By: Haley J. The Bat

Pairing(s): Ash/Misty

Summary: Misty is growing up, and Ash is noticing this with a lot of discomfort.

* * * * *

“Never mind! I’ll never try to be nice to you again!”

“That shouldn’t be too hard for you!” Ash snapped.

Misty glowered. Her fists clenched at her sides. “Ugh! That is it, Ash Ketchum! I don’t

care about my bike anymore - you’re obviously not man enough to live up to your promises.

I’m leaving. For good. As in I’m never, ever coming back!”

“Good. See if I care.”

“Oh, believe me - I’m not staying long enough to bother.” Misty stomped out of the

clearing.

Ash sighed heavily. His head hung low as he trudged back to the camp he, Misty, and Brock

had set up. Brock was slicing a loaf of bread and humming to himself. He looked up when he

heard Ash coming. “Did you get some firewood?”

“No.”

Brock looked over Ash’s shoulder, feeling suspicious. Not another fight. They hadn’t gone a

day in weeks without one. “Where’s Misty?”

Ash rolled his eyes. “She’s off pouting somewhere. She’ll be back before night - she didn’t

even bother to take her sleeping bag this time.”

Ash slumped down on a log and dropped his head into his hands.

“What was the fight about?” Brock asked, returning to slicing.

“Something stupid,” Ash muttered.

“Well, that’s nothing new.” Brock smiled at Ash. When the younger boy acted like he didn’t

even see, the smile quickly turned into a frown. “Sounds serious. Do you wanna talk about

it?”

“No . . . Yes . . . I-I don’t know.” Ash groaned. “It’s all my own stupid fault.”

Brock was shocked enough by this announcement to drop the knife he’d been holding. “Uh . .

. Ash? Are you feeling well?”

“No!”

“Yeah, I guess that’s pretty obvious.” Brock scratched the back of his head. “You’ve been

gone for a long time. Have you been fighting for that long?”

“We got into a Pokémon battle,” Ash replied.

Brock raised his eyebrows. “Really? Anything new?”

Ash shrugged. “Just a stupid Pidgeotto. It was at a pretty high level though.”

“What Pokémon did you use?”

“Pikachu. She scampered off when Misty and I started to fight.”

“Uh-huh. And what was the fight about again?”

Ash felt his cheeks grow hot. “I-I don’t know.”

Brock was surprised at the look on Ash’s face. He knew that look all too well himself. It

looked like the boy was having a lot of trouble, so Brock sat down nearby Ash. He patted

Ash’s shoulder briefly. “You can tell me, you know.”

“I know.” Ash sighed. He looked out into the forest blankly. “It’s really stupid.”

“I’m sure it’s not.”

Ash sighed again, louder. “It’s just . . . We thought that Pidgeotto was going to get us,

y’know? I mean, it used Fly on Pikachu, and I thought she was done for. But, of course, she

retaliated with an amazing Thunderbolt.” Ash smiled wistfully.

“The fight, Ash,” Brock interrupted firmly.

“Oh! Right!” Ash’s cheeks turned bright red again. He looked down at his shuffling feet.

“Well, when we won . . . Misty sort of . . . Just . . . Grabbed me . . . You . . . Know?”

“A hug?” Brock asked gently.

“Yeah,” Ash mumbled. He kicked the dirt hard and crossed his arms across his chest. “Have

you noticed how much Misty has changed?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Ash’s cheeks turned even redder. “I mean . . . she’s grown. A lot.”

Brock got it. He sat backwards with a contemplative look. “Hmm . . . I guess I have noticed,

but I never really thought about it. She’s more like a little sister to me.”

Ash looked very embarrassed at this. “I-yeah. I, um, know what you mean.” He shook his

head and rubbed his neck. “I used to think that too. Y’know, I mean, I never really thought

about it. It’s just that . . . I guess I thought I thought like that. Ya know?”

Brock raised his eyebrows again. “Not really. But go on.”

“Well, she hugged me, right? And . . . And I felt . . . I felt how she had changed.” Ash’s

whole face was red now.

“Wow,” Brock breathed. He hadn’t been expecting this.

“I know. And that’s not even the worst part about it.” Ash paused. “The-the worst part is

that I . . . I really liked how she felt. And-and I thought about how I-I wanted to--”

Brock held up a hand. “I get the point, Romeo. I’ve been there myself. Repeatedly, as a

matter of fact.”

Ash hung his head again. “I have to be the most awful guy on the planet,” he mumbled.

“Misty’s supposed to be my friend. I’m supposed to think about her like you do - like a

sister. What happened?”

Brock was dumfounded. “I’m really not the best person to talk to about this, but . . . I

think you might like Misty, Ash.”

“What?” Ash scoffed. “That’s ridiculous! She gets on my nerves ninety nine percent of the

time. And we’re always fighting.”

How was Brock supposed to say ‘unresolved sexual tension’ in a way that a fifteen-year-old

would understand and he himself wouldn’t gag? “Well . . . Sometimes when you spend a-a

long time with someone . . . You can start to feel things more than friendship for them

without even noticing the difference. This hasn’t really happened to me though.” Brock

frowned. “Maybe-maybe you and Misty have liked each other for awhile, but you were too

busy fighting to notice.”

Ash kept quiet for awhile. He studied the ground carefully. “Can I tell you something,

Brock?” he whispered.

“Of course.”

“That wasn’t the first time . . . Something like that . . . Happened,” Ash admitted. He began

blushing again. “I-um-things have been happening to me lately. Strange things. I-I wonder

things sometimes. And-and I had a dream about a month ago . . . And Misty was in it . . .

And--”

“Stop there!” Brock said quickly, his stomach feeling queasy. “I know all the signs Ash. It’s

just a natural part of becoming a teenager.”

Ash buried his face in his hands. “Well, when do these feelings go away? When can I think

about Misty normally again?”

Brock hesitated. “The truth is, Ash, that you might never think about her like that again.”

Ash moaned. He hit himself on the head. “What’s wrong with me?”

“Nothing.” Brock gritted his teeth. “Ash, like I’ve said, it’s completely natural. Especially

because Misty is the only girl you’re around most of the time.”

Ash’s head snapped up. “That’s it!” he cried out. “Thanks, Brock, you’ve made me feel a lot

better.”

“Wha-? Hold on a second, Ash. What did I help you with?”

“With my . . . Um . . . Problem,” Ash said, wording it delicately. “Y’see, I don’t really feel

about Misty that way. I just think I do because she’s the only girl around. Right? Gee, why

didn’t I think about that before?” Ash scratched the back of his head and laughed

nervously.

“Ash, I don’t think--”

The two boys were interrupted by heavy footsteps walking through the brush. A few

seconds later, Misty appeared with a handful of sticks and Togepi waddling behind her.

She huffed when she saw Ash. “I brought the sticks that you asked for, Brock,” she said

through gritted teeth.

Brock jumped up and took them from her. “Th-thank you,” he stuttered. He set them in the

middle of the circle of rocks he’d built. “I’ll just light this up right away. Heh heh.”

Misty looked suspiciously at Brock. Then her eyes settled on Ash. They narrowed into little

slits, and clicked her tongue in annoyance. “What are you looking at?”

“Nothing,” Ash said miserably. He looked back down at the ground.

* * * * *

A week and a half passed as the trio traveled through the forest. They were all at their wits ends when they finally reached the closest town. The first thing they did was check into a Pokémon Center with three separate rooms. Misty went inside of hers with the excuse of taking a nice, long bath.

Ash gritted his teeth as an image of Misty entered his mind. His heart pounded erratically, and he stomped into the lobby of the center. It was good that they were in town, and he would stay as long as he needed. He would see tons of girls his age. Girls probably ten times prettier than Misty. And he would release all of his pent up hormones. Then he and Misty could have a normal relationship again.

Ash flicked on the TV. He stared blankly at it for a little over fifteen minutes when Brock

came over to sit by him, the usual red tint across his cheeks. “That Nurse Joy.” He

chuckled to himself.

Ash was struck with a sudden thought. He jumped off the couch and marched right over to

the counter where Nurse Joy was sitting at. He leaned over it and watched her. She was

very pretty, there was no denying. He’d never really thought about it before. He smiled at

her when she turned around.

“May I help you? Do you have any more Pokéballs?” she chirped politely.

Ash felt a sinking feeling. “Uh-no. I-I just wanted to say thank you. Y’know, for the rooms

and stuff.”

“It’s my pleasure.” Nurse Joy gave him a big smile and went back to her computer. Chancy

waved cheerfully at him.

Ash’s shoulders tensed as he walked over to where Brock was sitting. He crossed his hands

across his chest spitefully and glared out the window. Ash was very confused. Why didn’t

he act like Brock did around Nurse Joy? Why didn’t he feel any of the Butterfrees that

he’d been feeling whenever Misty smiled at him lately? He sighed and rubbed his temples

furiously. “I’m never going to figure this out,” he groaned.

“What?” Brock cocked his head and looked at Ash as if he’d just noticed him for the first

time.

Ash shook his head. “Nothing.” He knew that Brock, while useful at times, wouldn’t listen

with half an ear if Ash wanted to talk to him now. He stood up and stuffed his hands in his

jeans. “I’m gonna go get something to eat.”

Brock turned his head to eye Nurse Joy again. “You go on,” he said distractedly.

Ash rolled his eyes and left the Poké Center. He trudged down the sidewalk slowly, kicking

the ground whenever he felt like it - which was quite often. He stopped outside of a busy

looking restaurant and peered through the window. There were plenty of girls inside.

Pretty girls, too. Ash smiled happily and quickly opened the door. He stepped inside and

stood at the doorway for a moment, surveying all of the people.

“Do you need help?”

Ash started. A pretty girl in a waitress uniform was looking at him expectantly. “Um. N-No.

Just trying to decide where to sit.” He smiled nervously.

“There’s a booth right over there.” She pointed in a corner, and Ash obediently walked

over to the table to sit down.

A few minutes later, a similar-looking waitress came to offer him a menu. Ash ordered a

sandwich with extra ketchup packets. When the food arrived, he stuffed the packages

into his coat pocket to give to Pikachu when she got out of the Pokémon Center.

Ash watched his waitress walk away and took a dejected bite of his hamburger. “It’s no

use,” he said to himself as he chewed. “I guess Brock was right. Maybe I really do like

Misty.” Ash took another glum bite of his food. It tasted like cardboard and settled like a

lump in his stomach.

* * * * *

They stayed in that town for another week before it was decided that they should move on. Ash avoided Misty at all costs, and she didn’t even seem to notice. For some reason, Ash found this infuriating. Probably for the same reason he kept thinking about her in a non-platonic way.

There was another small forest ahead of them, and the trio was halfway through it when it

started to get dark. Brock, as usual, sent Ash out to get firewood. Misty had gone to get

water. Brock began to prepare the food.

“Pika Pika Pi!” Pikachu announced delightedly, following Ash as he walked through the

forest. She picked up smaller sticks and hummed to herself.

“I wish I was that cheerful,” Ash muttered. He picked up a long branch and snapped it in

two.

“Chu?” Pikachu stopped and cocked her head to one side.

Ash stopped moving, too. He looked around him curiously. “What is it, Pikachu?”

“Chu!” Pikachu clapped her paws together. She dropped all of the sticks she’d been holding

and scampered off. Ash groaned and picked them up before racing after her.

“Pikachu! What are you doing?” he asked breathlessly as he ran after the yellow Pokémon.

His feet stumbled slightly when they reached a large bush. Pikachu had stopped running.

She was looking curiously to the side of the bush.

Ash groaned slightly. He got onto his knees and looked above the bush. What was Pikachu

do--Oh, God.

Ash felt his cheeks turn blood red. His eyes opened wide in his face, and his jaw dropped.

Was that Misty?

“Pi--”

Ash clasped a hand over his Pokémon’s mouth. “Shut it, or I put you in a Pokéball,” he

gritted out.

Pikachu looked mortally wounded. She clamped down on Ash’s hand, hard. Ash struggled not

to yell. He jerked his hand away from the Pokémon, and Pikachu went running. Ash

breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she was running away from Misty.

Ash slowly turned back around to watch Misty again. She was swimming . . . Naked. Ash’s

throat clenched. His heart was pounding unsteadily, and his stomach was doing somersaults.

His jaw was hanging loosely, and it felt very dry.

Misty sat up slightly, and the water pooled over the creamy skin on her chest. Ash nearly

cried out as a strange, very pleasant tightening feeling entered his groin. He was

mesmerized by the sight of Misty, and he couldn’t tear his eyes away for the life of him.

Misty lied backwards in the water and scrubbed at her scalp. Ash stood up a little bit to

better see her through the green branches. He was lucky she hadn’t spotted him before

then.

Ash didn’t know how long he watched her. It seemed an eternity for him when in actuality

it was probably mere minutes. Misty started to stand up in the water, and Ash was greeted

by the sight of a completely naked Misty standing with water gathering around her ankles.

She started to walk to the bank of the creek.

Ash gulped. He stayed on his hands in knees as he crawled away until he reached the cover

of the trees. Then he took off running. He didn’t stop until he was out of breath. He sat

down heavily on a log. His head fell into his hands as the image of Misty entered his mind

again. He felt that tightening feeling once more.

Ash looked down and his eyes widened. There was something . . . Oh. Oh, right. Ash closed

his eyes and fell backwards into the foliage. “This sucks,” he groaned, throwing a hand over

his eyes. “This really, really sucks.”

* * * * *

Ash spent another fifteen minutes moping. He finally gathered the energy to walk back to camp. He didn’t know if he could face Misty. And he’d pissed Pikachu off, too. Life was not treating him too well.

Ash entered the clearing they were staying at slowly. Brock was sitting by a fire, and

Misty was on her sleeping bag, brushing through her wet hair.

The thought of Misty in the pool nearly made . . . That thing . . . Happen to Ash again, but

he shut his eyes tightly and pushed the thought away. No, he couldn’t. He wouldn’t. Misty’d

kill him if she ever found out . . .

“Where’ve you been?” Brock asked, looking up. “I sent you out an hour ago. When Pikachu

came back, I started to get worried. She seemed grumpy, so I figured you just got in a

fight.”

“Y-Yeah,” Ash said dazedly.

“Did you even get any firewood?” Misty pointed out.

Ash glared at her. Mostly he was mad because she’d pointed out what an idiot he was. He’d

left all of the sticks he and Pikachu picked up by the creek. “I saw that Brock already had

a fire going and dropped them out . . . There.” Ash pointed in the direction he’d come from.

Misty raised her eyebrows doubtfully. “Right.” She began to twist her hair up into a

ponytail. “I think that you were out there daydreaming about becoming a Master for the

past hour. You probably yelled at poor Pikachu for trying to help.” She tossed a smile at

the yellow Pokémon resting on Ash’s sleeping bag.

Pikachu nodded. “Ka,” she replied. Her cheeks started to crackle when she looked at Ash.

Ash held his hand up. “Pikachu, no!”

It was too late. Ash felt the familiar feeling of being electrocuted. “Damn,” he muttered

to himself when he realized he was on the ground.

Misty was standing over him. “Serves you right,” she giggled.

Ash’s eyes widened. He had a perfect view right up . . . He jumped up and started to rub

the back of his neck furiously, his cheeks bright red. “Um . . . So . . . Yeah . . .”

Misty’s eyes narrowed. “What are you on about?”

Brock cleared his throat. “Dinner’s ready.”

“Dinner!” Ash practically leaped over to where the fire was to sit on the ground. “I’m just

hungry, that’s all.” He grabbed the bowl that Brock offered him and gulped down its

contents in a few seconds.

“Slow down, Ash,” Misty said, irritated, as she carefully sat down. Togepi came over to sit

in her lap and chirped in greeting to everyone.

“Aw, does my baby want some too?” Misty cooed. Togepi nodded, and Misty gave her

Pokémon a tiny sip.

Ash reached out for more of the soup, and Brock poured him some automatically. “Ah . . . I

love the life of a Pokémon trainer,” he sighed, drinking some of his own soup. “I love being

in a forest with only you, the Pokémon, and nature.”

“I can’t wait to get back into town,” Misty said. She laughed. “Although I don’t mind the

forest as much as I used to. It’s almost . . . Pleasant.”

“I just can’t wait to get another badge,” Ash said, his eyes glazing over slightly.

Misty sighed. “Is that all you ever think about, Ash?”

“No,” Ash said defensively. “I think about other stuff.”

“Like what?” Misty challenged.

Ash’s eyes widened. He certainly couldn’t tell her about that. He grunted. “Just stuff,

okay?”

“Whatever you say, Ash,” Misty laughed.

“Oh, shut up,” Ash said good-naturedly.

“You two seem to be getting along all right tonight,” Brock commented. He looked at the

surrounding trees. “Would you guys mind if I went for a stroll?”

“Go right ahead,” Misty said quickly. “You don’t get enough time to yourself, Brock.”

Brock quickly swallowed the rest of his dinner and stood up. “I’ll be back in a while, okay?

Don’t wait up if you get tired. I’ll be fine.”

“All right. See ya,” Ash called, waving as his friend disappeared through the trees.

Misty smiled at Ash when he turned around. “We are getting along fairly well tonight,” she

said pleasantly. She sat backwards on her elbows. “Of course, I’m still feeling relaxed

from our stay in town.”

“Um, yeah,” Ash said. He couldn’t seem to think of anything else to say to her. Especially

after what he’d seen earlier. He winced. He felt . . . Dirty. Why did he have to watch Misty

like that? His cheeks were flushing at the very memory.

Misty seemed not to notice. “Do you want to play a game?” she asked. She flopped onto her

belly and reached for her backpack to dig through it. “I think I have a deck of cards in

here . . . Somewhere.”

Ash’s mouth went dry. Her shorts were entirely too short. “Sure,” he squeaked. “Cards . . .

What fun.”

Misty sat back up with the box of cards in hand. She was frowning slightly. “You’ve been

acting awfully strange. Is something bothering you?”

Ash’s eyes widened. “No!”

Misty didn’t look convinced as she began to deal the cards. “You can talk to me, you know,

Ash. I know we don’t always get along, but I still consider you my best friend.”

“I don’t think I can to you about this,” Ash muttered under his breath.

Misty arched an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? Try me.” She smiled smugly.

“It’s . . . nothing.”

Pikachu scurried over. “Chu pika pi chu ka pi,” Pikachu announced, waving her little paws

between Ash and Misty.

Ash laughed nervously. “That’s right, Pikachu, Misty and I are playing a game.”

Pikachu glared at Ash. He gave her a pleading look. Pikachu sized him up, She decided that

Ash was just being dumb, so she settled on his shoulder to watch the game that was about

to unfold.

“Aw,” Misty giggled, “how cute.” She reached up to pat Pikachu on the head. “Okay, let’s

play now.”

Ash and Misty soon got into the game, and Ash’s competitive nature made him forget -

mostly - about what he’d seen earlier. They played for a good half hour before Ash finally

won.

Ash laughed joyously and stuck his arm in the air. Pikachu mimicked his move. “I won!” Ash

cried out. “Yes!”

Misty wrinkled her nose. “You don’t have to act so conceited,” she said, but the comment

was made half-heartedly.

“All right.” Ash rubbed his hands together. “Where’s my prize?”

“Your prize?” Misty’s eyes gleamed. “Oh, you want a prize, do you?”

“Well, yeah,” Ash said bluntly.

“All right, Ash Ketchum. I’ll give you your prize!” Misty leaned forward and began to tickle

Ash’s sides.

The move sent the two into a whirlwind of laughing, screeching, and tickling that went on

for several long minutes. The fight would have gone on longer, but it was brought abruptly

to an end when both seemed to realize at the same time what kind of a position they were

in.

Ash had his hands clamping Misty’s arms above her head and stretching her out in a half

circle over his chest. She was straddling his hips, rendering his legs useless. They both

were laughing cheerfully when their eyes met. Then everything ended abruptly.

Ash’s breath caught in his throat. He gulped dryly. Misty looked just as scared as he did.

Ash could feel her breasts brushing against his chest. Uh-oh, he managed to think as he

felt the now-familiar tightening. He closed his eyes and gulped again, just waiting for

Misty to start yelling.

She didn’t start yelling, but Ash heard her gasp. He figured that she’d felt . . . It . . . And

he let his hands slacken around hers. He expected her to leap away from him, but she still

stayed on top of him.

Ash opened on eye slowly. Misty was looking at him with shock. When she saw he was

looking at her, she struggled to speak. “Ash . . .”

“I’m sorry,” Ash said quickly. He sat up suddenly. Instead of throwing Misty off him, it just

brought them closer. He was sitting, and she was still straddling his hips. Ash’s heart began

beating hard again as his eyes took on a life of their own and stared directly at her lips.

Ash noticed that Misty’s breathing also seemed irregular. He could feel the heat radiating

off her, and he shut his eyes tightly. Where had all his confidence gone?

“Ash . . .”

This time Misty’s whisper sent shivers up Ash’s spine. He tightened his eyes as the feeling

in his groin intensified. Without thinking, or maybe with the wrong kind of thinking, Ash

leaned forward blindly. His nose bumped against Misty’s cheek.

Misty tilted her head. And then it happened. Her lips connected with his in a heated fusion.

At first they just stood still, their lips barely brushing. Then Misty let out a strangled

sound and wrapped her arms around Ash’s neck. Ash kept one hand on the ground

supporting him but used the other one to settle on the small of her back. As they moved

closer, their lips moved soundlessly. Then something happened that Ash could never have

imagined. Misty opened her lips against his, and he felt her tongue flick out. He groaned

loudly at the sensation. It was at this point that he lost it.

Ash kissed Misty like that for a long time, exploring with his lips as Misty ran her hands

along his back and through his hair. He was too afraid to do more but clutch her to him.

“Pika pika chu!”

Misty jumped at the sudden intrusion, and she fell backwards onto the ground in front of

Ash’s legs.

Ash and Misty looked up guiltily as Brock walked into the clearing, a small smile on his face.

“Hi, guys. What’s up?”

“Nothing!” Misty squeaked.

“Nothing,” Ash agreed. He was trying to figure out a way to get to his sleeping bag without

Brock noticing the evidence of their “nothing” jutting out of his pants. Ash groaned

inwardly. Why did he have to have this problem? Being a guy sucked. Big time.

Ash glanced at Misty, looking flushed and out of breath. A slow smile crawled up his lips.

Okay, maybe things didn’t suck that bad.