By: Sakura*Mota
Author's Disclaimer: I own none of the Pokemon characters; they belong to Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures.
Author's Note: I am assuming that Ash's Pikachu is a boy in this story.
Pikachu's ears perked up as the soft sounds of quiet sobs aroused him from his slumber. He crawled out of the sleeping bag he and Ash shared and looked around. Brock was snoring peacefully, and the fire in the center of the circle of friends was dwindling. However, in the dark undertones of the night, Pikachu made out the huddled figure of Misty sitting beside her sleeping bag and cradling her knees to her chest.
"Pika?" he asked himself quietly as he walked over on his hind legs to Misty. Her body was shaking as she continued to cry in to her kneecaps. Pikachu poked Misty lightly in the leg, and she sat up abruptly and turned to him.
"Pikachu…" she said, sniffling. Pikachu noticed that her eyes were red and puffy and that her face was tear-stained, and he gave Misty a worried look. "I'm fine," Misty said in response, wiping her eyes. "I just had a bad dream; that's all."
"Pikachu Pi?"
"What about?" Misty asked, guessing this was what Pikachu wanted to know.
"Pika Pi," he said, nodding.
"Nothing really," Misty said. "It just upset me; that's all."
"Pikachu Pi…" Pikachu said, giving Misty a skeptical look that seemed to say, "What kind of a fool do you take me fore?"
"It's nothing, Pikachu, now go back to sleep."
"…Misty?"
Misty and Pikachu whirled around. The sounds of voices had awoken Ash, and he sat up in his sleeping bag and yawned.
"A-Ash, what are you doing up?" Misty stammered.
"I could ask you the same question," Ash yawned as he climbed out of his sleeping bag and walked over to Misty and Pikachu. He sat down cross-legged beside Misty. "So, what's up?"
"Nothing really, just insomnia," Misty lied.
Ash noticed Misty's red eyes, and his eyebrows raised with concern. "Have you been cryin', Misty?" he asked, worry in his voice.
"I was, but I'm all right now," Misty said.
"W'll, what was wrong?"
"Nothing, I just had a bad dream, now go to bed," Misty said, turning away as she began to get huffy.
"Ash stared at Misty for a moment, his face showing a mixture of hurt and concern. Something on the ground caught his interest, and he looked down at it. The object looked like a Poke Ball, only the top half was jewel-encrusted and very beautiful. A pattern of sapphires and diamonds decorated it, and Ash had never seen anything that pretty.
"Hey, Misty, what's that?" Ash asked, pointing to the object.
Misty followed Ash's gesture to the ball and gasped. "I-It's my music-box, that's all," she said, picking it up.
"It's very nice," Ash said.
Misty smiled and looked at the ball
in her hands. "Yes, it is," she
said. "My mother…gave it to me…when I
was little…"
"Your mom?" Ash asked. As long as Ash had known Misty, he suddenly
realized he had never seen or heard of Misty's parents.
"Mm-hmm," Misty said, turning to Ash and smiling. "Yes, she gave it to me as a gift."
"I've never met your mom, Misty," Ash said. "How come you've never introduced her ta' me an' Brock?"
Misty looked down at the ball in her lap sadly. "Because…" she said, "my mother…died when I was nine years old."
"Oh…" Ash said, feeling guilty for bringing the subject up. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked…"
"It's okay," Misty said, looking up and smiling. "You didn't know." She looked back at the ball. "She was a wonderful person."
"I'll bet she was," Ash said, trying his best to comfort Misty.
"The music box…plays a song she used to sing to me before I went to sleep. Would you two like to hear it?"
"Sure!" Ash said, grinning and nodding.
"Pika!" Pikachu said, nodding as well.
Misty opened the music box, and a small light inside began to glow aqua in color. A sweet song came out of the ball and filled the night air. (It's the song played after the credits in Pokemon Gold, Silver, and Crystal.) Ash and Pikachu listened to the melodic tune, almost captured by the song's simplistic beauty.
"It's nice…" Ash said dreamily.
"Pika…" Pikachu agreed in a similar tone. The song entranced Pikachu, and he didn't pay much attention to anything that followed.
"Yeah, it is," Misty said. "I wish I could remember the words she used to sing to it." The music box continued to play as the two humans and Pokemon sat in silence.
"Misty?"
"Yeah, Ash?"
"What happened in your dream that made you wanna cry?" he asked. "Did it have somethin' to do with your mom?"
"No," Misty said, shaking her head. "It was actually about you guys."
"Us?" Ash asked in surprise. "You mean me, Pikachu, an' Brock?"
"Who else?" Misty asked wryly. "Anyway, I dreamed I woke up tomorrow and you guys had left me," she said, looking down at her lap. "I walked alone for a while and found you guys, but you were really mean to me, especially you, Ash."
"Me?" Ash asked in disbelief. "What did I say?"
"You…said that all I did was bother you guys," she said hesitantly. "You said I should go back home and you'd pay me for my 'stupid bike' later." Misty was starting to cry again, and a warm tear trickled down her cold cheek. "I tried to explain that I wasn't really tagging along for the bike so much any more, and that I was following because I wanted to. I also said it was because..." Misty stopped herself.
"What?" Ash asked. "Because of what?"
Misty paused for a bit longer. "I can't say…" she said finally. "Just know that after I said it, you laughed."
"Was it somethin' funny?"
"No, now go to bed!" Misty snapped angrily. Tears were now overflowing her eyes and dripping to the ground, forming dots in the dirt.
Ash's face became very worried, as did Pikachu's. The sweet music box song continued to play, and it was the only sound that broke the silence besides chirping crickets and the quiet crackle of the fire. "Misty, I wanna know what you said," he said after a moment of silence.
"Well, too bad, now leave me alone," Misty said, hugging her knees once more.
Ash paused for a minute, watching Misty sob with concern. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to his chest, laying his head on top of hers. This caught Misty by surprise, and her eyes shot open as she instantly stopped sobbing.
"Whatever I laughed at you for saying, Misty, I'm sorry," Ash said, his eyes closed as he held Misty in his embrace. "It was wrong of me to laugh, because it seems like whatever you said must've been important."
Behind her arms, Misty's face flushed at Ash's statement. He held her for a minute longer and then released her.
"I'll go to bed now," he said. "C'mon, Pikachu."
Pikachu turned to Ash swiftly, breaking his trance, and then he slowly stood up. Ash had barely climbed to his feet before Misty spoke and stopped him. "It was because…" she began.
Ash sat down on the ground once more and waited patiently for Misty to finish. "Go on…" he urged her after a short pause.
"It was because…because…because I love you," she finally managed to say.
Ash was taken aback. He hadn't expected to hear that. "Y…You do?" he asked after he found his voice again.
Misty sat up and turned to him. She gazed into his deep brown eyes with her blue ones solemnly. "I do," she said, nodding.
Ash stared at Misty for a minute, and then a small smile curled on his lips. "…And I love you."
Now it was Misty's turn to be surprised. "R-Really?" she asked in disbelief.
Ash nodded. "Yep," he said simply.
The two stared at each other for a minute in silence. All the adventures they had shared together slowly crept back to them; all the good times and the bad, all the arguments, all the laughter, everything flooded into their minds. Slowly, their faces drew closer, their eyelids growing heavy as each memory passed in their heads.
And then Ash and Misty shared the first kiss of their lives.
It lasted for maybe a minute, and it seemed to short for Ash. They pulled away from the kiss and stared at each other for a minute. The music box kept playing its song, making sure not to leave the two in silence. They smiled warmly at each other, both of them holding a new understanding, as well as a new memory to share.
"I never would have laughed, Misty," Ash said firmly.
Tears of joy formed in Misty's eyes. "I know," she said, nodding.
The two kissed again, and then Misty smiled. "Looks like I have another memory tied to my music box's song," she said as the box continued to play.
"Whaddaya' mean?" Ash asked in confusion as he watched Misty shut the ball, ending the music.
"My music box always reminds me of the love I have for my mother," she explained, holding the ball in her cupped hands. "And now," she said with a smile, "it will remind me of my love for you."
Ash smiled warmly at her, and then he kissed her again gently. "Good-night," he whispered softly, and then he rose to his feet and walked over to his sleeping bag.
Misty smiled after him and then looked down at Pikachu, who was looking up at her expectantly. "What, do you want a kiss, too?" she asked, smiling.
"Pika!" he said, smiling with his eyes closed and nodding.
Misty leaned down and kissed one of Pikachu's red cheeks. "Good-night, Pikachu," she said sweetly. Pikachu blushed and then scampered off to join Ash.
Misty climbed into her sleeping bag and settled down to sleep. But before she closed her eyes, she opened her music box. The tune started, and she shut her eyes, a peaceful smile on her face. And as if from nowhere, the lyrics her mother had composed for the song came to her lips, and she began to sing them aloud.
Now my dear
It's time for you to sleep
And you know
You will always keep
The love I have
For you
Deep in my heart
Even…
When
We're apart
And you know
I'm always there for you
Through the hard
Times, I'll still be true
And my love
For you
Will never fade
Away…
For
All your days
Ash heard Misty continue these lyrics for a few minutes and then smiled. He knew that Misty wouldn't have any more nightmares tonight, because with that song playing, her dreams would be filled with nothing but fond memories.
The EndSo, whadja' think? I personally thought it was cute, but I want opinions on this. If it made you gag because of the lovey-doveyness, the only thing I have to say to you is that I filed this as a romance, and if you have a weak constitution when it comes to sweet stuff like this, then why the heck are you reading this story anyway? *