Easier Said Than Done (NegaiShipping, G)
Welcome, one and all. In case you were not aware, NegaiShipping is AshxIris. The idea for this one-shot came from BW032; that is, the episode about the Cottonee that was in love with another Cottonee.
This is actually the first romance fic I have ever written and while I think it came out well, I would really appreciate out some constructive criticism.
That being said, I hope you enjoy it.
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Easier Said Than Done
A NegaiShipping Fic
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Push forward. When it comes to love, being agressive is best.
She had made it sound so simple that time. When it came to emotions, Iris was never one to hesitate. Certainly, if she were mad, she would let people know that she was mad. If she was annoyed, her two companions would not hear the end of it. If she was happy, she'd be skipping and jumping all over the place. It was simply how she was. Iris assumed that when it came to love, it would be the same. Just tell them you love them.
Iris quickly discovered that it wasn't as simple as that. She had prepared herself to march right up to him, tell him "I love you" and that'd be that. But as she called out to him and approached him, and his warm, expressive eyes met hers as he smiled kindly, she felt the words die in the back of her throat. All she could do was splutter out a "good morning" before quickly running off to carry out her morning tasks.
When it comes to love, you need to settle it beautifully and with a wham!
That had been the plan. There would be no mincing of words. She would be straightfoward; tell him she loves him, hug him, kiss him. It was perfect. Even someone as dense as him would be able to understand.
Yet, she couldn't do it.
It was morning in Unova and the group was preparing for breakfast. While Cilan was cooking and Ash was feeding the Pokemon, Iris was preparing the table. Usually, she didn't eat before breakfast, but her thoughts about confessing to a certain young trainer drove her to do so. Subsequently, she had taken a ripe and juicy apple from the fruit bag and took out her frustrations by mercilessly chimping down on it.
How could she do what she planned to when a simple look from him caused her to seize up? That look of childish innoncence which she had grown to adore, and that kindness, determination, enthusiasm and bravery that endeared him to her in the first place; whenever she saw them, she could only stop and admire.
Don't mope about because you were rejected once. You need to attack, attack and attack again!
Iris had been rejected... by herself. Her body and mind were not in sync. Mentally, she was ready to confess. Physically, she wasn't. Her body would hesitate. Her vocal cords would not work properly. Her stomach would growl and tell her to eat something.
She wanted to attack again. Approach him again, grab him by the shoulders, tell him she loves him. She tried to. She walked up to him and reached out to touch him, but hesitated just before that vital point of contact. He turned to face her, eyebrow raised in curiosity.
"Something wrong, Iris?" he asked.
Say it, she told herself. Just say it. Be agressive. Settle it now, with a bang, because you're losing this fight.
"Iris?" he pressed, eyes full of concern.
"I..." Iris started, but couldn't finish. She stared into his eyes and felt her face warm up.
"You're looking a little red," he commented. "Do you have a fever?"
Annoyed, Iris couldn't help herself. "You're such a kid."
He frowned. "What's with you?"
And they had fallen into the same routine again.
She bit down on the apple she had kept handy - perhaps because, deep down, she knew this would happen - and refused to look him in the eye. She was aware that he was staring at her, waiting for an answer. When she couldn't give one, he sighed.
"If something's wrong, you should tell us," he said. "We're your friends, after all. You don't need to hide anything from us."
"Nothing's wrong," she lied. She bit into the apple again. "I was just flushed from hunger, is all."
Because she was thinking about love.
She risked a glance at him and saw that he didn't look convinced. Her lie was blatant. It was his fault that she was so flushed. It was his fault that she couldn't just come out with it. He left no openings. He would either stop her with those eyes of his or get her going off on an tangent by saying or doing something childish.
She needed to create an opening.
"Well, there was something I wanted to ask you."
"Yeah? What is it?" He looked eager to help. "Did you need a training partner?"
That was so typical of him. The first thing on his mind was Pokemon. It always was. He had an admirable yet somewhat infuriating devotion to them, to the point where you could seldom get him truly alone; without him training with his Pokemon, or playing with them, or having Pikachu on his shoulder.
Now was one of there rare moments where it was just Ash. She was going to capitalise on it.
"No, I'm just curious about something."
"Okay," he said slowly, curious as to what she was going to ask him.
Iris looked off to the side and fidgeted with her fingers behind her back. It was just a question, yet she felt strangely awkward asking it. "How would you want a girl to confess to you?"
He seemed taken aback. "Confess?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm... I've never really thought about it," he said thoughtfully. "Why do you ask? Do you know someone who likes me?"
This was her chance.
"I do."
"Really? Who is it?"
And he misses the point.
"No, I meant m-..." She clicked her tongue in annoyance, both at him and her own incapaility to finish the sentance. "Just answer the question!"
"But I wanna know who it is!" he complained. Like a child.
"I'll tell you after you answer my question."
"Come on, tell me!" he insisted. "Is it someone I know?"
Iris rolled her eyes. "Yes, it's someone you know."
"I wonder who it could be..." He took up a thinking pose, seemingly thinking hard about who it could be. "Is it Bianca?"
Bianca had said she liked Ash, but seemed just as dense as he was when it came to romance.
"No. It's not her."
"Burgundy?"
Iris didn't know the girl that well, but she somehow doubted that she harbored feelings for him. Not when a certain other seemed to attract her attention whenever they met up.
"No."
"...Georgia?"
Sometimes, he could say the stupidest of things.
"It's definitely not Georgia."
"Then who could it be?" He appeared genuinely confused and that irked Iris. Did he not consider that she might be the one?
Well, she'd show him.
"It's me." She took a deep breath, preparing herself to say it. His eyes had widened in surprise, and for once he Ash was speechless. This was her opening. "I love you."
There. She had finally come out with it. Now there was only one thing left to do. She had to settle it, before he had a chance to say anything.
Settle is beautifully, and with a wham!
Holding him by the shoulders, she leaned in and stole his lips in a kiss. Iris had discovered that her methods were easier than done, but as she felt Ash relax and return the kiss, she knew that they had won her this fight.
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