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“Misty, package,” shouted Daisy, the oldest of Misty’s three sisters. Last night was a bit raucous due to a New Year’s Eve party. Violet and Lily were still asleep.
Misty yawned, still tired. “Really? From who,” Misty asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
“Let me see,” trailed Daisy. “The return address is a PO Box in Pallet Town. No name attached. Weird.“
Then she looked up at Misty with an almost devious grin. "Maybe it’s a secret admirer,” she teased.
Misty growled, narrowing her eyes, but didn’t say anything back. Daisy passed the package to Misty, and the girl picked it up. It was surprising light and small. She took out a box cutter and opened the package.
Inside was a card and twenty origami cranes. The card itself was nothing too special. “For Luck and Love” was on the front with a picture Kingdra swimming with other water Pokémon.
Inside of the card was a handwritten note. ‘Make sure you hang these up by a line. On the next New Years Eve, a wish may come true.’
Misty blushed reading up and decided to follow the instructions.
“Ash, are you sure you want to do this,” asked Delia, a look of concern on her face.
“I made a promise to myself, and I’m going to keep it,” said Ash, concentrating on the origami cranes he was making. Delia nodded.
“I’m glad you want to, but a thousand paper cranes? Isn’t that a bit much?”
“Not if you pace yourself,” replied Ash. “Small moves, mom, small moves.”
“‘Small moves,” she repeated. “By the way, who are you going to send these cranes to?”
Ash didn’t respond, sliding the crane he was working on into the ‘done’ pile, then taking another sheet to fold a new crane. A sly smile moved across the mother’s face.
“You wouldn’t happen to be making these cranes for a certain redhead in Cerulean City, or am I wrong?”
Ash tore the crane he was working on, his face beet red.
“Ah, right on the money,” she giggled. Ash sighed and took another piece of origami paper, starting over. “Okay, I won’t tease you any more. I do have one request though.”
“Hm? What is it,” asked Ash.
“Don’t stay up too late, or tire yourself out when making these. I know how much this means for you, but your body and mind come first, okay?"
Ash stopped working on the crane and looked at Delia. “Okay, mom.”
Both of them smiled, and Ash went back to working on the origami.
It was New Years Eve in Cerulean, and there was a party going on. It wasn’t too wild, but talking to so many people, playing games, serving food and drinks… for Misty, she needed a break, so she went up to her room.
When she got in, she looked up to her ceiling and walls. Origami cranes were everywhere on strings, be it hung down from the ceiling, in chains along the walls, and elsewhere.
Misty remembered yesterday when the mail arrived, with another batch of cranes. At the very end she counted, “One-thousand. Now, for the wish…”
She had closed her eyes and silently made it, hoping it would come to pass someday today. There was a knock on the front door.
“I’ll get it,” Lily called out. She opened the door and there he stood. “Oh, you came!”
“Yeah,” Ash smirked, letting out a light chuckle, “hope I’m not too late.”
“Fashionably,” Daisy nodded, bringing out another plate of snacks. Ash smiled and looked around the room, seeing the other two ‘Sensational Sisters’, and the many guests, but there was one person missing.
“Say, Daisy, I don’t see your Misty here. You know where she is?”
“Ah, she’s up in her room. Mind checking on her for me?”
“Er, you can’t do it yourself? Or your sisters?”
“We’re a bit busy, Ketchum, as you can see,” Daisy huffed. Ash looked around, and yes, it was busy, even some of the guests were helping. “Take the stairs to the third floor. You’ll know which door is hers.”
Ash nervously chuckled, nodded, and then left Daisy to go upstairs. Using her directions, Ash saw Misty’s door; a poster of a Milotic swimming around a natural pool and waterfall.
Yep, this is definitely it, he thought. He then knocked on the door three times.
“I’m not ready to come down yet, Vi,” came the muffled voice of Misty, “give me ten minutes.”
“Last time I checked, my name’s not ‘Vi’,” laughed Ash. The door swung out so fast, that Ash nearly got smacked in the face with it.
“Ash! I… I didn’t know you were coming,” a surprised Misty said, her eyes wide, “I mean, I hoped and all.”
“Uh, may I come in?”
Misty didn’t say anything except blush harder, gesturing Ash into her room. Ash looked around Misty’s room. The walls were strung with Ash’s origami cranes. The ceiling had his cranes as well, like icicles. All one-thousand of them.
Ash and Misty sat together on the bed.
“I see you got the cranes I sent,” Ash said, with another chuckle.
“Mm-hmm.”
“Did you make your wish,” he asked.
“I did, but it hasn’t come true just yet.” Ash raised an eyebrow.
“Not yet? What do you mean ‘not ye-‘“ But Ash couldn’t finish his sentence as Misty kissed him full on the lips, which Ash returned with the same amount of force. The pair separated.
“And now,” Ash asked, but his voice came out as though he were punch drunk. Misty’s face was was blushing bright.
“It has now,” Misty answered. Ash leaned in, and returned Misty’s kiss.
Small moves, Ash said to himself, small moves.
Thanks for reading the fanfic for Pokeshipping Week, Day 3 (Romantic Gestures). -BatouWrites