â the pup would love to know what lil' miss sweetpaws reaction is to having a lil tiny relative being named after here ! ( Sweetpaw solos Thistlecuck as well as Thrushpelt solos Thistledemon aswell ! < 3 )
The starry tortoiseshell she-cat stared at her paws intently. She raised one and tilted it back and forth, frowning... Something seemed off with them...
"Hey Sweetpaw, have you heard?"
"Hm?" Sweetpaw blinked, glancing behind her as the glittering white form of Snowfur approached.
"Sandstorm gave birth."
"Oh," Sweetpaw meowed, then smiled. "That's nice. I'm happy for her and Firestar." She felt a tingle through her pawpads. What an honor for the others to have allowed and agreed to her request to give the great fiery tom one of his nine lives. It helped that Bluestar had received a life from her as well. "What have they named them?"
"Redkit and Spotkit," Snowfur answered, and Sweetpaw smiled. Redtail would be happy. Though she'd never known him in life, she felt a sort of kinship with him in death. "And Sweetkit."
Sweetpaw froze. "Wh-what?" She blinked, then blinked again. "He-he named one after me?"
Snowfur purred, leaning forward to brush her muzzle against Sweetpaw's forehead. "You're looking less faded already!"
Sweetpaw trembled, pressing her head further into Snowfur's touch as she stared down at her paws. "I-I... I can't believe it... After me? But I... I wasn't anybody..."
"You were somebody to him."
"But he never even knew me! I-I never knew him!"
"But now you do," Snowfur murmured, calmly blinking at Sweetpaw's wide, inquiring eyes. "And he'll never forget the life you've given him."
Sweetpaw stared at each of the white toes on her paws, flexing them. "And I'll never forget this life he's given me..."
For @startingtodayyouareahost. I agree. Thereâs not enough love for Kaoru out there!
Keeva giggled as she ran through the rain, gripping his hand tightly. They ducked under a small alcove, her clothes soaked through as she shivered. Kaoru smiled and pulled her close, kissing the top of her head.
âYou alright?â He asked over the wind.
"Yes," She said, smiling up at him. Kaoru brushed her wet hair from her eyes and she leaned onto his touch. "Well?"
"Well...what?" Kaoru asked, blushing a slight.
"Arenât you gonna kiss me?"
Kaoru smiled and bent his head, catching her lips as the thunder rumbled overhead. She hummed happily as she cupped his face, his arms winding around her waist.
He shivered as the wind picked up, pressing against her a slight. He groaned softly when she reciprocated the motion.
"We should really gey back," she panted softly. "How much further?"
"Too far," he said, pulling her into the nearby alley. He checked for anything that might threaten them and smirked as he pressed her against the brick wall.
Her giggles and soft mewls as he groped at her sent charges through his body. He shivered against the rain that continued to soak them.
"Kaoru," Keeva whined. "Were gonna get sick."
"Not if I warm you up," he chuckled, his hands shoving up the skirt of her dress as he lifted her. Through some awkward manipulation, he finally found himself pushing into her. âGod yesâŚâ He moaned.
Keeva whined softly, clinging to him. She shivered and smiled, kissing him as she rocked her hips. His growl sent a different shiver through her body and she gasped as he began to thrust into her quickly.
She was grateful more for the storm as it drowned out their gasps and moans as Kaoru thrust into her, holding nothing back now. He groaned quietly into her ear, âFucking...Need to feel you. Go on, baby. Touch that little clit of yours.â
Keeva whined and reached between them, glad he was able to hold her to him as she reached between them. Her eyes rolled back as she moved her fingers in time with his thrusts. She quickly orgasmed, gasping and clinging to him.
Kaoru moaned into her neck as he followed her over the edge, moving his hips quickly as he did. âOh god,â He moaned, panting. âShit. I wasnâtâŚâ
âItâs alright,â She giggled. âPill, Kaoru.â
Kaoru nodded and kissed her neck gently as they both came down. He was only a little grateful for the rain cooling his skin.
 --
 Kaoru let out a monster of a sneeze as he shivered, wrapped up in blankets. âGeez, man,â Hikaru said, wincing as he watched his brother curl up on the couch. âYou shouldâve just taken shelter wherever you could.â
âIt was worth it,â Kaoru chuckled, texting Keeva. He had to cancel a day with her but he didnât regret it.
Cricketheart was silent as she stared at the slab of Moonstone beneath their paws, her mouth slightly agape. After a moment, her mind reeling, she turned to her companion.
"Did you know Swampfur was-"
"No."
"Woah." Cricketheart blinked, stunned. Lynxpaw's mismatched paws' claws dug into the surface of the Moonstone, scratching it as she glared down at the stone.
Then she grinned.
"And here you were making fun of me for my brother meeting WindClan cats!" Cricketheart teased, playfully nudging Lynxpaw's shoulder.
Lynxpaw glowered at her. Then, she huffed, shoving her face into her paws. "Watching that deaf cat get rejected was the highlight of my afterlife."
"Hi Airleap," Gorsepaw meowed cheerily as he bounded up to the brown and white tom. "I-"
Airleap startled, fur fluffing as he whipped around, stopping the apprentice in his tracks at his startled expression.
"Uh," Gorsepaw squeaked, crouching down. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you-"
Airleap blinked slowly, wondering why his heart was pounding so hard in his chest. Gorsepaw had only spoken to him. But those words... He swallowed, glancing away, the grief that stuck to his bones like sludge weighing him down, making him so, so tired...
"No, I'm sorry, Gorsepaw," Airleap responded quietly, staring at his paws and wondering if he could still see the dark stains turning his white paw as brown as his other ones. "You caught me off guard is all. Uhm... what were you saying?"
"Oh." Gorsepaw blinked, then smiled hesitantly. He flicked his tail behind him. "Storkpaw and Quailpaw and I are sharing a rabbit with Morningflower. Do you wanna join?"
The dark ginger tom smiled brightly up at him, eyes twinkling. He looked like...
Airleap smiled. Strangely, his chest felt tight, like it was squeezing his heart and never letting go.
500 Words :Â âGonna Fall Right Into Placeâ (Pokeshipping ; mini-shot)
Disclaimer -Just a klepto who makes a habit of stealing all the characters related to her OTPs so she can force them to interact the way she wants them to!
Author - Warlordess
Notes â I am very sorry this took so long to be posted! In truth, I had written most of it and then decided I didnât like where it was going⌠so I left it the way it was, abandoned, until I felt inspired to go back to it. Finally I did just that tonight, only to discover that what Iâd originally written wasnât so off-track, so I kept it and built upon it after all. Whoops!
Well, anyway, I hope you all like it!
Oh, almost forgot! Â Hereâs a link to the tag in which you can read all of the chapteres associated with this series.
OoO
Title - "Gonna Fall Right Into Place"
Summary â Mistyâs PoV, taking place after White Day. Ash finally comes around.
 OoOoO
 For the two or three weeks following the letter you sent off to your best friend, you do everything within your power to distract yourself so that your subconscious is unable to find time to get your hopes up. After all, you've been let down once by Ash Ketchum already and the semi-recent wound still aches here and there.
So you take on as many battles with challengers as you can, fill out all of the weekly paperwork that gyms are supposed to send off to the League, and the rest of your free time is eaten up by daily chores and training with your Pokemon.
With everything on your plate, it's almost easy to watch White Day come and go uneventfully, followed by another eight days of no contact at all with Ash. It is a little weird, you think to yourself, that he hadn't gotten around to sending his weekly update email to you. But, you know, perhaps after reading that letter... he'd decided to draw even further away.
Your relationship has reached the point where there's really nothing to be ignored. If Ash doesn't want to speak to you even now about the kiss you shared on New Years then he's doing so of his own volition despite being brought fully up to speed.
And you know what that means...
You feel the beginnings of hysteria start to well up within you and pause in your cleaning of the gym arena floor, gripping the mop tightly to your chest and breathing deeply to soothe yourself.
"Oh, so you are here," your best friend's voice echoes hollowly throughout the abandoned pool arena. You nearly jump out of your skin in response to his sudden appearance. "I was just yelling your name. You didn't hear me come in the front door?"
"Th - the gym's closed for lunch," you stutter, facing him once more for the first time in a good three and a half months. Your heartbeat is picking up rather erratically, the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end, but you do your best to pretend nothing is wrong. Nothing has changed, even though you're technically the one behind such change anyway.
He looks exactly the same as he did then, minus an alteration in daily attire. Pikachu is perched loyally atop his shoulder just like always, but the way the electric mouse is dancing on the balls of his back paws belies his excitement to see you again.
"Pikachu!" you exclaim, tossing the mop aside and allowing the Pokemon to leap straight at you. You both share a hug and he utters the name he'd given you years ago out of affection.
"So... what are you doing here, Ash?" you ask nonchalantly once the moment is over and Pikachu has toned down his snuggling in lieu of sitting on your shoulder this time instead of his own trainer's.
"Well, I..." He pauses a moment and moves towards his left pocket, removing a crumpled up piece of paper, "... I got this letter from my friend..." He gently smoothes it out flat and then holds it up for you to see your very own familiar handwriting, "... And it made me think that I had to come see them... uh, you, in person."
You don't respond at first, and how could you? You've said all there is to be said and now the only thing left is to wait for Ash to meet you halfway... with whatever reply he's willing to give you.
"Myst, you wrote that you loved me."
"Yeah, I did. And I do." Every part of your insides is on the verge of rupturing and desintegrating into nothing but, on the outside, you remain stonefaced and passive. Don't let him see you sweat, as the saying goes.
"Yeah, no, I figured you did. I just..." He flips the letter around so that he can view it once more and then takes his other hand to rub at the back of his neck, one of his oldest nervous habits.
A very small part of you cheers emphatically at the thought that this situation - that what you feel - makes him nervous. After all, a few years ago he wouldn't have had any reaction at all to such news. Now, now though, it irks him so much that he has to travel cross country and speak about it face-to-face.
"Why'd you decide to tell me when you did...?" he asked next, possibly for lack of a better question to fill the gap of silence with.
You shrug before responding.
"I already knew you weren't going to talk to me about what happened on your own, Mr. Pokemon Master, so I figured I was going to have to come clean first. Plus, it's kinda fitting this way."
"Fitting...?"
"Yeah," another swift hush blankets the two of you as you lick your dry lips and clear your throat to pluck up the courage to go on. Your heart is about three beats from exploding out of your chest but you won't let it do so until you've had your final say, "I mean, when it comes to love, there's no better time than to confess on Valentines Day."
"Valen..." The word dies on Ash's lips, his eyes going wide and cheeks flushing all at once, the picture perfect interpretation of the term mind-blown.
"Valentines Day...?" he finally manages to squeak, eyeing you before casting his gaze once more on the letter in his hand, then back at you, to Pikachu, the letter, then finally back at you again. All the while, his free hand is fretting and rubbing at the back of his neck.
Suddenly his eyes break contact and he rummages once more in his pocket. At the same time, he finally manages to walk the ten or so meters between you so that your faces are suddenly mere inches apart.
"Ash, what's going on...?" you ask him suspiciously as he closes the distance. You can't help bracing yourself even if only just a little, and Pikachu has to rearrange himself on your shoulder so that he can maintain his own grip on you.
"Answer... I owe you one..." the raven-haired trainer rambles, "Valentines Day, of course you'd write to me for... Ah hah!" he interrupts himself with a triumphant gesture, going still upon firmly grasping whatever prize he'd had hidden away in his pocket with the letter.
Your gaze narrows at his behavior and you shuffle your weight around and cross your arms indignantly.
"Look, Mr. Pokemon Master, I'm not expecting anything from you, especially not at this point. You've already let me down, haven't you? You told me that there really wasn't anything to say, right?"
"Guh, but that was... that was before I knew! You didn't tell me anything before and just expected me to know what you wanted to hear all on my own! Since when have I ever been that guy, huh, Myst? Besides, you can't honestly be telling me now that you don't care what I think, can you?" he asks, faltering in his actions for the few seconds it takes him to speak his mind to you with a familiar expression of aggravation on his face before going back to what he was doing,
"You want my answer, Myst? This is my answer!" he states emphatically, removing a closed fist from his pocket for you to see.
And when he loosens that fist, the single heart-shaped chocolate you'd sent him with your confession letter sits there. Well, it had been heart-shaped. That was before it'd been shoved into your best friend's pocket for what appears to be a good week or so.
The candy has clearly melted and then re-hardened, then been melted some more, then hardened again. You can tell even now that it's lost its form, small bits of milk chocolate oozing out from a few aged cracks in the foil wrapper.
Unconsciously you scrunch up your nose at it and try to stifle the part of you that feels mortally offended that Ash, a., hadn't bothered to eat the one piece of candy you were brave enough to give him (despite it being obvious that it was store-bought), and b., had decided this was the proper answer to give you in return for the words it had taken you six years to say to him.
"Uuuh," he stutters, clearly also disappointed and embarrassed at this turn of events, taking in the sight of the malformed piece of chocolate in his hand and your reaction to seeing it, "no, wait, that's not what I -- this isn't how it was supposed to go."
"Ash," you grumble aloud, "what did you think would happen if you kept a piece of chocolate in your pocket for an extended period of time?"
"No, I wasn't thinking... I mean, haha, Misty, don't look at me like that, I already know what you're going to say..."
"You never think, right, Mr. Pokemon Master? Geez, if I'd known this was going to happen, I would have locked the doors over lunch and made sure you couldn't get in here!"
"But you're not listening, Misty, seriously, just give me a second! I'm trying to say..."
"I already know what you're trying to say, Ash Ketchum. You're trying to say what you always do, right? Blech, love is for girls and Pokemon training is the most important thing in the world!" you finish mocking him, enunciating a few syllables for effect and poking him in the chest each time you do so.
"Well, I mean, yeah, maybe, but still..." His renewed expression of concentrated gravity stops even you from going on. "This is my answer to your feelings!"
And he shoves the whole piece of chocolate indelicately into his mouth, wrapper and all.
You both (and Pikachu) stand there in stark silence as you wait for him to realize his mistake. In the meantime he does his best to chew thoroughly, only for his eyes to end up watering a minute or so later and his breath to start coming out in coughing hacks because, you know, he's choking on your confession chocolate.
Awe, well isn't that just the sweetest thing (no pun intended)?
You sigh in exasperation and move forward to pat him harshly on the back until he's regurgitated everything he possibly can, then you run to get him a glass of water.
So much for your confession, you think. So much for your love life, you mourn. Your sisters will never let you live it down when you have to explain to them that you and your boyfriend got together after he nearly choked to death on your confession offering.
Of course then you finally stop and realize what it is you're thinking of. Ash ate your chocolate (or tried to anyway). Ash, knowing full well what that was supposed to signify, ate the chocolate you'd sent to him for Valentines Day. He'd... accepted your confession...?
By the time you return to the arena, Ash has already basically recovered and is ranting to Pikachu about your cold shoulder from earlier.
"... She didn't let me say anything! What else was I supposed to do but show her, huh? Besides, I came all the way here just for her in the middle of my journey! How could she not know what I was going to say anyway?! Shouldn't it be obvious?" he vents and, rather than getting angry at him talking about you like this, you feel your grin grow ever wider on your face at the thought that he's right.
You should have known.
"Here ya go, idiot," you tell him with a snort and an averted gaze that's just telling enough for him to know that you'd overheard him a few seconds ago. Then you hand him the glass of water and sit down beside him with another sigh.
"Uuh, Misty, it's not like..." he falters, coughs, takes a drink, clears his throat, begins again from the beginning, "Myst, it's not... like you think. I mean, I don't know... I don't know much about love. I don't know if I'll ever know enough to impress a romantic like you, but... my specialty has always been Pokemon training and I'll always believe that's more important...
"But... if it's between training and my friends, my... you... then... you win."
You quirk a brow at this confession and stare at him evenly to try and pull the truth and lies of his statement apart.
"I win. Just like that? I'm more important than Pokemon training?"
"Well, uh," he pauses here again, perhaps realizing how odd that sounded coming from him, "maybe it's more along the lines of a tie."
"Oooh-ho, no you don't, Mr. Pokemon Master! You just told me that I won that round! You can't take it back now!" you say with a smirk, standing back to your full height and smirking down at him.
"C'mon, Misty, it's a really hard decision to make and becoming a Pokemon Master is my life goal! I can't trade the feelings I have for that for anything!" he whines back, also reaching his full height and staring down from the two or three inches he now has on you.
"Ash," you sternly say and it shuts him right up as he stares at you, crestfallen, "I'm not trying to take away your dream. I have them too after all. I wouldn't want anyone to take them from me, or even the feeling I get from accomplishing something related to them. That's not what our relationship is supposed to be about."
"It's... not," he repeats after you, shaking his head slowly as the hope creeps back into his expression.
"I just... always wanted to know that my feelings were valid. That they - I - stood a chance... And that you might maybe feel the same way about me.
"Now that I know you do... it's fine. We're fine," you console him next, pulling him into a tight hug brimming with relief and acceptance.
"We're..." he gulps, "okay."
"Yeah," you smile.
"Yeah," he smiles back.
And you know you will be.
OoOoO
 Notes - Aaaand there we are! Again, sorry it took so long for this to be put together and posted but at least here it finally is!
 I would like to extend my thanks to the people whoâve supported me in my endeavor of this series (that turned out longer than Iâd originally planned it to be by about, say, six chapters).
 A lot of thanks also goes out to the anonymous/guest fans from Tumblr and FFN who sent requests for it to be finished because they kept checking up on it regularly and wanted to know how it ended! I hope this wasnât too disappointing! Thanks so much for sticking it out with me this whole time!
A/N: Can I sneak in a one shot during my break? Letâs see!
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans. This is a work of fiction that I am not making a profit off of. Â
OPTIMIST
âHe had no right!â
Jerichoâs lips tightened as he smothered the smirk. It probably wasnât wise for him to start laughing while his girlfriend was enraged. He took a seat on his bed, reclining as he watched the purple haired half demon.
âHe had the,â Her lips curled as her mind as she paced with heavy steps across the room. âAudacity-â
Anytime she had to search for the perfect word to express her disgust, she was pretty pissed.
âTo ask that!â Raven growled. âHow dare he pry into our relationship? What gives them the right?â
The mute folded his hands in lap, legs patiently stretched in front of her. She would probably be ranting for a while, and he might as well get comfortable.
âI mean,â Raven stopped, magic crackling at her fingertips as she fought to control her temper. Hands dragging over her face, she smothered a growl. âJust because he doesnât mind his business being a public spectacle doesnât mean everyone shares that opinion.â
His head tilted, green eyes amused. She was pretty cute when she was overreacting and angry.
âHe crossed the line, completely!â Raven huffed. Her head snapped across the room. âJericho?â Silence.
The tow haired teen sat comfortable dazed and silly smile drawn on his lips. Bright lime eyes seemed to look through her from his position on his bed. He flinched as a grey hand waved in front of face, jolting him.
âJoey?â Raven spoke again. âArenât you mad?â
The mute blinked. âHuh?â
âItâs not just me, right? He crossed the line?â
He shrugged. âKindaâŚâ
âHe asked you if we were having sex!â The empath was clearly outraged.
âYes.â He acknowledged
âBasically threatened to castrate you with a butter knife if you hurt me.â
âHe certainly did.â
âOver breakfast.â
âHe was buttering his waffle.â
âThat isnât any of his business!â
âClearly.â
She plopped on the bed next to him, shoulders still tense from the disagreement moments ago. Her mouth opened and motioned, but words escaped. How wasnât he upset about this?
âIâm surprised he was as calm as he was.â Jericho admitted cheekily signing.
âJoeyâŚâ Raven warned.
âSeriously!â Jericho told her, hands up in mock surrender. âCyborg is a bit-â
âRidiculous.â
âProtective of you and rightfully so.â He corrected with a smile. âWe wouldnât be official if your big brother wasnât threatening my life.â
âItâs not funny.â
âIt is a little bit.â Jericho chuckled silently. âI wasnât him expecting him to talk about it over breakfast.â
âIn front of everyone.â
âHe loves you.â Jericho reasoned, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. He pulled her close, kissing her forehead.
Her mouth opened.
âHe loves you. His intention was good. Youâre an empath, so I know you know this. His approach needs work, though.â Jericho told her, tapping her nose. âSo, look on the bright side- your family wants nothing but the best for you, and you have someone to beat me up if we have a fight.â He grinned kissing her nose. Â
Ravenâs lips twisted, feeling her angry dissipate. âYou really are an eternal optimist.â
He rested his forehead to her own, eyes bright. âGlass half full, my dear.â
500 Words :Â âNever Saw It Comingâ (Pokeshipping ; mini-shot)
Below is the next part of my Fallidays Pokeshipping two-shot series. Itâs part one of the finale White Day chapters, Ashâs PoV, second person.
If youâre interested, hereâs a link to the tag in which you can read all of the chapteres associated with this series. The one nearest to the top is the newest. However, if you scroll down the list, youâll find the first one at the bottom, and then you can start working your way up from there. ^^
Um, I think thatâs it. Please enjoy!
---
The trip back to your home region takes a fair number of days, even by air. You can't quite believe that the information within Misty's letter holds so much weight to you that you feel obligated to travel all the way back to Kanto at all... but you feel that what she said merits a face-to-face reply.
 "Pikapi...?" your best friend mumbles lethargically from your lap as you cautiously maneuver and reach into your pocket, removing the single piece of paper you'd received by carrier mail almost a week ago now and placed there at some point with the small heart-shaped chocolate in tow.
 "Sorry buddy," you whisper with a scratch behind his ears, "Just go back to sleep, okay?"
 Once he stretches and "chaa"'s affectionately, he does just that, allowing you to return to your originally intended task of rereading Misty's letter for the tenth time today.
 âDear Ash,â
 Simple opening, not too informative or revealing. Oh no, such things are saved for the finale, you suppose. Just like any professional would go about it.
 But still... it was this opening that had left you unprepared for the finale at all.
 âIt has recently come to my attention (because I somehow managed to forget in the heat of the moment) that you're a complete dipwad.
 But it has also come to my attention that I may have expected a bit too much and that I'm not even trying to meet you halfway, so I thought I'd send this letter to try and resolve that problem.â
 You had thought - had been told by Misty herself - that she was done with you. You didn't quite understand what that meant at first. A blissfully ignorant yet hopeful part of you had internally begged that it simply meant Misty wouldn't try and force anymore emotionally stimulating conversations or revelations out of you...
 But that same small part had been quashed when it was revealed that Misty was going out of her way to ignore your very existence.
 So next you'd thought - hoped, hoped with everything you had and much more than you'd thought was possible - that she was simply angry and that she'd get over it with time.
 But days turned to weeks and weeks to months before anything had changed at all... and then you'd received her letter and learnedâŚ
 âI love you, moron.
 Sincerely, Mistyâ
 "Sincerely"? What kind of closing was that for the kind of thing your best human friend had decided to tell you? It was completely under-representing of the very confession she'd given... the confession that had blown you so far away that you'd easily been able to ignore her usual barbed insults this time around. (Or maybe that was the fleeting fondness filling your heart from the acknowledgement that her extended complete and utter absence from your life had finally come to an end, but you suppose that you'll never know for certain.)
 Her insults mean nothing to you now. They merely betray her frustrations over your last six or so years of ignorance. Ignorance that you never realized, never believed before, that you exhibited as often or as strongly as everyone claimed you did, but that has been made oh-so clear now that the reason behind Misty's confrontation with you on New Year's has been revealed.
 All together, the detour to Cerulean City takes roughly two weeks to make. You remember what you'd told your traveling companions back in the region you had been traveling before deciding to do this. Nay, more than that, you remember lying to them, telling them that you'd had a family emergency and that you had to go home for a few weeks. Somehow the truth still seemed to unbelievable.
 You're doing this for a girl. Ash Ketchum, the greatest Pokemon trainer that the world has ever seen (eventually anyway), is putting his Pokemon journey temporarily on hold because of a girl.
 But you know that if Misty had ever been just a girl to you then you wouldn't feel so inclined to do this...
 Time passed and eventually you and Pikachu arrive at the outskirts of your intended destination.
 Welcome to Cerulean City, seaside paradise and home to the Sensational Sisters, the sign before you reads in bold font.
 Itâs time for some closure.
---
So thereâs that. The next one will be Ash and Mistyâs reunion after they both blew it on New Years Day, only itâll be in Mistyâs PoV, second person. Buuut maybe you all saw that coming. Lol.
500 Words : "Just Long Enough" (Pokeshipping ; mini-shot)
Below is the next part of Fallidays, aka, "a series of holidays in which Ash realizes he's fallen for his best friend". Clever, right? Right? Anyway, yeah, here's that.
It's Ash's interpretation of Valentines Day!
If you want to read the most recent chapter before this, click here
If you want to start from the beginning, view all of the posts made in the "500 words" tag on my blog. The one at the bottome of the list is the first, and you can work your way up the list to the most recent! You can view that tag by clicking here.
And now, on to the chapter!
---
Two - well, two and a half -months. That's how long it's been since you last communicated with Misty.
 You've just finished checking your email again for the third time since arriving at the local Pokemon Center.
 A few years ago, when you two had first gone your separate ways, she'd given you Hell about forgetting to call or write and tell her how you were doing. Little did she know that you'd done that on purpose, avoiding contact with her while you got over the awkward feeling of not having her around, constantly whining and bugging you and making every day seem all the more eventful (and somehow not terrible, oddly enough).
 Now, however, the roles have reversed. You go out of your way - (well, maybe not that far out of your way, but still) - to send her a weekly email updating her on your progress, letting her know silly things that she told you way back when she had doubts about, such as how many badges and Pokemon you've obtained, and the mere fact that you're alive. (You'd scoffed at this particular complaint-slash-concern of hers at first... until you'd thought back and realized just how many times she'd seen you put your life in jeopardy.)
 Now though, every email you send is left either unread or not responded to. And it's frustrating. It's undeniably aggravating to think that she is going out of her way to avoid you, no matter how much that sly voice in the back of your head whispers that you brought this on yourself. No matter how much the prominent, instinctual voice that governs your more basic forethought fights back and claims that you have no idea what made Misty lash out at you a couple of months ago on New Years.
 All you know is that, for the first time in a good six years, Misty's ever-constant presence in your life has vanished entirely, utterly and completely... and you can't stand it.
 The first thing that crosses your mind when you realize sometime in mid-January that she must be purposefully ignoring you is that maybe you should apologize. Of course, you immediately snort to yourself, your stubborn streak rearing its ugly head as it always does when it comes to Misty, and demand that you find another solution.
 Alas, the only other thing that comes to you is to... agree to talk everything out with her. This idea is met with automatic resistance as well. You've never understood her romantic side, you've never really gotten what the big deal is about k - k - kissing (though you can freely admit to yourself that you actually kind of, sort of really enjoyed the one you shared with your best friend at Professor Oak's New Years party)... How can you be expected to suddenly know all the right words to say? How could Misty ever think that you could live up to her insufferable, romantic expectations...?
 ... But did she really expect all of that from you? Hadn't she only wanted to talk with you in order to sort things out? Surely she'd had some expectations, but perhaps they weren't as severe as you'd first thought. And you were the one that k - kissed her... (It's still so weird to think of it, you can't help but stutter a bit here and there.)
 And maybe... maybe you have expectations too. Maybe you want to know why she wants to know why you did that. Maybe all of your bundled nerves are just as much from not knowing where you both stand as much as they are from not knowing what to tell Misty, how to explain to her, about the situation.
 Of course, it sucks that, even after working all of that out, you still have no idea what to do. And even if you somehow could find the words, it wouldn't matter because Misty has no reason to give you another opportunity to discuss everything, right?
 You swivel around in the computer chair that's placed before the public access PC you were using and watch a young man in uniform march through the sliding double-doors of the PokeCenter and straight over to Nurse Joy, but you don't really see him, your mind currently a million miles away, Pikachu nudging against your cheek affectionately after sensing your growing irritation.
 You're in the middle of giving him your best reassuring smile (though it feels like you're lying to him and your insides shrivel up a bit in response despite knowing you have good reason to not worry him). This exchange is interrupted by Nurse Joy, who has switched on the intercom in order to make an announcement after signing for an envelope and waving goodbye to the delivery man
 "Ash Ketchum, you have a package waiting for you at the front desk. Ash Ketchum, please report to the front desk!"
 You and your favorite companion turn to face each other with a shared signature gaze of curiosity before you sigh and stand up, making your way over. Misty doesn't even cross your mind. In fact, you're pretty sure that it's something from your mom, who'd said recently in one of your phone-calls that you should be expecting something...
 So it comes as quite a shock to see a return address for Cerulean City on the envelope when Joy hands it to you with a smile.
 It's such a shock, in fact, that your entire heart leaps up into your throat, a renewed sense of hope filling you.
 It's Misty, you think as you eagerly break the seal.
 It's Misty! you think again, even more excited, as you shove your hand inside and withdraw two things; a one-page letter and a random, small, heart-shaped piece of chocolate.
 You're not really sure what she has to tell you, but at least the lines of communication are back open. At least she hasn't shut you out completely. At least she isn't as done with you as she claimed to be two, almost three, months ago now. (A comment that actually happened to cut you pretty deeply, even if you chose to not respond to it at the time.)
 You toss the empty envelope haphazardly back on to the counter and open the letter, quickly scanning its contents, your grip on the chocolate growing tighter with every passing second.
 Finally, what seems forever later (though it was only a few seconds seeing as the message was relatively short), you reach the end, and what a finale it is. There's a lump in your suddenly frigid chest (even though it feels like every other part of you is on fire), your eyes wide and drying out from the lack of blinking. You... You didn't expect this.
 You didn't expect her to tell you this.
---
Please bear in mind that I didn't reference Ash knowing it was Valentines Day. That's sort of important. Kind of. Well, it's going to tie into the next two chapters which are, coincidentally, also the finale falliday in this series - White Day!
Also, based on the past two chapteres, yeah, we already basically know what Misty told Ash in her letter. Sorry it's not much of a cliffhanger. On the other hand, I'm thinking of mixing up the way she says it... since she, you know, is still kinda upset about this whole situation.
