For the first time in his life, Neil Ketchum was scared.
In several instances, he had been startled, disappointed, remorseful, and even anxious, but today marked the first day that he had ever experienced true fear.
Even when Misty became furious at him for disobeying a teacher, tracking mud in the house, or breaking furniture, her rage never quite frightened him. He would be slightly taken aback, but more than anything, he would feel ashamed of himself for causing her trouble. His mother worked very hard so that the two of them could live happily and comfortably.
He had grown accustomed to living alone with his mom, excepting the occasional visit from Grandma Delia or one of his aunts. His family was small, but he loved their daily life. His bond with his mom was tight-knit, full of affection and loyalty (as well as some exasperation, but a single mom raising her eight-year-old son was bound to get frustrated sometimes).
In fact, he couldn't even remember when his family had been different from the way it was now; after all, Ash and Misty divorced when he was still a baby. He and mom lived alone, but dad called often and visited every now and then. He had never considered the possibility of his family changing.
Not until now.
"I'm a big brother?"
Somehow, the fact still hadn't registered in the young boy's mind.
Suddenly the doorbell rang, and Neil nearly jumped out of his skin. Surprised by her son's reaction, Misty put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Are you nervous?" she asked softly. Her tone seemed uncomfortable, too. Was she worried about this change in demeanor in her little boy, who had never shown any signs of fear before? "They're your family. They already love you." Maybe she was the one trying to suppress her own trepidations, for both of their sakes. Neither of them had time to dwell on their anxieties, however, as the doorbell rang again and again. With a groan Misty hurried over to the front door to greet their guests.
"Impatient as always, aren't we, Ash?" she said with a sly grin, although her voice still sounded a little shaky.
"Look who's talking!" Ash laughed and elbowed her playfully. If there was any tension in the air, the man from Pallet Town had certainly dispelled it with his warm smile and jocular behavior. "It's good to see you again, Mist. Apparently, this little guy was excited to meet you too, because he's the one who kept ringing the doorbell!" He bent down and ruffled the raven-colored hair of a mischievous-looking toddler.
"Like father, like son," Serena commented with a small giggle. "Thank you again for having us over," she told Misty. Both women seemed relieved that Ash had already lightened the atmosphere. Neil had never heard his mom say anything negative about Serena, but maybe this meeting was awkward for them somehow. He didn't really understand grown-ups.
"My pleasure! How was the trip?"
As Ash sprang into a story about a swarm of Vivillon that took to the sky right as their ship left the port, Serena knelt down to Neil's eye level. "Hi, Neil," she said warmly, with a sweet smile on her face. Neil had only seen the Kalosian before in pictures or through video chat; now that he was face-to-face with her, he noticed that she was extremely pretty. "It's so nice to really meet you! Your brothers and sister are excited to meet you, too." She pulled her arms around her three kids, who seemed a little nervous in this unfamiliar home with unfamiliar people. "Ricky, Edgar, Angelique," she began, resting her hand atop each child's head as she said his or her name, "this is your big brother Neil. Say hi to your big brother!"
The blond boy gazed curiously at the red-haired boy before turning towards his dark-haired twin. "Big bruder," he mumbled, and he clutched onto his brother's arm.
Serena laughed and patted his head. "Yes, yes, Ricky is your big brother, but Neil is your big brother too! You have two big brothers. Aren't you lucky?"
The twins seemed to be struggling with this concept. "I'm the big bruder!" Ricky insisted, pointing to himself rather aggressively.
Meanwhile, Angelique seemed to understand the situation, or at least she didn't protest. She just looked down at her little pink shoes, nodding slowly.
Neil found himself turning his gaze down to the ground, too. His siblings didn't really seem that excited to meet him after all. Was this a mistake? Maybe they just didn't understand. The boys were probably only two years old, and he thought he heard Serena mention that Angelique had just turned four. How could little kids handle all of this news and all of these changes when he, a big kid, could hardly manage to keep up?
"Serena! Could you come here?" His father's voice called out from the kitchen.
"One second! I'm with the kids!"
Ash called out to his wife again, more urgently this time. "I don't think the teapot is supposed to make this much steam!"
Serena jumped to her feet. "Here, I have some snacks in here for you all." She took a small cooler off of her shoulder and handed it to Angelique. "I'd better make sure your dad doesn't burn down the house." She paused for a moment, as if thinking about what she had just said. "I hope you all learn to cook better than him," she added with a little grin, looking over all four children before hurrying into the kitchen. Apparently, she arrived around the same time as Misty, because Neil could hear startled shouts from both women as they entered.
"I leave for three minutes, Ash Ketchum!"
"Ash, why is the oven on?"
"I hope you all learn to cook better than him." Somehow, it felt nice being included. The awkward exchange from a few minutes beforehand seemed a little less painful now. Whether they accepted it or not, whether they could understand it now or not, the four of them were all related by blood. They were siblings. They were family.
"Fwoot snack." Edgar began to reach for the cooler, but right as he was about to grab the strap, Ricky snatched it away from him.
"Cookie," Ricky countered, and he fiddled with the zipper as he tried to unzip the top.
"Hungwy," Edgar cried, and he grabbed the strap as well.
"Cookie!" Ricky snapped, and he began to tug on his end of the strap, trying to wrestle the cooler away from his brother.
In a panic, Angelique hurried over to her brothers and tried to calm them down. "I get both!" she told them, trying to calm them down. "Let me help!" Neither of the boys seemed willing to listen, however, and they both kept tugging as fiercely as they could.
Neil saw the strap snap even before he heard it rip. Before any of the kids could properly register what was happening, the strap tore and both boys were flung onto their bottoms, each holding a broken part of the strap. Ultimately, Ricky had won the cooler, but right now he didn't even seem to care. "I… I… uh… wah…" He sniffled and rubbed his eyes, trying to force himself not to cry.
"Sis!" Edgar, on the other hand, allowed tears to stream down his face. Snot dripped from his crusty toddler nose as he waddled up to his sister, waving the strap in front of her. "Help bag! Fix bag! Sis…" He thrust it into her hands before plopping down onto his bum again.
Angelique looked dazed and helpless as she took the frayed strap end and turned towards the older twin, who now fixated his bright, sad blue eyes on her. "Fix," he whispered, shoving the bag towards her. "Fix!"
Did the twins seriously expect her to be able to magically repair the cooler? The poor girl was hardly older than they were! 'She's the only big sibling they've had until now,' Neil realized with a jolt. 'I guess they've always relied on her when dad and Serena weren't around.'
"T-Tape!" Angelique stammered, looking around frantically. She almost seemed more distraught than the boys; with all of the responsibility thrown onto her out of the blue, she must have felt overwhelmed. "Uh… uh… Where's the tape?"
Edgar began to sob heavily, and his words became completely incoherent. Even Ricky was shedding a few tears now, but he continued to echo, "Tape. Tape. Sis! Tape!"
An idea flashed into Neil's mind, and he quickly stepped forward to take the broken strap pieces from Angelique. "Tape won't help," he told her softly, and her jaw dropped. She swiftly turned her head away, shivering with emotion and unable to make eye contact with him. "I can fix it, though!" he assured her quickly, noticing that tears were beginning to well in the corners of her eyes. "I learned this cool knot at Poke Scouts! Watch this!" He turned around and began to fiddle with the ends of the strap. These knot-tying techniques were intended for ropes, but he could surely apply them to fabric, too!
The first try failed. The second one did, too. Was he supposed to go under or over at this part? "Aha!" After his third attempt, he whirled back around and handed the cooler to the little girl. The knot was crude and the strap looked wrinkled and worn down by the time he had finished with it, but the cooler was now in one piece.
Angelique gasped and turned her gaze up to him for the first time that day. "Thank you." Her wide, dark brown eyes were sparkling with awe, but that wasn't what caught Neil's attention. The depth of her eyes was what shocked him. Just from one look in this preschooler's face, he could tell that she had big dreams. She had big dreams, and she was going to pursue them with burning determination, limitless zeal, and unwavering passion. He knew those eyes because they were the same as Ash Ketchum's eyes.
They were the same as his eyes.
Neil experienced fear for the first time that day.
However, he also experienced a bond that he'd never imagined possible.
"You can always rely on your big brother!" The words still felt weird in his head and in his heart, but rolling off of his tongue, they almost felt natural. "Wanna see the other things I learned in Poke Scouts? I can chirp just like a Pidgey! Wait, are there Pidgeys in Kanto?" Angelique nodded, still looking up at him in amazement. He'd also caught the attention of the twins, who were surprised to find that this strange boy had fixed their cooler for them and was now going to make Pokémon sounds for them. "Great! Now, repeat after me! Pi-pi! Pi-pi!"
Maybe he could be a big brother after all.