Chapter Text
[age 7]
Ash grips his mother’s hand tighter, trying with all of his might to pull her across the street.
“Please wait dear, see the light? Because it’s red, it’s not safe to go yet,” she says as she crouches down next to him and points at the little red man standing still.
The second it goes white and the little man is walking, Ash goes as quick as he can into the ice cream shop. His mom took him to Cerulean City just for this because only Cerulean has this ice cream shop. He tiptoes and smushes his face into the glass barring him from all the ice cream. He can hear his mom ask him calmly to not dirty the glass, and then he hears crying. He removes himself from the display and peers up at his mom. She’s fine, but looks worried. He looks to the corner of the shop. There’s a girl with really bright orange hair sitting at a table by herself. She’s crying and hiccuping, not the wailing type of crying, but tears are definitely coming out of her eyes.
Ash walks over to the girl, and asks if he can sit across her. She wipes her face with her wrists, doesn’t look at him, and nods.
“I’m Ash, what’s your name?” he asks.
She sniffs. “Misty.”
“Misty, you look sad.”
She crosses her arms. “I’m not sad!”
Ash’s mom comes up behind him. “Misty, my name is Delia. Are you scared?”
The annoyed look on Misty’s face falters. “I guess. My sister isn’t here yet.”
“Well, can we wait for her with you? I can get you ice cream.”
Misty’s arms uncross. “Pistachio?”
Ash lightly tugs at his mother’s shirt sleeve. “Do I get one?”
His mom reminds him to say “please” next time, and she gets them their ice cream. At first, Misty isn’t very talkative, and Ash figures she still feels silly from being caught crying. He really gets that, so instead he shows her all the funny faces he can make and they draw together with the crayons and paper the shop gives out. Both Ash and Misty finish their ice cream by the time a tall blonde girl walks into the store. She approaches their table.
“Hey baby sis, I’m sorry I took, like, so long. My cheer meeting went way over time. Oh, hi there?” She greets Ash’s mom.
His mother shakes her hand, and they start talking. Delia hands Daisy her cellphone, asking her something about numbers.
Misty leans over to Ash. “That's my biggest sister, Daisy. She’s in high school.”
“Whoa,” Ash replies. He didn’t know any high schoolers himself.
“She takes care of me now that our parents aren’t home anymore. She gets out of school later than I do, so she tells me to wait here. Sometimes I have to wait here for super long, like today.”
“Your parents aren’t home anymore?” His dad hadn’t been home in a long time either.
Misty shakes her head. “It’s just me and my sisters.”
“Do you have a bedtime?”
Misty looks at him funny. “I’ve never had a bedtime.”
Ash decides then that Misty is really, really cool.
By the time Ash and his mom return to Pallet Town, he learns that his mom wants to keep talking to Daisy, and that they’ll be checking in on them every weekend. She says they have a tricky situation, whatever that means. Fine by him, Misty is super cool.
[age 13]
Ash is lying on his bed with Pikachu, ignoring his math homework when the phone on his desk rings. He picks it up, instantly pulling the receiver away from his ear.
“I don’t know who she thinks she is!” Misty is roaring through the phone. Pikachu’s ears perk up at the sound of her voice. “She--”
He takes a chance and interrupts a furious Misty. “Hold on, Mist, what happened?”
She makes a frustrated noise and takes a deep breath. “Lily finished my lotion. She finished my lotion! The one your mom gave to me for my birthday? I told her to not touch the damn lotion, I kept telling her to not touch the damn lotion, so of course she finished it! She was all ‘why does it even, like, matter?’ and I almost choked her out! She said she could get me a new one but that wasn’t even my point!
Ash switches the receiver to the other ear. “Well, what is your point?” He had listened to many of her rants about her older sisters before. By now, he had come to learn that the best way of dealing with it was to let Misty talk it through to herself, rather than trying to figure out her logic on his own.
“Well… I guess the point is that the lotion was special because it was a gift from your mom, and I wanted to be the one to use it all. It was one of the few things really meant for only me. My sisters get lots of gifts from randoms, and I never touch them. Maybe I can ask Brock to talk to her about it.
“Sounds like a good idea. Brock usually fixes our messes anyway.” They met Brock through Lily, as they were classmates a few years ago, and despite all his flirting, made out to be a good friend to her and a makeshift older brother for both Ash and Misty.
“Who cares, I guess she gets to live another day. Anyway, I think I’ll catch the train soon. I’ll probably be there in a couple hours?”
Now that Daisy was older and their situation was more stable, Delia hadn’t been visiting them every weekend. Despite this, Ash and Misty still make it a point to see each other, alternating spending the weekend at the other’s house.
“I think dinner will be ready by then. Make sure you bring deodorant because you sure stunk last week.”
He could practically hear her temper flare from the other end. “That was not me! I still swear that was from the sap that fell into my hair when we went walking in the woods!”
“Sure, whatever you say Misty.”
“I can’t stand you, see if I come over after all.”
“Better staying here than with your annoying sisters.
“Whatever.”
Before Misty got there that night, Ash told his mom about what happened and she made sure to make a note of it. They talk about why Misty might feel so possessive over a gift meant for her, and what her relationships with her sisters are like. His mom says they’re lucky to have each other, and he doesn’t fully get what she means by that.
[age 15]
He’s stretched out on the floor in front of his TV, some mindless game show playing. A cubone is trying to hit plastic diglets popping out of the floor to no avail. He sure can relate to that right now. He pulls his shirt collar over his face, groaning.
A knock interrupts him. It’s his mom. “Ash, I’ll be going to the store. Please call me if you need anything!”
He keeps groaning. He failed his science final today for sure. Why was there a whole section dedicated to the anatomy of a vileplume? He dropped his lunch on shoes, and when he came home complaining to his mom about his test, she kept telling him he should try asking his teacher if he could retake the test next week. On top of all this, he has no idea where Pikachu is. He’s actually kind of miffed, usually Pikachu could comfort him at a time like this. Instead, he’s been lying on the floor, upset, for a few hours now. He can hear the front door open. He closes his eyes. His mom must have forgotten her wallet or something. But then he can hear footsteps hurrying up the stairs, and he sits up, ready for anything.
Misty bursts into his room with Pikachu perched on her shoulders. He lies back down and throws his arm over his eyes.
“Pikachu, there you are. I was getting worried. Misty, why are you here? It’s a Wednesday, don’t you have school tomorrow?”
“What a way to be greeted,” she says sarcastically. “Pikachu sneaks onto a train just to get me here, and that’s how you say hi?”
He looks at them. “Pikachu, who taught you how to use a bullet train?” Pikachu jumps down from Misty’s shoulder and headbutts his leg.
“Never mind that, Ash. What’s your deal? I hear you’ve been in a pissy mood.” Pikachu nods.
Knowing Misty won’t take no for an answer, he relays to her all of today’s dilemmas. He stares at her, waiting for her to respond.
She sits down cross legged next to him, Pikachu crawling into her lap. “You know, I think you should have a talk with your mom about that.”
He rolls over onto his side, facing away from her. “Here you go too. I didn’t ask for your help, you know.”
Even though he can’t see her, he knows her face has turned sour. “Well, if that’s what I get for spending part of my allowance on a train ticket to help your sorry ass, maybe I should just leave!
He turns back to her. “Fine!”
“Fine!” But she doesn’t leave.
Pikachu bounces off of her. She stands up, pulls a pillow from Ash’s bed, and throws it at his stomach. “Hey, Pikachu asked for my help, so we’re going to figure this out. Your mom gave me a copy of the key to your house for a reason.” She lies down next to him, taking a couple of deep breaths to calm down. “How’s your mom supposed to know how to help if you don’t tell her how?”
“That’s the thing. I didn’t really want advice or be told what to do, I just wanted her to hear what I felt about the test. But she kept going on and on about how I should get in touch with my teacher and my head got so jumbled because I felt so bad about failing in the first place and her answer seemed like it was so easy, so I’m just-- I’m just frustrated. And I’m hungry because I didn’t have any lunch.”
Misty snorts. “You act like your mom doesn’t have fresh food waiting for you everyday after school. But I see what you mean. Come on,” she says as she gets up. “Let’s get dinner, on me. We can get your guys’ favorite. Wouldn’t you like that, Pikachu?” Pikachu’s eyes light up and he exclaims gleefully to her.
--
Misty’s not the biggest fan of cheeseburgers, something about the grease making her face breakout. But they’re here at Ash’s favorite diner anyway, digging into their food. He finishes up complaining to her about his final as she stirs her milkshake.
“That does sound like a shit test. But you know what you need to do. Study more, next time. We’ll figure out some ways that studying won’t be a bunch of flash cards, something more real for you. I think that would help. And you know how your mom is, she means well, but sometimes she nags, and it’s only normal to get irritated about it from time to time. Plus as long as you gave today your all, I think that’s what counts. If today’s all was moping around on the floor, then whatever, but tomorrow can be better. You’ll be better.” He mulls over her words, feeling more motivated again. She’s sipping on her milkshake like she didn’t just perfectly make his day.
Ash looks back and forth between Misty and Pikachu. She’s feeding Pikachu some of her fries and ketchup, and Pikachu is happily purring and munching away. Something cozy ignites in his chest. When he’s eating his favorite food with his two best friends on a school night, there isn’t so much to complain about anymore.
[age 16]
Ash enters his mom’s garden, carrying bags of new plants and fruits she wants to put in the garden as spring comes around. Misty is there, digging at the ground with Pikachu. His mom is telling her about what fruits they should be planting now when Misty’s phone vibrates against the patio table. She walks over to it, picking it up.
“Excuse me for a bit Delia, Violet’s calling.” His mom waves her off, saying of course you should get your sister’s call, and Misty steps into the house, chattering about something to do with their pool at home.
Ash is sitting at the table, watching Pikachu plod around and sniff the plants he’s brought when his mom speaks up.
“Misty is so darling, isn’t she?” His mom’s hands are on her hips as she looks fondly at the bags of new plants.
“‘Darling’ isn’t really the word I would use, Mom, but sure.”
“Ash, you should be kinder to her. She’s your friend, isn’t she?”
“Friend” is kind of an understatement. “But Mom, that’s the thing. She’s my best friend, that’s just how we are. You always had to pull us apart when we were kids.”
His mom hums and turns around to tend to some other plants. “Well, maybe things will change when you’re older.” He rolls his eyes. “Misty is such a sweetheart. I love having her around.”
“I think you just like having another set of hands to help you with the chores.”
She laughs. “That might be part of it, she’s very helpful. And her sisters! You know how I found it difficult to take care of you on my own when you were younger. To think, Daisy had to do it at such a young age and with two kids at that.”
Ash ponders what his mom has said. He never thought about it much. Occasionally they would talk about not having dads, or every now and then Misty will talk about how awful it is to think that at this age, Daisy had been taking care of her for two years already. He asks his mom if she ever felt odd about their circumstances.
“Oh, my heart was so broken seeing Misty at that table when you were younger. And at first I was a bit angry, because who could leave a child unsupervised like that? But when I saw Daisy and she explained some of what was going on at their house, I wanted to do what I could to help her. Kids always need a strong support system, you know how I feel about that. Even if it was some work to go to Cerulean so often those first several years, I never had any second thoughts about it. Just because our families aren’t like everyone else’s doesn’t mean they’re any less strong. She and her sisters are so dear to me now. I love Misty, it’s like she’s my own. Though I’d like for you to make that official, some day. She’s so passionate about the things she loves, and so pretty. Don’t you like that, Ash?”
He gags at her words. “Mom, you’re going to make me throw up! That’s so gross, right? No sixteen-year-old thinks about marriage!”
His mom’s tone pokes fun at him. “You brought up marriage, not me.”
“Who’s getting married?” Misty’s back now, with glasses full of ice water for each of them, and a bowl of water for Pikachu.
“Uh, two of my teachers from middle school. Yeah, it’s kind of a big deal in my year right now,” Ash says, unable to look at her. He scratches at his eyebrow. His mom is hiding her teasing grin behind the back of her hand.
“I think you got dirt on your forehead.” Misty is about to smear the heel of her hand against his face to get it off when Ash bats at her.
“I got it! I need to change out of my jeans before I help you guys anyway. And hey, isn’t it funny you’re the one here planting violets? I’ll, I’ll be back.” His mom is struggling not to laugh now, while Misty looks at him confusedly.
“Yeah, it’s hysterical, weirdo.” Misty starts talking to his mom about problems with the pool back home, and wouldn’t it be nice to have a pool here, while Ash retreats to his room.
He stops at the doorway to his mom’s room, where he can see a picture taken at her wedding with his dad. His mom is smiling so beautifully, and now that Ash is a little older, he gets why people say he looks just like his dad. He begins to think about what he would look like in a suit when he interrupts himself and thinks jeans, jeans, jeans, in order to push that thought far, far away hopefully for forever. Moms just like pestering their kids sometimes, right?
[age 17]
As so many of their nights do, it starts with a text message. Ash’s pocket buzzes. He opens his phone to read a text from Misty.
[from: loudmouth, 1:17pm]
>hey i have violet’s car, think you can leave for the next couple of days?
He grins, immediately picking up what she’s alluding to.
[to: loudmouth, 1:17pm]
>road trip? i’ll tell my mom we’re skipping my weekend
[from: loudmouth, 1:18pm]
>duh, take the train up soon as you get out of class.
He furrows his brow.
[to: loudmouth, 1:19pm]
>hey, i’ll still need to pack a bag and stuff
[from: loudmouth, 1:19pm]
>sounds like excuses for how slow moving you usually are!
Several hours later, the two of them pile a couple of duffle bags into the backseat of Violet’s baby blue 1995 Lexus LS 400. It’s Violet’s pride and joy, and Ash doesn’t want to ask Misty what she had to do to be able to take it for the weekend. Pikachu nestles between the bags, looking ready for a nap. They say bye to Lily, and drive off.
“Where are we headed?” Ash realizes he never asked.
Misty grins at him from the driver’s seat, rolling their windows down. “I wanted to go to the beach, and route 25 doesn’t really scream road trip, does it?”
“So where are we headed? Cherrygrove has a beach, doesn’t it?”
She sighs. “Ash, we can’t make it to Johto and back in three days. We only have tonight, Saturday, and Sunday. I was thinking more like Fuschia City.”
Ash jumps at that. “Oh, can we drive down the coast instead of cutting through Vermilion?”
“You read my mind,” Misty answers as she takes the on ramp toward Route 10. He stares at the way her hair reflects the sunshine.
--
Sometime later, they stop for gas. Earlier, Pikachu was rocked to sleep by the moving car. Now that they’re stopped, he climbs onto Ash’s shoulder to see where they are. Ash gives Misty enough money for half the tank and some snacks. She comes back as Ash is playing with Pikachu’s tail. It’s dark now, and they’ve got to think of some place to stop. They park in the gas station’s lot and begin to eat some of their snacks.
“Maybe we could find a place to stay in Lavender Town,” Misty says, feeding Pikachu some of her biscuit.
“Really? Haven’t you heard all the spooky stuff going on there? You sure you’re not going to piss your pants from the fright?” he teases, waggling his fingers in claw shapes at her.
She glares at him. “Oh please, ghosts are to be respected, not scared of. Grow up, Ash. But regardless, they’d never check a room out to two minors anyway.”
He tries to not show how relieved he is, so he changes the subject. “Why’d you want to do this anyway? I mean, I’m not complaining though.” Usually Misty’s spontaneity fits right into his.
She thinks over his question for a bit. “I needed something new, don’t you think? Something different. Plus, Pikachu could use some new scenery, too.” She scratches behind Pikachu’s ear and he nuzzles into her hand.
--
They drive a little further, stopping at a parking lot along route 12. It’s quiet here, and the fishermen won’t bat an eye at a pair of kids sleeping in their car. Ash steps outside to let Misty change out of her day clothes in the car, and Pikachu runs up and down a nearby hill. When she’s done, she’s wearing a t-shirt with a squirtle on it that he’s pretty sure is his. But with the way they’re back and forth between each others’ houses, it adds up that some t-shirts get switched around. Bellies full of junk food, they settle in. Misty leans the passenger’s seat all the way back, and Ash moves the duffle bags into the trunk so he can lie down in the backseat. Considering both of them are lanky and all legs, it’s deathly uncomfortable. But they fall asleep just fine, being lulled to sleep by the sounds of Pikachu snoring and the waves colliding into the cliffs close to them.
--
The next day, Ash takes the wheel. They continue driving along the coast, headbanging to the Lunatones, having a karaoke hour to popular Noctowl City songs, and even swerving away from a couple of careless drivers. Pikachu’s cheeks crackle and fizz from all the excitement. They get food at some dingy drive-thru and stop at a corner where someone is selling baked goods. Despite Ash being the slower driver (he just wants to take in where they are, ok?) they make it to route 19 by the late afternoon. He parks haphazardly by a set of stairs that lead to the beach. Misty grabs a couple of towels and a bottle of sunscreen from her bag and runs down the stairs. Pikachu follows her and Ash nearly slips from all the sand coating the steps.
She throws her belongings to the sand, kicks off her sneakers and socks, and makes her way to the shore. Ash frowns because shit, he’s wearing jeans, but Pikachu tugs at the cuff of his pant leg. He remembers he’s wearing swimming trunks under them, per Misty’s advice, and gets ready to join her in the water.
Misty is already knee deep, yelping about how cold it is. He splashes water at her, not caring if she has another set of clothes. She makes her way out of the water, trying to get the salt out of her eyes. Pikachu is at her feet, shaking water off his coat. Ash faces Misty, cackling at her expense until a wave knocks into his back and brings him to his knees.
“Ha! That’s what you get! Never turn your back to the ocean, Ash, she’ll come back for you,” she calls out, laughing. He gawks at her, thinking he's never heard anything more true. Ash runs up, grabs her by the waist and under her knee, and hurries over to deeper water to throw her in. They continue to wrestle in the water, never saying uncle until Pikachu lightly zaps them.
The sun is setting and the pink in the sky brings out something in Misty’s eyes that he can’t place. They sit on the towels Misty has laid out, absolutely soaked to the bone, sand under their fingernails, and salt in their hair. They reek of seawater and the breeze gives them goosebumps. He isn’t sure how they’ll rinse off, but that doesn’t really matter right now. He listens to Misty go on about how inspiring the ferocity of the sea is and how cool it is that there are countless pokemon right in front of them that they can’t see while he gazes at the moon. Maybe half an hour later, she tells him to shut up, though he wasn’t talking, and tells him to listen. A wailord is calling out, its ghostly song ringing through the air as a spout of water breaks through the surface. They focus in on it, awestruck. Then after it leaves, Ash watches Pikachu dig around to find Misty and him sea shells, and he figures he would like to spend a long, long time going all over the place chasing the sun with the two of them.
[age 18]
Misty is over the weekend after they graduate high school, moving some of her stuff into Ash’s room. With both of them going to the community college in Viridian City, they decided it would be easier for Misty to move into his mom’s house. The commute between Cerulean and Viridian would be far too long and annoying. Misty is carrying a box of her clothes from Daisy’s car while Ash is sitting on the front porch as Gary approaches them. Gary is Ash’s childhood-rival-turned-good-friend, and has gotten to know Misty with how often she comes by. Some days they all go fishing by the end of town, or hiking through the woods.
“Hey Red, heard you were moving in. Guess we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other, huh?” His tone isn’t teasing for once, Ash would even dare call it… thoughtful?
Misty places the box on the steps to Ash’s house and wipes her brow. “Yeah, guess so. Lucky you.”
Gary chuckles and agrees with her. “Yeah, lucky me. Listen,” he leans against the hood of the car, “you want to catch a movie this weekend? There’s a drive-in opening up in Viridian. Me and you?”
Misty stares at him, a little taken aback. She’s probably weighing her options, trying to think of a possible catch to the whole scenario. “Sure. You want to do 6 on Friday?”
He nods and grins. “Cool. I’ll text you. By the way, Gramps has a welcoming gift for you, so swing by whenever.” He waves at Ash and walks off in the direction of his grandfather’s house.
Wait. “Was that supposed to be him asking you out?” Ash asks once Gary is out of earshot.
Misty flushes ever so slightly. “Yeah, what about it? Gary’s cute and we get along. I think it’ll be fun.”
Ash leans his face against his knuckles. “Your taste in guys blows, Mist. He’s going to throw you for a loop or try to do some cheesy shit. What if all he wants is someone to date for the summer?”
She puts her hands on her waist. ”When did you get so well versed in all the woes of romance?”
“Well, you and your sisters’ movie nights sure have rubbed off on me whether I like it or not,” he says, crossing his arms and looking away from her.
“It’s just a date, Ash. Maybe I like cheesy shit. And who said I didn’t want someone for the summer in the first place?” Misty picks up the box and heads into the house.
Those last words dig a hole in his head. He’s not put off by Misty not being single. There was that exchange student when they were 16 that she went out with for a couple months, and then he got a little overbearing and almost begged her to go back to his island with her. She had to get out of that one fast, and even thought about transferring to Ash’s school just to avoid him for the rest of the semester. And of course there were other times where she would rant about someone poorly hitting on her or trying to ask her out in front of her sisters. Misty isn’t particularly hideous, so it makes sense. Ash has never thought anything of those instances. But he chalks it up to being worried because it’s Gary. Gary has been a little flippant with his previous girlfriends, and Ash would surely have something to say if he messed with Misty. Not that Misty couldn’t handle herself, but it’s always nice to be her backup. And Gary has always been his competition, although more so when they were kids. Hold on, why would Gary be competition when it came to something like this? When it came to Misty? He’s never thought anything of Gary’s girlfriends before.
His ears are getting really hot, and he’s sweating from just sitting out on the porch. He goes back inside to drink his mother’s sweet tea and take a shower.
--
This summer, Ash sees just a little less of Misty. Her Fridays become reserved for Gary, and some nights she talks on the phone with Lily about how they’re doing, what he’s like. Sometimes Ash accidentally hears what they’re talking about, and ew, so gross hearing Misty fawn over Gary of all people. Ash works at his mom’s restaurant for the third summer in a row and gives them free smoothies. Misty hangs out with the fishermen at the end of town while he’s at his shifts, and spends time with his mom learning how to cook. But they still find time for fun, messing around in the woods with Pikachu, going out to eat in Viridian, visiting Brock in Pewter.
And by the end of summer, Misty and Gary break up, as Gary’s heading off to Sinnoh for his studies. They kiss goodbye, probably, Ash feels weird looking at them do that, so he doesn’t. He hugs Gary before he gets into his grandfather’s car, and they wave him off. Ash’s stomach flips while Misty rolls Gary’s gift to her in the palm of her hand. It’s a shard of a water stone made into a bracelet, and it reflects the light and catches his eye.
But really there’s no need for the dramatics. That winter, Gary is back, and he spends Christmas at their house just like all the other years. It’s not awkward between the three of them, if anything it’s just like they’re kids again, and Ash can officially say Misty and Gary dating Wasn’t That Bad. Despite that, he’s still glad it’s over. Misty in a long distance relationship probably would have been a pain in his ass.
[age 20]
Misty opens the front door and walks into her sisters’ place, holding the door open for Ash.
He gags, pinching his nose. The scent of a million lit seafoam candles hits him like a truck. “No matter how many times I come over, I never get used to that smell. We better open the window in your room tonight.”
Misty gives him a look. “What makes you think we’re staying here tonight? All I have to do is pick up a couple things. You didn’t even have to come.”
He huffs, ignoring the last bit of what she said. “Your sisters always leave you a bunch of chores to do when they hear you’re coming over.”
She starts to make her way into the kitchen. “Yeah, and I didn’t tell them, so we’re in the-- you have got to be fucking kidding me.”
The kitchen sink is filled with used dishes and cutlery, and the kitchen counter is covered in takeout bags and containers. She hurries over to the fridge. There’s squishy produce in the drawers and leftovers long forgotten. Misty holds her head in her hands and Ash pats her on the back.
“Don’t say it,” she groans.
“I won’t say it,” he replies matter-of-factly.
“They’re awful!”
“I told you so.” There was an obvious grin in his voice that made Misty shake her hands in the air.
“You're awful.”
“I’ll make sure there are clean sheets in your room,” he says, amused.
Ash walks over to Misty’s room, seeing that the room was left how it was whenever they last slept in it, however long ago that was. The usual corsola themed comforter sits on the ottoman in the middle of the room, and the curtains are drawn. He goes over to the closet and makes sure there are clothes of his that he could wear later tonight. One weekend, when they were around seventeen, Ash hadn’t brought any spare clothes to spend the night, and there were none left at her house from his other stays. The only option was to wear one of Violet’s ex-boyfriend’s old clothes. So he refuses to make that mistake again.
He stands by the comforter, taking in the room. Not much has changed about it since she moved in. There are notes from their peers taped around the wall by her bed, and illustrative prints and posters of Misty’s favorite bands and shows are still pinned to the wall as well. The pictures of the two of them from high school are still taped onto the mirror next to her closet, and a photo from middle school is shoved in between the mirror and its frame. They looked like babies in high school, and that was only a couple years ago. A framed picture of them from elementary school still sits on her desk, capturing the instance Misty pulled on his cheeks to help him make a funny face for the photo. He remembers those days, where they were both chubby cheeked and had tiny grubby hands. He thinks of Misty now, face maturing, long legs, with nimble, slender fingers. Misty was a cute kid; he’s willing to admit that now. He could place each day and moment all of these pictures were taken. He’s got a lot of memories with Misty. Maybe he should start writing them down.
He looks down at his own hands in confusion. Ash has been here countless times before. Why is he getting so nostalgic now?
“Hey! You better help me with all this crap,” Misty yells from the kitchen, interrupting his thinking. “You decided to come with me today, so you’ve got to help.”
He returns to her, being greeted by a pair of disposable gloves and a nylon brush thrusted into his face. “You get to clean the bathroom. And hey, what were you in my room so long for?”
He puts the gloves on, mentally preparing for whatever the hell was in the bathroom. “Looking at your ridiculous kid face.” Not a total lie, right? “I forgot all of those pictures were still there.”
Misty hums, squatting to search for cleaning products under the kitchen sink. “I haven’t added any new ones since I moved into your house. Never bothered to take down the ones here either. What about it?”
Ash shakes his head. “Nothing really, just thought how hilarious the year you had braces was.”
He’s taking cheap shots and Misty isn’t taking the bait. She looks unimpressed and tells him to go clean the bathroom.
Misty puts on music and they clean the house. Ash curses her instincts. Despite being the youngest sister and not even living at home, Misty still manages to be the head of the housekeeping. He likes coming to Cerulean City, but not doing chores. In fact, that was the whole point of coming here, to avoid his mother’s chores. Before they know it, it’s dark out.
Ash lies down on the couch in the living room. He stuffs his face into one of the cushions and whines. “Can you please order dinner? I’m starving.”
Misty sits next to his head, crossing her legs. “You know, it’s not even late. We could get back to your mom’s at a decent hour if we left now.”
He whines another time. “I’m never getting up again. How could you even suggest that?”
She puts her hand on his shoulder. “What’s with you lately? You seem kind of off.”
He turns around to face her. “I don't get it. What do you mean?”
She takes her hand off of him and lays her arm along the back of the couch, staring at him skeptically. “You mean you don’t notice it? I don’t know, you’re low energy as of recently.”
Ash sits up and looks at her thoughtfully. He’s about to reply when the front door opens.
“No, I know, and I was like, who the hell is she to tell me that when-- give me a second. I’ll call you back.” Daisy walks into the living room, blonde hair tied up into a high ponytail, slipping her phone into her purse. She’s carrying a few bags. “Oh, little sister! What brings you back home?”
Misty crosses her arms and stands up. “I came by to grab some things and stayed because the house is a mess! How do you live like this? There’s no food in the fridge, the garbage was overflowing, no one’s laundry was done, seriously!”
Daisy is unbothered, putting her bags down. “So you cleaned the house while we were gone? Thanks hun, I’ll slip something in your wallet before you go.”
Misty sighs. “It’s not about the money--”
“Though it’s appreciated,” Ash mutters, still exhausted from scrubbing the grout in the bathroom.
“--it’s about the principle of it all!”
Daisy obviously doesn’t think much of Misty’s irritation. “I had to become your legal guardian at 18. I’ve told you, I’m done being responsible.”
“Daisy! How do you expect to…”
Ash tunes Misty out. A lecture not meant for him is one he does not need to pay attention to. Is Misty right? Has he been acting strange recently? He has been feeling weird, with the end of college coming up for him soon. It’s only natural. At the end of this term, he was going to travel past Kanto and learn as much as he could about other regions and all kinds of Pokemon. His doing odd jobs here and there and working at his mom’s restaurant left him enough money to float around and journey across various areas for a while. Misty was probably going to keep pursuing higher education in marine pokemon conservation. So he would be leaving his mother’s house in just four months, and Misty would be doing the same. Oh, they would be leaving. But not leaving together. Misty would probably stay in Kanto while Ash would be traipsing off to who knows where. He was leaving her, and soon. Ash has been painfully unaware of his feelings in the past, but even he couldn’t miss this. This was where all of the sentimentality and weird apprehension was coming from. His hands grow sweaty, and suddenly he can’t think about this any longer.
By the time Ash remembers where he is, Misty has calmed down.
“Where are Violet and Lily?” Misty asked.
Daisy is sitting in an armchair near them, pulling out her phone. “Good question. I was down in Vermilion picking up food by the harbor. Lily might be on some like, date? No clue where Violet is.”
Ash stands up abruptly, and Misty gives him a strange look. Daisy pays no attention. “Uh, I need to use the bathroom.”
Misty leans her cheek against one hand. “Oh brother, we just cleaned that thing.”
He replies indignantly, “hey, I cleaned that thing!”
--
Eventually, Violet comes home with more takeout, talking about some new cute employee at the bike shop, blah blah, Lily is spending the night at a friend’s house, blah blah. Ash shovels fried rice into his mouth, barely keeping up with the sisters’ conversation.
“Ash!” sings Violet. “I feel like we never see you anymore, what’s new?”
“They’re all grown up and in college, Vi, of course they’re busy,” Daisy says.
Ash puts down his bowl and drinks some water. Despite knowing Misty’s sisters for literally as long as he could remember anything, he still gets nervous around them every now and then. They can be a little intense. “Not much, school is… school.”
Violet hums in response. “Meet any girls yet? Or boys?”
He picks his bowl up. “No, should I have? I don’t really know if I’m looking.”
Violet slams her glass on the table. “Ash, how can your love life be drier than Misty’s? Guess that’s like, kind of your fault too though. But I’m bored of you both! She hasn’t had anything happen since Gary, and that was like, a total snoozefest. The two of you need to live a little, take some chances.”
Misty puts her chopsticks down and rolls her eyes.
Daisy gently pinches Ash’s cheek. “Speaking of, are you staying over tonight?”
He nods. “Hope you don’t mind.”
Daisy squeals, voice teasing. “Of course we don’t mind, babe! Every time you stay over is another night I lie in bed wondering if one of you has finally made a move on each other.”
Misty grabs her bowl and puts it in the sink. “When will you ever give it up, you creep? Everyone else has accepted this and moved past it a long time ago. We’re not the best-friends-to-lovers trope you always write about in your weird little fanfictions.”
Ash winces, if only Misty knew what his mother says to him about her, even now. But making a move? That’s rich.
The blonde scoffs. “They’re called screenplays, baby sis.”
“Barely,” Misty retorts.
Ash excuses himself from the table, puts his own dishes in the sink, and goes to wash up for the day.
--
He’s lying in Misty’s bed, on the side closer to the door as usual, texting his mom about where he is and when he’ll get home. He asks her to let Pikachu know, too.
Misty comes in, patting her slightly damp hair with a towel. She sits on the bed and gets under the covers. They can share Misty’s bed because it’s easily bigger than Ash’s, and they shared a bed as kids often enough that they think nothing of it.
“Could you turn the light off? My eyes are killing.” Misty stretches her arms above her head and curls up facing Ash.
He gets up, and turns the light off for her. Moonlight peaks through the curtains of her window. Ash lies down on his back, listening to the empty noise of the room. He glances over at Misty, who has her eyes closed, and stares back at the ceiling.
“Do you want to talk about what we were talking about earlier?” She asks softly, face resting in the palm of her hand. Ash peeks at her. Her eyes are open now, looking right through him.
“No, I think I’m alright.” Misty doesn’t push any further. “Well, actually…”
Misty chuckles, murmuring “I knew it,” as she readjusts the pillow under her head.
Ash’s ears begin to heat up. “Give me a second,” he mumbled. “Misty, where did you apply? I realized I never really asked.”
She sighs, closing her eyes again. ”I applied to Celadon University, of course. I might apply to some different internships soon too. There are programs in Cianwood and Olivine in Johto, there’s some interesting research popping up in Mossdeep in Hoenn. I don’t know, I’ve got options.”
Ash sits with that for a second. So Misty could be leaving Kanto too. He figured before she would be staying in Kanto, maybe even in Cerulean. But Johto and Hoenn were not that far, at least relative to other regions like Alola and Unova. Maybe it would be fine. But what about his mom? She’s had the two of them in and out of the house for a decade and a half now. How would she adjust? He should talk to her about that soon.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you think this hard.” Misty’s voice pulls him out of yet another stupor. “Say something, what’s up? Why’d you ask about where I’m going?”
“Well, like I said, I never asked. And… I guess I was just thinking about how we won’t be able to do stuff like this soon. Not for a while, not regularly.” He scoots to meet her at eye level, mirroring her position. “Doesn’t that suck?”
“Who knew you were such a sap? To think I was the romantic when we were kids.” Despite her words, she gives him a sad smile. “Of course it sucks. But you’re talking like one of us is going to die. We still have phones, we can call or message or send each other stuff whenever we like. And it’s not like we were going to be sharing a room our whole lives, right?”
Ash feels a tremor in his chest because oh. It registers for him at this moment, in Misty’s bed, that anytime he’s thought of the future, Misty’s there. Wherever he is, wherever he wants to be, wherever he imagines himself to be, she’s there, talking his ear off, poking him in the side, making fun of him, cheering him on, smiling brilliantly all the while. He can’t comprehend a world in which she doesn’t come home, complaining about her studies, or eagerly talking about something new she learned. He sucks in air, trying to let the dramatic feeling of impending doom pass through him.
They lie there for a second, staring at each other. The air is quiet and despite the comforter wrapped around their shoulders, Ash shudders.
“I just thought… I guess I never thought about it like that,” Ash says.
Misty keeps silent.
“It never occurred to me that we wouldn’t be together. I didn’t realize how big of a thing it would be to think about us not being together,” he continues.
Misty snorts. “Way to take me for granted, dummy.”
He pushes at her shoulder gently. Even with her quips, he’s glad they can speak like this now. In their early teens, neither of them would have entertained a conversation about how they felt about each other. Oh, how they feel about each other. How does he feel about her?
Ash only ever moves with intuition, so he extends his arms, asking for a hug. Misty snorts, and turns over to her other side.
“Clingy,” Misty teases. He can hear the levity in her voice, and scoots closer to wrap his arms around her.
She tenses just a little bit, and Ash realizes they don’t really… uh, spoon, that often, if ever. Misty is not-so-warm and Ash wonders when she’ll ever learn that sleeping in sleeveless tank tops make her arms chilly, but it feels like he’s where he’s supposed to be. Still in his arms, Misty flips her body to face him, snarky words caught in her mouth.
They fall into silence again, faces inches apart. They just stare at each other, breathing back and forth. He reaches out to grab her wrist, feeling the thrill of excitement dancing on his fingertips. He pulls it slowly toward himself, watching her face for any signs that he wants her to stop. He places her hand under his own face, feeling the warmth of her palm.
Misty’s eyebrows knit in confusion, but he can feel her fingers moving under his face, rubbing against his hair. Her eyes are half shut now, still looking at him.
He examines her face. Same cute nose from when they were kids, little fluttery lashes, countless freckles on tan skin. There’s a fat lump forming in his throat. Straight eyebrows and scruffy orange fringe. He wants to be closer to her. Fat lump rising, rising, rising, until—
“Can I kiss you?” he blurts out, eyes bursting wide open because, well, he’s been known to speak without thinking, but this is a new level.
Her eyes shoot open too. She raises those straight eyebrows, doubtful of whatever Ash just said. “Did my sister put you up to this? You know, you didn’t have to take what she said at dinner to heart.” And it’s like all the tension sizzling in the room is swept out the window.
He sits up, still about to splutter some excuse for what he said when she continues. “My answer is sure, by the way.”
Ash whips around to face her. “What?”
Misty keeps eye contact, shrugging and nodding at him as if asking ”well, are you going to or not?”
He leans toward her and Misty props herself up on her elbow, meeting him halfway, and finding him in the dark.
Their lips meet, and it’s like a bunch of flowers bloom warm in his chest. The electricity is back in the air as he rests his hand on her forearm and she places her hand on the back of his neck. Her hand travels a little down his shoulder blade and she pulls away. It’s quick, but it’s the intimate gesture Ash wanted and leaves him breathless nonetheless.
Ash falls back to the bed, on his back, exhaling.
“So, what was that for?” Misty inquires.
He shakes his head. “Uh… experiment? Wait, no-- not an experiment, you’re not an experiment. You’re my best friend. But not just that, it’s like we’re family. I can’t imagine not having you in front of me. So I… I don’t know. Felt right. Why did you say yes?”
Misty takes his hand, squeezes it, and lets go. “Felt right,” she repeats.
Ash nods, sensing she probably wants to get some sleep. He can’t give this conversation anymore energy either, so he closes his eyes and tries to fall asleep.
--
When he wakes up, Misty is already out of bed. It’s a couple hours before noon. Ash figures she’ll want to get away from her sisters soon, plus he can smell food, so he gets out of bed.
But to his surprise, it’s blonde hair in the kitchen. Daisy is putting waffles onto a plate.
“Morning, Ash! Look at this cute waffle iron I picked up the other day in Celadon. It’s got a seel in it, isn’t that like, really cute? We are what we eat, Ash,” she says with a wink.
His eyebrows scrunch up. “Good morning. Wait, I’m a seel?”
She rolls her eyes. “No, cute.”
“Where’s Misty?” She didn’t leave him a note or a text about where she went off to.
“I gave her a bunch of berry powder so she can pick some medicine up from the old guy down the street. You know he’s got a son he wants to take over the family business? He’s kind of cute, maybe I’ll set him up with Lily for a date or two. Anyway, she’ll probably be back soon.” Daisy hands him a plate with a couple waffles and a pat of butter. She pulls up a couple of stools so they can eat at the kitchen counter.
He manages to get a few bites in before she starts talking again.
“So Ash, what are you doing after this school term?”
He wonders if she was eavesdropping on them last night. How did she know they were just discussing this? He swallows his food and answers her. “Go traveling for a bit, by myself. I want to learn more about other places. There’s so much to see and do.”
“Not taking Misty with you, huh,” she remarks casually. “Whatever will you do without her? Hm, what do you think of that?”
Girls always just know, don’t they? “Well, it’ll take some getting used to. She could come with if she’d like, but I wouldn’t want her to put all her plans on hold just for me. That wouldn’t be right.”
She ruffles his bedhead. “Aw, smart answer. Ten year old Misty would have like, totally gone with you, that’s for sure.”
“What do you mean?” He manages to fit three-quarters of a waffle into his mouth.
“Ash,” Daisy draws out his name like she’s saying something so totally obvious. “Misty had like such a crush on you when you were ten. Don’t tell me you had no idea.”
His brain malfunctions. “I had no idea.” He finds his bearings. Kind of. “No way! How could that be? That was around the time everybody started teasing us about getting married. If I remember right, you guys were the ones to start it!”
She giggles. “Yeah, we totally know how to get under her skin, don’t we? But don’t sweat it hun, she got over it when she was like, twelve, so whatever. I know so. And I’m never wrong. But according to you two, it’ll never happen.”
Ash remembers last night and falls silent. “Why would she like me anyway?” He grumbles, stuffing another half a waffle down his throat.
Daisy slams her hand on the counter and swivels his stool around so they’re directly facing each other. “Ash! Ash, Ash, why are you asking that? You would only ask that question if, oh my god, don’t get my hopes up, you’re fucking with me right? You so like my baby sister! Holy shit, what if you’re too late? I have to tell Violet and Lily!”
She grabs his shoulders and shakes him. He’s trying to think of how to answer her because honestly, he has no idea, and wait, what does she mean “too late,” but the jostling of the front door interrupts him. Daisy lets go, tucks her hair behind her ear, and keeps eating. Misty walks into the kitchen.
“Daisy, I left the medicine in your room-- oh, waffles! I hope Ash wasn’t planning to eat all of these. This is a really cute iron, is it new?”
She fixes herself a plate while Daisy chats away about the waffle iron. Misty has no idea what she’s saved Ash from. He thinks about last night while he rubs his arms where Daisy held them.
[age 20, still]
It’s the end of the summer now, and Misty will be leaving soon. In fact, she leaves in a couple of days. She’s been accepted to a school in Olivine City. She can study by the shore and get acquainted with researchers around there. Ash has his sights set on Hoenn, though not without some grieving.
“You’ll be at home, huh,” he says.
They’re sitting next to each other on his mother’s front porch, glasses of sweet tea in hand. Pikachu is sitting on the fence, watching the pidgey flit about in the field nearby. Misty’s sisters are inside as they’re staying the weekend to spend time with Ash’s mom. Brock will come by tomorrow to see Misty off, too. But for now, it’s just them outside while the sky turns purple and the venonat start to croon.
She looks at him curiously. “Say it to me another way,” she requests.
He rubs the back of his neck. “Olivine, it’s a beach city. New region, new pokemon, lots of water. Just how you like it.”
Misty frowns. “Sure, I’ll probably love it there. I’m excited to be by the beach and finally focusing on the sea, but it won’t be home.” Pikachu bounds over and lands in her lap.
He stares at them. “Yeah, won’t be home.”
A silence overtakes them as children, maybe nine years old or so, run by, squeaking and pretending like they’re pokemon, blasting each other with water guns. He remembers doing the same with Misty and Gary. He wants to get something out of the way. It might not be ideal, since she still has these next two days in Pallet, but the moment feels like it makes sense. And if it ends awkwardly, there’s nothing a little distance and time won’t fix.
“Daisy said you used to like me.” He’s not sure if his bluntness is giving him an advantage or not. Pikachu raises his head and bumps Misty’s chin with his ears.
Misty smacks her forehead and she laughs a little. “Agh, she and her big mouth. When did she tell you?”
“When we stayed at yours last. But she said it was just for a couple of years, so it’s whatever. Right?” His palms are sweaty and he wrings out his shirt a little.
She seems fairly calm though. “Yeah, I don’t know. It was around the time you met Pikachu,” she says, rubbing Pikachu’s back. “I thought it was really… cute the way you were so determined to take care of him. And we were already best friends by then, so…”
Ash feels his cheeks heat up some. He wasn’t expecting to get a reason out of her. He wasn’t expecting anything at all, really.
When he doesn’t respond, she keeps going. “But later on I was thinking, ‘what’s supposed to come out of this?’ When you’re ten or eleven and have a crush, you don’t really say the answer is dating. That would have ruined everything anyway. Now that I’m looking back, that’s not what I wanted. Then some time passed and sure, I liked you, but I figured I loved the way we were so much that I didn’t want to change it. It wasn’t that I was taking what I could get, it was… I just love the way we spend time together. I think I figured then that it didn’t matter if my feelings were romantic or friendly as long as I was happy with the way things are. I was then and I am now. I didn’t care to label it if I was that content with it all.” She’s blushing faintly now.
“So that’s why we didn’t really talk about it when we, uh, when we kissed. I got kind of confused after that,” he admits.
She smiles sheepishly, taking a drink out of her sweet tea. “Yeah, well you were the one who asked to! I’m asking again, why did you do that?”
Oh no, he’s in the hot seat now. “I--,” he starts. Pikachu runs up his shoulder, nosing at his hair. “You remember, I was thinking more about us leaving. And Misty, whenever I think about traveling how I want to, you’re there. I know it’s not how it’s going to be, but when I think about it, it’s like what we’re doing right now, just in a different place.” He watches his own hands curl up in his lap. “And I felt like kissing would be the right way to express that. And I don’t-- I can’t see myself being with someone the way I am with you. I don’t know what I’m going to do as I travel, but I know I want to come back to you.” He thinks about both of them in different regions, and since he’s got the ball rolling, he might as well say it. He looks back at her. “And honestly I think I’d be weirded out if you started dating some hotshot marine guy in Olivine--”
And Misty is kissing him. She tastes like the sweet tea they’ve been drinking, her hand is in his lap, and she’s kissing him. But she pulls away just a little too quick. Ash knows he’s full red in the face. But she’s beaming at him, and really how could he be embarrassed when she appears so happy. “You know, if you wanted to be my boyfriend, all you had to do was ask.”
Pikachu nearly falls off of him. “Hey! No one said anything about boyfriend!”
”Yeah, but you might as well have since you’re the one who wants me all to himself!” She pokes his shoulder lightly, but enough times to annoy him. “Who’s the cheesy one now, huh?” She keeps poking him until he tips over, laying on the wooden floor of the porch. She’s relentlessly pushing the buttons of his lifeless body while he tries to process the conversation they just had. Of course Misty would turn their confessions into an opportunity to mess with him.
Daisy comes out, asking if they want any of the pie Ash’s mom has baked. Misty ignores her question and says playfully, “hey Daisy, guess who’s got some guts?”
Despite his discomfort, he declares proudly, “Daisy, I wasn’t too late!” and sticks his tongue out at her.
Her eldest sister looks back and forth between the two of them before squealing and scaring all the pidgey away.