Archive of Our Own ^beta

“You know the rules.” Brock’s voice was the last thing they heard before the door slammed shut.

“But we-” Ash fumed, his face turning a dark shade of red. He banged his fist on the door, yelling obscenities and threats at their group of friends. This is ridiculous! There was a reason he hated playing these stupid party games. 

Misty stood wide-eyed, watching as he paced back and forth in a frenzy. She should have said something by now, but she was unusually quiet. Why wasn’t she just as annoyed as him?

Desperate, he spotted a desk hidden in the corner of the room and began sifting through draws, searching for something he could use to pick the lock on the door. Spotting a paperclip, he snatched it off the desk and pulled it apart, bending it into a straight line.  

From a few feet away, Misty sighed and rolled her eyes. “It’s not going to work. You’re on the wrong side of the door,” she explained.

“Who asked you?” he snapped. 

Eyes crazed and fueled with determination and perhaps even some desperation, he twisted the paper clip around, trying to hit the tiny button that would release them. When he heard the fateful sound of the paperclip snapping in half, he balled up his fists and kicked the door. Leaning his head against the nearby wall, he slowly slid his body down onto the floor. His shoulders slumped as he closed his eyes.

“Why are you freaking out over this?” Ash lifted his head, narrowing his eyes at Misty. She shrugged. “It’s just a kiss.” 

“It’s not just a-You know what? Fine!” He hopped up off the ground, brushing the dirt off his hands. “Let’s just suck it up and get this over with.”

“Gee, thanks. I’m flattered.” Misty huffed, her hot breath causing her bangs to flutter in front of her face. “I just thought...Nevermind. Let’s just do this.” 

“Okay.” Ash took a breath. Stepping forward, he placed his hands on Misty’s shoulders. Despite the tank top she was wearing, her skin was warm under his palms. Ash shifted his gaze up to meet her cerulean eyes, tilting his head ever so slightly. “Ready?”

“Yep.”

“Cool, I’m going to kiss you on one. Five...four...three…” 

He gently placed his hands on her cheeks, brushing away a strand of her copper hair. From this close, he could pick up the scent of chlorine mixed with a more fruity fragrance. Coconut...Or maybe pineapple? He swallowed, trying to loosen the knot in his throat. Her eyes were shut, so she didn’t see him glance around the room, panic painted across his face. 

He was going to kiss Misty. He was going to kiss his best friend. 

But in Gary’s room? That just felt wrong. He quickly retracted his hand from her face, and her eyes flew wide open. 

“Why am I counting? That’s stupid. You don’t count down when you’re kissing someone, right?” At least, that’s what he gathered from the small amount he knew about kissing and his past experiences. Mew, why was he asking such stupid questions?

Misty tilted her head. “Have you never kissed anyone before?”

Ash narrowed his eyes. “What? Of course I have!”

“Really? Who?”

“That’s none of your business!” he shot back, only realizing after the fact how unconvincing he sounded. 

Misty shook her head. He could make out the smallest hint of a smirk. “Well, most people don’t, but you’re not most people.”

 Ash shot her a look. “You’re not helping.”

She threw her hands up. “Fine, sorry. Carry on.”

“Okay, ready?”

“Yep.”

Placing his hands back on her cheeks, Ash closed his eyes and leaned forward, bracing himself for what came next. Misty suddenly burst out laughing, turning her face away from him. 

“What now?” He groaned in frustration. 

“Your face,” she giggled some more. “I’m sorry, but you can’t do that. You look like a goldeen.”

“Seriously? Forget this!” he yelled as he threw his hands up in the air and turned his attention back toward the door. Once more, he banged his fist, shouting at his friends who he knew were listening on the other side. “Hey, good for nothing friends! Let us out right now!”

“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” Their drunken voices chanted. 

“It’s hopeless, Ash. They’re not going to let us out, so let’s just do this already!” Misty shouted from across the room. 

He turned to yell back. “No!”

“Why not?”

“Misty, I’m not going to kiss you!”

“You want out of here as bad as I do, so stop being a wuss, Ketchum, and just kiss me already!”

“No, not like this!”

They both froze. The room fell into complete silence, not even the chanting of their drunken friends able to penetrate their thoughts. 

Shit flew through Ash’s head at the same time Misty said, “Excuse me?” 

“Misty, I-no I didn’t-I-I didn’t mean it like that. We can’t, um, you know. It’s not like-” he stumbled over his words, staring down at his feet. He felt like a pidgey that had been cornered by an ekans. He didn’t want to, but he turned to face her. Her arms were folded across her chest, and her one eyebrow was arched in curiosity. 

“Then what exactly did you mean?” she pressed him. 

“I mean…” he started, struggling to come up with an excuse. Fingers threaded through his hair in distress, he slid down the wall until he was seated in a lump on the floor. “I meant, you know…Ugh! I don’t know!” 

Misty nodded, although she seemed unconvinced. “I see.”

Since Misty and Brock had visited him in Alola, Ash started noticing how different he felt around Misty. He began to notice how she looked and how much he enjoyed watching her, especially when she sunbathed on the beach. He purposely tried to push her buttons so that the two would argue, and he could feel the heat as the intensity of their argument drew them closer together.  And his body would flush with warmth when they would brush hands while walking side by side or when she would hug him.

As Brock had unenthusiastically shared with him, Ash had a crush on Misty, and it was about damn well time. He wanted to deny it, but the logic was sound, and the idea of dating Misty didn’t seem so outlandish. But the thought of telling her how he felt was terrifying. 

Plus, there was the whole issue of her dating someone else. 

Seeming to either have some sympathy for him or, at the very least, acknowledge that he was distressed, Misty sat down beside him. Leaning her head against the wall, she closed her eyes and signed. 

“Look, if you don’t want to do this, and it’s, apparently, causing you such distress,  we can lie so we can just get out of here, okay?” Hurt and-disappointment?-flashed across her face. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to kiss her-the complete opposite, actually. In fact, he probably thought about it way too much. It was that, well, this wasn’t exactly how he pictured their first kiss. In his mind, it would have been much more natural and less forced. There would be mutual feelings between the two of them. Maybe a nice dinner beforehand that led to him walking her to her door at the end? “They’re probably too drunk to even question us.”

“It’s not that…it’s…I mean, won’t your boyfriend care that you’re kissing someone else? Someone that isn’t him?”

Misty shook her head. “It’s just a harmless dare in a stupid game. It’s not like we’re sleeping together.” Ash’s entire face flamed a bright red, but Misty didn’t seem to notice. “Besides, we broke up a few days ago, so I doubt he would even care.”

Oh. Well, that certainly changed things. 

“You did?” He paused to look at her. Why hadn’t she said anything before now? And why was she here and not moping around, making her way through pints of ice cream like he’d seen in those chick flicks she always forced him to watch? “Are you okay?”

Misty nodded. “It was for the best. We both agreed we didn’t really see our relationship going anywhere-no real future or anything, you know? Plus, I’ve been busy with the gym, and he was possibly relocating to Sinnoh. I didn’t really want to do the whole long-distance thing. Wasn’t really worth it.”

“Oh, I see. That makes sense.”

“And there’s someone else that I’d rather be with anyway.” Ash whipped around to face her, but she suddenly hopped up from the floor. “Now, let’s go convince some drunk people that we kissed.”

Ash nodded. “Okay. Fine. But you do the talking.” If his rambling explanation to Misty earlier wasn’t evidence enough, he was not known for his way with words.

“Sure, whatever.” Misty turned to bang on the door. “Alright, you got your wish. Now let us out!” 

From behind her, Ash sat, still slightly dazed by the whole situation. There was someone else? Who? Brock? Nah…he was too old for Misty, and she’d made it very clear that he was more of an older brother. Gary? The two did spend a lot of time together when Ash was traveling. . . 

The door started creaking open before it slammed closed again, an argument breaking out amongst their friends. It was hard to decipher what they were saying, but a voice-maybe Tracey?-was loud and clear as it shouted back at them. “Text us a picture, and we’ll believe you!”

“What?” Misty shot back. “No way! That wasn’t part of the deal! We did your stupid dare. Now let us out!”

Misty’s phone beeped in her pocket, and she pulled out her phone, her eyes narrowing at the screen. 

“What’s it say?” Ash asked, his voice finally returning. 

Misty turned the phone around to show him the screen. 

Daisy S:  Send us a picture. If it’s acceptable, then we’ll let you go.

Misty W: 🖕🏻

Misty took back her phone before furiously typing out another message. She waited a moment for a reply before reading the message and slipping the phone back into her pocket. “I texted Josh and let him know what was going on. He should be here in about 10 minutes to come rescue us.”

She texted Josh!? She texted her boyfriend-ex-boyfriend?

Ash didn’t mean to, but he felt himself starting to panic a bit. If Misty and Josh had the chance to see each other again, would they realize that they missed each other? That they hadn’t wanted to break up? Would they get back together, and any chance he had of dating Misty would disappear? 

Ash's mind was racing with thoughts and emotions, making it hard for him to think clearly. He knew he had to stay composed and sort out his feelings. He had to focus on the present and the fact that he and Misty were still stuck in this room with no Josh and their friends on the other side. 

Ash breathed. He had to get control of himself. He was spiraling.

“So…this other person?” Ash asked, trying to come across as nonchalant.

Misty sighed. “Just drop it, Ash. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Alright, cool. That’s fine. So…we just wait for Josh to get here?” Ash asked, trying to keep his voice steady. “And then what?” You two meet eyes and magically fall back in love? 

Misty nodded, seemingly unfazed by the situation. “Yep. Or we could, you know, just do what they say. But Josh is usually good at handling these things.”

“He’s good at rescuing people from their friends who are trying to force them to kiss?” Ash asked.

Misty sighed, her head drooping to her chest. “Yeah, sure, Ash.”

As they waited, Ash and Misty sat in awkward silence, not sure what to say to each other. Ash couldn’t help but wonder what had gone wrong between Misty and Josh. It wasn’t any of his business, and she’d probably snap at him for asking, but part of him wanted to understand more about her romantic history. 

“I don’t regret breaking up with Josh,” Misty said, finally breaking the silence. “It was the right decision for both of us. We were just heading in different directions, and it was better to end things before we resented each other, you know?”

“I get it. Sometimes relationships just don’t work out,” Ash replied, trying his best to sound supportive and not at all like he was trying to dig for more information. Which he most definitely was.

The minutes ticked by, each one stretching longer than the last as Ash and Misty sat in awkward anticipation, waiting for Josh to arrive or their friends to give up-whichever came first. Ash didn't know what to say, feeling a mix of relief and anxiety about the whole situation. He tried to distract himself by looking around the room, anything to avoid making eye contact with Misty.

Misty, on the other hand, seemed more composed. She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, shooting occasional glances at Ash. Before either could dwell on it further, there was a series of knocks at the door. Ash jumped at the sudden and intrusive sound.

“Misty? It’s Josh!” Josh called from the other side of the door. Misty couldn’t help but notice that the previous chanting had come to a halt. “I got your text. Are you okay?”

"Yeah, we're fine," Misty replied. "Can you let us out?"

“Uh, sure,” Josh replied, uncertainty in his voice. “What’s going on in there?”

A series of voices could be heard from the other side of the door, but Misty couldn’t discern who was who as they quickly died down to a whisper. Possibly Daisy. Maybe Brock or Gary?

“Josh?” Misty called back after a few seconds of complete silence had passed.  

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" called back at her, but this time, there was one particular voice she could easily discern from the crowd. Josh.

Ash’s jaw dropped to the floor, and his eyes flooded with panic as he sputtered out his words. “But…but he’s your boyfriend! Shouldn’t he-”

“Ex,” Misty corrected him.

“Fine, ex-boyfriend.” Regardless of Josh and Misty’s relationship status, Ash couldn’t wrap his head around why Josh would willingly join their friends. “Shouldn’t he be upset or something? You’d be upset if your ex-boyfriend were kissing another girl, right? That’s how these things work, right?” 

He would never understand how relationships worked.

“Would you just stop talking for, like, one second?” Misty snapped. “I can’t think with you blabbering back there!”

Ash shrunk backward, giving himself and Misty a wide berth between them as she started moving around, cursing silently under her breath. Her previously calm and collected demeanor had faded away, and it was clear that her fiery personality was taking over. Ash opened his mouth to say something, but Misty shot him a glare that silenced him immediately. Before, he’d been the one losing his mind over the predicament they’d been put in, so it was nice to see her finally feeling the same way. While she paced back and forth in front of the door, Ash sat on his bed and watched. 

Suddenly, her pacing stopped, and when she turned to face him, her deep blue eyes were ablaze with determination. Ash swallowed, terrified of what she might do. He was fully expecting her to demonstrate her god-like strength and kick down the door, but instead, she marched over and stopped right in front of him. 

As he’d proven himself to be earlier that night, Ash opened his mouth like a blubbering idiot, but before he could say anything, Misty grabbed the lapels of his jacket and yanked him forward. Her face crashed into his, and his eyes went wide as her nose collided with his.

What the hell is she doing?  

His brain was slow to process what was happening, but Misty was quick to readjust, tilting her face so that their lips lined up perfectly. At first, the kiss was clumsy, anything but romantic, or what Ash had pictured in his head, those rare instances he let such thoughts enter his mind. He was pretty sure they knocked teeth and noses a few times, too. But then, his brain finally caught up to what was happening, and Ash wrapped his arms around her waist and yanked her closer, the momentum sending them crashing back onto Ash’s bed.

Misty fell onto his chest with an oof , and for a moment, the two lay still, Misty’s torso and face awkwardly smashed into Ash’s chest, his arms still wrapped around her waist. Ash wanted to release a small groan, not from enjoyment but from sheer embarrassment. How was he messing this up so badly? Misty would definitely be running back into Josh’s arms. There was no doubt in Ash’s mind that Josh was more suave and romantic than he could ever be. 

“Is this okay?” Misty craned her neck to look at him, and she was so close Ash could see the light tint of red in her cheeks and the specks of green in her eyes. Was this okay? All he could do was vaguely nod as he felt his stomach tighten and all the oxygen rush from his body. Her face flushed a deeper red, and she wore a sheepish expression he’d seldom seen on her. “Sorry, I just…they’re not letting us out of here, and Josh kind…well, you know…and you weren’t doing anything, which is fine, but I thought…”

He would never know where his surge of confidence came from at that moment. Maybe it was seeing her all flustered and tripping over her words like he had only moments earlier. Maybe it was that she had been the one to ask if he was okay with what was happening-that she hadn’t immediately gotten up and run away. Or maybe, it was the way she never let go of him, even as they fell. Either way, Ash gently cupped her face and pulled her back down to him.