Manually Automatic
-------------------
For Justin, because he is the very best. Also for his birthday, because it's the
only one I remember, other than mine. So here is my small, pathetic attempt at a
present, since it's the best thing I can think of giving you. I would also try and
tell you how much you mean to me, but I can't; nothing seems descriptive enough.
So, you know, you're the greatest and everything. Sorry for the wimpy and belated
birthday present, I realize that a vacation to some tropical island would be much
more appriciated. Maybe next year. ^_^
-------------------
"Ash."
And, indeed, there he stood, laden with a backpack and suitcase.
"Brock didn't tell you?"
"I was expecting Brock."
"Yeah, well, I thought he told you."
"Obviously not."
Misty scowled slightly, leaning against the door as if she suspected she'd be
standing awhile.
"He called me a couple days ago. Apparently Joy wasn't too pleased with the idea
of him staying here with you for a month."
Ash still just stood there, not yet being invited in, the weight of the backpack
and his bag causing both shoulders to droop. The fact that Misty's cerulean blue
eyes kept surveying every inch of his body wasn't exactly helping either, and the
entire situation was becoming more and more uncomfortable.
"So...you've come here instead."
"Yeah."
"For a month."
"Yeah, I guess."
She said everything very plainly, as if stating simple facts, but she also wanted
an answer to each fact, as if they were to be backed up somehow.
"You should come in then."
"Yeah, probably."
Misty backed out of the way and Ash cautiously entered, his luggage becoming
heavier and heavier, but the fear of consequences for any sudden movements
prevented him from actually acting to correct the growing pains in his shoulders.
"Do you want the upstairs guest room or the downstairs one?"
"Uh, is there any difference?"
She pursed her lips and shifted her eyes from his figure to some pointless point
on the ceiling, apparently thinking.
"Actually, the downstairs one will be better since you'll get your own bathroom.
It's the one connected to the pool but there's a shower and everything."
Again Misty's eyes stared into him, and Ash subconsciously moved a hand up,
running it through his jet black hair out of nervousness.
"Sure. Sounds great."
An apprehensive grin flashed briefly across his face before Misty brushed past
him, apparently leading him to his room.
It was while following her that Ash was finally able to study her form and new
found attire a bit. Okay, so the attire hadn't really changed; the suspenders
were gone, but other than that the only real difference was the color of her
still-too-short tank top. It was now a dark navy blue. She basically had the same
body shape, still scrawny, just a bit taller. Ash also assumed that she now had
breasts of some kind, though he really couldn't tell from behind. He also really
did not want to think about that either since Misty seemed just a bit irritable.
There was also that whole not talking for four years bit. But just as he was
about to exercise his brain with thought on how and why this happened the few
yard stroll to his month-long residence ended, complete with a Misty, staring at
him vehemently, leaning against the doorframe, and yeah, she had breasts.
"You can unpack. I need to call Brock."
And then she left him, still heavily laden with bags, wondering if unpacking
would be such a good idea. It really didn't appear that he would be staying for
very long.
------------------------------
"You could have at least called!"
The kitchen counter made a perfect make-shift chair for Misty, sitting straight-
backed with her legs dangling off the end.
"Oh, I see, so Joy rules your life now."
She stuck a hand out behind her to lean against, but it just so happened to be
perfectly aimed for an old bowl of cereal full of the sticky milk and soggy flake
paste that had been brewed to perfection by a couple days time. Of course, she
quickly pulled the hand back out, observing the goopy substance now coating her
palm.
"Well I haven't seen or spoken to him since, well, forever, and then 'boom!' It
almost is like he's a stranger."
Not able to move because of the phone cord, Misty just sat, one hand holding the
phone, the other outstretched, palm up, unusable for the time being.
"Ah, just stop, I don't want to hear any more. Go have fun with Joy and stuff. I
have to wash my hands and take some seriously heavy medication."
With that she quickly hung up and slid off the counter. The sticky cereal
substance was removed easily with soap and water, and after that Misty began
opening every cupboard and every drawer in search of her heavy medication. However,
this search wasn't going as planned, and after throwing a pizza cutter and
garlic press out of the last drawer she turned, only to find Ash standing in the
kitchen doorway, eyebrows raised, a lopsided grin trying to form.
"Is something wrong?"
Still furious, Misty shoved the hair out of her eyes, "Only my sisters, leaving
me with the gym for an entire month while they vacation in Portavista. Only Brock,
failing to tell me he couldn't show up. And, and...you."
She threw her hands up, placing them on her hips as they fell. Then, after a
brief pause in which the scruffy-looking and highly confused Ash stared directly
into the flustered-looking and highly irritable Misty's eyes, everything was
revealed.
"And I don't have any chocolate!"
------------------------------
Now laden with a grocery sack full of pure chocolate -- chocolate ice cream,
chocolate bars, chocolate cookies, hot chocolate, chocolate brownies, chocolate
truffles and chocolate milk -- Ash again came stumbling in Misty's front door,
following Misty herself who was happily holding a neatly packaged, quite decedent
chocolate cake.
But Misty didn't lead Ash to the kitchen. Instead she stopped in front of the
couch, took the bag from him, and plunked it down on the coffee table right
beside her prized chocolate cake.
Ash just stood there, tempted to sit down as Misty darted off to the kitchen,
returning seconds later with a handful of spoons, forks, and knives. It was only
after she sat down on the well-worn couch, settling back with a spoon and pint
of Triple Chocolate Death ice cream that Ash finally, cautiously, sat down on
the other side of the couch.
"So.." Misty started, mouth melting the ice cream she was savoring, "You'll need
to borrow some of my water Pokemon so you can battle for the gym. We are
supposed to specialize in water Pokemon after all."
Hand delving down inside the grocery sack, Ash finally found the bag of cookies
and removed it, fumbling with the packaging as he answered, looking at the side
of her face, "I know, that's why I caught two water Pokemon a couple weeks ago."
He had to pause to look down at what he was doing, which resulted in an open
package and three cookies flying into his lap.
"Uh...yeah. They're not the best yet, but I've been training them since I
captured them. The Shellder I caught just evolved into a Cloyster, and Corsola
knows recover so it's pretty good too."
Though Misty was listening she was also rapidly shoving heaping spoonfuls of ice
cream into her mouth. Ash, still walking on nails in her presence, wasn't sure if
this was a good sign or a bad sign, so he decided that instead of pondering this
over he'd just shut up. With nothing else to do, Ash removed one of the cookies
from his lap and proceeded to eat it.
Still not pausing to speak properly, or really acknowledge Ash's presence by
looking at him, Misty said to no one in particular, "Well, Brock had been
planning to just borrow some Pokemon, but I guess I don't have to worry about
that now."
And with that said, both plunged into a very awkward silence. Well, it wasn't
totally silent because Misty kept shoveling the ice cream in and Ash finished
off the cookies in his lap. He then proceeded to flick the remaining crumbs off
his rather grungy looking pair of jeans.
A couple minutes passed and the silence still continued, Ash almost leaping up in
fright when Misty pounded the nearly empty pint of ice cream back on the table. He
watched carefully as she opened the cake container, slicing a rather large piece
off and picking it up with her bare hands.
But then there was the slightest pause, and she turned, actually looking him in
the face as she spoke, "Did you want some?"
"Sure."
The hand with the chocolate cake stretched towards him, and when he extended his
own hand she deposited the sticky dessert into his palm. Misty sliced another
piece for herself and the silence continued as they ate and then licked the
remaining frosting off their palms, still sitting at entirely opposite ends of
the couch, still not really looking at each other.
"I'm going to bed."
Misty wandered upstairs, pulling the ponytail out and shaking her hair free as she
ascended the steps. Once she was out of sight Ash decided that sleep wasn't really
that bad of an idea and found his way back to his room, finally unpacking before
crawling into bed.
------------------------------
A series of sharp knocks punctuated Ash's dream, his eyes flinging open, brain
barely functioning enough to fully understand Misty's words.
"You can't sleep in you know. You'll be battling in the mornings."
She retreated from his bedroom door into the kitchen, finding it odd that she knew
he was fully awake without actually seeing him wake up. He never really was that
heavy of a sleeper...but why on earth did she remember that?
Slicing off a good-sized piece of chocolate cake for breakfast she placed it on a
plate this time and ate it with a fork, sipping her cup of hot tea while scanning
headlines on the day's newspaper.
Ash walked in just as she finished off the cake, wearing an apparently different
pair of ultra-worn jeans and black tee shirt. It was obvious why the almost
unrecognizable league hat was gone; his long scraggly black hair was still damp
from being in the shower, and it didn't appear he had bothered to even think
about brushing it. His face still looked dirty though, and the reason was just
now apparent; he hadn't shaved in awhile.
Misty looked away from him quickly and pretended to be interested in one of the
blaring headlines, speaking to him in bland tones that sounded more like a
recording than anything else.
"I have some things to drop off and mail along with grocery shopping to do. I
probably won't be back until the afternoon, but you know how how gym battles
work. I'll take over once I get back."
Finishing off her tea, Misty brushed by Ash to get out of the kitchen and was
soon out the front door.
"Okay."
Ash spoke to the walls only, he knew this, but did it anyway, wanting to make
sure his voice still worked. That unstoppable confidence of a ten year old boy
had worn down with time; so much, in fact, that even speaking to this
frightening, confusing, yet intriguing red-haired woman was near impossible.
However, Pokemon battles he knew, to a degree, and that's all he had to worry
about for the next few hours. That and his empty stomach.
After opening nearly all the kitchen cupboards he finally found a shelf lines
with cereal boxes. He pulled down a box, finding it oddly light. After opening
the top and peering inside the reason for this became clear; a few crumbs and
cereal dust lined the bottom of the container, none of it really suitable to eat.
He tried every box, but each one revealed the same thing. He wondered why,
exactly, someone would put cardboard boxes filled with nothing but air and a few
tablespoons of crumbs back on the shelf. For looks, perhaps? Ash wasn't quite
sure.
After a bit more exploring his efforts produced half a loaf of stale whole wheat
bread, a jar of peanut butter, a can of crushed pineapple, one slightly moldy
piece of cheese pizza and half a chocolate cake.
Chocolate cake it was.
Ash was also endlessly grateful that Misty had mentioned grocery shopping. She
may be able to live on chocolate alone, but Ash could not survive without at
least three full meals a day, not including the various snacks and pre-meal
meals he was normally used to.
Satiated for the time being, and quickly tiring of chocolate, Ash began the long
morning of battling overconfident children, finding it odd to be the 'gym leader'
instead of the prepubescent challenger.
------------------------------
Misty returned, making numerous trips to bring in all the groceries she had
recently purchased, only to find Ash slouched defeatedly on one of the kitchen
chairs. Fear really didn't matter so much anymore to him at the moment, so he
actually initiated conversation with her.
"I need food."
Well, if that was considered conversation.
"What do you think I've been bringing in?"
Ash blinked, his eyes glassed over out of hunger or exhaustion, or something.
"Lots of paper bags."
Slamming the last bag down on the counter, she glared at him.
"Dumbass. Were there many challengers?"
"Yeah."
Ash stood up with what looked like a lot of effort and went to peek into the bags.
The first thing non-chocolate and edible that he saw was a loaf of wheat bread,
so he yanked it out, found the jar of peanut butter again, and began making a
half dozen peanut butter sandwiches.
"You want some jelly or something?" The idea of that many one-filling sandwiches
made Misty just a little bit queasy.
"Nah, this is great." He finished spreading a quarter-inch thick layer of peanut
butter on his sixth sandwich, looking up and meeting Misty's eyes as he licked
the knife.
She just blinked, wondering why her stomach felt even more tangly, though the
thought of raw peanut butter was now causing her to salivate.
"I...need to go change. And open the gym again. Yeah."
Ash turned the knife over to lick the other side clean just before Misty turned,
almost running upstairs to her room.
------------------------------
Something was seriously wrong, because unless Misty was entirely mistaken, her
craving had not been for peanut butter from the jar, but for his mouth, and the
peanuty taste that was sure to accompany it. She was actually tempted to kiss
that Ash person, who was practically a stranger now and looked as if he'd just
been drug out of bed fully clothed.
She'd always liked him and stuff when they traveled together all that time, but,
whoa, this was entirely different. Shivering and trying to put the event out of
her mind Misty chose her one-piece swimsuit instead of the two-piece one she
typically wore, quickly changing into it and fastening her belt and three
Pokeballs around her waist.
Deciding that avoiding Ash was probably the safest and most logical solution,
Misty went outside, traveling around the front of the gym to open the doors to
the pool area. Brock would have to beg, groveling on hands and knees, if he
wanted Misty to ever acknowledge his presence again.
------------------------------
It was difficult, avoiding someone who was staying in your house. Misty found this
out not three hours after she decided that avoidance was on the adjenda, and was
trying to surreptitiously sneak into the kitchen to snag something for dinner.
No one was there, to her great relief. However, she soon noticed that the seven
bags of groceries were also no longer on the table. Actually, nothing was on the
table; no dirty dishes, no empty Ibuprophen bottles and rotten fruit. Misty
quickly opened all the cupboards, only to find all the food put away, dishes
cleaned and back where they belonged.
At first she was surprised, then she felt confused, and then anger set in. She
couldn't make herself do anything but just stand there, teeth clenched, leaning
against the kitchen counter. This was not Ash, so what was he thinking? Trying to
impress her, act like Brock? First of all, there wouldn't be any point in
impressing her, since she wasn't really impressed by anything; she just was, and
she just observed things and hated things, and-
"I was bored."
And now he had no shirt on, and he was standing there, in the kitchen doorway, and
dammit, she was supposed to be avoiding him.
Misty spoke slowly, putting unusual emphasis on every word, "So you cleaned the
kitchen?"
Ash had been lounging on the couch with some seriously caffinated soda, watching
TV, when he heard the peculiar banging noise of many kitchen cupboards being
thrown open. Though the logical side of his brain told him to stay there,
minding his own business without speaking unless food was needed, he couldn't
help but wonder if a burglar had broken in and was now ransacking the kitchen. He
would catch all kinds of hell from Misty if he allowed that to happen, so Mr.
Ketchum had decided to at least see what was going on.
He now knew that this was a bad idea, and that the logical side of his brain
should be rewarded with a cookie for being so, well, logical. But, the sight of
Misty in a swimsuit complete with belt hanging on her hips and a seriously
piercing gaze was not helping any part of his brain function properly. Therefore
only one thought kept running through his head: I don't want to die. Best tread
lightly.
"Yeah."
"For no reason?"
"Well, I was bored."
Misty was trying to still be angry, and was attempting to glare at him forcefully,
but instead of meeting his eyes she kept accidentally glaring at his chest. As a
result she was quickly forgetting why she needed to be angry in the first place
and began developing a craving for peanut butter.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I remember being bored."
A small pause inadvertently closed the kitchen conversation, as Misty now stopped
trying to be angry and proceeded to find something to eat. Her brain cleared just
enough for her to bark out meaningful, interrogating questions again.
"Where is your shirt?"
"Uh, in the living room." Ash slipped silently into one of the kitchen chairs.
"Why?"
"I was watching TV."
Yanking a fork out of a drawer Misty proceeded to punch way too many holes in the
plastic coating over a frozen dinner.
"You watch TV with your shirt off?"
"It's comfortable. You battle in your swimsuit?"
Just as the question was out of his mouth, Ash immediately regretted it. Oh please
just let it be a quick death.
The fork stuck upright in the still-frozen meal, almost replicating a tombstone as
Misty turned her head and blinked, "It's comfortable."
For a moment Ash found it hard to breathe, unconsciously still holding his breath
for what he still thought would be impending doom. But after Misty calmly removed
her dinner from the microwave, and calmly sat at the exact opposite end of the
table, eating silently, he realized that she was not going to bash his skull in.
In fact, she didn't even seem mad.
------------------------------
But apparently she was mad, since for the remainder of the week every day had the
exact same curious rhythm. Misty only spoke to Ash briefly and bluntly, and he
always replied very succinctly, not daring to ask her another question again. He
went about his needed business, neither seeking nor avoiding her company, though
it was the odd sensation of two repelling magnets that made him suspicious of her
being angry at him.
Misty, however, was not exactly angry at him, though she tried to be on numerous
occasions. She was merely avoiding him with all her energy, trying to make any
excuse to leave the house with him still in it. Peanut butter, bread, knives,
swimsuits, and black tee shirts were also to be avoided at all costs. The month
would end, her three sisters would be maimed, and life would return to normal.
------------------------------
If this month had been any other of the eleven ones it could have been, exactly
that would have happened; nothing. But, alas, this month was special, for it was
the month of Ash's birth. Misty knew of his birthday, and had always found it
odd that she remembered it even better than her own on most occasions. However,
she acted surprised when he cautiously told her that he would be having dinner
with his mother that evening; a birthday dinner.
"Today is your birthday?"
"Yes."
"Oh, well, happy birthday then."
Ash thanked her meekly before returning all attention to his cereal. His birthday
was also the day that they met, but he didn't dare mention that fact, for fear of
what conversation may arise from it. He had managed to stay on her neutral side,
and wanted to keep it that way. Misty had also been succeeding with her avoidance
tactic, though the occasional sight of his jacket slung across a chair, or his
toothbrush in the downstairs bathroom constantly reminded her of his presence.
And Delia could not be avoided.
------------------------------
"Misty! I haven't seen you in ages; my, yes, you've grown into quite the young
woman."
Quickly embraced then pushed away at arms length to be examined Misty smiled
apprehensively, "Thanks Mrs. Ketchum."
"Oh please, just call me Delia."
She then pulled Ash into a loving hug, acting as if she hadn't seen him in months,
when in reality it had only been one week. This particular encounter didn't look
much like a mother and son anymore, since Ash was now significantly taller, and
though he had actually shaved and put on a nice pair of jeans and a completely
whole navy blue tee shirt, the scruffy state of his hair still kept up the
haphazard look.
"Time just goes too fast. You're all grown up now."
By the slightly glassy look of Delia's eyes, Misty could tell that she was
withholding tears, and her intrusion on the peculiar birthday reunion also became
apparent, "I'm gonna go make myself some dinner. You two have fun."
"But Misty, you have to come too! I insist."
------------------------------
She also insisted that Misty sit next to Ash, instead of across from him like she
always did, staying far away. Delia wore a seemingly constant smile, thrilled with
everyone and everything, it would seem.
"I bet you two have been having fun, finally meeting up after all this time."
Again, the apprehensive smile creeped onto Misty's face, and though she was
curious about Ash's expression, she didn't have the nerve to look at him.
Swallowing quickly Misty finally replied, "It's been nice having the help."
"Glad to hear it. I know he's always a great help to me at home, when not training
that is."
Ash shifted uncomfortably in his chair, not liking where the conversation was
leading, or the way it seemed to be running off without him.
"Oh, but he can't be training that much."
"Actually no Misty, Ash trains nearly all day."
Now becoming confused and intrigued, Misty began to prod information out of Delia.
"But why?"
"More than anything he wants to take his place back as champion, isn't that right
Ash?"
Now in the spotlight with both his mother's and Misty's eyes boring into him Ash
ran a hand shakily through his hair, "Yeah, uh, I'd like to, eventually."
"Wait a second, Ash was champion?" Not only was she surprised, but suddenly
increasingly aware of his presence right next to her.
"Well, it wasn't for very long," Delia began to explain, "Not hours after he won,
Gary came to challenge him and won. Ash was crushed, and has been trying to win
back his place ever since. I thought he would have told you though."
Well, the two of them hadn't exactly been speaking, it was no wonder she didn't
know anything about him. But this did explain the rather decrepit look and lack of
self esteem.
"Excuse me."
Ash stood up, leaving the table for what appeared to be the restroom.
------------------------------
The remainder of dinner had been mostly silent, Delia prodding the two of them for
pointless information, finding out Misty's future plans, asking about her sister's
health, etcetera. It was only when she left, when the both of them sat down next
to each other on the couch in almost complete blackness that what could be
considered a true conversation occurred between them.
"You've been really busy then?"
Leave it to Misty to initiate the conversation.
"Yeah."
"Can't you say anything more than 'yeah'?"
"I can, I just don't see any reason to." He looked away, rubbing the back of his
neck slowly.
Also leave it up to Misty to initiate contact. She pulled his hand away from his
neck, which caused him to look back at her, surprised.
"Well, for one, 'yeah' says practically nothing; it doesn't mean anything" There
was a reason for the avoidance; those brown eyes full of lost vigor tempted her
again, but she continued, "We did used to be friends."
"But not anymore."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean anything."
And then Misty smiled, truly, and Ash smiled back.
------------------------------
Not surprisingly, the next day was quite different. For one, Misty smiled,
greeting Ash in the morning and eating breakfast at the same time. Though he
looked as scruffy as he usually did, the impression of a smile on his face made
him look quite, well, handsome. But in a very odd sort of way, of course.
"When will you be back today?"
Ash still cringed slightly, afraid of some reprimand for asking the redhead a
question.
"Probably about noon, I'll bring back some lunch."
He stuffed another heaping spoonful of cereal into his mouth, nodding.
------------------------------
When Misty came back, at precisely noon, Ash was nowhere to be seen, even though
she knew he'd probably be starving by now. After calling through the house, she
finally searched the gym.
Ash, clad in his black swim trunks, continued swimming laps in the Olympic size
pool, apparently not aware of Misty's entrance.
Peanut butter; black; eyes; mouth. Misty gasped, turning and closing her eyes
quickly. How was she supposed to be the rational friend-like person if she kept
getting these inclinations to kiss him? They were uncalled for, and incredibly
random; the stupidest little 'yeah' from him, or the way his hair hung over his
eyes, would trigger the strange knot in her stomach.
This time, however, had been worse. For a brief moment she could picture it, the
two of them in the pool, and she just slid her hand up his arm, to his face,
pressing her lips and body into his.
"Oh, you're back."
Misty spun around, grinning nervously, "Yep, I have food too."
He wrapped a towel around his waist and headed for the kitchen, Misty following
dazedly behind.
Was this lust? It's not as if she would know. Loving him seemed a bit farfetched,
since, as she had told herself many times, he was practically a stranger. But a
stranger she knew for many, many years. Also, she found it strange that she was
never tempted to do anything but kiss him, that's it. In fact, the thought of any
more than that frightened her.
None of these thoughts resolved any of the confusion.
------------------------------
Ash began to feel fully comfortable after about three more days. Not only was
Misty present more of the time, but she wasn't glaring at him, and occasionally
even smiled. If he didn't doubt himself so much, he might have even assumed that
they were friends again. Either way, what he had thought would be a long, tedious,
dragging month began to zoom by.
This evening the two of them lay in the grass in the backyard, reading books and
taking a long-needed break from, well, everything.
But Ash had to break the silence, "I figured it out."
"What?"
Putting down her book and turning to the side to look at him, Misty raised an
eyebrow.
"I figured out how I can beat Gary."
"Hey, that's good."
"Yeah, I've just been getting the types all wrong, you see if I just-"
But Misty was no longer listening. He lay there, sideways in the grass, facing her,
babbling on happily about his new plan. Face dirty looking from the few days of
not shaving, black hair tangling with the wind, he smiled as he talked. And Misty
wanted to kiss him.
It was not the logical thing to do, she knew, but maybe he'd understand, maybe
he'd just think it was nothing and continue on babbling. She crawled closer, knees
turning a slight shade of green from the grass, and sat, looking over him as he
continued to talk.
And then came the impulsive stupidity. Misty leaned down, placing a hand beside
his head. His voice stopped, and she let herself fall on him, lips landing
directly on his. Quickly pulling away, afraid at what she had just allowed herself
to do, it was actually his hand that snagged her back into reality.
As Misty tried to escape he had cupped a hand around the back of her neck,
squinting up into her eyes, "What was that?"
Misty failed to notice the fact that he was completely calm and not angry, "I
really didn't mean...well, maybe I did, but I've just been wanting to. No,
actually, I was just tempted to, I didn't actually want to..."
"Hey, it's fine." Ash couldn't help but smile, both amused and honored at the same
time. She'd wanted to kiss him, but why? He certainly wasn't a prize, but, without
doubt, the ferocious redhead in front of him had kissed him, willingly.
Maybe the championship could wait, maybe he could try a bit of confidence again,
because suddenly he found that he wanted to kiss her.
"I just want my turn."
------------------------------
The phone rang annoyingly, as it was only capable of doing. It had been ringing
constantly ever since her sisters came home, since no one ever called her. But,
now, being the only one home at the time, she had to answer.
"Hello?"
"Misty?"
"Yes..."
"This is Ash, I just wanted to ask you something."
She laughed to herself, remembering the whole week in which he asked her only one
thing, "Okay."
"Will you marry me?"
So they talked more, so she actually acted on a few of those inclinations of hers,
but it didn't seem to warrant this, "What? No."
"Well not now, but later. I just want to know if I have a chance."
A strange happiness flooded through her as she laughed, "Actually, you're the only
one that does."
"Thanks."
"For what?"
"Not killing me."
"And why would I do that?"
"You are quite violent...always have been..."
"Hey, I never hit you once while you were here."
"That's just because you were trying to avoid me."
"I know, but still."
"You just didn't hit me because you thought you'd end up kissing me instead."
"Ah! Well...everything was just random and weird, but I still wouldn't have hit
you."
"Right."
----------
end story
----------
Hugs for Justin.
-------------------
For Justin, because he is the very best. Also for his birthday, because it's the
only one I remember, other than mine. So here is my small, pathetic attempt at a
present, since it's the best thing I can think of giving you. I would also try and
tell you how much you mean to me, but I can't; nothing seems descriptive enough.
So, you know, you're the greatest and everything. Sorry for the wimpy and belated
birthday present, I realize that a vacation to some tropical island would be much
more appriciated. Maybe next year. ^_^
-------------------
"Ash."
And, indeed, there he stood, laden with a backpack and suitcase.
"Brock didn't tell you?"
"I was expecting Brock."
"Yeah, well, I thought he told you."
"Obviously not."
Misty scowled slightly, leaning against the door as if she suspected she'd be
standing awhile.
"He called me a couple days ago. Apparently Joy wasn't too pleased with the idea
of him staying here with you for a month."
Ash still just stood there, not yet being invited in, the weight of the backpack
and his bag causing both shoulders to droop. The fact that Misty's cerulean blue
eyes kept surveying every inch of his body wasn't exactly helping either, and the
entire situation was becoming more and more uncomfortable.
"So...you've come here instead."
"Yeah."
"For a month."
"Yeah, I guess."
She said everything very plainly, as if stating simple facts, but she also wanted
an answer to each fact, as if they were to be backed up somehow.
"You should come in then."
"Yeah, probably."
Misty backed out of the way and Ash cautiously entered, his luggage becoming
heavier and heavier, but the fear of consequences for any sudden movements
prevented him from actually acting to correct the growing pains in his shoulders.
"Do you want the upstairs guest room or the downstairs one?"
"Uh, is there any difference?"
She pursed her lips and shifted her eyes from his figure to some pointless point
on the ceiling, apparently thinking.
"Actually, the downstairs one will be better since you'll get your own bathroom.
It's the one connected to the pool but there's a shower and everything."
Again Misty's eyes stared into him, and Ash subconsciously moved a hand up,
running it through his jet black hair out of nervousness.
"Sure. Sounds great."
An apprehensive grin flashed briefly across his face before Misty brushed past
him, apparently leading him to his room.
It was while following her that Ash was finally able to study her form and new
found attire a bit. Okay, so the attire hadn't really changed; the suspenders
were gone, but other than that the only real difference was the color of her
still-too-short tank top. It was now a dark navy blue. She basically had the same
body shape, still scrawny, just a bit taller. Ash also assumed that she now had
breasts of some kind, though he really couldn't tell from behind. He also really
did not want to think about that either since Misty seemed just a bit irritable.
There was also that whole not talking for four years bit. But just as he was
about to exercise his brain with thought on how and why this happened the few
yard stroll to his month-long residence ended, complete with a Misty, staring at
him vehemently, leaning against the doorframe, and yeah, she had breasts.
"You can unpack. I need to call Brock."
And then she left him, still heavily laden with bags, wondering if unpacking
would be such a good idea. It really didn't appear that he would be staying for
very long.
------------------------------
"You could have at least called!"
The kitchen counter made a perfect make-shift chair for Misty, sitting straight-
backed with her legs dangling off the end.
"Oh, I see, so Joy rules your life now."
She stuck a hand out behind her to lean against, but it just so happened to be
perfectly aimed for an old bowl of cereal full of the sticky milk and soggy flake
paste that had been brewed to perfection by a couple days time. Of course, she
quickly pulled the hand back out, observing the goopy substance now coating her
palm.
"Well I haven't seen or spoken to him since, well, forever, and then 'boom!' It
almost is like he's a stranger."
Not able to move because of the phone cord, Misty just sat, one hand holding the
phone, the other outstretched, palm up, unusable for the time being.
"Ah, just stop, I don't want to hear any more. Go have fun with Joy and stuff. I
have to wash my hands and take some seriously heavy medication."
With that she quickly hung up and slid off the counter. The sticky cereal
substance was removed easily with soap and water, and after that Misty began
opening every cupboard and every drawer in search of her heavy medication. However,
this search wasn't going as planned, and after throwing a pizza cutter and
garlic press out of the last drawer she turned, only to find Ash standing in the
kitchen doorway, eyebrows raised, a lopsided grin trying to form.
"Is something wrong?"
Still furious, Misty shoved the hair out of her eyes, "Only my sisters, leaving
me with the gym for an entire month while they vacation in Portavista. Only Brock,
failing to tell me he couldn't show up. And, and...you."
She threw her hands up, placing them on her hips as they fell. Then, after a
brief pause in which the scruffy-looking and highly confused Ash stared directly
into the flustered-looking and highly irritable Misty's eyes, everything was
revealed.
"And I don't have any chocolate!"
------------------------------
Now laden with a grocery sack full of pure chocolate -- chocolate ice cream,
chocolate bars, chocolate cookies, hot chocolate, chocolate brownies, chocolate
truffles and chocolate milk -- Ash again came stumbling in Misty's front door,
following Misty herself who was happily holding a neatly packaged, quite decedent
chocolate cake.
But Misty didn't lead Ash to the kitchen. Instead she stopped in front of the
couch, took the bag from him, and plunked it down on the coffee table right
beside her prized chocolate cake.
Ash just stood there, tempted to sit down as Misty darted off to the kitchen,
returning seconds later with a handful of spoons, forks, and knives. It was only
after she sat down on the well-worn couch, settling back with a spoon and pint
of Triple Chocolate Death ice cream that Ash finally, cautiously, sat down on
the other side of the couch.
"So.." Misty started, mouth melting the ice cream she was savoring, "You'll need
to borrow some of my water Pokemon so you can battle for the gym. We are
supposed to specialize in water Pokemon after all."
Hand delving down inside the grocery sack, Ash finally found the bag of cookies
and removed it, fumbling with the packaging as he answered, looking at the side
of her face, "I know, that's why I caught two water Pokemon a couple weeks ago."
He had to pause to look down at what he was doing, which resulted in an open
package and three cookies flying into his lap.
"Uh...yeah. They're not the best yet, but I've been training them since I
captured them. The Shellder I caught just evolved into a Cloyster, and Corsola
knows recover so it's pretty good too."
Though Misty was listening she was also rapidly shoving heaping spoonfuls of ice
cream into her mouth. Ash, still walking on nails in her presence, wasn't sure if
this was a good sign or a bad sign, so he decided that instead of pondering this
over he'd just shut up. With nothing else to do, Ash removed one of the cookies
from his lap and proceeded to eat it.
Still not pausing to speak properly, or really acknowledge Ash's presence by
looking at him, Misty said to no one in particular, "Well, Brock had been
planning to just borrow some Pokemon, but I guess I don't have to worry about
that now."
And with that said, both plunged into a very awkward silence. Well, it wasn't
totally silent because Misty kept shoveling the ice cream in and Ash finished
off the cookies in his lap. He then proceeded to flick the remaining crumbs off
his rather grungy looking pair of jeans.
A couple minutes passed and the silence still continued, Ash almost leaping up in
fright when Misty pounded the nearly empty pint of ice cream back on the table. He
watched carefully as she opened the cake container, slicing a rather large piece
off and picking it up with her bare hands.
But then there was the slightest pause, and she turned, actually looking him in
the face as she spoke, "Did you want some?"
"Sure."
The hand with the chocolate cake stretched towards him, and when he extended his
own hand she deposited the sticky dessert into his palm. Misty sliced another
piece for herself and the silence continued as they ate and then licked the
remaining frosting off their palms, still sitting at entirely opposite ends of
the couch, still not really looking at each other.
"I'm going to bed."
Misty wandered upstairs, pulling the ponytail out and shaking her hair free as she
ascended the steps. Once she was out of sight Ash decided that sleep wasn't really
that bad of an idea and found his way back to his room, finally unpacking before
crawling into bed.
------------------------------
A series of sharp knocks punctuated Ash's dream, his eyes flinging open, brain
barely functioning enough to fully understand Misty's words.
"You can't sleep in you know. You'll be battling in the mornings."
She retreated from his bedroom door into the kitchen, finding it odd that she knew
he was fully awake without actually seeing him wake up. He never really was that
heavy of a sleeper...but why on earth did she remember that?
Slicing off a good-sized piece of chocolate cake for breakfast she placed it on a
plate this time and ate it with a fork, sipping her cup of hot tea while scanning
headlines on the day's newspaper.
Ash walked in just as she finished off the cake, wearing an apparently different
pair of ultra-worn jeans and black tee shirt. It was obvious why the almost
unrecognizable league hat was gone; his long scraggly black hair was still damp
from being in the shower, and it didn't appear he had bothered to even think
about brushing it. His face still looked dirty though, and the reason was just
now apparent; he hadn't shaved in awhile.
Misty looked away from him quickly and pretended to be interested in one of the
blaring headlines, speaking to him in bland tones that sounded more like a
recording than anything else.
"I have some things to drop off and mail along with grocery shopping to do. I
probably won't be back until the afternoon, but you know how how gym battles
work. I'll take over once I get back."
Finishing off her tea, Misty brushed by Ash to get out of the kitchen and was
soon out the front door.
"Okay."
Ash spoke to the walls only, he knew this, but did it anyway, wanting to make
sure his voice still worked. That unstoppable confidence of a ten year old boy
had worn down with time; so much, in fact, that even speaking to this
frightening, confusing, yet intriguing red-haired woman was near impossible.
However, Pokemon battles he knew, to a degree, and that's all he had to worry
about for the next few hours. That and his empty stomach.
After opening nearly all the kitchen cupboards he finally found a shelf lines
with cereal boxes. He pulled down a box, finding it oddly light. After opening
the top and peering inside the reason for this became clear; a few crumbs and
cereal dust lined the bottom of the container, none of it really suitable to eat.
He tried every box, but each one revealed the same thing. He wondered why,
exactly, someone would put cardboard boxes filled with nothing but air and a few
tablespoons of crumbs back on the shelf. For looks, perhaps? Ash wasn't quite
sure.
After a bit more exploring his efforts produced half a loaf of stale whole wheat
bread, a jar of peanut butter, a can of crushed pineapple, one slightly moldy
piece of cheese pizza and half a chocolate cake.
Chocolate cake it was.
Ash was also endlessly grateful that Misty had mentioned grocery shopping. She
may be able to live on chocolate alone, but Ash could not survive without at
least three full meals a day, not including the various snacks and pre-meal
meals he was normally used to.
Satiated for the time being, and quickly tiring of chocolate, Ash began the long
morning of battling overconfident children, finding it odd to be the 'gym leader'
instead of the prepubescent challenger.
------------------------------
Misty returned, making numerous trips to bring in all the groceries she had
recently purchased, only to find Ash slouched defeatedly on one of the kitchen
chairs. Fear really didn't matter so much anymore to him at the moment, so he
actually initiated conversation with her.
"I need food."
Well, if that was considered conversation.
"What do you think I've been bringing in?"
Ash blinked, his eyes glassed over out of hunger or exhaustion, or something.
"Lots of paper bags."
Slamming the last bag down on the counter, she glared at him.
"Dumbass. Were there many challengers?"
"Yeah."
Ash stood up with what looked like a lot of effort and went to peek into the bags.
The first thing non-chocolate and edible that he saw was a loaf of wheat bread,
so he yanked it out, found the jar of peanut butter again, and began making a
half dozen peanut butter sandwiches.
"You want some jelly or something?" The idea of that many one-filling sandwiches
made Misty just a little bit queasy.
"Nah, this is great." He finished spreading a quarter-inch thick layer of peanut
butter on his sixth sandwich, looking up and meeting Misty's eyes as he licked
the knife.
She just blinked, wondering why her stomach felt even more tangly, though the
thought of raw peanut butter was now causing her to salivate.
"I...need to go change. And open the gym again. Yeah."
Ash turned the knife over to lick the other side clean just before Misty turned,
almost running upstairs to her room.
------------------------------
Something was seriously wrong, because unless Misty was entirely mistaken, her
craving had not been for peanut butter from the jar, but for his mouth, and the
peanuty taste that was sure to accompany it. She was actually tempted to kiss
that Ash person, who was practically a stranger now and looked as if he'd just
been drug out of bed fully clothed.
She'd always liked him and stuff when they traveled together all that time, but,
whoa, this was entirely different. Shivering and trying to put the event out of
her mind Misty chose her one-piece swimsuit instead of the two-piece one she
typically wore, quickly changing into it and fastening her belt and three
Pokeballs around her waist.
Deciding that avoiding Ash was probably the safest and most logical solution,
Misty went outside, traveling around the front of the gym to open the doors to
the pool area. Brock would have to beg, groveling on hands and knees, if he
wanted Misty to ever acknowledge his presence again.
------------------------------
It was difficult, avoiding someone who was staying in your house. Misty found this
out not three hours after she decided that avoidance was on the adjenda, and was
trying to surreptitiously sneak into the kitchen to snag something for dinner.
No one was there, to her great relief. However, she soon noticed that the seven
bags of groceries were also no longer on the table. Actually, nothing was on the
table; no dirty dishes, no empty Ibuprophen bottles and rotten fruit. Misty
quickly opened all the cupboards, only to find all the food put away, dishes
cleaned and back where they belonged.
At first she was surprised, then she felt confused, and then anger set in. She
couldn't make herself do anything but just stand there, teeth clenched, leaning
against the kitchen counter. This was not Ash, so what was he thinking? Trying to
impress her, act like Brock? First of all, there wouldn't be any point in
impressing her, since she wasn't really impressed by anything; she just was, and
she just observed things and hated things, and-
"I was bored."
And now he had no shirt on, and he was standing there, in the kitchen doorway, and
dammit, she was supposed to be avoiding him.
Misty spoke slowly, putting unusual emphasis on every word, "So you cleaned the
kitchen?"
Ash had been lounging on the couch with some seriously caffinated soda, watching
TV, when he heard the peculiar banging noise of many kitchen cupboards being
thrown open. Though the logical side of his brain told him to stay there,
minding his own business without speaking unless food was needed, he couldn't
help but wonder if a burglar had broken in and was now ransacking the kitchen. He
would catch all kinds of hell from Misty if he allowed that to happen, so Mr.
Ketchum had decided to at least see what was going on.
He now knew that this was a bad idea, and that the logical side of his brain
should be rewarded with a cookie for being so, well, logical. But, the sight of
Misty in a swimsuit complete with belt hanging on her hips and a seriously
piercing gaze was not helping any part of his brain function properly. Therefore
only one thought kept running through his head: I don't want to die. Best tread
lightly.
"Yeah."
"For no reason?"
"Well, I was bored."
Misty was trying to still be angry, and was attempting to glare at him forcefully,
but instead of meeting his eyes she kept accidentally glaring at his chest. As a
result she was quickly forgetting why she needed to be angry in the first place
and began developing a craving for peanut butter.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I remember being bored."
A small pause inadvertently closed the kitchen conversation, as Misty now stopped
trying to be angry and proceeded to find something to eat. Her brain cleared just
enough for her to bark out meaningful, interrogating questions again.
"Where is your shirt?"
"Uh, in the living room." Ash slipped silently into one of the kitchen chairs.
"Why?"
"I was watching TV."
Yanking a fork out of a drawer Misty proceeded to punch way too many holes in the
plastic coating over a frozen dinner.
"You watch TV with your shirt off?"
"It's comfortable. You battle in your swimsuit?"
Just as the question was out of his mouth, Ash immediately regretted it. Oh please
just let it be a quick death.
The fork stuck upright in the still-frozen meal, almost replicating a tombstone as
Misty turned her head and blinked, "It's comfortable."
For a moment Ash found it hard to breathe, unconsciously still holding his breath
for what he still thought would be impending doom. But after Misty calmly removed
her dinner from the microwave, and calmly sat at the exact opposite end of the
table, eating silently, he realized that she was not going to bash his skull in.
In fact, she didn't even seem mad.
------------------------------
But apparently she was mad, since for the remainder of the week every day had the
exact same curious rhythm. Misty only spoke to Ash briefly and bluntly, and he
always replied very succinctly, not daring to ask her another question again. He
went about his needed business, neither seeking nor avoiding her company, though
it was the odd sensation of two repelling magnets that made him suspicious of her
being angry at him.
Misty, however, was not exactly angry at him, though she tried to be on numerous
occasions. She was merely avoiding him with all her energy, trying to make any
excuse to leave the house with him still in it. Peanut butter, bread, knives,
swimsuits, and black tee shirts were also to be avoided at all costs. The month
would end, her three sisters would be maimed, and life would return to normal.
------------------------------
If this month had been any other of the eleven ones it could have been, exactly
that would have happened; nothing. But, alas, this month was special, for it was
the month of Ash's birth. Misty knew of his birthday, and had always found it
odd that she remembered it even better than her own on most occasions. However,
she acted surprised when he cautiously told her that he would be having dinner
with his mother that evening; a birthday dinner.
"Today is your birthday?"
"Yes."
"Oh, well, happy birthday then."
Ash thanked her meekly before returning all attention to his cereal. His birthday
was also the day that they met, but he didn't dare mention that fact, for fear of
what conversation may arise from it. He had managed to stay on her neutral side,
and wanted to keep it that way. Misty had also been succeeding with her avoidance
tactic, though the occasional sight of his jacket slung across a chair, or his
toothbrush in the downstairs bathroom constantly reminded her of his presence.
And Delia could not be avoided.
------------------------------
"Misty! I haven't seen you in ages; my, yes, you've grown into quite the young
woman."
Quickly embraced then pushed away at arms length to be examined Misty smiled
apprehensively, "Thanks Mrs. Ketchum."
"Oh please, just call me Delia."
She then pulled Ash into a loving hug, acting as if she hadn't seen him in months,
when in reality it had only been one week. This particular encounter didn't look
much like a mother and son anymore, since Ash was now significantly taller, and
though he had actually shaved and put on a nice pair of jeans and a completely
whole navy blue tee shirt, the scruffy state of his hair still kept up the
haphazard look.
"Time just goes too fast. You're all grown up now."
By the slightly glassy look of Delia's eyes, Misty could tell that she was
withholding tears, and her intrusion on the peculiar birthday reunion also became
apparent, "I'm gonna go make myself some dinner. You two have fun."
"But Misty, you have to come too! I insist."
------------------------------
She also insisted that Misty sit next to Ash, instead of across from him like she
always did, staying far away. Delia wore a seemingly constant smile, thrilled with
everyone and everything, it would seem.
"I bet you two have been having fun, finally meeting up after all this time."
Again, the apprehensive smile creeped onto Misty's face, and though she was
curious about Ash's expression, she didn't have the nerve to look at him.
Swallowing quickly Misty finally replied, "It's been nice having the help."
"Glad to hear it. I know he's always a great help to me at home, when not training
that is."
Ash shifted uncomfortably in his chair, not liking where the conversation was
leading, or the way it seemed to be running off without him.
"Oh, but he can't be training that much."
"Actually no Misty, Ash trains nearly all day."
Now becoming confused and intrigued, Misty began to prod information out of Delia.
"But why?"
"More than anything he wants to take his place back as champion, isn't that right
Ash?"
Now in the spotlight with both his mother's and Misty's eyes boring into him Ash
ran a hand shakily through his hair, "Yeah, uh, I'd like to, eventually."
"Wait a second, Ash was champion?" Not only was she surprised, but suddenly
increasingly aware of his presence right next to her.
"Well, it wasn't for very long," Delia began to explain, "Not hours after he won,
Gary came to challenge him and won. Ash was crushed, and has been trying to win
back his place ever since. I thought he would have told you though."
Well, the two of them hadn't exactly been speaking, it was no wonder she didn't
know anything about him. But this did explain the rather decrepit look and lack of
self esteem.
"Excuse me."
Ash stood up, leaving the table for what appeared to be the restroom.
------------------------------
The remainder of dinner had been mostly silent, Delia prodding the two of them for
pointless information, finding out Misty's future plans, asking about her sister's
health, etcetera. It was only when she left, when the both of them sat down next
to each other on the couch in almost complete blackness that what could be
considered a true conversation occurred between them.
"You've been really busy then?"
Leave it to Misty to initiate the conversation.
"Yeah."
"Can't you say anything more than 'yeah'?"
"I can, I just don't see any reason to." He looked away, rubbing the back of his
neck slowly.
Also leave it up to Misty to initiate contact. She pulled his hand away from his
neck, which caused him to look back at her, surprised.
"Well, for one, 'yeah' says practically nothing; it doesn't mean anything" There
was a reason for the avoidance; those brown eyes full of lost vigor tempted her
again, but she continued, "We did used to be friends."
"But not anymore."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean anything."
And then Misty smiled, truly, and Ash smiled back.
------------------------------
Not surprisingly, the next day was quite different. For one, Misty smiled,
greeting Ash in the morning and eating breakfast at the same time. Though he
looked as scruffy as he usually did, the impression of a smile on his face made
him look quite, well, handsome. But in a very odd sort of way, of course.
"When will you be back today?"
Ash still cringed slightly, afraid of some reprimand for asking the redhead a
question.
"Probably about noon, I'll bring back some lunch."
He stuffed another heaping spoonful of cereal into his mouth, nodding.
------------------------------
When Misty came back, at precisely noon, Ash was nowhere to be seen, even though
she knew he'd probably be starving by now. After calling through the house, she
finally searched the gym.
Ash, clad in his black swim trunks, continued swimming laps in the Olympic size
pool, apparently not aware of Misty's entrance.
Peanut butter; black; eyes; mouth. Misty gasped, turning and closing her eyes
quickly. How was she supposed to be the rational friend-like person if she kept
getting these inclinations to kiss him? They were uncalled for, and incredibly
random; the stupidest little 'yeah' from him, or the way his hair hung over his
eyes, would trigger the strange knot in her stomach.
This time, however, had been worse. For a brief moment she could picture it, the
two of them in the pool, and she just slid her hand up his arm, to his face,
pressing her lips and body into his.
"Oh, you're back."
Misty spun around, grinning nervously, "Yep, I have food too."
He wrapped a towel around his waist and headed for the kitchen, Misty following
dazedly behind.
Was this lust? It's not as if she would know. Loving him seemed a bit farfetched,
since, as she had told herself many times, he was practically a stranger. But a
stranger she knew for many, many years. Also, she found it strange that she was
never tempted to do anything but kiss him, that's it. In fact, the thought of any
more than that frightened her.
None of these thoughts resolved any of the confusion.
------------------------------
Ash began to feel fully comfortable after about three more days. Not only was
Misty present more of the time, but she wasn't glaring at him, and occasionally
even smiled. If he didn't doubt himself so much, he might have even assumed that
they were friends again. Either way, what he had thought would be a long, tedious,
dragging month began to zoom by.
This evening the two of them lay in the grass in the backyard, reading books and
taking a long-needed break from, well, everything.
But Ash had to break the silence, "I figured it out."
"What?"
Putting down her book and turning to the side to look at him, Misty raised an
eyebrow.
"I figured out how I can beat Gary."
"Hey, that's good."
"Yeah, I've just been getting the types all wrong, you see if I just-"
But Misty was no longer listening. He lay there, sideways in the grass, facing her,
babbling on happily about his new plan. Face dirty looking from the few days of
not shaving, black hair tangling with the wind, he smiled as he talked. And Misty
wanted to kiss him.
It was not the logical thing to do, she knew, but maybe he'd understand, maybe
he'd just think it was nothing and continue on babbling. She crawled closer, knees
turning a slight shade of green from the grass, and sat, looking over him as he
continued to talk.
And then came the impulsive stupidity. Misty leaned down, placing a hand beside
his head. His voice stopped, and she let herself fall on him, lips landing
directly on his. Quickly pulling away, afraid at what she had just allowed herself
to do, it was actually his hand that snagged her back into reality.
As Misty tried to escape he had cupped a hand around the back of her neck,
squinting up into her eyes, "What was that?"
Misty failed to notice the fact that he was completely calm and not angry, "I
really didn't mean...well, maybe I did, but I've just been wanting to. No,
actually, I was just tempted to, I didn't actually want to..."
"Hey, it's fine." Ash couldn't help but smile, both amused and honored at the same
time. She'd wanted to kiss him, but why? He certainly wasn't a prize, but, without
doubt, the ferocious redhead in front of him had kissed him, willingly.
Maybe the championship could wait, maybe he could try a bit of confidence again,
because suddenly he found that he wanted to kiss her.
"I just want my turn."
------------------------------
The phone rang annoyingly, as it was only capable of doing. It had been ringing
constantly ever since her sisters came home, since no one ever called her. But,
now, being the only one home at the time, she had to answer.
"Hello?"
"Misty?"
"Yes..."
"This is Ash, I just wanted to ask you something."
She laughed to herself, remembering the whole week in which he asked her only one
thing, "Okay."
"Will you marry me?"
So they talked more, so she actually acted on a few of those inclinations of hers,
but it didn't seem to warrant this, "What? No."
"Well not now, but later. I just want to know if I have a chance."
A strange happiness flooded through her as she laughed, "Actually, you're the only
one that does."
"Thanks."
"For what?"
"Not killing me."
"And why would I do that?"
"You are quite violent...always have been..."
"Hey, I never hit you once while you were here."
"That's just because you were trying to avoid me."
"I know, but still."
"You just didn't hit me because you thought you'd end up kissing me instead."
"Ah! Well...everything was just random and weird, but I still wouldn't have hit
you."
"Right."
----------
end story
----------
Hugs for Justin.