DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokémon.

CHAPTER 4: A Deal's a Deal

On the icy front porch of Professor Oak's laboratory, a sad and despondent Misty Waterflower released a heavy sigh, her breath forming a smoky swirl as it crept over her rosy lips. She leaned against the wooden railing, allowing a solitary tear to slip out of her eye and trickle down the arm on which her cheek was resting. It was positively freezing out in the night air, a small flurry of snow beginning to sprinkle down from the sky, but despite her discomfort, the depressed redhead was determined not to return to the party for a good, long time. She had no idea how to face Brock after what had just happened, and could barely even conceive of being around Ash with the knowledge of what she now had to do. This had been her last chance, her final shot at achieving long-lasting happiness for Brock and some peace of mind for herself, and she had failed miserably on both counts. There was little point in denying the obvious now; the deal was lost.

"I thought I'd find you here," a male voice sounded from behind her a few minutes later. Misty could tell instantly who it belonged to, and remained with her back to him for precisely that reason.

"So, this was your plan all along, huh?"

For someone who should have been emotionally shattered by now, her friend was speaking with a strangely calm timbre. Still, a worrying ambiguity hung in his choice of words, one that the girl felt she needed to iron out to determine just how much trouble she was in.

"Brock, I'm so sorry," she stuttered hurriedly. "I had no idea she was married, I would never have arranged this if I did, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it, and I'm sorry I lost the deal, and I understand if you hate me because I've ruined your night and probably also your life, and-"

As the single breath in which she spoke depleted, Misty was forced to abruptly cut off her apologetic rambling, gasping for air between the small sobs that made their way up to her throat. Brock stared at the back of her orange head with concern before opening his mouth to speak again.

"First of all, Misty, I don't hate you," he stated. "Far from it. In fact…I don't know how to thank you."

Misty swivelled around on her heel to face her friend, her face conveying a mixture of sadness and disbelief. "What?"

He nodded to confirm that she had, indeed, heard what she thought she had heard. "There's no way you could have known she was married, and I completely understand now why you wanted to keep her being here a surprise. I promise you, you haven't ruined a thing."

Misty's increasingly baffled look caused Brock to chuckle in a friendly manner before continuing. "The fact that you even thought to invite Suzie in the first place, all so I could have a chance to ask her to be my date – that really speaks volumes about the kind of friend you are, Misty. I don't think anyone has ever done something as truly selfless and meaningful as that for me before, and I really mean that. In a way, it doesn't even matter that Suzie and I can't be together, because you've helped me so much over these past few days that I really feel I can properly talk to women now, and I'm ready to go out there and put these skills to the test. Besides, I guess I always kind of suspected that her and Zane had a thing going on, anyway."

The young girl sighed, rubbing her ice-cold arms up and down. Brock's speech was certainly uplifting in a lot of ways, but still not quite enough to distract her from the main thing on her mind. "It matters to me that you and Suzie aren't together. I may have given you a few tips, but aside from that, I've done nothing to help you. I lost the deal, and now neither of us has got what we wanted."

When they did not involve her, Misty was usually upbeat and optimistic about matters of the heart, and her sudden defeatism was thus more than a telltale sign for Brock that she was avoiding the real issue.

"Are you sure this isn't mostly about kissing Ash?" he smiled knowingly.

A streak of crimson washed over Misty's face, and she faltered greatly in her attempts to answer. "Well, I…um…I mean, that's…uhh…"

But again, Brock just smiled, walking over to his young friend as they both turned to rest their elbows on the waist-high wood and stare out at the expansive reserve. "I think it's time I let you in on a little secret."

She cocked her head to the side, but remained silent as the pokémon breeder began to speak again.

"When I came up with your 'punishment', as Gary called it, for this deal we made, I'll admit that I originally meant it in a kind of jokey, teasing way, but after we had that little argument yesterday afternoon and started being more open with each other, I think I realised that I chose it for a completely different reason."

Brock could tell by the inquisitive look on the redhead's flushed face that he had piqued her curiosity, so after taking a deep breath, he quickly carried on. "Thing is, I've known how you feel about Ash for years, and I know you want to tell him, but he's too dense and you're too nervous, so I feel like neither of you would ever want to make the first move. But if it was part of a deal, a deal with such high stakes that you couldn't refuse, I thought that it would kind of force your hand, you know? I never meant it in a nasty way, of course, but it's obvious how unhappy you are keeping this all bottled up inside, and the way I saw it, if you did end up having to kiss Ash, this would act as that first move that desperately needed to happen, and things would surely be much easier from there, right?"

As Brock silently summarised his monologue in his head to make sure he had made his point adequately, Misty too entered a state of deep thought, her blush intensifying with each subsequent line of said monologue she processed. A flash of gratitude she was not able to vocalise shimmered across her blue-green eyes before she hung her head, staring down at her feet in embarrassment.

"I don't know about this, Brock. I mean, it's not like I don't want to, er, you know…kiss him…but I can't help thinking, is this the right time? What if he doesn't feel the same way? What if he runs away from me like he did last time? He's my best friend, and I do, um, well, l-love him…but I just couldn't live with myself if I ended up ruining what we already have. I'm not ready to make this kind of decision."

"I know," Brock replied gently. "I see that now. That's why I'm releasing you from the deal."

"Well good, because I…wait, wh-what?"

He chuckled again. "Technically you haven't lost, since there's still over two hours left 'til midnight, and more than that, you've given me better advice on talking to girls in about a day and a half than anyone else has in 22 years. Thanks to you, I feel like I'm able to find a girlfriend at my own pace now; I'd say that's a win in my books."

A warm feeling began to swell in Misty's chest as she waited for her friend to elucidate further.

"And as for Ash, I now understand that it's not fair to force you into this if you don't feel the time is right. I don't want you to think I tricked you into helping me by raising the stakes like this, because I genuinely thought a chance to get closer to Ash would do you a world of good. To be honest, by the end, I actually kinda wanted to see that happen more than I wanted a girlfriend, hehe. In all seriousness, though, I know how much Ash means to you, and you shouldn't have to rush your confession or whatever else just because of some stupid deal. Therefore…"

He cleared his throat in a humorously exaggerated manner and held up his finger, causing Misty to giggle slightly. "I hereby declare this deal over, and the participants free to go and party their asses off 'til the morning. Huzzah!"

Still giggling, the redhead wrapped her arms around her older friend's torso in a tight, friendly hug. "Oh thank you, Brock!" she cried happily. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"It's my pleasure, Misty." Brock laughed, returning the embrace. "Now, go and give that dense wannabe pokémon master the ride of a lifetime."

Misty's eyes widened, shooting the man a look that it took him a few seconds to understand. "Oh come on, not like that! I meant dancing! Honestly, you kids and your disgusting sewer minds."

As they shared a quick laugh, Misty made her way over to the door, reaching for the handle but turning back around before she grasped it. "Hey, Brock?"

"Yeah?"

"You're going to make someone very happy one day. I hope you know that. Any girl would be lucky to have you."

Brock was touched by her moving words. "Thank you, Misty. That means a lot to me."

With a smile, Misty then pulled open the large door, disappearing into the light that burst out from the party venue. Brock lingered on the porch, revelling in the feeling of relaxation that the end of the deal granted him. Finally were he and Misty able to actually enjoy their night without the stress of their 'assignments' constantly weighing them down. Though he was still as single now as he had ever been, the lack of a date suddenly did not matter so much to the pokémon breeder, as spending the New Year surrounded by his closest friends was all he could ever ask for.

His words to Misty notwithstanding, Brock had hoped, deep down, that this deal would finally bring his two best friends together once and for all. Then again, he thought with a smirk, should Misty decide to act on her feelings regardless, he highly doubted that Ash would put up much of a fight.

Like her friend, Misty was also feeling calmer than she had all night. A great weight had been lifted off her shoulders, replaced by an almost dizzying euphoria that made her grin uncontrollably. It was now just before 10pm, with a number of the elderly guests and families with young children appearing to have left, but the party was still in full swing, and the excited redhead planned to engage fully in the festive atmosphere she had, up until now, been deprived of. In addition, this would be her first opportunity of the night to properly talk to-

"Misty!"

Just as the girl's mind had begun to wander to a familiar place, she was suddenly face-to-face with the boy in question. His trademark hat and gloves were absent, and although there had been some attempt to comb his hair, it remained as wild and untameable as ever. The woollen pikachu on his green Christmas jumper smiled brightly up at her, matching the lopsided grin on its wearer's tanned face. Misty could do little to stop herself from blushing as she realised that the whole ensemble was incredibly, and infuriatingly, cute.

"I've been looking all over for you!" he exclaimed, waving his arms around excitedly. "I thought you might have been avoiding me or something."

Something about Ash's statement caused Misty to instantly put up her defences. "I wasn't avoiding you, you idiot! For your information, I was just, er, helping Brock out with something. And anyway, you're one to talk! Weren't you supposed to be here three days ago? What gives?"

Ash was taken aback by his best friend's sudden hostility. "Whoa, hey, it's not as if I didn't want to come back earlier! I just had something, er, important to take care of first. I'll explain later."

"No, you'll explain now."

"Trust me, it's better if I wait 'til later on."

"Well I wanna know now!"

"Well tough, 'cause I'm not telling you 'til later!"

"Now!"

"Later!"

"Now!"

"Later!"

"Now!"

"La-"

Before their argument could get physical, a spiky-haired figure in a dark purple suit darted through the small space between them, humming something that sounded suspiciously like the Wedding March as he passed. Ash and Misty immediately looked away from one another, arms crossed and faces red. After a few seconds, Misty sighed, glancing around to the boy behind her.

"Ugh. Sorry," she muttered sheepishly. "I guess I've just been a bit stressed the last couple of days. I really am, er, happy you're here now, though."

Ash turned to face her, smiling. "Me too, Mist. Hey, have you heard? Team Rocket were just here!"

After an inward groan, Misty decided to play along. "Well I'll be a son of a gun!" she exaggerated sarcastically. "I sure hope there was a talented and beautiful girl on hand to dispose of those ruffians!"

"Oh there was." Ash nodded, causing the redhead's stomach to flutter with butterfree. "Brock told me Suzie arrived just in time to stop them. How weird is that?"

"Typical," Misty sighed under her breath, an irritated frown on her face.

"Huh? What did you say?"

"Never mind. Go back to sleep," she smirked, flicking her friend on the nose.

"Ow! Hey, you're being mean today." He pouted jokingly before perking up again almost instantly. "Wanna go dance?"

Just like that, the butterfree in Misty's stomach returned, and she smiled widely at her best friend before nodding her assent. "Sure!"

"Awesome, let's go!"

Ash reached down to grab her hand, leading her through the crowd to an empty space on the dance floor. Misty gasped at the sudden contact, but quickly found herself enjoying the feel of the pokémon trainer's warm and oddly soft hand. Once they were in position, Ash wasted no time in breaking into a sequence of what the bemused girl could only describe as 'organised flailing'. Rather than berate him, however, Misty simply shrugged, giggling as she took her place beside him and proceeded to dance along in her friend's own unique style. Soon after, the two were joined in their dancing by May and Max, but Ash and Misty remained especially close to one another, laughing hysterically with every crazy new move they performed.

Across the room, Gary Oak, along with a collective of Ash's older friends – Brock, Tracey and Daisy – watched the scene with great amusement.

"They think we've got no idea," Gary smirked, taking a large gulp of gin and tonic.

"You should have seen them in the Orange Islands," laughed Tracey. "I honestly thought they were a couple for the first month or so I travelled with them."

"Oh, leave them alone, you big bullies." Daisy smacked her boyfriend playfully on the chest from her seat on his knee. "Just, like, let them have this moment."

As Tracey reached for his drink in front of him, he suddenly caught sight of something that brought forth a devious grin on his face. "Well, judging by how close they're getting to that mistletoe, that 'moment' may come sooner than we think…"

Misty could not remember the last time she had had so much fun. For at least an hour, she and her friends danced, laughed, reminisced and, in hers and Ash's case, fought, freely and organically without a care in the world. When May and Max eventually announced that they had to go and call their parents, Misty and Ash found an empty table at the quieter end of the room, sitting as close together as their chairs would allow, and continued their friendly chatting as the party carried on in the background.

"So, anyway, I gave him his badge and he went on his way, but the next day, I found him and Violet doing some sort of indoor skinny dipping in the pool!"

"Ewww, no way! So are they, like, going out now?"

"Wouldn't have thought so. Violet's with a new guy pretty much every time I see her. To be honest, I'm still getting used to the fact that Daisy and Tracey are an item."

"I know, it's so weird! How did that even start?"

"Oh, it's a long story. Basically, one day, about two years ago, I was, er…well, never mind what I was doing…but Tracey came to the gym while I was gone and started helping Daisy out with repairs and stuff. Next thing I know, they've gone out on a date, and it all just sort of escalated from there."

"Huh. Never would've figured Daisy as Tracey's, er, type, you know?"

"Yeah, or Tracey as Daisy's! Ah well, I guess love works in mysterious ways."

The unfortunate familiarity of Misty's last sentence caused the two friends to break eye contact, looking away from each other in embarrassment and awkwardness. The duo had been subject to that line from friends and strangers alike ever since they had first started travelling together, but at no point in that seven-and-a-half-year period had it become any easier to digest. Out of the corner of her eye, the redhead noticed a fairly young couple sharing a kiss under one of the sprigs of mistletoe that Tracey had booby-trapped the place with the previous day. Their faces were flushed, but they seemed more than happy to partake in the holiday tradition, and their brief but meaningful encounter sent Misty's mind snapping right back to the deal that she had only recently been freed from. As a sigh escaped from her mouth, she shook her head in an attempt to rid herself of the confusing thoughts clanging around in her brain; yet, in doing so, a burning question she was denied the answer to earlier in the night found its way back to the surface, and she did not hesitate to try again.

"So, Ash..." She smiled, causing her friend to raise his eyebrow. "I guess now would be a great time to tell me why you didn't come home for Christmas, wouldn't it?"

To her surprise, her friend simply nodded his head – rather excitedly too, she noted. "You're right, Mist, I guess I owe that to you now. I can't actually tell you though; I, er, have to show you. Back in a minute!"

Ash then jumped up from his seat, racing out of the main room and around the corner to ascend the stairs next to the entrance. Though Misty was temporarily stunned by his sudden disappearance, she decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to retrieve the gift she had worked so hard on over the last two days.

She made her way slowly over to the Christmas tree, stooping over to sort through the packages of various shapes and sizes at the base. Once she located it, she clutched it close to her chest, a small tingling feeling reaching her cheeks on her short return trip back to the table. Unbeknownst to her, Delia and Professor Oak had been witness to the girl's actions from a few feet away, tranquil smiles on their faces as their eyes followed her along the length of the room.

"Such a lovely girl." Delia sighed tenderly. "I can't think of anyone more deserving of my Ashy than her."

"Indeed," Professor Oak agreed. "It's evident how much she cares for him. And Ash appears to be quite besotted himself."

"I know. I just hope they finally find what they're both looking for this year…"

"Ah, there you are!" Ash chirped as Misty retook her seat next to him. His hands were fumbling with something under the table, and his face gradually morphed from excitement to full-blown anxiety.

"Are you alright?" Misty asked, confused at his sudden change in demeanour.

"Er, yeah, I'm fine," he stammered, chuckling before inhaling deeply. "So, anyway, er, I was late coming home because I…I was busy getting this for you."

Hesitantly, Ash began to raise his arms above the table. "Also, I didn't have any wrapping paper, so I, er, kinda had to improvise."

Misty watched her friend fascinatedly, her heart rate increasing with every centimetre of the object in his hands she caught a glimpse of. Eventually, his hand came to rest on the table in front of her, opening up to reveal a spherical object wrapped in some kind of deep blue cloth.

"Merry Christmas, Misty." He smiled as he scratched the back of his head with his other hand. "Well, actually, er, I guess it's more like 'happy New Year' now, hehe."

Alternating her gaze between Ash and her gift, the flattered girl allowed an endearing giggle to fly out of her throat. Though she could hazard a pretty good guess as to what the distinctly round object was, it was the unconventional wrapping around it that had her intrigued. She gently took the items from her friend, unfolding the silky fabric from the sphere and holding the former up to the light. In a tenth of a second, her curious smile disappeared, and her mouth fell open in shock.

"Oh…my…god…" she gasped, her eyes never leaving the vibrant blue square.

It was a handkerchief, identical in almost every way to the one that Misty had given Ash on the last day of their journey together. Though perhaps only a simple token of friendship on the outside, her parting gift to her best friend held more meaning than she could ever hope to put into words, and to now have one of her own was a feeling like no other. The edges were gold instead of red, and the sun-shaped pattern in the centre a metallic silver, but the speechless girl instantly thought it more beautiful and impactful than hers had ever been. Just as her vision began to become blurry with tears, the sound of her friend's boyish voice rescued her from her fleeting reverie.

"I forgot to give you that the last time I saw you," he admitted sheepishly. "I've just been carrying it around all this time. But now we've both got one! Isn't that cool?"

Gradually, Misty regained the ability to speak. "But h-how did you…"

"Last year, we saved a girl from a pack of wild mightyena just outside Rustboro City. She invited us back to her house, where it turned out her dad was an embro…uh, embrode…"

"Embroiderer?" she suggested with a small smile.

"Yeah, that's it! Anyway, he offered to, uh, embroiderise something for each of us as thanks for saving his daughter. I can't remember what everyone else got, but I showed him the handkerchief you gave me and asked him to make one just like it. Well, almost just like it; the colours of yours really remind me of you, so I thought I'd change them up a bit so that this one, er, reminded you of me, you know?"

To say that Misty was overjoyed was the understatement of the century. She was almost certain that Ash did not quite understand the connotations of giving a handkerchief to a member of the opposite sex, but the fact that her gift held some sentimental value for him regardless was immensely gratifying for the young girl. As the sudden rush of emotions began to overwhelm her, her eloquence decided to abandon her once again.

"A-Ash, I…I don't know what to say…"

"You don't have to say anything, Mist." He grinned. "That's not even your main present!"

With a start, Misty's eyes travelled back down to the table, focusing on the shining premier ball in front of her. She picked it up carefully, examining her warped reflection in the upper dome of the white sphere.

"You got me…a pokémon?" she asked softly, to which Ash just smiled, holding out his hand.

"Follow me," he said as his blushing friend slipped her smooth, slender hand into his. A minute of crowd-dodging later, and the pair was outside in the heated pokémon enclosure. Ash directed Misty towards the shallow pool at the far end, in which some of her older pokémon were happily splashing about, and let go of her hand as he waved over to Pikachu in the corner. Soon after, he turned back around to face his best friend, a nervous smile on his face.

"Open it," he whispered.

Nodding anxiously, the redhead pointed the ball towards the pool, popping it open and sending a burst of white light spilling out into the water. As soon as the light gave way to a graceful, serpentine form, Misty's scarlet face lit up brighter than a lanturn's lure.

"A MILOTIC!" she screamed in both shock and ecstasy. "OH MY GOD, I'VE WANTED ONE EVER SINCE I VISITED YOU GUYS IN HOENN! IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL AND ELEGANT I THINK I'M GONNA PASS OUT!"

Chuckling, Ash breathed a sigh of relief. "So you like it?"

"I love it! How did you know how much I- wait a second…are milotic always that colour?"

Ash shook his head, grinning widely. "Nope! Lucy told me it's super rare for a milotic to have a golden tail instead of a blue one."

"Lucy? As in the Frontier Brain?" Misty asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Yeah. After I won my battle against her, I offered to do her a small favour, and in return, she told me all about this hidden cave in the Seafoam Islands where she caught her milotic. Apparently, there's this rare school of them that come and go every year or so, and they just happened to be due to appear around this time. As soon as I heard that, I remembered you saying when you were in Hoenn how much you liked milotic, so I, erm…spent about a week in the cave trying to catch one for you."

Misty gasped, her eyes gradually opening wider and wider.

"That's where I've been this whole time, Mist; that's the reason I didn't get here 'til today. It took so long, but I finally managed to find the perfect one yesterday afternoon, and I set off home as soon as I could afterwards. I know it was selfish of me to ask May and Max to give up their Christmas just for this, but they seemed weirdly okay with it for some reason, and I just, I don't know, really wanted to do this."

Ash's words grew softer towards the end of the sentence, and he looked over at his playing pokémon in order to avoid his friend's gaze. Returning her beautiful present to its pokéball, Misty stared at the ground, her eyes glazing over as she retreated into her racing mind. Ash's admission was an awful lot to take in, and she was not quite sure of how extreme or subdued her reaction to it should be.

"S-So, er…" she began, her voice a little wavy, "you're saying you slept in a cave for a whole week, missing out on Christmas Day and only just getting here in time for New Year, based on some pretty vague advice from someone you barely know…all to c-catch me a milotic for Christmas?"

The pokémon trainer looked into her eyes, a hint of red in cheeks. "Well, um…yeah. You're my best friend, Mist, and we see each other so rarely, so I just wanted to do something kinda special this year, something that I knew you'd, you know, really like."

Misty could not decide whether to be angry or elated. Never before had she received a gift of this magnitude, and especially not from someone as important to her as Ash. It was not long, however, before the girl's instincts took over, taking the form of a violent smack to her unprepared friend's shoulder.

"You stupid idiot! Don't you know how dangerous those caves are?! And in December, too; you're lucky you didn't freeze to death! Honestly, Ketchum, I've got no idea how you've lasted this long without me!"

Ash froze. This was not the reaction he had been expecting. In a decidedly hurt tone, the wounded boy murmured, "I'm s-sorry, Misty. I know it was reckless, but as soon as I saw you with that milotic, you seemed so happy, and I could tell straight away that all of that work I put in was worth it. You're right, though; things are different without you on my journey, and I guess I just wanted to give you something to let you know that, well…I haven't forgotten you."

As if by magic, any inklings of anger that Misty clung to vanished in an instant, her heart melting like butter in her chest. Still acting on instinct, she flung her arms around her best friend's neck and held him as tight as she possibly could.

"That's…the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me," she whispered, shivering at the warmth of his cheek on hers as the startled pokémon trainer began to hug her back just as tightly. "Thank you so much, Ash. You may be ridiculously stubborn and impulsive at times, but you're the best friend anyone could ever hope to have."

"Y-You're welcome, Misty," he replied, his eyes closed peacefully. Gently, they let go of each other, redness in their cheeks and warm smiles on their faces, simply staring off into space before Ash mumbled, "So, er, did you get anything for me?"

The boy's comment was met with another smack to the arm, albeit less serious this time.

"Ash Ketchum, you know you're not supposed to ask that!" she scolded, her hands on her hips disapprovingly. "It's the height of rudeness! Although…" Her expression changed to one infinitely more mischievous. "If you come with me back to the table, there might be a little something under my chair for you."

Ash grinned excitedly. "Awesome! Race ya!"

With that, the chase ensued, the two friends laughing blissfully as they sped across the room like the energetic children they both still were at heart.

Sure enough, when Ash arrived at the table (a mere second after Misty, much to his chagrin), he immediately spotted a neatly wrapped parcel resting against the leg of one of the chairs. The rectangular object fit perfectly in his hand, and as he and Misty sat back down beside each other, the boy noticed a label attached with a bowed ribbon to the front of the wrapping:

Happy New Year, Mr. Pokémon Master

From Mist

"Hey, I didn't know you could read!" Misty joked, surprised that Ash had even noticed the label, much less was taking the time to read it. In truth, her jesting was but a cover-up for her sudden nervousness, her heart pounding as she began to wonder whether or not her gift to Ash would be able to live up to the ones she had received from him moments ago.

The smiling pokémon trainer simply stuck his tongue out at her, however, turning his attention back to his present. The wrapping was difficult to penetrate, with Ash making multiple attempts to attack it from every corner, but eventually was able to make a dent in the delibird-printed wrapping paper, tearing eagerly through it in less than a second. Upon identifying the curious red item in his hand, Ash was unable to hide the bewildered expression on his face.

"My old pokédex?" he questioned, eyeing the familiar object from his youth.

Misty shot a sly smile across at her friend, gesturing for him to persevere. Ash shrugged obligingly before flipping open the casing and pressing the first button he came across. Immediately, the small computer burst to life with a robotic-sounding voice:

"I'm Dexter, a pokédex unit reprogrammed by Professor Samuel Oak for the capture, storage and transmission of photographic imagery. My function is to commemorate and immortalise the unbreakable friendship between pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum and gym leader Misty Waterflower."

The redhead blushed at the professor's rather clinical description of her meaningful gift, while Ash simply remained confused. A moment later, a bright image appeared on the enlarged screen, causing the boy's heart to leap.

In the photograph were two pouting ten-year-olds, a boy and a girl, their backs to each other and their arms folded childishly. Both were looking away from the camera, but their flushed faces were clearly visible at the corners of the screen. Assuming that it was Brock who took the photo, Ash deduced that this was likely the first time he and Misty had ever had their picture taken together.

As the photo faded seamlessly into another, then another, then another, Ash began to find himself enraptured in the patchwork of memories he held in his hand. The images captured some of his and Misty's greatest adventures; the St. Anne, Maiden's Peak, Cleavon Schpielbunk's film set, Shamouti Island, Alto Mare – the list was virtually endless. Although Brock, Tracey or another of their friends made occasional appearances now and then, Ash could not help but notice that the majority of the photos featured only him and his best friend, either beaming happily or looking ready to kill each other. Something about reliving all of these precious moments brought forth a warm, slushy feeling in Ash's chest, his face getting hotter with every new scene that lay before him.

"You turned my original pokédex into a photo album?" he absentmindedly stated after about a minute.

Misty did not know what to make of her friend's somewhat ambiguous question. His blank expression did little to shed light on how he perceived her gift, and the longer he went without saying anything, the more she began to fear the worst. Did he hate it? Was he angry about what she had done to his pokédex? Had she even had the right to deface one of his former most prized possessions like this?

"Ash…" she murmured hesitantly. "I…I d-didn't mean t-"

"THIS IS SO COOL!" he cried, causing his friend to jump about a foot in the air. "How did you even do this?!"

"I saw a kid in Viridian City with one." Misty beamed, her voice airy as she sighed with relief. "So I asked Professor Oak about it, and he helped me find your first pokédex in his store rooms so we could convert it."

Ash held the device up to his face to get a closer look. "This must have taken you ages! How many photos are on here?"

"About two-hundred, I think," she stated with her hands behind her back coyly. "Your mom let me scan loads of the photos she had in her attic. There's also plenty of space left on it for you to take some more."

"Wait, it takes pictures too? Oh my god, we've got to get one right now! Just need to find someone to- oh, Mr. Collins, Mr. Collins, over here!"

A few feet away, a portly middle-aged man made his way over to the duo.

"Why, hello, Ash!" He smiled. "I haven't seen you in years! How is everything?"

Ash scratched his head embarrassedly. "Uh, everything's fine, I guess, thanks. I was just wondering, er, could you take our photo please?"

"Of course! Anything for Delia's little boy." Mr. Collins chuckled as Ash handed him the pokédex. "Say, this camera of yours is awfully complicated. And oh, what's this on the back?"

As the man continued to fiddle with the controls, Ash leaned around to the side to glimpse at what his neighbour was referring to, his breath catching in his throat as soon as he did. Engraved on the back of the casing in beautifully calligraphed gold lettering were the words, 'Best Friends'.

"Did you do that?" he asked, turning to his blushing friend beside him.

"Er, y-yeah," Misty replied shakily. "Well, the professor had a machine that did it…but it was my idea."

"You two must be pretty close," the jolly Mr. Collins mused. "Okay now, say 'eevee'!"

On his signal, Ash and Misty moved in close to each other, placing their arms lightly around each other's waists. The warmth of their bodies in such close proximity sent shivers down each of their spines.

"Eevee!" they cried in unison. A small flash of light later, and a brand new photograph was added to Ash's collection.

"Take care, you two," winked Mr. Collins as he returned the device to Ash. "And watch out for the mistletoe, eh?"

Before either could object to the man's last little implication, he quickly marched off into the crowd and out of sight. Ash looked down at the vibrant photo of him and Misty on the screen, their tiny faces smiling up at him adoringly.

"Thank you for this, Misty," he uttered quietly as he met his friend's intense gaze. "It's perfect."

It seemed that it was now Ash's turn to act on instinct, as he reached forward, taking his best friend's hand and squeezing it gently. Misty's blush intensified tenfold, and it took her a few seconds to muster up the strength to curl her own hand around his.

"No p-problem," she managed to squeak out. As she gradually regained her composure, an idea spontaneously came to her. "Ash…do you want to dance?"

The pokémon trainer cocked his head to the side. "Again? Don't you think this music's a little slow for-"

"Not that kind of dancing," she stopped him, a smile creeping onto her face. "Come with me."

Slowly, she led her best friend by the hand over to the dance floor once again, sighing contently as she realised that so little of what had transpired over the last few hours would have been possible if she had still been confined by her infamous deal.

The New Year was approaching rapidly, with only fifteen minutes to go until the strike of midnight. Most of the party guests were sat down at tables or on the sofas around the edges of the room, yet the dance floor remained reasonably populous, occupied mainly by older couples due to the gradual mellowing of the music as the evening progressed. In the middle of the floor, Ash and Misty swayed together gently on the spot, Ash's arms around Misty's waist and hers resting on his shoulders. Neither of them said anything for quite a while, simultaneously comfortable with and struck dumb by the activity they were engaging in with each other.

"So…" Misty broke the silence after another few minutes. "Do you know how long you're staying in Pallet Town after the party?"

Ash snapped abruptly out of the trance he had fallen into shortly after their dance had begun. "Erm, just tomorrow I think. We're heading back out so I can challenge the rest of the Frontier Brains."

His answer was far from what she had hoped to hear. "Oh…" she could not help but let slip out.

"What's wrong?" he asked with genuine concern.

Yet, being open about her unhappiness was still not the redhead's strongest suit. "Nothing's wrong!" she snapped. "Why would it be? I totally get it; nothing to do around here anyway, right? It's not like I'd wanna stick around any longer than I had to either!"

For once, it seemed like Ash was not oblivious to his best friend's true feelings. He looked her straight in the eye, a sad smile on his face.

"…It's okay, Mist," he said softly. "I'm going to miss you, too."

The vulnerable girl's heart pulsated in her chest. "You are?"

"Trust me, I'd love to stay a while longer, but, well, Brock's sorted out a schedule for me, and I'm already behind because of how long I spent trying to catch your Christmas present. Plus, those Frontier symbols aren't going to win themselves, right?" He chuckled at the end in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"I will miss you, though, Misty – I always do when I have to leave. But hey, this time I've got your awesome gift to keep me company! I'm travelling through Kanto right now, so whenever I see something that reminds me of our journey, I'll snap a picture of it and send it to the gym. That way, it's sort of like we're still travelling together! How's that sound?"

Though Misty was somewhat embarrassed at making Ash feel like he needed to comfort her, the bright smile that appeared on her face proved to her just how much she appreciated those words of comfort. "I'd like that. Thanks, Ash."

As the duo sank back into a comfortable silence, Misty felt her emotions quietly going into complete overdrive. Ash may have been leaving soon, but the important thing was that he was here right now, in this perfect moment, and after everything that had happened in the last couple of hours, she did not think she had ever loved him more. With that in mind, the fact that the deal was over was one that she was infinitely grateful for. Though letting Ash know how she felt about him would definitely be on the agenda some day, Misty came to the realisation that perhaps she did not need to take that difficult step anytime soon. Ash was her best friend, and she was his, and the feeling of joy this alone granted her was already too invaluable to put into words.

It was only when the peaceful young gym leader looked casually over to her right that she discovered she may have spoken way too soon.

On a sofa against the wall at the edge of the room were Tracey, Gary and Daisy, the former two of which were looking straight at her, pointing exaggeratedly at their watches and grinning evilly. Judging by the amount of empty bottles around them, they were obviously very drunk, a fact only emphasised by the infantile way their eyes darted between her and Ash. Misty's heart leapt when she saw Gary mouthing, "A deal's a deal, Red!" and Tracey demonstrating said point by planting a wet kiss on the giggling Daisy beside him. With a nervous sigh, the redhead gathered that Brock had clearly not updated her teasing friends on the whole 'deal' situation; or, more likely, he had, and they just did not care.

As soon as their words and gestures sunk in, the calmness that Misty had previously been fostering was instantly shattered beyond repair. They were trying to get under her skin, that much she knew, but on some level, as much as she hated to admit it, some of their jesting managed to resonate with the flustered young girl. She had given her word, hadn't she? The deal may have been over for her and Brock, but for them it was still very much alive, and the thought of going back on something she had sworn to do unsettled her in ways she did not even fully understand.

To make matters worse, her tormentors also seemed to have jogged her memory about her ambivalence concerning the kiss. Just when she thought she had decided to postpone her 'confession', as it were, a frightening wave of longing and desire bounced around her body, reminding her of the constant war that had been going on between her heart and her head. Maybe she did want to kiss Ash after all…but should she? Amongst the panic and the frustration that threatened to overwhelm her, all Misty could think about were the eerily poignant words that Gary Oak had said to her earlier that day:

"Win or lose, I don't think you'll be able to resist when the time comes…"

"Er, Misty, you okay?" Ash's voice sounded above her internal screaming.

"No…this…this can't be…happening," she panted, releasing herself from his hold and beginning to take wobbly and absentminded steps backwards, her eyes fixed on the sniggering trio across the room in front of her.

"Mist, you're acting kinda weird."

"Got to…with A-Ash…deal…"

With every step she took, her friend began to grow more and more alarmed. It was then that Ash caught sight of something large in the path of her mindless stumbling.

"Misty, watch out for the-"

His warning came a second too late, however, as the dazed girl barrelled straight into one of the buffet tables, knocking it to the ground and flying dramatically over the back. When Ash rushed over to inspect the damage, he found his friend wearing most of the table's former contents.

"Argh…for Mew's sake," Misty coughed, rising to her feet while a number of the startled guests attempted to pat her down with cloths and napkins. Though the accident had seemingly brought her back to reality, her mind was still very much focused on the problem at hand, paying little attention to the stains all over the back of her dress.

"Are you okay?" Ash inquired, a worried look in his eyes.

The furious redhead pushed past him as she stomped towards the sofa at the other end of the room. "I will be, as soon as I kill those jerks over there!"

Yet, before she could get very far, her warpath was suddenly blocked by a swarm of people huddling together on the dance floor.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Professor Oak's voice echoed through the speakers. "The time is now 11:59; everyone, please your way onto the dance floor to begin the countdown to New Year!"

For some reason, the fact that Tracey, Gary and Daisy were now obscured from her view calmed the embarrassed girl down immensely. Turning back around, she saw Ash, along with May, Max and Delia, gathered around her in anticipation of the grand pinnacle of the night.

"Ooh, I'm so excited!" exclaimed May, while Max looked to share much of his sister's enthusiasm.

Though Ash responded to his younger friends' cries of happiness, his thoughts lingered on Misty, and the bizarre scene he had just witnessed.

"You, er, had me worried for a minute there, Mist," he admitted. "Guess the stress of entering a new year must be getting to you, eh? Oh, er, you've got, um, something in your hair."

Cautiously, he reached out his hand, pinching the unknown fragment of food in her hair between his finger and thumb and gently tugging it loose. His thumb brushed against her temple as he pulled away, causing the girl to break out in another bright blush.

"Er, thanks," she stuttered before the boy turned his attention back to the large timer being projected onto the wall.

"Here it comes, everyone!" Delia chirped in her own motherly fashion. Seconds later, the entire room began to count down.

"Ten! Nine! Eight!"

For Misty, every subsequent number felt like a fierce kick in the stomach. She now had only seconds to make her decision.

"Seven! Six!"

A cold sweat washed over the girl as the moment drew ever closer. On the one hand, she had made a deal, one she had been released from but still felt obliged to carry out her punishment for losing regardless; on the other hand, this was Ash, the boy she had loved for the best part of six years, and as much as she had dreamed of kissing him all throughout that time, the prospect of losing him as a friend if it went badly kept her constantly unsure of how to proceed.

"Five! Four!"

She was running out of time now; she had to make a choice, or else time would make it for her. As fate would have it, however, it was in this moment that Misty's eyes wandered upwards by chance, her stomach doing a backflip when she spotted the familiar branch hanging from the light above hers and Ash's heads. With a defeated sigh, she shook her head in utter disbelief; Now that's just not fair…

"Three! Two!"

"A-Ash?" Misty managed to whimper meekly. Although the boy was in the middle of happily chanting the countdown, he turned immediately to face his best friend.

"One! Happy New Ye- mmfph!"

The arrival of the New Year inspired a sudden and unexpected feeling of clarity for the previously conflicted girl, and without allowing herself the opportunity to think again, she leaned forward, grabbing the collar of Ash's jumper and pressing her lips firmly against his. Pleasant chills surged throughout Misty's body, her cheeks burning as hot as the sun, and, for the briefest of moments that the kiss lasted, it was as if she and Ash were the only two people in the world.

When she finally let go, the lightheaded gym leader learned, to her embarrassment, that the majority of the applause she was hearing was not for the New Year, but, in fact, the scene she had just created under the mistletoe. To her right, May and Max were giggling uncontrollably, while Delia was weeping with indescribable joy. In the corner of the room, a grinning Brock leaned leisurely against the wall, joining in the applause as his mouth formed a wide and knowing smile.

"You did it, Misty. You did it."

Needless to say, Ash was beyond stunned. Misty Waterflower, his best friend in the whole world, had just kissed him, on the lips, in front of almost everyone he knew. It took a noticeably awkward length of time for the punch-drunk boy to even regain the ability to speak, let alone form a vaguely coherent sentence.

"M-Misty…" he breathed shakily. "You…I mean, er, I…"

In the midst of his blathering, the reality of what had just happened was beginning to sink in for the panic-stricken Misty. "Oh g-god, I…I'm sorry, I didn't m-mean to…er, I mean I did, 'cause I lost the…it was all their idea! They were laughing at me, and Brock was with Suzie, and then he wasn't with Suzie, and I said I'd…but I didn't know if I wanted to, then…"

The regrettable back-and-forth of Ash and Misty's duel ramblings caused a kind of conversational stalemate for quite some time.

"Misty..." Ash eventually sighed in a slightly more evolved tone. "There's, er, something I need to s-say…"

Coincidentally, Misty's own vocabulary returned to her at that very moment – along with her anger and insecurity. "What? What is it? You hate me, by any chance? You never want to see me again? Do tell me if I'm getting warmer! Well, I guess it's just as well you're leaving soon, isn't it, because now you've got the perfect opportunity to walk away and forget all about m-"

The frantic shaking of Ash's head caused her to halt her tirade in mid-sentence.

"No, no, it's nothing like that!" he pleaded, the deep brown of his eyes locking with the aquamarine of hers. "I was going to say that…when you, um, kissed me…you beat me to it by about a second."

Misty could not believe what she had just heard. "Wh-What?"

He nodded, smiling for the first time since before the kiss. "Remember the last Christmas party we had here, when we were about ten or eleven? We ended up meeting under the mistletoe, and I, well, ran away from you and fell into a table, kinda like you did before, hehe…anyway, I kinda figured that, even after all this time, I still owe you that kiss."

The burst of emotion inside of Misty's chest was unlike anything she had ever felt, and she resisted the urge to slap herself to determine whether or not she was dreaming. Suddenly, it did not matter that most of the room was looking at them, because the words she had just heard from Ash's mouth were ones that she had been waiting to hear for the entire time she had known him.

"Ash, I…" she began, but quickly ran out of breath as soon as she felt her best friend's hand stroking her cheek. Very slowly, the pair began to move toward one another, their faces inching closer and closer, and, just as Misty allowed her eyelids to droop gently over her eyes, their lips finally made contact.

To the lovestruck young girl, this kiss was more meaningful and more enjoyable than the first in every conceivable way. With his hands around her waist and hers on the back of his neck, the pair were closer than they had ever been, and Misty held nothing back, channelling her heart and soul into the soft but passionate feeling of her lips on his. At some point during the embrace, a potent tear rolled down her cheek, a testament to the fact that, in all the 17 years of her life, this very moment was undoubtedly the happiest that she had ever been.

Both Ash and Misty were reluctant to break the kiss, but the lack of oxygen forced them to do so after about a minute. Still holding tightly onto each other, the two best friends shared an intense, heartfelt look. Their current closeness notwithstanding, Misty felt the sudden need to pose the boy an important question.

"When…?" she started, but her breath caught in her throat before she could finish.

Thankfully, though, it appeared that Ash had understood. "Only a few months ago, when I last saw you. I'm not sure what happened, and, to be honest, I still don't really know what to call how I'm, er, feeling…but something inside of me kept telling me that, whether I knew it or not, you've always been more than just a friend to me, Mist."

The elated girl's stomach promptly burst to life with wave upon wave of butterfree. As she noticed Ash give her a look as if to ask her the question back, she let out a contented giggle. "I think I knew from the start. Ever since you stole my bike, I knew you were special, Ash Ketchum, and not just in the head. You changed my life, and I don't know how to thank you for that. I've gone through a lot of different names for how I feel about you, but I guess that, right now, it doesn't matter what we call it. All you need to know is…I feel the same way."

The pair then shared a loving hug before Ash was practically jumped on by his near-delirious mother, granting Misty her first moment to herself since she lost the deal some hours earlier. The last two days had certainly been some of the more turbulent in recent memory, causing the girl untold amounts of stress and anxiety, but to know that everything had somehow worked out in the end – and in a more perfect way than she could ever have imagined – filled her with immeasurable warmth and gratitude. As the crowd around her began to disperse, the distant shapes of Tracey, Daisy and Gary became visible once more, and, looking over, she took great delight in seeing their three matching expressions as they gawked at her speechlessly. Naturally, she could do little to supress the sickeningly smug grin that made its way onto her face, giggling as their bewildered expressions only intensified. In their own individual ways, they had all doubted her ability to hold up her end of the bargain, and with the comfort of knowing that this very doubt was what led to her sharing a kiss with the boy she loved, she could not have been happier to prove them wrong.

Maybe she had ought to make deals with people more often in the future.

EPILOGUE – Two Perfect Girls

A lone figure wandered out onto the front porch of the laboratory, sitting down on the top step and looking peacefully across at the snowy pastures of Pallet Town.

"Another year alone." He sighed with an accepting smile. "But hey, at least I finally got those two together. What are you gonna do in your free time now, eh, Brocko?"

He laughed to himself blissfully, swilling the small amount of frigid punch around in the bottom of his cup. The snowfall outside had diminished considerably, now only a gentle, wispy layer floating lazily down from the sky, and the chilly air was also less vicious than it had been the last time he had ventured out onto the reserve.

"I wonder if I'll ever find the perfect woman," he continued his thinking out loud, scratching at a clump of ice on the step beside him.

"Maybe you're just not looking in the right places?"

Brock's head snapped forward, squinting his eyes to try and identify the tall figure suddenly making their way up the path towards him. They stopped at his feet, and, under the bright light from the porch, the distinctive shine of the red highlights in their jet-black hair caused the pokémon breeder to gasp in surprise.

"Lucy?"

"In the flesh." She smiled, dusting snow off the shoulders of her purple duffle coat. "I've been looking for you."

Standing bolt upright, Brock blushed in shock. "M-Me? I, er…how'd you know I'd be here? Er, in Pallet Town, I mean?"

"Your friend, Ash," Lucy explained. "He told me about this when you came to the Battle Pike, and I showed him where to find the perfect milotic for the girl he liked. Did it work?"

"Huh? Oh, er, yeah, like a charm! They're in there right now, making out like there's no tomorrow."

The Pike Queen laughed. "I'm glad to hear it! Sounds like it's definitely been a happy New Year for those two, then."

After a small smile from the pokémon breeder, a short silence passed before Lucy spoke up again, a hint of redness in her cheeks. "So, er, do you wanna go for a walk?"

Brock was both surprised and flattered by the woman's offer. "I…really?"

"Yeah, why not? I passed an area on the way here that looks so beautiful and peaceful in the snow."

She held out her gloved hand for Brock to take, only for the man's blush to spread wider across his face. Eventually, he accepted the gesture, grasping her hand and walking silently with her down the path and out of the lab towards the empty streets. Once they were halfway down the road, the giddy smile that Brock had been too afraid to unleash until this moment was finally free to surface, and he remained that way for some time after.

Perhaps this year would be his year after all.

FIN