Disclaimer: Well, I can already tell that these “useful” copyright insurers
are gonna bug me, but I guess
I’ll live through ‘em. I don’t own anything I’m gonna talk ‘bout in this
fanfic pretty much, except maybe
certain characters that I make up, so there.
Reviews are very meaningful to me, as they are for most writers, so please,
take it upon yourself and
REVIEW. Good and Bad are helpful.
Ash-17 Misty-17 Brock-20 Apathy-18
First fanfic, hope ya’ll don’t hate it. Here goes!?
*******
Love Is Patient
By: A FanTan
Chapter. 1: The Unexpected Reunion, Sorta?

“Brock, why should I go to this dumb-ole festival anyway,” Whined the clearly
uninterested young
man.
The Cerulean City Bi-Annual Festival started later today, and Brock and Ash
had stopped in Cerulean
for a few weeks to stay and participate in the fun and games. Brock thought
it would be a wonderful
experience for the two, but for Ash, just being in this city, the hometown of
the love of his life that left
their group years before, just made him want her more, though he knew he’d
have her near again.
“I already told you Ash, it’ll be a fun time. Besides, you don’t have
anything better to do, and you’ve
seemed kind of ‘depressed’ lately, so I think this will cheer ya up a little
bit,” Replied his squinty-eyed
companion. “Speaking o’ which, why have you been looking sad these last few
weeks?”
Since Ash was in the city, he’d gone into a state of very strong sadness,
longing for the days when
Misty was still traveling with the two. He missed her cascading crimson hair,
her golden smile, her
heart-stopping laughter that could bring tears to his eyes, and from time to
time, even her mallet. At
least when she hit him, it showed she actually cared what he said about her.
“I-uh, just, probably caught a stomach bug or something. Nothing to worry
about.” Nervously stated
Ash, hoping his friend won’t see through his lies.
“But for three weeks? I don’t think stomach bugs would have lasted this long.
Maybe we should take
you to the Pokémon Center and get you checked-“
“No!” He exasperated. “I mean, uh, I’m fine, really, don’t worry about me.
You just go ahead and go to
the festival; I’ll meet up with ya there later,” Interrupted Ash.
“Are you sure, Ash? If you don’t wanna go then I can stay here instead,”
Stated Brock, with a
concerned look upon his face. Just a minute ago he was begging not to go, and
now he was agreeing
with him about it. Something must be up.
“I don’t want to ruin your fun, just let’s meet up at the parade in half an
hour; I’ll be feelin’ better by
then.” “It’ll be fun,” Ash reassured Brock, but more so himself.
“Okay, if you say so,” Still unsure about his so called ‘stomach bug’. “See
you there.”
Ash watched Brock head off into the woods apart from the clearing where they
were camped.
God, why does Cerulean always host these stupid festivals? Ash thought to
himself. It seems like fate
that it always happens when I come through the city, like it’s mocking me.
Why can’t we just go, so I
don’t suffer any more pain thinking about Misty? Why did she have to leave?
Why do I still love her?
And why can’t she just come back, Damnit!
Ash looked to his side and examined the camp site they’d been using for the
last month. It was now
very unclean, hardened grease spills on the makeshift stove, egg shells from
breakfast still covering
the counter-top.
“Brock sure is an excellent cook, but he could use some tips on how to clean
up after himself,” Ash
voiced to himself, but just a bit louder than was safe.
“Pika, pika pikachu pi pika.”
Ash nearly jumped out of his shoes, unsettled by the voice of his companion.
Once his heart rate dropped a little, he finally thought it was safe to speak
without his voice sounding
shrill. “Jeez Pikachu, you scared the daylights out of me.”
“Pika, pika pi pika, pikachu pi pika!” (Good, now next time, talk softer!)
“Oh, I forgot you were still asleep, sorry,” Replied Ash, rubbing the back of
his head nervously. The last
time he accidentally woke up Pikachu from his slumber he got shocked in his
ass so hard, he couldn’t
sit for weeks. But Pikachu just yawned and stretched itself.
“Pika, pi pika pikachu.” (Ugh, I need ketchup.)
Ash watched his Pikachu waddle over to his backpack and rummage through it
for the ketchup packs
he normally keeps.
“How come I didn’t get a normal Pikachu from Prof. Oak,” He mused quietly.
With nothing better to do, he walked over the countertops and started
cleaning up the mess, still
grieving for Misty.

Brock just left the campsite and was on his way to the festival when he
stopped once he was sure Ash
was out of earshot. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a jet black
pager and held its ‘Talk’
function.
“Apathy, pick up.”
He waited several seconds before trying again.
“Apathy if you can hear me, pick-“He was interrupted by a sweet female voice,
of which instantly
relaxed his face. Even though the speaker quality wasn’t the best, the voice
was quite loud, firm even.
“I hear you honey, sorry, I had to make up an excuse real quick and leave so
she won’t hear me talking
to you.”
“It’s alright baby, speaking of her, is she still coming with you to the
festival today?”
“Yep, and she’s completely oblivious to the little plan of ours,” Responded
the voice, in a slightly
maniacal tone.
“Oh, you sound so devious. It’s quite the turn-on you know,” Sweetly stated
Brock.
“Once were done with the two, maybe we can check into a hotel for the night,
and order some
drinks,” The woman spoke, leaving Brock to his imagination.
“I can’t wait. And by the way, Ashy boy here doesn’t plan on coming for about
a half hour, so we have
some down time beforehand,” Brock said very seducingly.
She giggled cutely, which made Brock smile up to his eyes.
“I love you Brock.”
“I love you to Apathy.”
“Talk to you later, boyfriend.”
Then a short beep was emitted, clarifying that she’d turned off her pager.
“Oh, how’d I get so lucky to have her,” he sighed softly.
With that, he continued on his way.

At the Festival…

“Well, Ceruleans’ Grand Parade is always fun to watch, huh Pikachu,” Ash
spoke, awestruck by what
he was seeing.
Cerulean City’s Grand Parade isn’t your run of the mill procession. Imagine
the equivalent of the
Macy’s Day Parade, tenfold, then you’ll be getting closer to the grandeur of
this parade! Floats lined
the streets, most the sizes of skyscrapers. The masses were scrunched up on
the sidewalks, watching
the flag twirlers leading the parade pack, the various Marching Bands playing
there tunes, while the
citizens just enjoyed the celebration’s good atmosphere. Singing celebrities
accompany famous
musicians in ballads and national tunes while various venders sold barbecue,
hot dogs, hamburgers,
whatever pleased the crowd is what they sold. This was what made the festival
so infamous.

“Pika,” (Yea,) Responded his furry friend staring dreamily at the commotion.

The three of them, Ash, Brock, and Pikachu, kept their eyes glued to this
astounding spectacle. Though
they’ve been in the festival before, it still amazed them each and every
time.
After another hour or so, they decided, well Ash decided for them, that they
better get something to
eat soon, or else he, I mean they, were gonna starve to death. They continued
searching for an
uncrowded place when, just their luck, they came to a huge crowd near a
public restroom.

“Ash, ugh, duty calls, would you mind sitting tight for a minute while I go?”
“Ok, but make it quick, my stomach’s ‘bout to digest itself here.”
“I’ll be back soon,” He replied, almost dancing to resist the urge to wet his
pants. Ash watched as he
sprinted off into the small complex.
Minutes passed, and Ash was getting agitated.  He just had to go; I thought
he went just an hour ago.
I’ll give him another minute then I’m leaving without hi-
He never finished his thought. It was interrupted by the sight of a gorgeous
young woman, with
cascading crimson hair, and a golden smile, somehow appearing right on the
edge of the crowd. She’d
grown quite a bit. Her face was more mature than it used to be, and instead
of wearing her normal
tomboy attire, she was in skinny jeans, a white tank top with a Staryu print
in the middle of it, and a
silver necklace with five aquamarine gems fitted into five individual
sockets. Along with her new
clothes she’d gotten a considerably deep tan, which made up for her albino
white skin without one,
and she’d had her hair shortened to a little below her shoulder line.
He couldn’t believe it. It was her? Was he imagining this? He was tempted to
rub at his eyes, but
before he did, he thought that if he was imagining this, he didn’t want to
make it go away. He sat there
transfixed by her petit laughter, echoing over the volume of the crowd. She
was talking to another
woman, of which had a commanding voice, but a sincere and caring tone. The
woman and his eyes
met, and he swore she just winked at him and smiled devilishly.
After what seemed like an eternity, he built up the courage to walk over to
her, just to make sure he
was still on earth, not cloud nine.
“M..Misty,” He said, barely over a whisper. She paid him no attention.
Perhaps she didn’t hear him?
Maybe she noticed him but wanted to ignore him so he’d go away? He decided to
give it another go.
“Mist’, that you?” Ash called louder this time. She almost jumped out of
shock. No one but Ash ever
called her by that, so when she turned to see, she looked astonished, but a
happy, thrilled, invigorated
kind of astonished!
“Ash! Oh my God, ASH!” She screamed over the crowd as she bolted to his
frozen body. She rammed
into him full blast, nearly knocking him on his back, with a warming embrace.
He returned the squeeze
with one of his own, pressing her body into his, not worrying about blushing.
He finally was holding her
in his arms.
After another several seconds, she slackened a bit and lifted her head to
look at his, which was now a
few inches above her own. She ended the silence between them as she stared
into his deep brown
eyes. He expected some comment like, ‘ Ash it’s so good to see you! ‘, or
maybe ‘ How ya been? ‘.
Instead, she hit him in the head with her mallet, almost making him go cross-
eyed.
“Ouch, what was that for Misty?” Ash said, momentarily filled with rage.
“What was that for,” She interrogatively mused. “That’s for not talking to me
for three damn years!”
“Oh,” He gingerly replied, he suddenly didn’t feel the urge to fight with
Misty. “Sorry, I guess.”
“SORRY!” “Do you know how worried I’ve been for all these years? I didn’t
know if you died or didn’t
care about me anymore! No phone calls, no letters, not even a freaking signal
fire!”
“I said sorry, I’m just happy to see you now.” Ash calmly stated, hoping he
could cool his best friend
down a bit.
“I’m happy to see you too, Ash, but why didn’t you even attempt to contact
me. I thought maybe you
didn’t care about me anymore.” She said with tears dwelling in her eyes.
“Misty, I will always care for you, no matter what.” He mused awkwardly.
“Really?” She said, calmed down. She blushed, which made him blush. He had to
say something, fast.
“Eh, as a friend of course. You know what I meant.”
“Oh, yea of course,” She said with a hint of disappointment.
I was afraid that was how he meant it. She thought.
They stood there conversing, talking about their travels, and what they’ve
done the last three years.
Ash, obviously, left out his depression from missing her. Then a thought
occurred to him. He let out a
soft chuckle.
“What’s so funny Ash?” Misty asked.
“Oh it’s nothing, just the fact that the first time we meet again after three
years apart, we get in a fight
is all.
Feeling a sense of guilt erupt from her, Misty said,”Oh, yea, I should
apologize for hitting you with my
mallet just now. I was just really surprised to see you, I suppose.” She
bluffed.
“No worries. I guess that’s how you say ‘hello’ to people, fatally injure
them.”
She let out a giggle which made him smile. Seeing him smile, made her smile.
So, once again, they
stood there looking at one another admiring their lovers.
Wow, Ash is even more handsome than he used to be, Misty thought to herself.
Misty looks even more beautiful than I remembered… Thought Ash at the same
moment.

They would’ve stayed this way forever, looking each other up and down, trying
to imagine them with
their clothes off, if not interrupted by another couple.
“Look Brock, our little plan worked perfectly, their so cute together.” It
was the girl who was talking to
Misty from the crowd earlier, the same one that winked at him when they saw
each other. But the
weirdest part wasn’t the fact she knew Brock’s name, but that she had her
arms around him in an
affectionate manner.
“I’d say so Apathy.” Brock also had his arms around her, one by her waist
leaving the other on her
back.
This was weird, what was their ‘little plan’ all about? Who was she?
“What’s going on here? Who are you? How do you know Brock? Why were you
talking to Misty? Why
are you-“Ash rambled on, flabbergasted, before the woman put a hushed finger
to his lips.
“Just listen, we’ll tell you everything.” She spoke softly.
“I am Apathy, as Misty already knows. Brock and I know each other through an
online dating site we
used. We shared info, had a couple dates and we hit it off. We realized that
our friends, you two,
hadn’t seen each other for ever so we decided to hook you two, since we also
knew you had love
interests in each other. Now, for Misty I-“ Misty Interrupted her.
“I don’t like Ash, Apathy. I told you before were just friends!” She
retaliated.
“Whatever, Misty. I see the look in your eyes when we talk about your
‘friend’.”
“That’s right he’s just my friend!” She spoke harshly, trying to hide her
blush.
Is Mist’ blushing? Could she really like me like I do her? I hope so… Ash
pondered.
“Ok, back to listening. Anyways, I met Misty traveling; we became good
friends, so we decided to
travel together since I didn’t have anything better to do. Brock and I could
tell you both really missed
one another so we decided to plan this little encounter. From the looks of
it, it turned out perfect,
considering neither of you suspected a thing.” She finished with a tone of
triumph.
“You two planned this? How did you guys talk to each other?” Misty inquired.
Both Brock and Apathy pulled out a pair of black pagers, simple ones but
effective.
“With these.” Brock said showing them the pagers. “We would make up some
excuse to get away
from either of you so we could talk without you guys knowing. I did a few
minutes ago to you, Ash, in
that bathroom.” Brock answered.
Still a bit confused about everything, Ash asked something that just
registered in his brain.
“Wait, so you are dating each other? Why didn’t you tell me Brock?” Ash
called out, feeling out of the
loop.
“Oh, well I wanted to wait to tell you and make sure we were serious. When we
realized about you
two, we decided to keep it a secret a little longer, until this was over
with.”
“Well, I guess that makes sense,” Misty butted in.
“Yea, but you wasted your time. We don’t like each other like that; you of
all people should know,
Brock.”
“You’re right, I do know, and I’m right. I’ve seen it for the longest time.
You two are perfect for each
other whether you admit it or not. The way you two just looked at one another
confirmed it for me.
You’re both in love,” Brock puckered his lips to the air and smooched several
times.
Funny how the older you get, the more immature you become.
“I DON’T LOVE MISTY/I DON’T LOVE ASH!” They both chimed together.
“Well, even if you don’t realize your love for the both of you now, you two
will have ALL day to figure it
out.” Brock beckoned at the two.
“What do you mean, Brock?” Misty said, confusingly.
Right when she said this, Brock and Apathy’s eyes met, and they both ran
around Ash and Misty,
merging themselves with the crowd, disappearing without a trace.
Staring at the crowd for a minute, hoping to see a familiar face, they didn’t
have any luck.
They just ditched the two of them, leaving one another to figure out what
they would do. Then a
thought entered her head, and Misty broke the silence again.
“Well, it doesn’t look like were gonna find them.” She spoke almost
excitedly. “But, umm, I guess we
have all day at the festival to hang out and catch up still. Of course, that
is, if you want to.”
Misty crossed her fingers, praying Ash would accept her offer.
“Of course I will, I mean, there’s still a lot I don’t know about the last
three years. It’s not like we have
to be dating to have some fun here.” Ash responded.
“Yea, were just two friends hanging out.” Misty reassured herself, though she
really didn’t want to
think of her and Ash as ‘just friends’.  “Well, what do you wanna do first?”
Misty asked, wondering
about all the fun things to do here, including the ‘love boat rides’.
“Well…” Ash thought about a way to say this delicately. “Wanna get lunch?”

*******

So how do you like it so far? Not much romance yet but there will be much
more to come. Again,
please review especially considering this is the first Fic I’ve written. Part
2 Coming soon, hopefully next
week.