Presence

The trio walked along the open field on a sunny day, content because the weather was finally cleared from days of rain. It had put them off schedule and Misty didn't want to hear Ash's excessive whining over a new badge anymore. It seemed like it was starting over again. She tried her best to block out Ash's voice but it was getting louder every second.

Apparently, he was getting too cocky after winning several matches. He obviously let it get to his head. Brock ignored the younger boy. Even Pikachu shook its head and sighed.

She was starting to regret following this novice trainer. Misty purposely cleared her throat to catch his attention. "Don't forget you still owe me a new bike. I'm sure you can buy me one with all that money you're winning."

"Relax, Misty," Ash assured her, waving his hand. "I already said I'd pay you back."

"When will that be?"

"I don't know," he admitted with a shrug. "Sometime."

"You better," the redhead warned him.

As the three continued walking, Misty secretly hoped it would be a long time. Even though it was irritating to argue with Ash, she had to admit she enjoyed his presence. She wasn't going to tell him (or anyone else) that for that matter.

Tie

"I wonder what's taking him so long," Brock wondered. He recalled his younger friend was nearly ready when he left the changing room.

Misty rolled her eyes, taking charge of the situation. "I'll go see."

She made her way to the changing room where she heard mumbling. Her hand opened the door and caught sight of him and smirked to herself. Ash was struggling with his tie to the point where poor Pikachu tried to aid him to no avail. She couldn't help but to laugh.

Ash suddenly turned towards Misty and his face colored with embarrassment. "It's not funny! This is harder than it looks like, okay?" Who was she to laugh at him like that?

Pikachu brightened, dashing over to the redhead and gave her a pleading look for her to help. Misty patted her hand over the rodent's head and nodded.

She walked over to him in her sparkling fuchsia dress and tugged his tie a little aggressively. She had to admit he looked charming with his blue suit on. The raven haired trainer flinched, wondering what on earth was she doing. Before he could protest, she finished her work on him. She looked proud of herself. He didn't know what to make out of her expression.

"That's better, isn't it?"

His trusty companion jumped into her arms and she cradled the small rodent, making her way out of the room. Ash was confused as ever. He was slightly disturbed Misty of all people knew how to tie a tie. He sighed with relief and shrugged the thought away, joining the group.

Secret

Melody's eyes stared curiously at Ash, watching as he ran outside to train with his Pokemon. "I can't believe you still haven't told him." The brunette folded her arms and waited for her reaction.

"What are you talking about, Melody?" Misty sensed she was up to something. While she was glad to see a familiar face at the gym, the redhead couldn't help but to feel very alert. Unlike her, Melody was bold and went after anything she wanted. Her stomach suddenly hurt.

Melody closed her eyes, waving her hand casually. "Come on, isn't it obvious?" Her turquoise eyes reopened, staring intently at Misty. "How long do you plan on waiting?"

"I don't like him that way, okay?" Misty was doing her best to remain calm.

"You can deny it all you want. We both know you have a crush on him."

Misty winced, feeling her face turning hot. "I-i do not!"

Melody rolled her eyes. 'Can't she see it's written all over her face?' She sighed, deciding to spare the redhead from further humiliation. "Alright, say what you want," she said with a shrug. A playful wink appeared on her face. "I won't tell anyone, but you should."

The Cerulean Gym Leader watched as Melody trailed off towards the aquarium. She sighed with relief. Serenity entered her soul and helped her relax.

It had been a few years since the events at the Orange Islands. Things were so different and yet, some remained the same. She wondered if Melody was right to tell her she should reveal her secret. Her friendship with Ash remained the same. She wasn't ready to risk it all in hopes of romance. Misty couldn't bear the embarrassment if Ash rejected her. Not yet.

Misty knew she couldn't keep her secret forever. 'Someday', she thought to herself.

Bug

Ash was in the middle of a video call when he suddenly caught Misty with her eyes nearly bulging out. Her mouth was open but no words came from her. There wasn't anything in the world to describe how frightened she was. Guilt struck him hard.

It occurred to him she wasn't going to move a single body part anytime soon. He had to do something despite not being physically there.

"Misty, it's alright. I'm right here," he encouraged, glancing over at the Kakuna next to her. Its eyes were wide open, gazing at the terrified human. Like her, it did not move an inch.

"Ash?"

"Yeah?"

"Get this disgusting bug away from me. Now." Her voice was completely calm, and that was scaring Ash.

After what seemed to be hours, the Kakuna finally relocated with the help of Psyduck. Ash watched as the duck Pokemon carried the giant insect out of view. Once her Pokemon trailed away, Misty slowly sank until she was on the floor.

Ash gulped, hoping she didn't suffer a heart attack. He leaped, as if hoping to get a better view of Misty whether she was alright but the action proved to be useless. Was it possible for someone to die from fear? His face paled. "Uh, Misty? Misty?!"

"I'm fine, Ash," replied her voice with her hand waving at him. She was still on the floor, nowhere to be seen, but it was obvious she was going to be fine.

Psyduck jumped in front of the video call and gave Ash a thumbs up. Ash sank to his knees, for once, feeling relieved Psyduck was there.

Evidence

Once Misty was done with her daily gym duties, her older sister Daisy had alerted her there was something in the mail. Curious to know what it was, Misty strolled to the main lobby and stopped in her tracks.

There was a single sunflower with a tiny note attached to it. The flower was an exquisite golden hue of yellow, looking lively as ever. The young gym leader lowered her gaze, lips forming a small smile as she took in the scent. Satisfied, her delicate fingers gently took the note and rose it. It was evident he still cared for her, she presumed. Her aquamarine eyes softened at the words.

Heard you like sunflowers. Hope to see ya soon, Misty.

From then on, there were a series of sunflowers growing around the Cerulean Gym.

Gloves

Misty had taken the day off from her daily schedule, leaving Daisy in charge to her sister's despair. She wandered around the shops in downtown Cerulean City, hoping to find what she was looking for. After meandering long enough, she was starting to grow exhausted from searching.

She glanced above, noticing the clouds were beginning to cover the sun. She had nearly forgotten it would rain in the afternoon. There was no time to waste.

Gathering more energy, she continued to walk through the streets of Cerulean. She cursed at herself for waiting until the last moment to send him something. Misty knew the League was soon beginning in a couple of days. She had to repay him for the sunflower he sent her.

Sighing with frustration, the redhead leered her eyes over at something small and interesting at a small shop window. Misty sprinted right inside and instantly bought the item.

Later, she arrived home soaked from the thunderstorm. Daisy shook her head, giving her youngest sister a sympathetic smile. "I thought you left for good."

"I wouldn't do that," Misty countered, slightly insulted her sister had that thought. She shrugged her sister's words off, feeling relieved she managed to send Ash new gloves. Misty hoped he would use them to good use.

Jealously

All he could feel was frustration. Something about this wasn't quite right. He admitted he had no business to interfere with that. He wasn't going to lash out like he typically would when he was younger. Misty would get angry at him for ruining her chances. But still, this was hard to watch.

He couldn't understand why his stomach was turning flips. To make matters worse, she wasn't paying attention to him. Why did he have to come back anyway?

Misty was busy chattering with Rudy, the Trovita Island gym leader. Ash remembered their last encounter a long time ago. Rudy nearly succeeded to keep Misty for himself. Even though he turned out to be respectful at the end, Ash couldn't help and be wary of him.

Just then, Rudy left and Misty was now alone again. Ash noticed she was grinning at him, but there was something off about her. Her smiles would typically be natural and light-hearted, but this time it looked… devilish.

"You should have seen the look on your face," she smirked. "Is someone jealous?"

"Yeah, right! You must be dreaming," Ash retorted, crossing his arms.

Misty was not taking the bait. She had seen how Ash was glaring at the two. If there was anyone who knew jealously firsthand, it was her. She snorted. "You sure about that?"

Ash said nothing.

"I'm going out with him, Ash."

It almost looked like he had dropped his mouth from his face. How? What did Rudy have that he didn't? He had dashing good looks, cooked very well from Misty's account, is known to be a great dancer, and obviously liked her. He had a strange feeling Rudy was always a hit with the ladies. Even Brock could learn some tricks from him. He paused. 'No way.' He suddenly felt sick. Very sick.

"Just kidding," Misty grinned casually.

Ash narrowed his eyes at her, crossing his arms angrily. "I wouldn't have cared anyway."

"Sure, Ash."

Nervous

He couldn't fathom why he started to get nervous.

Life had lately given him new twists and turns with the biggest one having Misty as his girlfriend. Tonight was their first date. Part of him felt silly to call his closest male friends about being on a date with Misty. Being with her on a friend level was pretty easy but this was still new to him. 'What exactly are we supposed to do on a date anyway?'

Ash wasn't fond of being puzzled by something so simple and yet so complicated. Usually he was fine with anything life had thrown at him but this was completely unexpected. After being friends with Misty for so long, it felt a little strange to have their friendship reach this level.

"Hi, Ash!" a familiar voice greeted him.

Ash suddenly forgot about everything he was thinking and found himself grinning. He paused, realizing what she was wearing. It was a black dress with the skirt slightly above her knees. Not only that, but her hair was free from the usual hairband. It wasn't the fact that it was odd to see her wearing a dress. Ash had seen her in dresses before but this time they were going out with each other. It made things a little more awkward. "Is that a dress?"

Misty laughed. "What else could it be, dummy?"

"Uh, you look great," Ash quickly covered, noting he blurted out something ridiculous.

"You too, Ash."

"Should we?" He offered his hand to her.

"Shall we, Ash," Misty corrected, grinning as she returned the gesture.

"Oh, right."

Why was he making little mistakes like this? He suddenly understood Brock's antics better and felt sorry for his love-struck friend. But now he was suffering from it, too. He wondered if Misty was feeling the same. She seemed to be acting so normal. He wanted to ask her what was the secret of keeping cool on a first date, but didn't want to make a fool of himself. Ash figured it was all thanks to hormones or whatever the scientific term was; Ash was no genius. All of this thinking was making his brain hurt.

This was going to be a long night.

Home

The moment she stepped out of her car, she had to stop and stare. Granted, she was exhausted from teaching countless lectures at the Cerulean City Gym, but she welcomed the change of schedule. Hearing nothing but crickets chirping, she found herself staring at the house she and the Kanto Champion shared together. It was nothing extravagant like one would expect from two notable figures in their home region.

The cottage was small, looking slightly beat up from age but that could be easily fixed with some upgrades. There were a few trees adjacent of the house; on occasion, the trees would cover the house number which always confused new visitors. She made a mental note for that to be fixed first. People would often ask her if they intended to move into a better looking home, but to their shock she would politely turn down the idea. Regardless of its old appearance, it still had its charm.

She noticed the lights were on, knowing he was home. As she walked on the short trail leading to the entrance, a door opened with the silliest grin anyone could ever greet her with.

"Welcome back, Mist."

Hose

The backyard looked awful. If anyone (particularly grass type trainers or Delia) visited their home, one would stare in disapproval of how the flowers wilted in agony. Instead of the grass being a forest green hue, it looked like mold. They felt guilty for rejecting their backyard needs. The two glanced at each other and nodded, knowing exactly what to do.

After changing into old clothes, the duo set outside in search of the garden hose. Having water-type Pokemon would be helpful if they weren't at the lab or the gym. The redhead walked to one side of the house that had clearly been inhabited for a long while. She spotted the old garden hose and started to pull with all her might. To her confusion, it was hardly moving. She bent down, hands scanning for the source of the hose. Just then, a splash of water squirted out of the hose and wet her clothes.

He heard a small yelp from the other side, causing the raven haired trainer to wander where she was, and smiled apologetically. Unfortunately for him, she was armed with the hose at her disposal.

"Nice try, Ash," replied an eerie Misty, squirting him with the hose as the two set off on their childish chase.