Author's Note

All characters are above the age of 16.

Ash had never realized how long Misty's legs were.

Or were her shorts shorter than usual?

No, that didn't make sense, Ash thought. He must not have noticed it before. Or maybe it was the angle?

Ash tried not to stare as Misty leaned over in her chair to hold her marshmallows closer to the campfire.

"Toge, togeprri," Togepi cooed, scampering over to Misty's chair. Misty retracted her marshmallows from the fire to give Togepi her attention, smiling at the Spike Ball Pokémon. Even from a distance, Ash couldn't help but notice her viridian eyes glittering brightly as she spoke in soothing tones to Togepi.

"Pika?" Ash nearly jumped at the sound of Pikachu's voice on his right. He turned to see the Mouse Pokémon balanced on the armrest of his chair, looking at him curiously. Ash scratched the back of his head, pulling Pikachu into his lap.

"Ah, it's nothing buddy, just got distracted for a second."

Before he could strike up more of a conversation with his oldest Pokémon, it jumped out of his lap, ran over to Misty's chair, and jumped into her lap. Ash couldn't help but notice the soft depressions Pikachu's feet made on Misty's thighs as it stood up and talked to Togepi, who was already sitting there.

"Hey, Pikachu, what's up?" Misty asked sweetly. Pikachu waved at her, and then continued talking to Togepi. After a moment, both Pokémon jumped down from Misty's lap and waved to her before walking toward the tent together.

"Alright, good night you two, sleep tight," Misty called after them.

Ash watched the Pokémon from afar, wondering why Pikachu had left him in such a hurry. Just before Pikachu entered the tent, he turned and looked at Ash, and the two made eye contact. As soon as Pikachu disappeared beyond the tent flaps, Ash was very aware that he and Misty were alone.

"Mind if I scoot over?" Misty asked, already moving her chair toward him. Ash's throat felt dry. He shrugged.

Misty left no gap between their chairs as she sat down next to him. Her right forearm grazed his left, and Ash pulled his arm away quickly. As soon as he did, he sort of wished he hadn't. Misty's skin felt as soft as it looked.

"Uh, you ok?" Misty asked, noticing the jerky movement.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ash said curtly. His mouth was really dry.

"You don't sound fine."

"I'm fine, can you just drop it?"

Misty fell silent for a second, and Ash felt guilty. He didn't understand why he was so hypersensitive to his first traveling companion all of a sudden, but he definitely didn't mean to take it out on her.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

Misty's voice was soft, and the vulnerability in it melted Ash's thought process. He spoke without thinking.

"I know, Mist."

Ash cheeks burned as he felt Misty's gaze trained on him. He pretty much never called her by that nickname. He fixed his eyes on the campfire, feeling his heart beat faster. Seemingly against his will, the crackling of the fire and the chirping of the Kricketot quieted, and the night felt darker. Misty's chair was already pressed against his, but it somehow felt like she had moved closer. Ash's heart kept beating faster; he did everything he could to keep his breathing under control.

"Ash," Misty said. Her right hand was suddenly resting on his left, and Ash felt his skin burning where her fingertips were resting. The thought of how it would feel to interlace their fingers jumped into his mind, and he pushed it out. "Look at me."

Ash turned his head on reflex, which he quickly realized was a mistake. Light from the fire illuminated Misty's worried face brightly, and Ash had the sudden impulse to cup her face in his hands and tell her there was nothing to worry about. Instead, he pulled his hand away from hers and set his face.

"What?"

His flat tone seemed to shatter a bubble that had been enclosing them, and the fire roared alongside the night songs of the Bug-type Pokémon. Misty looked surprised for a second, but then she set her face, retracting her hand from Ash's lap and standing up quickly.

"Nothing. I'm going to bed," Misty said flatly, standing up and folding her chair.

Ash felt his heart sinking as Misty walked away. The image of her deep blue-green eyes, flooded with concern for him, wouldn't leave his mind. Ash stood up abruptly, knowing he wouldn't get any sleep unless he said something now.

"Wait."

"What, Ash?" Misty turned to face him, and Ash was glad she was far enough away that he couldn't see her face. It was hard enough dealing with what was going on in his own system without having to see Misty's reaction to it. Ash opened his mouth and closed it, not sure what to say.

"I'm going to bed," Misty repeated, about to turn around.

"Want to dance?"

Ash felt his heart skip two beats and race several times faster than it had before. He couldn't see Misty's reaction clearly since she was nearly at the tent, but since he was next to the campfire he knew she could see his face clearly. Ash felt exposed, and the air around him seemed to press down on him until Misty finally responded.

"Sure."

Misty turned to put her chair down next to the tent, and Ash wiped his sweaty palms on his pants while she wasn't looking. She stood up and walked toward him, and he walked toward her slightly, moving far enough away from the fire so she couldn't see his face clearly. He noticed as Misty approached that she wasn't looking at him pointedly like before; instead, she had her face turned away slightly.

Misty came to a stop in front of him and held her hand out. Ash clasped her hand with his, and the warmth from the contact seemed to spread through his body. He moved his other hand toward Misty's waist slowly.

"Wuss," Misty muttered, and Ash felt her left hand yank his right onto her waist.

Ash gulped. Misty was wearing her usual crop top, and so his hand was directly in contact with her bare skin. Her skin was soft and supple, but it didn't bulge much under the pressure of his fingers. Even though this was the outfit she usually wore, Ash had never realized how toned her waist was.

"Are you gonna lead, or do I have to do that, too?"

"I'm doing it," Ash retorted. For once, he was glad for Misty's verbal press; even in his present state of mind, he was so trained to banter back that it came naturally.

Ash stepped forward, and Misty stepped back. He stepped to the right, and she followed. He stepped back, and she stepped forward. Then he stepped left, and Misty did as well. Ash watched their feet intently, focused on not tripping and not stepping on Misty's sneakers.

Ash repeated the motions. In his opinion, this was going pretty well.

"You're terrible at this," Misty deadpanned.

Ash bristled and came to a halt, still looking down. "What do you mean?"

"You're moving in a square, like a robot."

"Isn't that what square dancing is?"

Misty laughed suddenly, and Ash's face shot up to look at her. He had thought she was mad, but she smiled widely at him, her eyes dancing. "No, that's not what it is at all."

Ash's ears reddened, and he looked away. "Can you show me, then, instead of making fun of me?"

Misty laughed again. "Why don't we try something simpler?" She gently pulled her right hand out of Ash's left, and snaked both of her arms around his neck so she could interlace her fingers. Ash didn't need to be told to put his left hand on Misty's waist.

"Now sway."

Ash continued to look down at their feet, furrowing his brow as he tried to figure out what swaying entailed.

"Relax, Ash," Misty put her right hand on his heart, and Ash looked up at her. The blue in her eyes was more prominent now, and it calmed him. He couldn't look away. Misty broke his gaze to look at her hand inquisitively, and Ash realized she had caught on to his elevated heartrate. Misty looked back up at him, her expression softer, and Ash stared back silently.

She was onto him.

Misty looked down and moved almost imperceptibly closer to his body. Ash could feel her hot breath on his chin, and for the first time he realized that Misty was small. She wasn't that much shorter than him, but her slight frame fit into his body in a way that made him want to wrap her in his arms and hold her close.

"Hey, you've got it," Misty cheered, and Ash realized he was indeed swaying, even though he was sure he would never be able to explain the motion afterward. It had come naturally to his feet while he had been concentrated on Misty. "You just needed to relax."

"Thanks for helping me relax."

Misty paused, obviously unsure of what to say. She had clearly sensed something was different with him right now, and he was reinforcing her feeling with everything he was saying. Ash realized that his unusual behavior wasn't fair to Misty. He didn't know what he was feeling, and he didn't know what he was going to do about it. Asking her to indulge him like this wasn't right.

Ash stopped his swaying, a gloom coming over him. Misty looked up at him in slight surprise. Ash bent his head slightly.

"I don't know what I'm doing, Misty – sorry for asking you to do this for me."

"It's ok," Misty responded quickly. She pulled her hands away from Ash's neck, and Ash reluctantly detached his hands from her waist. "Good night, I guess."

"Yeah. Good night," Ash replied regretfully.

Before he could react, Misty hugged him. Ash felt her cheek on his shoulder and her breath on his ear as she whispered.

"For the record, I didn't do it for you."

Misty pulled back and turned heel, disappearing into the tent quickly. Ash stared after her, his body still tingling from the embrace and his heart lightened by her words.

Ash tucked himself into his sleeping bag, crossing his arms behind his head. Misty's legs had always been that long, and her waist had always been that toned. Her skin had always been that soft, and her voice had always been that sweet.

Ash just hadn't noticed it until now. As he drifted off to sleep, orange hair and eyes deeper than the sea filled his mind, and one more thought flashed across his consciousness.

Better late than never.