Ages:
Brock: 21
Ash: 17
Misty: 18
Joy (Cerulean): 20

Enjoy!

The Densest of Them All
by Kenshin (hey, that's me!)

"Hey Brock, whatcha got there?" asked Ash, curiously peering over Brock's shoulder. Brock almost did a facefall trying to hide what he was holding. "Nothing! Nothing! Just a ummmm... empty box! Yeah, an empty box!" Brock began to panic. Had Ash seen?

"Brock, why do you have an empty jewelry box?" Ash was confused. Brock's mind started to race. 'He saw! I know he saw! Damn, what am I going to do?!' thought Brock. 'Should I just tell him the truth? He's going to find out sooner or later anyway....'

"Okay, Ash. I'll tell you. I can't keep it secret from you anymore," Brock sighed. "It's a ring." Ash cocked an eyebrow (that's not a dirty term! Stop laughing at it!) "Brock, why do you have a ring?"

This time Brock did a full facefall. "Ash! I'm going to propose!" yelled Brock, who then promptly slapped a hand over his mouth. "Uhhhh, okay. Why are you trying to keep it a secret?" asked Ash. "Well, I didn't want anyone to know until I was actually ready to propose." Brock explained. "Oh, I see. But then, why do you have the ring already if you aren't ready to propose?"

"Well....I *am* ready, but....I'm too nervous to do it!" Brock was exasperated. "What am I gonna do if she says no?" "You'll never know if you don't ask, Brock," said Ash, showing unusual wisdom. Brock's jaw dropped. "You're right! I should stop being a chicken and just ask!"

"Who are you going to propose to, anyway?" asked Ash. "*AHEM* I will be proposing matrimony to Nurse Joy of Cerulean City. She's a third cousin of the Joy in Pallet, a second cousin to the Joy in Pewter City, and a sister of the Joy in Viridian city!" said Brock.

"Wow, you sure know your Joys..." mumbled Ash. "Yes, I do, don't I? But I know that this is the Joy for me. I've been writing to her every week and I stop and talk to her every time we go through Cerulean. In fact, last time we stayed there to visit Misty's sisters, I asked her to be my Joy, and she said that she would go steady with me!" Brock bragged. (okay, I'll stop with they Joy jokes now.)

"Hey, that's great Brock! Finally, you have a girlfriend!" teased Ash. Brock looked a little hurt. "That's not fair, coming from you, Mr. Bachelor of the year! *You've* never had a girlfriend either!" Brock retorted. It was Ash's turn to look hurt. "Rub it in, why don't you?"

"Hey Ash. Hey Brock. What's going on?" asked Misty, as she walked into the pokemon center. "Ummmmmm, nothing, right Ash?" "Right, nothing at all! What have you been doing Misty?" Misty looked at them suspiciously. 'They're up to something,' she thought. "I just went out shopping, but I came back to see if you two were hungry. Let's go get something to eat!" she begged.

"Okay, fine by me," said Ash. "Brock?" asked Misty. "Yeah, sure. Where do you want to go?" asked Brock. Misty jumped for joy (sorry) and clapped her hands. "I heard about this great new restaurant when I was shopping! I heard it's the best place in town." "What town are we in again?" asked Ash. "ASH!" yelled Brock and Misty together. "We're in Viridian, you idiot! Honestly, if we weren't along, you would *never* get to where you're heading!" said Misty. "That's not completely fair, Misty. He *does* hold the map right side up occasionally." mused Brock. "You two aren't being nice. I've decided I won't eat with you." said Ash. "Oh, please Ash. I'm sorry," begged Misty.

"Well...okay. What's this restaurant called?" "The Blueshell Palace," said Misty, dreamily. "I heard it was the most beautiful restaurant in Viridian." "Woah, sounds expensive!" warned Brock. "Yeah, I'm with Brock. Do we have enough money for someplace like that?" asked Ash. "Oh please, Ash! Pretty please! We *never* eat at a fancy restaurant. I just wanted to eat someplace nice while we were staying in town," Misty implored.

"Well....what do you think, Brock?" asked Ash, looking over at his friend. "AS long as we don't make a habit of it, then I guess it's okay," Brock shrugged. "Yeah! Thank you Ash!" said Misty, hopping up and down again. 'Why is she thanking me?' Ash thought to himself.

"Let's go!" squealed Misty, as she bolted out the door. "Hey, wait up!" Ash yelled after her. "Kids," mumbled Brock.

Ash and Brock followed Misty across town to a large, blue building shaped like a shell. "It looks like a big blue Shelder!" commented Ash. "Maybe that's why they call it the Blueshell Palace," Brock said teasingly. "Hey, you could be right!" said Ash, oblivious to Brock's sarcasm. Brock and Misty both did a facefall. "Ash, you're so dense!" said Misty. 'How can I get him to notice me when he's so dense?' she thought, desperately.

"Well, let's go in," said Brock, walking throught the entrance. "Wait up, Brock!" yelled Ash. "Wait a second, Ash," Misty said, but Ash was already through the door after Brock. "*sigh* Maybe this is hopeless," Misty said to herself.

"Table for three," said Brock, as he walked up to the waiter's station. "Oui, monsieur. One moment please." "Wow, I didn't think you could just walk into a place like this without a reservation," said Ash. "Ash, it's too early for dinner parties to have reservations here. We're eating between the lunch rush and dinner rush," explained Brock. "There are some restaraunts where you would be right, but in this case, the restaraunt is too new to have a large clientelle yet," commented a woman sitting in the waiting area.

Brock almost fainted. He turned around, knees shaking, and looked at the woman who had spoken. "Joy?" he said quietly. "Brock! I didn't expect to see anyone I knew here!" she said happily. "Wow, what are you doing in Viridian? When did you get here? Are you staying in town long?" Brock bubbled. "Well, I got some time off to visit my sister. We were going to meet here for dinner, but I just got a call from her saying there was an emergency. She told me to go ahead and enjoy myself, so I was just waiting for my table." explained Joy.

"How can he tell them all apart? They all look the same to me," whispered Ash to Misty. "I know, that's kinda creepy," Misty whispered back.

"So," said Joy, turning to look at the two whispering friends, "who are your friends?" Ash and Misty nearly leapt out of their skins when Joy addressed them. "Oh, that's Ash and Misty. I told you about them, remember?" said Brock. "Oh, yeah! So these are the friends I've heard so much about! It's nice to meet you both," said Joy.

"Uh, nice to meet you too Nurse Joy," stammered Ash. Misty blushed, "How are you?"

"Monsieur, your table is ready. Will the madame be joining you?" asked the waiter. "Yes," said Brock and Joy at the same time. Joy giggled. "What's the deal with those two?" Misty asked Ash. "Oh, ummm....." Ash stalled. 'Should I tell her?' he thought. "He...uh..... he's going out with her," Ash stammered. '*whew* I didn't mention the ring!' thought Ash proudly. "Oh, wow! I didn't know Brock had a girlfriend now! Congratulations Brock!"

Brock suddenly shot twin glares of death at Ash, who shook his head furtively. "Don't worry Brock! I didn't tell her about the ring!" he clapped a hand over his mouth. *OOPS!* "What ring?" asked Joy and Misty together. 'Is Brock going to propose to Joy?' thought Misty. 'Oh, no. Brock's fallen in love with Misty and he's going to propose tonight!' Joy panicked, 'That must be it! He didn't expect to see me tonight, and why else would he be at this restaraunt!' Joy started to sob. "Joy, I'm sorry," stammered Brock. *Great!* "I shouldn't have told stupid big-mouth Ash about the ring I bought. I had it out looking at it because I was thinking about you this afternoon and well....." He pulled the jewelry box out of his pocket and dropped to one knee. "Joy, will you marry me?" he asked. 'Will *I* marry him?' thought Joy. "Me? You mean, you weren't here to propose to Misty?" she said between sobs. "Why would you think that?" asked Brock. "Why else would you be in this restaraunt with and her and an engagement ring?" she accused. "Joy, you have it all wrong. First, I don't love Misty...not in that way anyway...I love you! Second, it was Misty's idea to come here, not mine. Third, I've had this ring for a month, but I haven't been able to work up the courage to ask you until now," Brock explained.

Joy looked at his through her tears. "Oh, Brock...I'm sorry. I just jumped to the wrong conclusion. Of course I'll marry you. I love you, you silly man!" she cried, *joy*fully this time. (I couldn't resist....don't hurt me, I don't like pain!)

"Wow, that was the wierdest proposal I've ever seen," whispered Ash to Misty. "Tell me about it. Brock barely got to pop the question," she whispered back.

"Hey, guys, do you mind if Joy and I eat alone? We need to discuss some things," said Brock. "Um, okay," said Ash. "Fine," said Misty. 'Yes! Now I get to eat alone with Ash!' she thought to herself.

"Waiter, we need to change our seating," said Brock. "Oui monsieur, I have two tables for two ready for you." (hey that rhymes!) "Perfect! See you two after dinner," said Brock.

Brock and Joy were led to their table next to a fountain, while Ash and Misty were seated in the middle of the restaraunt. "Wow, Brock sure looks happy," Ash commented. "Who wouldn't be happy? He just proposed, and Joy said yes," Misty sighed. "It's so romantic. I wish I was engaged," she hinted. "Wow, do you like somebody, Misty?" asked Ash. "Of course I do!" she said, "In fact, you know him!" 'He can't be this dense! He has to be able to figure this out....right?'

"Oh, I know! You like Tracy!" Ash guessed. "NO!" she said, "besides, isn't Tracy gay?" "I don't know Misty, he sure has a thing for Nurse Joys," said Ash. "Well, I still think he's gay, and it's not him," Misty repeated. "Ummm....is it Mikey?" Ash hazarded. "No." "James?" "No." "Bill?" "No, he's too old, anyway!" "Wait.....it's not......." Misty began to look excited. 'He's guessed it!' she thought. "It's not Gary is it?" Misty whacked Ash on the head. "NO!" she almost screamed, "I can't stand Gary, Ash! How could you even think that?"

"Well, I don't know Misty. It wasn't Brock, was it? I mean, he's engaged now." "No, Ash, it's not Brock either." "Ah, c'mon Misty! Don't make me guess all day!" Misty suddenly stood up, looking very angry. "Ash Ketchum, I will not tell you! You are the densest person I've ever met!" she yelled, "Out of all the people I have *ever* met you are the *densest of them all*!" With that, she stormed out of the restaraunt. (that was the title! did you catch that? ^_^)

Ash looked stunned. What had he done this time? "Ash? What did you say?" asked Brock, who had rushed over to find out what was going on. "What's wrong with Misty?" Joy asked, concerned, "She looked like she was crying when she rushed past our table."

"She was crying?" asked Ash, still confused. "We were just talking about who she liked. I was guessing, but I couldn't guess who it was. I asked her to tell me, but she got mad and yelled at me, then she left." Brock looked at him sternly. "She was right, Ash. You are dense." "What do you mean, Brock?" Ash was shocked. Why was everyone mad at him tonight? "Uh, Ash? Did you guess yourself?" ventured Joy.

"WHAT!" yelled Ash. Could it be? Could she actually like him? 'It almost makes sense, but why would she wait so long to tell me?' he thought. "Well, in any case, I guess I should apologize to her," he said, standing up.

"Ash, you better not do anything stupid that I have to clean up after," warned Brock, "I am *not* getting you out of this one." "Okay, okay. I'll just find her and tell her I'm sorry," Ash told him. 'And I'll try to find out if it *is* me or not,' he told himself.

With that, Ash ran out the door after Misty. He searched around and found her only a few blocks away, sitting on a bench bawling her eyes out.

"Misty...?" he said, quietly. "Go away...*sob*...Ash...*sob*...I don't ever want to see you again!" she yelled. "Misty, I'm sorry...I didn't mean to make you cry." He felt terrible. Did she really like him? Did she love him? Is that why she was crying now? Love? Why had he never told her he loved her? He had given up on them ever getting together years ago. He had decided that she didn't like him, so he would keep his feelings secret so they could remain friends, but this was too much for him. He had to tell her. "Misty? Was it me?" he asked, voice quavering. No response. "Misty?" he repeated, "Do you like me?"

She slowly looked up at him. "Yes, you idiot," she sobbed. 'Why is he torturing me like this?' she thought, 'I wish he would just go away!' "Misty, I'm so sorry. I never knew," he stammered on, "Why didn't you tell me? I kept waiting for some sign, something to tell me that I should make a move, but I never found one! I'd almost given up on you ever loving me!" he began to cry as well. 'I can't believe this! He *does* care!' she thought. Her heart did a little flip-flop as she realized this.

"Ash, I'm sorry too. I should have been more open with you, but I was afraid of rejection." "Misty...I love you." Those three words. Those three wonderful words. Suddenly, Misty was up off the bench with both arms around Ash. "Oh, Ash! I love you! I love you! I love you! Please, don't ever let me go!" she was crying still. "Misty...." he whispered.

He gently pulled her away from him, causing her face to contort with a new wave of anguish. 'Why is he pushing me away?' she thought, panicking. Then, her eyes widened as he planted a kiss on a her lips. She quickly returned it, pushing her tounge between his lips. Their tounges danced for what seemed like an eternity. Then, Ash broke the kiss. He looked at her, inches from his face. "I promise, I'll never stop loving you," he whispered. "Ash....let's ....let's go back to the Pok..." she began.

"Sure, let's go tell Brock the good news," he said happily. '*sigh* He really is dense, but I love him anyway....I guess we can.......later. After all, we have all the time in the world now!' she thought, as he led her back to the restaraunt by the hand.

FIN

Well, what did you think? Good? Bad? Ugly? All of the above?

Send all responses, flames, and questions to jon_schug@yahoo.com!

Later,
Kenshin