Father's Day
~ V ~
May quietly made her way through her silent house, turning off lights and double-checking to make sure the doors were locked. This would normally have been Steven's job, but he was at a Devon conference in Rustboro, having left the day before.
After another, rather paranoid check of the various security measures around the house, she crept along down the hall to where the bedrooms were. She briefly recalled when she and Steven had decided to stay in the house, around the time they found out May was expecting their first. The house, originally just Steven's as a get away from the League, had enough bedrooms for a good-sized family. It was small, only two stories, but it was enough for the time being.
May paused in one of the doorways, peering in on the sleeping form of her one-year-old daughter. Megan was still deeply asleep, a good sign, as she hadn't wanted Steven to leave and hadn't slept well the night before. But all seemed at peace with the toddler tonight, which was a relief. May hated seeing her daughter upset.
As May settled down in her own bed (much too empty without her husband's presence) she glanced at her PokéNav, realizing what the next day was. Father's Day. Steven's second year as a dad...and May's first year since she reconciled with her own father.
She had been thoroughly surprised to see, a couple weeks after Megan was born, her father visiting. Norman had never made a visit to that was purely social unless forced to do so by his wife.
But he had gone above and beyond May's expectations and had come to Mossdeep to try to reconcile. Their relationship was better, but not fully mended. It would take a long time before they returned to the cordial relationship they were in before.
May sighed, laid the device on her nightstand, and turned off her light. She made a point to remember to call her parents in the morning, before falling asleep, tightly clutching at Steven's pillow.
The next morning, May pulled up her computer, aiming to video chat with Steven. She pulled Megan into her lap as the computer booted up. "We're going to call Daddy," she explained, smoothing here daughter's wispy, silver hair, so light in color that it almost looked white. Megan perked up, watching as May signed onto her account. In a few moments, May's computer was connected over the internet to her husband's.
Steven appeared on screen. "Hey!" he greeted happily. "How are my two favorite ladies?"
May grinned. "We're good. Say hi to Daddy, Megan!"
The little girl gave a wide grin, showing off her four teeth. She reached for the screen, adding several small fingerprints to it.
"I miss you, too, Meggie," Steven said. He focused back on his wife. "So how are things?"
"Good. I called my parents this morning. Dad was at the gym, as usual, but Megan and I are going to go visit today and stay the night, so you can come join us when you're done with your meetings."
"Okay, I should be done after dinnertime. I'll join you then. Any particular reason for the visit, or just because? Littleroot's not exactly close."
"You don't know what day it is, do you?"
"It's Sunday."
"Yes, but it's also Father's Day."
"Is it?" He checked his PokéNav. "Oh, so it is. I forgot. These meetings are ridiculously boring and wipe your mind of all sorts of information."
May laughed. "Yes, so happy Father's Day."
Steven grinned. "So how are you getting to Littleroot?"
"We'll fly. Egou's flown with Megan before, so he knows what to expect. And he's a very smooth flyer."
"Her first long trip." Steven paused, glancing away from the camera. "I'm talking with May. Do you want to say hi?"
Steven's dad moved into view. "Hello!" he greeted. "Oh, Megan, look how big you are! Last I saw you, you were much smaller. She's a year, yes?"
"Yup," Steven replied. "She turned one on the twelfth."
"That's right. I've always been bad with dates. Your mother couldn't understand how I forgot our anniversary every year." He chuckled. "Eventually, she just left little notes all over the place when the day drew closer." He laughed again, then sobered, glancing away.
May read his look and Steven's identical one. Steven's mother had passed away when he was ten. He had been close to her, and it had hit him and his father hard. "She sounds like an amazing woman," May said. "I would have liked to meet her."
"I'm sure she would have loved you, May," Mr. Stone said. Steven nodded, still looking rather down. It was his mother's death that caused him to drift from his father. Much like May and Norman's relationship, Steven and his dad were strained by Mr. Stone's business with Devon and Steven's desire to see the region beyond Rustboro and the routes adjacent to it.
The two had been rather distant until a few years ago. "I hate to drag you away," Mr. Stone said eventually, amusedly watching Megan play with a soft toy. "Our first meeting of the day is in a few."
"I'll see you tonight," Steven added. "Love you."
"Love you, too. Happy Father's Day," she replied, and waved goodbye.
The last thing she heard before the connection was cut was Mr. Stone asking, "It's Father's Day?" May laughed. Like father, like son.
Noon rolled around by the time Egou landed in Littleroot. The trip had been uneventful, and Megan had slept through the entire thing. May shouldered the bag she had packed, shifted a still drowsy Megan higher on her hip and turned to Egou. "Thank you!" she said, rubbing the Legendary's head right where he liked it. "I'll call you when I need you." Latios nodded, nuzzled her head, and flew off. May turned and entered her parents' home. "Hi, Mom!" she called.
Her mother came down the stairs. "Oh, I'm so glad you could come! Your father will be so surprised." She smiled at her granddaughter. "Hello there, Megan!"
May grinned at her mother's excitement and handed over her daughter before going to put her bag upstairs in her old room. She spent the rest of the day with her mother and daughter. Around five, May's father, Norman, arrived. He stopped in his tracks when he saw May sitting on the couch in the family room, eyes wide.
"Hi, Dad," May laughed. "Surprise."
"May? Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?"
"Did you forget as well? It's Father's Day. Figured I might do some mending of our relationship..." She trailed off, awkwardly, glancing at her mother, who was watching the two carefully. Megan, balanced in her grandmother's lap, had a near identical expression.
Norman moved over to May and pulled her up into a hug. She hugged him back, blinking tears from her eyes and feeling like a daddy's little girl for the first time in a long time.
She and Norman hadn't really been on good terms when the family moved to Hoenn after May turned fifteen. May hadn't wanted to move - though she was glad now - and her once great relationship with her father suffered from her own stubbornness and his lack of presence. Then he was wrapped up in being a Gym Leader, while May journeyed through Hoenn, earning Gym Badges and fighting the dreadful intentions of Team Magma. Norman didn't help his case when he temporarily refused to grant Steven permission to marry May, on the grounds that he hadn't known they were dating.
Just before Megan was born, their estrangement came to a head, only for Norman to take the first step in reconciling with his daughter once Megan had been born. They had been cordial, with flickers of their old relationship showing every now and again.
Norman finally released his daughter from the hug. "I didn't forget. I'm just surprised," he said. "I didn't think you'd visit. Normally you spend holidays in Mossdeep or with Team Magma."
May shook her head, though her father had a point. Team Magma (and Team Aqua) still existed, though their respective missions were radically different than what they had been when May was a new trainer challenging the Gyms and League. These days, May enjoyed visiting her friends in both teams (and even saw Maxie as a father figure where Norman failed). It had even become tradition for May and Steven to visit for New Year's Eve.
"Maxie and Courtney are busy with their son. I haven't talked to them since New Year's. And Steven was busy this weekend with conferences at Devon. I thought, why not?" She shrugged. "It was a rather spontaneous decision, so I didn't have time to get you a present..."
She trailed off again as Norman shook his head. "Your visit is enough." He hugged her again. May returned the hug and closed her eyes. She ignored her mother's quiet joyful sobs and focused only on her dad's heartbeat.
"Happy Father's Day, Daddy."
Happy Father's Day to you dads out there, and be sure to call up your dads and wish them a good day as well!