(A/N): Well well well, look at me! Another pokeshipping oneshot. Its funny because everytime I think I'm about to write a fanfic for another shipping or fandom, I always end up here.

What can ya do?

Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

Patience is key

There is a sweet scent lingering in the air, and Misty closes her eyes to smell it better. Her body kind of leans backward as she does this, and blades of grass tickle her skin, causing her to squirm. She's lying on a riverbed. In her hands is a fishing pole, a little worn down, but still trusty, and she holds it steadily. Normally she would have used the newer one she bought last month, which had taken almost a year to save up for, but she had lent that to Ash. He told her he wanted to use it because it was shiny. Figures. Briefly, she cracks an eye open to look at the boy beside her, who has already started to nod off. The sun hits his face in a way that makes him look younger, as if they are ten instead of teenagers bordering adulthood.

Sighing, Misty goes back to her fishing.

It isn't summer, not quite. Pallet Town is warm though, and the edges of spring are beginning to fade away as days get longer and skies bluer. It's tranquil - the little town - and Misty enjoys spending time there, especially when it means Mrs. Ketchum is willing to bake pies and cookies for her in exchange for a helping hand in the garden. Most of all, Misty likes Pallet Town because it is a place for her to escape to when her own city becomes too much: the gym, her sisters, paperwork for the league - these things can be so suffocating.

But then again... Pallet Town means spending time with Ash. This should be expected, right? But when Misty had arrived at Ash's house, and he was the one to answer the door instead of his mother, she had to get over the initial shock, because, right, Ash visits here too sometimes.

She should be happy to see him, but Misty can't hide the fact that Ash Ketchum brings out the beast in her. Can you blame her? He's aggravating! While others see a kind of boyish charm hidden within Ash's deep brown eyes, Misty sees the truth: he is a childish kid who gets his kicks off of teasing and fighting - usually this is directed at Misty. He is stubborn and bullheaded, but she is too, and they are never able to reach an agreement because of it. Mew, she doesn't think they've ever had a normal conversation without a fight breaking out. It's hard. The worst part of it all is, Misty doesn't want to fight. Part of her wants to smile at him and wish him good luck with his travels and training and be the girl he can rely on when he is in a rut, she tries to be, but more often than not she's the pragmatic realist who has to step up and tell him to quit being so stupid. She has to knock him on the head, scream curses at him, and keep whatever pride she holds for him squashed beneath her sneaker.

She wonders if he hates her for it.

But he doesn't, that's the thing. At the end of the day, there is always a smile plastered on his face, one exclusively for her, and it only reminds her that Ash Ketchum deserves so much more than she can offer him. Ash Ketchum is special.

His care for the world makes something bloom terribly within her: something that makes her stomach flip and her heart stop. So when Ash had asked her if she wanted to go fishing, well, Misty had accepted without fail.

The only problem is, Ash forgot that fishing requires patience.

"Misty," he whines, holding out the sound of her name, and stretching it like taffy.

She grits her teeth. "What?" she asks.

"It's hot."

Misty inwardly groans and goes back to staring at the water. It's very blue. "So?"

"So can we get something to drink?" Misty can feel his eyes on her, and forces herself not to look at his pleading lilipup face.

"Ash, this is the third time you've asked me that."

"Yeah but you've said no the last three times."

Misty blinks. "And you think I'm going to change my mind just like that?"

"...yes?"

This time, Misty groans out loud, and when she does look at him, she makes sure a glare is sat perfectly on her face. "We've been fishing for barely an hour and haven't caught a thing. If we break every time you want a snack, we'll never catch anything."

Ash frowns and lets his entire weight fall backward. The sun is in his eyes. It causes his face to scrunch up, so he tilts his cap to block it out. For a moment, he is quiet, and Misty can hear the wind rustle through the grass. She can also hear Pikachu's light snoring coming from a sunny patch of grass not too far over. It's...nice, all of this, she decides, remembering when spending time with Ash was a daily occurence. She's happy that after all this time, they don't have to step over one another in timid reluctance, they can joke and tease and slap each other around as if she had never left. It's a big weight off of her shoulders.

Because she is feeling sentimental, not because she feels bad for him, Misty decides to point him in the direction of the cooler she had brought for the bait. "Hey, Ashley," she drawls, laughing at the glare he sends her, "check in there." She points a finger at the blue container, and Ash lifts an eyebrow, before propping up his fishing pole and making his way over to where she had instructed.

Like a kid in a candy store, Ash's face lights up at what he finds. "Popsicles!" he exclaims. He retrieves the frozen treasure from the cooler, and in exuberant-Ash fashion, tears off the plastic cover. The popsicle is bright orange.

"They were supposed to be for when we actually caught something - you know as a kind of celebration, but it is hot, and seeing as you can't wait-" Misty is cut off as Ash quickly holds one half of his popsicle out toward her face. She blinks.

"Here ya go! These are the kind with two sticks, so you can break it off into two portions. It's better for sharing," he says happily. When she reluctantly takes it from him, he goes back to his fishing spot with his own half stuck in his mouth. "Also if we share this one then we can save the other for celebration." The full force of his orange-stained smile suddenly hits her, and Misty tries (and fails) to cover up the blush that erupts over her features.

"Thanks," she mumbles. When she tests the popsicle, the rush of artificial orange attacks her taste buds. Somehow it tastes sweeter than normal.

She starts sneaking glances at Ash out of the corner of her eye. It's out of habit maybe, always having to make sure he wasn't doing anything stupid when they were traveling together, but she really can't help it. Besides, he isn't...unpleasant to look it. Most people would agree that Ash is good looking, maybe Misty would even say he is handsome. Only, handsome seems to be reserved for older, more grounded men, not for naive teenagers who have orange popsicle stains on their hands. It is certainly not an adjective that should be given to someone who had laughed rather obnoxiously at her when she ran from a weedle on their way over, and she really shouldn't be calling a person like Ash handsome when he was trying to burp pokemon names at lunch time.

There are things you just don't do, okay?

But Ash has some nice eyes, she can admit. They're kind. His smile is too. And...and sometimes she can't help but stare at his arms when he wears a T-shirt, because he is certainly not scrawny anymore. He is filling out in ways only trainers can manage, and the way he seems so...sturdy, makes her wonder what it would feel like to be held in his arms. And...and - no! No, she doesn't want to think of him like that! She can't!

"Misty?" Ash asks, and she nearly jumps out of her skin.

"Y-yeah?" she replies, trying to calm her beating heart. "What's up?"

"Are you feeling alright? Your face is a little red - you aren't getting sunburned are you?"

"I'm fine," she grits out. She's appalled she was blushing.

"Should we move places? Maybe if the sun wasn't on your face it would be better."

Get it together, she tells herself. "No...no I'm fine. It's better that the sun is facing us, that way we won't cast shadows into the water."

"Oh, alright."

Misty lets out a breath and returns to her fishing. She thinks the conversation is over but much to her chagrin, Ash speaks up again. Because of course he does.

"You know Mist," he begins, and something in his voice makes her back tense, "if you need to ask me something you can. I mean, you keep looking at me." He grins.

He's teasing her. Ash Ketchum is teasing her!

She turns toward him quickly, her cheeks flushing and her eyes narrowing. "I am not!" she denies.

He laughs. "Come on, don't lie. I can see you!"

"How? Are you looking at me?"

Ash falters. "N-no."

"Then you don't know what you're talking about." She sniffs. "Besides...maybe I was looking at pikachu."

Ash is quiet for a while, but under her breath she thinks she hears him mumble, "It's alright if you were." It makes her squirm, and she suddenly feels bad. She's always so quick to yell at him. She can feel his eyes on her, but refuses to look at him.

They don't have much luck throughout the day. Misty catches the occasional water plants from time to time, but no pokemon to speak of. Ash for his part, manages to catch a boot, which makes Misty laugh so hard her stomach hurts. He blames it on the lure she had given him, saying her face must be scaring off the game. She hits him for that.

They mostly talk. About random things, and sometimes more meaningful things. They talk about favorite places and foods, about pokemon with weird names and their bruises that have yet to heal. They talk about family and friends, about their wishes and dreams. There are times when they reminisce. At one point, Ash blows dandelions in her face and teaches her how to bird call through her hands.

They still argue, but somehow it is no longer so spiteful. It's a teasing kind of arguing, one that they end up laughing most of the way through. She's missed him. She always misses him.

It's when the sun begins to set that she finally gets a bite.

"H-hey! I got something," she yells, somewhat struggling to keep a hold. She plants her feet firmly into the ground. "Ugh, it's a strong one!"

"Yeah! Way to go, Mist!" Ash exclaims. He notices her struggling and goes over to help her.

"Argh! Come on!"

"Need a little help?" She can hear the smile in his voice. "I didn't realize you've gotten so weak."

"Shut up! It's even heavier than you were when I pulled you out of the water."

"Hey."

"Just grab on!" He does. From behind her, his body presses against her back and his arms wrap around her frame to hold the pole along side her. Her heart starts to beat uncontrollably fast and the warmth of his body makes her head spin. They try reeling it in together. Come on, come on…but Misty turns her head to look at Ash, and their eyes meet, and for a moment in time she forgets how to breathe.

The line snaps.

They stumble backward. Luckily they remain on their feet, but Misty and Ash are forced to watch as the pokemon they were trying to catch swims away. Neither of them move a muscle. Misty feels like she's on fire, and normally she would be mad at herself for letting her catch get away but...but Ash is still holding her, gently, pressing her against his chest and when had he gotten so tall? Her head fits under his chin now. His hands are on hers and they are still clutching the pole, waiting for the other to move and it's so hot. Why is it so hot?

"It got away," Ash says, his voice hitting the back of her neck. She quivers a little.

"Y-yeah," she replies. She turns her head to glance up at him. His eyes meet her own - brown against green - and he is so beautiful, so wonderful - and when they dart downward to her lips, Misty thinks she might die. His grip shifts and he is holding her by her arms, steady and sure of himself, as if it the most natural thing in the world. He seems confident, but his face is flushed. Misty swallows hard. She can see everything: dark strands of hair peeking out from underneath his cap, the wisps of his eyelashes framing his deep brown eyes, and the light stubble on his chin. They are so close. All she has to do is lean forward a little and they'd be kissing. The thought makes her throat tighten.

Misty doesn't know why, but she decides to make the first move: she closes her eyes and pushes herself on her toes. She leans in farther and farther and why is she only hitting air?

Ash panics.

The next thing she knows is the two of them are falling into the water. It's as if a record scratched.

Misty sputters, breaking out toward the surface and gasping for air. It's cold. Really cold, and she wishes that the sun hadn't disappeared so quickly. From beside her Ash comes up as well, looking equal parts horrified and apologetic and Misty can only give him a look of utter hatred. He pushed them in - he would rather be head first in an icy river then have her lips touch his own! She almost screams.

Angrily, Misty grabs her pole from the water and stomps up to the bank, her socks sloshing around in her sneakers. The water feels heavy on her body and so does her heart, and Misty attempts to wring out her tank top with tears pricking her eyelids. Her shirt is probably see through, and she curses at the thought. Yet another thing to be embarrassed about.

"Misty?" Ash's voice sounds, and Misty looks up to see him exiting the water. He is busy wringing out his own shirt. "I'm sorry! I- I didn't mean to throw us in the river, I-"

"Just forget it!" she screams at him, turning away. She is shivering.

"...Are you mad at me?"

She wants to yell at him, because of course she's mad, and he should know that, but the problem isn't him. She doesn't care that he pushed them in the lake. She's angry at herself, because why had she thought that it would be a good idea to try and kiss him? Why would Ash even want to?

She's so angry, and hurt and mortified, and can't believe she would do something so stupid. She knows, she isn't exactly pretty (she has as much sex appeal as a gyarados) and she knows that Ash probably only thinks of her as a friend, but...she has liked him for so long, and there in his arms she had let herself think that maybe just maybe he felt the same way.

Ridiculous. She was an idiot.

She stands still, looking at the ground and at the droplets of water hitting the dirt. Her face is scrunched up, and still burning from embarrassment. Had he even noticed, she wonders. Of course he did. How could he not of? All of a sudden, she feels his hand on her shoulder, and she flinches, reeling away from his fingers.

Ash frowns. "You aren't hurt are you?" he asks timidly.

"No," she says. And then, with more conviction, "No."

A pause.

"The pokemon didn't take your lure did it?"

She has to think for a moment. "No...I was using bait."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

She isn't weak, and she certainly doesn't want Ash to think so, but she feels so vulnerable that she might cry. She begins packing up their things so she can focus on something else, because if she doesn't she might actually burst.

"I don't know why I did that," Ash says, when they are walking back to his house.

"You just don't think," she answers.

Its late. The two of them make it home in time for dinner and spend the rest of the night watching game shows and old pokemon battles on TV. It's easy for them to fall back into routine, Misty certainly is good at hiding her feelings, and soon enough she forgets about the incident entirely. Well almost. She instead focuses her energy on answering more questions than Ash and cheering for her respective trainer.

It's almost 2am when Misty decides she wants to go to bed. She goes upstairs and changes into her pajamas (a tank top and flannel pants) before brushing her teeth. After she's washed her face, she begins walking to her room, and on her way there she bumps into Ash. He seems a bit off.

"Hey," he mumbles.

"Hey," she says.

He scratches his cheek, looking lost for words. "Can we," he falters, "er, do you want to talk for a little?" She watches his adam's apple bob up and down.

She finds herself nodding. "Yeah...yeah alright."

They settle against opposite walls of the hallway, their legs tangled up together. Ash is strangely quiet. He looks at her as if trying to remember something, as if reading her features will reveal everything to him.

Misty tries to distract herself by thinking of other things, like how silly he looks in his own pajamas - they have little pokeballs on them. She thinks about his hands and how different they look without his gloves, and how he had kept the stupid lure she had given him, and how loving he is to his pokemon, and she never stops falling for him. Even after what happened at the river - she can't stop. He means so much to her.

She knows he practically rejected her, but how will she ever be able to get over Ash Ketchum?

"Mist?" he asks, and she meets his eyes.

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever miss me?"

The question catches her off-guard and she stumbles over her words. She wants to joke around and say, of course not, why would I miss someone as childish as you? Or, what I miss is the bike you ruined. But the tone of his voice makes her crush the thoughts.

"All the time," she answers truthfully.

Ash smiles slowly. "Yeah, I miss you too."

His words fill her with so much happiness, but they hurt her too. Why does love have to be so painful?

"I worry a lot about that," he says.

Misty looks at him carefully. "About what?" she asks.

"About being forgotten. Or, at least, not missed." He stares up at the ceiling. "Everyone I've travelled with...you all have had so much of an impact on my life. Every day, every adventure I spent with you all, it's been everything I could have ever dreamed of. My friends mean everything to me...and to think that one day, I'll have drifted so far away from you guys that you'll eventually stop thinking about me...it scares me."

"You're an idiot Ash Ketchum, " she snaps. Misty clutches her hands into fists at her sides. How could he even think that would happen?

"H-huh?"

"You heard me! We'd never do that! Do you have that little faith in the people you call friends?" Mew, she wants to hit him! "Stop putting yourself down like that. As if anyone could ever forget someone as amazing as you!"

Ash blushes deeply at this. He stares at her with wide eyes, surprised at the conviction to which she had exclaimed her words. And then he's laughing.

Misty glares. "What's so funny?"

"N-nothing," Ash says through wheezes, "It's just, when did you get so nice?"

"I have always been nice!" For whatever reason, this makes Ash laugh even harder. Misty scowls deeply. "If you're going to laugh at me then I'd rather you do it when I'm not around." She stands up abruptly with every intention of storming to her room, but Ash grabs her wrist before she even takes a step.

"Wait!" he protests. "Come on, I'm sorry."

Misty looks down at their hands. She tries pulling away, but Ash slides his hand from her wrist to her fingers and locks the two together. Then he's pulling her down next to him, their shoulders and knees touching. He squeezes her hand. "Don't go yet," he says to her.

"W-why?" she asks, bewildered. His hand is warm in her own and she can feel her heart pounding halfway out of her chest. It's the same feeling she had at the river and suddenly she feels like she's trapped, like she's suffocating, like she'll die and...and…and Ash is saying something. It's hard to pay attention.

"Because I," Ash huffs, his face blotching with color. He looks determined, the same way he is before a match, but at the same time seems so unsure of himself. She wants to tell him that it's okay. "I think I'm an idiot."

"That shouldn't be a surprise, Ash."

"Hey."

"Well It's true!"

"I hate you." He's glaring now. Then he scratches the back of his head - a nervous tick. "No...no I don't hate you. I kinda like you...a-a lot."

Misty gawks. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I...at the river when you…" he reddens. "I wanted to do it."

"You mean…"

"Yeah...I wanted to kiss you." Their eyes meet and they quickly look away. They're still holding hands.

Feeling brave, she ventures to ask, "Then why didn't you?"

He looks ashamed. "Because I panicked. You were in my arms and leaning in and my body just reacted. I was scared. I wanted to tell you but you looked so mad that I chickened out more." He looks at her apologetically. "I'm sorry."

"I wasn't mad at you Ash, I... I was mad at myself for trying to make a move on you. I thought you were repulsed."

"I wasn't!" he assures her.

"Well how was I supposed to know that!?"

Ash buries his head in his lap and groans. "I'm such an idiot."

Misty can't help but smile. "Yeah well, it can be endearing."

"Really?" he picks his head up.

She punches him. "Of course not! Next time you throw me in a river I'll make my gyarados eat you."

He laughs at that, and suddenly all of the tension is washed from his face. "Alright, deal." A moment passes. "Hey Misty?"

"Yeah?"

"Come here." The next thing she knows is Ash's lips are on hers. She squeaks in surprise, but this only makes him smile against her. His hand finds its way to her waist tentatively, before he pulls her in closer, and Misty can't really think after that.

They surface for air. "I think I found my nerve," he says.

She feels breathless when she says, "shut up and kiss me again."

He does, luckily, and she thinks that it was worth the wait.