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We’ll Make It Through
He didn’t realise where he was going until he got there. How could he do this? She was his best friend and had legitimately won her way into being part of the Elite Four of Kanto. He had to travel the region and win again, the ten year grace period had expired from when he first won the 8 badges. He had to challenge Daisy, who was much better than he’d expected, although he suspects Tracey being there was a catalyst for that.
When he won the League he knew he’d have to beat her to become champion. His dream. He needed to beat Sabrina, Koga, Bruno, Misty and Lance, who was arguably the greatest trainer of all time. He was glad she was the last of the Elite Four that he had to defeat before Lance.
It hadn’t made it easier when he did actually beat her though. And then Lance. He’d gotten there, as had she. Lance happily gave up his dual crown, citing that being champion over two regions was draining him.
Still, there he stood, having won everything he ever wanted to but it still felt hollow, despite all his friends and family in attendance. Brock, Gary, hell, even his cousin Leaf was there. He raised his hand tentatively and knocked on the door to her apartment within Indigo Plateau, waiting patiently for her to open the door.
“Hey,” was all he said as she opened up in her pajamas, before she more or less glomped him in a hug.
“I’m so happy for you Ash,” the redhead replied, wiping away a tear, “I didn’t want anyone else to beat you.”
He laughed at that as he wrapped his arms around her, “Should you be hugging your new boss like this?” the messy haired champion replied.
“Yeah well my new boss is also my best and oldest friend, so yes.” She replied before pulling back, “At least you pulled out your A Team for us. You know you’d have lost if you didn’t, right?” She grinned.
“Oh I’m well aware of that,” he smiled as he entered her apartment, looking around the homely place, “How much time do you spend here?”
She groaned at the question, “Too long. We get to spend about 3 months off after the league concludes and the challenge is done. You’ll probably get 6 weeks off, there’s a lot of stuff to do for you here, and then we’re back into our cycle. So in 3 months time, unless someone retires, we have our round robin. You of course get to watch. That round robin decides the order of the challenge, unless special circumstances arise, such as our friendship.”
“So wait, you didn’t win the round robin?” He asked, a little surprised at that.
She shook her head, “No. I finished second on countback behind Koga, as I had more Pokemon faint in the round robin than him. So technically you should have fought him last. But I digress,” she smiled at him softly, “Bruno said he might retire. So you need to look at the gym leaders across Kanto for a replacement,” she raised a singular eyebrow at him.
“Really? And when do I need to appoint this person?” He questioned the redhead.
“Ideally before the round robin but if not it’s not a big deal, they’ll just be the first challenge if it’s after.”
He nodded softly before looking into her eyes again, a soft smile crossing his lips, “Enough shop talk. I kinda want to talk about something personal,” pink tinted his cheeks at the thought.
“Aww, you’re blushing! What, do you have a crush on me or something?” She teased him gently, nudging his arm.
“I mean, that was what I was gonna tell you,” his cheeks getting even redder at the embarrassment. Here the rejection comes, his dejected thoughts intercepted, wondering why he blurted it out straight away.
Misty blinked at his words, his darkening cheeks and his eyes looking down at his toes. She’d imagined this scenario many times. How she was too chicken to be the one to make a move. Now he’s done it and her breath got caught in her throat, “Ash Ketchum if this is a joke I will send you to the moon with my mallet,” she growled at him.
He blinked in response, looking up at her eyes, sparkling with tears, “What? I thought you liked Rudy and- wait didn’t you date Gary for a bit?” He asked suspiciously.
“God no, please, I do have some self respect,” she laughed, “that was from the tabloids as we caught up when I first got into the 4. His grandfather was off in Hoenn at that point and I needed a researcher to help me, so he stayed a couple of days. He’s dating your cousin, you know?” She asked with a smile on her face.
Ash knew she was trying to get a rise out of him and chuckled, “Yeah, she told me a couple of months ago. So, anyway, is it completely inappropriate if I asked you out to dinner tomorrow night?”
“Yes it is. And I would love to.”