly tossing and turning in her sleep. He could hear her slightly whimpering as well. He jumped down from his branch, regaining his balance before walking over to her sleeping bag. Kneeling beside her, he ran his hand through her soft hair. Oddly, he enjoyed doing this. Looking at Misty’s face, he could see she was enjoying this as well. Closing his eyes, he smiled, feeling her hair against his fingers.

“Ash?”

Ash’s eyes snapped open. Misty’s eyes were open and looking straight into his. Remembering where his hand was, he immediately retracted it. Misty’s face was a mixture of annoyance and confusion.

“Oh, Misty, you’re awake.” Ash stated nervously.

“Ash, why were you messing with my hair?” Misty asked, irritated.

“Well, you were…I mean…I was just…” Ash jumbled out, trying to explain what he was doing. Misty sat up, using her arm as support. Noticing the look in her eyes, Ash immediately began talking.

“Well, it looked like you were having a nightmare, and I thought that it would…make you feel…better…” Ash slowly stopped, seeing how even though he was telling the truth, it didn’t look like Misty believed him. He immediately covered his head and closed his eyes, expecting Misty to hit him with her mallet. However, all he heard was a small thump. Opening his eyes, he saw Misty lying on her side, her back to him.

“Just go back to sleep, Ash.” Misty grumbled, tucking herself into her sleeping bag.

Ash frowned. This was the kind of thing that was bothering him. He had expected her to pummel him to near-death, just like the other times he had accidentally woken her up. But this time, she just let him go. These kinds of actions confused him, and he would probably be awake all night, thinking about it.

Ash stood up, and, looking up at the tree, sighed. He certainly wasn’t going to climb back up the tree. It was a pain the first time, and he wasn’t in the mood to do it again. He turned his attention to the lake. After a minute of consideration, he made his way towards the watery domain.

He glanced at the lake as it came closer into his vision. It glistened brightly in the light of the moon and the stars. Taking a seat on one of the logs near the shore, he continued to admire it. He didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt extremely relaxed. It could be the quiet around him, or maybe it was just because he was by himself. He closed his eyes, and listened to the sound of the waves blowing in the wind. The soft sloshing sounds they made soothed him. He smiled. Maybe that’s why Misty liked the water so much.

He opened his eyes, his smile fading slightly. There was her name again. Why was he thinking of Misty so much? He wanted to know so badly, to have an answer to that question. He had been plagued by thoughts of Misty for a while now, and at first, he thought it was just a phase, but when it didn’t stop, it became a problem. He asked his mom about it, but all she did was giggle and say things like, “My little Ashy-poo is growing up so fast.” She never did tell what was wrong with him. He would’ve asked Brock, but the thought of him reacting just like his mom scared him. Still, he felt that he deserved some kind of answer as to what his problem was. He would give almost anything to know.

“Ash?”

Snapping out of his small trance, he turned his head to see Misty. Without her suspenders on and with her hair down, he noticed how much she had grown up in the last 4 years. He definitely couldn’t say she was scrawny anymore. He blinked, a small blush creeping up his cheeks. Why was he thinking like that about her? Did it have to do with why he was thinking about her?

“Hello, earth to Ash.” Misty said, waving her hand in front of his eyes. He snapped back to his senses, not noticing that she had sat next to him.

“Oh, sorry Misty.” Ash grinned sheepishly. “So, why are you out here?”

“Well, after you woke me up, I couldn’t get back to sleep, and since you weren’t in your sleeping bag, I decided to fearlessly adventure though the forest to make sure you were safe and sound.” Misty said dramatically.

Ash frowned slightly. “I can take care of myself, y’know.”

“Can not.” Misty smirked.

“Can to.” Ash replied, taking a step towards her.

“Can not!”

“Can to!”

“Can not!”

“Can to!”

“Well, at least I’m not a shrimp!”

“At least I’m not scrawny!”

“Humph!” They both said, crossing their arms and turning their backs to each other.

As Ash thought about the argument, he couldn’t help but smile. He began to think about all the times when they were younger, when they would argue non-stop. He remembered one time, when Misty said that he had gotten them lost in the forest, even though she was the one who had the map. It had taken 15 minutes and a Thunderbolt attack from Pikachu to finally get them to stop. A small chuckle escaped his lips as he thought about the memory.

“What’s so funny?” Misty asked, turning towards him.

“I was just remembering all the times that we argued when we were little. I can’t believe some of the things we argued about.” Ash said with a smile.

“I know. I remember all the times that you got us lost.” Misty laughed. Ash glared at her.

“I didn’t always get us lost, Misty.” Ash defended.

“Yeah, you did.” Misty said.

“No, I didn’t.” Ash replied, crossing his arms.

“Yes, you did, and you know it, Ash.” Misty said with a victorious smile.

“Humph.” Ash said, knowing that she was right.

“So, why’d you come out here, Ash? Is something wrong?” Misty asked him, after getting over their previous argument.

“I’m alright. I just have a lot on my mind.” Ash said, looking back to the lake.

“What’s up?” Misty asked.

“Well…” Ash looked up at the sky. He didn’t really feel comfortable talking to Misty about this, especially since it concerned her. His eyes stayed focused on the sky, aware of Misty’s gaze upon him. He wanted to change the subject, but he couldn’t think of anything to talk about. Misty, sensing his discomfort, immediately asked him something else.

“So, Ash, what are you gonna do after you become a Pokémon Master?” Misty asked him.

“Huh?” Ash asked, caught off guard by the question. He turned to see her smiling at him.

“You know, after you’ve beaten the Pokémon League. What are you gonna do after that?” Misty repeated herself.

“Um…I dunno. Maybe I’ll travel around.” Ash replied.

“Haven’t we traveled enough, Ash?” Misty asked.

“Well, even after I beat the Pokémon League, there’s still gonna be a lot of trainers out there who I want to fight. And don’t forget, there are a lot of people that I promised I’d visit again.” Ash reminded her.

“Oh, right.” Misty said quietly. “So he’s going to leave again…” She didn’t want to leave Ash. He was her best friend, and it would be hard to live without him. Her sisters had always just treated her like most siblings treat the youngest; they didn’t give her much respect. They weren’t the meanest people in the world, but Misty didn’t want to stop traveling. She enjoyed traveling with Ash. Then, she thought of something.

“Ash, do you think I could go with you?” She asked, somewhat timidly.

“You wanna go?” Ash asked, surprised.

“Yeah. I’d love to see all the people we’ve met again, too.” Misty told him, hoping he would say yes.

“Of course you can come, Misty! That’d be great!” Ash smiled happily. Misty smiled as well. Just him and her, traveling the world together. It was almost too good to be true…

“Brock, May, and Max can come, too. Then we can all travel together!” Ash said excitedly.

Misty’s smile became smaller. Just like Ash to be totally oblivious to what she wanted. Oh, well. At least she could still spend time with him.

“Humph.” Misty said to herself quietly. Ash, however, heard her.

“What’s wrong, Misty?” He asked her.

“Nothing’s wrong, Ash.” Misty replied.

“Then how come you look mad?” Ash said, frowning.

“I’m not mad! I’m perfectly fine!” Misty stated firmly, closing her eyes and crossing her arms.

Ash smiled, looking at how childish she was acting right now. It reminded him of when they were younger. Now that he thought about it, how long had they been friends? 4 years? It seemed that way, but it went by so fast. He tried, but he couldn’t remember most of the memories of his journeys.

“Maybe I took for granted some of the times we’ve had together.” He thought to himself, frowning slightly.

“Ash?”

Ash blinked to see Misty staring at him, her face slightly pink.

“Yeah, what is it?” Ash asked.

“Why are you staring at me?” She mumbled.

Ash suddenly realized the mistake he’d made while thinking. “I wasn’t staring!” He defended, waving his hands.

“Yes, you were! Why were you staring at me?” Misty asked again, a hint of annoyance evident in her voice.

“I wasn’t, really!” Ash exclaimed.

“Come on, Ash, tell me!” She retorted, standing up.

“Misty, what’s that?” Ash pointed behind her.

“What’s what?” Misty turned around, but didn’t see anything. No wild Pokémon, no Brock, no Pikachu, nothing. Confused, she turned back to see Ash running away.

“ASH, GET BACK HERE!” She yelled, running after him. The chase lasted a good 5 minutes before Misty finally caught up to Ash. They were currently sitting on a small patch of grass, against a tree, on the opposite side of the lake. Ash had told her that he had seen something behind her, but it went away as soon as she had looked. He still hadn’t told her why he was staring, but Misty let it slide, under the condition that he went shopping with her in the next town they came to. Ash had agreed, but not willingly.

“Hey, Ash?” Misty asked.

“Yeah?” He replied, looking down at her. She was to his right, her head on his shoulder again.

“What if I never followed you?” She asked, looking down.

“Hm? What do you mean?” Ash asked.

“Well, what if you never took my bike, and I never had to follow you?” Misty asked him.

“Well…I don’t know, actually. I do know that I wouldn’t have had as many headaches as I did.” He smirked.

Misty hit him on the arm. “That’s not what I meant, Ash, and you know it.” She scowled slightly, but also playfully.

Ash laughed. “I know. Well, I do know that my past adventures wouldn’t have been as interesting. Plus, you’ve taught me a lot of stuff these past years. I don’t think I’d be as far as I am without you, Misty. I mean, you’ve always helped me when I’m in trouble, and made sure I didn’t get overconfident. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, Misty, and I’m glad I destroyed your bike.” He smiled.

“You talk like was a good thing you wrecked my bike.” Misty said, agitated.

“Well, I met you, didn’t I?” Ash inquired.

“I guess. But when do you plan on paying me back for it?” Misty asked him.

“Soon, Misty, I promise.” Ash assured her.

“You said that 4 years ago.” Misty said, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, well, I haven’t found a place where they sell bikes.” Ash defended.

“Do you even plan on paying me back?” She asked him.

“Well, I don’t know, but…” Ash started.

“What do you mean, you don’t know? You destroyed it, so you should pay me back for it.” Misty cut in, her voice slightly angry.

“But then, you’ll have to leave, right? Then we won’t be able to see each other anymore.” Ash said in a worried tone.

Misty’s face immediately softened, flattered by his words. “You…don’t want me to leave?”

“Never, Misty. You’re my best friend, and it would feel weird without you.” Ash confessed.

Misty looked at him, surprised at what he said. He never got her a new bike because…he liked her being around? Slowly, she smiled.

“Ash, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.” She whispered.

“Well, it’s true.” Ash replied, slightly embarrassed.

“No matter what, Ash, we’ll always be friends.” Misty said firmly, lifting her head up and locking eyes with him.

“Yeah, I know, Misty.” Ash replied happily. Looking into her eyes, he began to feel as though he were losing his senses. Oddly, it seemed like he was being drawn closer to Misty. Specifically, her face. He didn’t know why, but he didn’t want to fight it. However, he didn’t know what would happen, so, with some effort, he forced himself to simply smile at her.

Misty smiled back, then laid her head on his shoulder again.

“Hey, Ash?” Misty asked, without looking up at him.

“Yeah?” Ash asked, keeping his eyes to the lake.

“What do you think you’ll be doing in 10 years?” She inquired.

“What’s with all the questions, Misty?” Ash chuckled quietly.

“Why can’t I ask? I mean, you are going to be the greatest Pokémon Master soon, right?” Misty said, looking up at him.

“Of course, Misty. And I’ll beat anyone who gets in my way!” Ash declared, his voice filled with confidence.

“Then you’ll have to get past me, ‘cause you still owe me a battle!” She grinned.

“Oh, really?” Ash smiled with a cocked eye.

“Yeah…but will we still be friends by then?” She looked back down at the ground, a hint of sadness in her voice.

“Don’t say that! Of course we’ll still be friends, Misty! We’ll always will!” Ash told her firmly. Misty looked into his eyes and smile, but he could still see that she was still somewhat unsure. He smiled, then took her hand in his.

“I promise, Misty, no matter what happens, you’ll always be my best friend.” He told her. Immediately, he could see the insecurity leave her eyes, only to be filled with happiness.

“I know we will, Ash.” She whispered, looking back at the lake. Ash did the same, but forgot that he was still holding her hand. They continued to stay like that for what felt like forever, enjoying each other’s company.

Eventually, Ash began to feel his eyes droop. Shaking himself awake, he stretched his arms, releasing his hold on Misty’s hand, deciding that they should head back.

“Misty, let’s go back to camp. It’s pretty late.” Ash suggested. No response. “Misty?” Ash looked to see that she was asleep. “Hey, Misty, wake up.” He said, softly shaking her. Misty’s eyes snapped open, startled.

“Huh? What?” Misty said, drowsiness filling her voice.

“Misty, we need to go back to camp.” Ash informed her.

“Oh, right.” Misty said, slowly getting up. She walked forward a little, before stumbling. Losing her balance, she started to fall back.

“Misty!” Ash cried, running behind her and catching her. He placed one arm around her neck, and the other around her waist. Out of instinct, Ash took a look at Misty to see if she was okay. She appeared fine, but was asleep again.

“She must really be tired.” Ash thought to himself. Then, he realized, he couldn’t turn away. He just stared at her, admiring her. Bathed in the glow of the moonlight, combined with her hair down from its normal position, a sudden thought came to his mind.

“Wow, Misty looks really…pretty.”

Immediately, the thought processed itself into his mind, and a surprised look was plastered on his face.

“Pretty? Since when have I thought of her like that?” He wondered.

Shaking the thought from his head, he picked her up bridal style and began walking towards the camp, his eyes venturing to Misty once in a while.

As he made his way to the camp, he thought about what they had talked about tonight. Why did she ask him so many questions tonight? She never did anything like that before. It didn’t bother him, but it was strange to him how she was acting differently. Looking at her, he smiled.

“Misty is just a good person at heart.” He thought happily. He then chuckled to himself. “It would be hard to tell with her anger issue.” Unfortunately for Ash, he didn’t see Misty’s face form into an angry one, nor did he see her pull out her mallet.

POW!

Ash stumbled about clumsily, gritting his teeth, his head seething in pain.

“What the-?” Ash thought, his head throbbing in pain.

Out of sheer pain, he staggered over to Misty’s sleeping bag, but felt his foot start to slip on something. Immediately, he closed his eyes, knowing he was going to fall. Clutching onto Misty, he began to turn his body so that he would land on his back, cushioning Misty from most of the fall.

CRASH!

Ash immediately shot his hand to his head, the pain in his head beginning to pile up.

“Ow…my head. Even when she’s asleep, she hits me when I make fun of her.” He thought. He hadn’t been able to turn all the way, so they ended up landing on their sides, facing each other. He couldn’t feel his arm, since Misty had landed on it.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, which resulted in his cheeks to begin reddening up. Misty’s face was a mere four inches away from his, her soft lips opening and closing in her sleep. He noticed the position they were in, and blushed even more. Their clothing was the only thing that separated their skin from each other, and their legs had intertwined with each other, resulting in them being extremely close.

A little too close for Ash’s comfort, as their bodies had pressed together when he’d grabbed her. Why did he have to grab Misty’s body so hard? However, he was surprised at how he felt. He felt…good. He could feel Misty’s heartbeat against his chest, and a comforting warmth filled his entire body. It was getting harder to breathe, and he felt like his heart was soaring. However, even though he was enjoying this feeling, if he valued his life, he would get away as soon as possible.

Slowly, he tried to inch out of her grasp, only to have her scoot even closer to him, her face settling in the nape of his neck. He felt her lips come in contact with his neck, and a shock shot through his entire. It took all of his strength to stop himself from shuddering. It felt really good. He tried for 5 minutes to get away, all resulting in failure. He decided to just lie there, calm down, and await his fate.

“Maybe Misty will kill me quickly.” Ash hoped. He turned his eyes to look at her face again. He found that he liked how she looked when she was asleep. She looked so peaceful, so much calmer than she normally looked in the day. She looked like she didn’t have a care in the world, which Ash preferred over her usual, easily-tempered attitude. Slowly, he reached out and stroked her hair, feeling it against his hand. He knew that she was feeling content from the small sigh that escaped her lips. Then, remembering how she had woken up earlier from him doing it, he stopped.

Feeling sleepiness crawl upon him again, he decided to follow Misty’s example. After all, if Misty was gonna yell at him, he wanted to be awake to argue back. Wrapping his arm around her, he nestled himself down, shifting his head so that it sat comfortably on her head. Before nodding off to sleep, he heard Misty say something, so quiet, that he had to strain to hear what she said.

“I love you, Ash.”

Immediately, Ash’s eyes snapped open. His heart skipped a beat, before it started beating radically. It felt like his face was pale, yet it was even redder than before. Misty moved even closer, to the point where Ash had to lean back to avoid his lips making contact with her own.

He looked up into the sky, a look of shock and disbelief on his face. “W-what? Misty…loves me?”

Suddenly, his memory banks switched to full power, and all thoughts concerning the girl in his arms came rushing to him, like water through a broken dam. Every time they laughed together, every time they cried together, all the times they had all-around been together, flashed before his eyes. Everything sped by him so fast, it was almost impossible for him to comprehend what he was seeing. He felt his heart beat speed up as he saw each memory flash before him. The time at Maiden’s Peak when he had seen her with her hair down for the first time; she looked pretty, but his gut told him something more. That time on Trovita Island, when Rudy had asked her to stay with him. She could’ve stayed with someone who would’ve made her happier than anyone could have, and yet, she stayed with him. Why? Was it because she loved him?

And then, his thoughts screeched to a halt. That last question stuck to him, unwavering and unwilling to leave.

“It was because she loved me…because she loved me…”

In that moment, Ash realized why he was left awake tonight. He realized why he felt like Butterfree were fluttering inside his stomach every time he was with her. Why he felt like his heart was soaring when she laughed. The reason behind his inability to talk when he looked into her Cerulean eyes. Why he felt like his legs were made out of jelly every time she smiled, especially at him. At that moment, every single one of those mysteries was solved.

It was because he was in love with her. He loved Misty Waterflower.

His face became blank, as a sudden realization dawned upon him. “Wait…I love her…and she loves me…so, what do we do?”

He looked back to Misty, and was surprised to see that she was no longer in the nape of his neck. Instead, her face was now only 3 inches away from his. However, that alone wasn’t the only thing that made him nervous. As close as their faces were, he noticed that slowly, her face was moving closer to his. For some reason, he couldn’t move away.

It might’ve been nervousness, but Ash knew that it was also because he didn’t want to move. The only thing he found he could do was part his lips.

Her mouth came closer, until he could feel her breath on his own mouth. He could feel his heart start to beat even faster than before. He thought about backing away again, but in his current position, he couldn’t do that. Maybe he could tilt his head up, or maybe he could try to wake her up, or maybe-

However, in a second, none of those thoughts mattered. At that moment, he felt his lips on hers for the first time.

He didn’t know how to feel. He never thought about his first kiss. However…he enjoyed it. The feel of their lips together; the feeling he got in the pit of his stomach from being this close to her; he liked it. A moment later, an obvious thought came to him.

“Wait…this is Misty. My best friend. I shouldn’t feel so nervous. I mean, it’s not like it’s a total stranger.”

With the knowledge from the revelation in mind, Ash slowly closed his eyes, and began to enjoy the sensations running through him.

Unfortunately, everything good must come to an end, and for Ash, the new pleasure ended too soon. In a small, slow motion, their lips parted from each other.

Ash was completely stunned. His heart was beating at an incredible rate, his head slightly dizzy from what had just transpired. He was shocked, to say the least. He didn’t notice the smile on Misty’s face, or the one that found its way upon his own. With a small sigh, Misty leaned her head on Ash’s chest, right under his chin.

He slowly regained his senses, and looked down at her. He couldn’t see her face, only the top of her head. His smile never left him.

“Wow…that was…wow…so, this is what it’s like to be in love…”

And, he found it wasn’t as bad as he thought it was. He thought it was all about gushy stuff and always saying mushy things to a girl. However, he found that it was pretty much the same thing as friendship, only on a much higher level. He could still treat her the same way; he could still argue with her; only, it would mean something behind it all.

During this thought process, he hadn’t noticed that Misty had turned to her left side, releasing her grip on Ash. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he leapt up off the ground. Before heading off to his sleeping bag, he turned around to face her. Misty snuggled deeper into her own, her lips curving upward into a small smile. Ash walked the short distance over to her sleeping bag. He knelt before her, and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

“I love you too, Misty.”