Chapter 9 (Misty's POV)
I'd heard Brock describe Ash and me as an "old married couple." Which wasn't exactly true, or at least not yet. But I got what he meant. It had something to do with Ash being as stubborn as a rock type.
I leaned into my hand as I stared over across to the other side of the gym pool. Ash was pushing a broom with all the enthusiasm of a depressed gloom. I smirked. It didn't matter how old he got, he was always going to be the same old stubborn, sulky Ash. And while usually it annoys me, today I was actually enjoying it.
"Having fun, Psyduck?" I asked with a smile as I looked down at him floating in his pool ring.
"Psy?" But of course he seemed confused by the question. Ash on the other hand just huffed and slumped a little lower over the broom handle. So grinning a little wider I walked over to him and leaned into his shoulder.
"I love you, Ash."
He stopped, frowned and mumbled something unintelligible before sighing and facing me.
"Can gyarados really use earthquake…?"
I winked at him. "Mine did, didn't it?"
He scratched at the side of his face. "But did you have to use it on Pikachu…? Wasn't that kinda mean?"
I crossed my arms. "It was a battle, Ash, and you're the one who insisted on it to 'see how strong I'd gotten.'" I said in air quotes, before reaching to poke him in the nose. "You just didn't expect me to win, admit it, Mr. Pokemon Master."
He hesitated for a second before he looked off to the side. "But Pikachu is weak to ground moves, and we should have had the advantage…"
"That's the point, Ash." I said nodding confidently. "You have no idea how many cocky little kids I get in here with the first electric type they can find. They all think they'll win because they have a type advantage."
"Well type isn't everything but…"
"But you still didn't expect me to win?" I asked raising my eyebrows at him.
"No, I guess not…" He mumbled before his face softened a little. "Sorry, Misty…"
I put my hands in my pockets and rocked on my heels, just savoring the moment. "What you'd rather knowing you were marrying a pushover?" I asked playfully.
He scratched at the side of his face. "No but...I still didn't want you to beat me."
I sighed. "Oh no, is this another session on the male ego coming on?"
Then he gave me those sad childish eyes that I figured he'd never grow out of. "I wanted you to think I was strong too…"
I just stood there for a few seconds not saying anything, then I finally gave in. "I do think you're strong, Ash…"
Now he's the one who started to smirk, and I realized I'd just been fooled by those eyes yet again. "Me and Pikachu were just warming up anyway, so… We were probably going kinda easy."
My eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, easy?"
"Well we didn't want to hurt you or gyarados or anything." He said with that same old ten year old snideness that made my blood boil.
"Easy huh…?" I mumbled trying to keep my cool, but from the way my eyebrow was twitching it was a dead give away. And as usual Ash knew just how far to push it, which was always too far.
"I love you too, Mist." Was all he said without taking that snide look off of his face.
But two could play at this…
Smiling I reached to wrap my arm around his. "And you have no idea how much, baby…" All it took was a little push and he was forcefully swimming with Psyduck.
Bobbing back to the surface he spit out a mouthful of water and glared up at me. "What was that for?"
Fishing his hat out of the water I wrung it dry and plopped it on my head. "For being a sore loser."
"I'm not sore…" He mumbled as he watched Psyduck float by.
"Psy-i?"
"Yeah right…" I said with a playful smirk as I bent down and reached out my hand for him to grab. It was a move that I regretted as soon as I saw that gleam in his brown eyes. So I wasn't really surprised when he pulled me in with him.
Surfacing I frowned over at him, but he just laughed. "Now we're even, Mist."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm never battling you again, Ash."
He grinned wider. "Because you're worried you might lose, right?"
"Ash!" I shouted as I sent a splash his way that almost toppled poor Psyduck.
"Psy-i!"
"Just another day in the life of the Ketchums, huh guys?" We both turned to see Brock walk in laughing at us. Suzie's Vulpix was prancing in behind him, and they both stopped beside the pool to look down at us.
"Hey I'm not a Ketchum yet…" I grumbled as I pulled myself out of the water and sat on the side ledge.
Ash laughed before splashing water right back at me. "No, but you want to be, so that says a lot, right Brock?"
"You bet buddy." Then Brock looked at Ash and tried to whisper something. "Though you might want to take it easy in case she changes her mind."
I huffed and wrung out my limp ponytail. "I wouldn't miss forcing him to be stuck with me for anything!"
Brock laughed again. "Well, that's a romantic notion."
Little did Brock realize that Ash completely redefined "romantic."
"Anyway," Ash said as he climbed out of the pool and scooted a little closer to me. I could tell he was just a little worried, and for the moment I liked it that way… "What are you and Vulpix doing here?"
"Tracey asked me to come take a look at Dewgong's egg, he said it's going to hatch soon."
"Oh right," I added in. "Our Dewgong is going to be a dad soon!"
"Oh when did he get married?" Ash asked as cluelessly as ever. Brock and I just both raised an eyebrow without saying anything. Ash shrugged and laughed. "Oh come on guys, I know pokemon don't really get married, but I mean when did he find a special friend?"
I sighed. "His 'special friend' is from a water type reserve here in Cerulean. She was rescued at a young age when one of her flippers were injured. They were going to release her once she got better, but by then she loved her trainer too much to leave. They met at the beach when I took my Dewgong there to train." I shrugged. "I guess it was pretty much love at first sight from there."
"Well, the egg is as healthy as can be, me and Vulpix gave it a full checkup."
"That's good to hear Brock, thanks." I said with a smile.
Ash grinned and leaned back on his hands. "I bet the baby seel is going to be really cute, Mist!"
I nodded. "Of course, and strong too, since it'll have champion Cerulean gym blood."
"And speaking of cute…" Brock said as he whipped out a picture from his wallet. "Look at this, Suzie introduced me to her niece the other day, and you know what happened!?"
"Uh what happened?" I asked trying not to laugh at how over the top Brock was acting, as usual.
"She called me 'Uncle Brocky!' It's like I'm practically one of the family already!"
I sighed with a grin. "Well congrats, Brock." Then I smirked over at Ash. "And guess what Maya said yesterday?"
"What?" He asked.
I got a smug look. "'Mist.' I 100% heard her right too."
Ash laughed. "She must have learned it from me."
I frowned playfully and ribbed him in the side. "Oh you would take credit."
To be honest it felt great right about then, almost like old times… And it was nice to not be thinking about orbs or anything stressful that had been going on. To just relax and feel like everything was back to normal. But the truth was, I was worried, underneath it all anyway. If what Meowth had said could actually be believed than someone was looking for me, and more importantly, probably Maya. But I couldn't let myself worry too much, because I knew that no matter what happened, we'd be there to protect her. We'd be there for each other too, and that was, after all, the only thing that mattered…
So sighing a little I stood and walked over to pull a towel off of a chair. Draping it over my shoulders I tossed Ash another one next. As funny as it was to see him with his unruly hair dripping wet, I figured I'd be the one stuck taking care of him if he got sick.
"I hate to be the one to mention food," I said smirking a little at Ash. "But we both missed lunch."
"Mind if we make it a double?" Brock asked as he looked up from petting Vulpix.
Putting my hands in my pockets I nodded and rocked on my heels. "Sure, I'd love to see Suzie."
"Yeah that's great, Mist, but…" Ash mumbled. "But what about my clothes?"
I smirked. "Looks like you'll have to borrow something from Tracey."
"Yeah I guess…" He whispered with a frown.
Brock laughed. "You know I was going to ask why you both always swim in normal clothes, but I think I already know the answer to that."
I shrugged. "I guess we're both just sore losers…"
Today just seemed quiet and honestly that's what I was loving the most about it. After calling Suzie and giving Ash time to borrow some of Tracey clothes the four, well five counting Maya, headed for a restaurant. Though that may be too strong a term for the burger joint I headed to without even questioning. I wasn't really sure if it was just because Ash was rubbing off on me, or if it had more to do with not wanting to take Maya into a fancy place. She was pretty well behaved but sometimes she still loved to get loud, she reminded me of Ash in that respect actually. Not to mention I wasn't too sure he would have met any dress code with Tracey's baggy clothes on. Tracey was still a lot taller than Ash, so his jeans were rolled up an extra cuff and his sleeves were a little long.
It made Ash look even more like a little kid, and just between you and me, I thought he looked cute that way.
"You like ketchup too, huh Maya?" He said as he playfully waved a fry in front of her face. She clapped happily before reaching to take the french fry from Ash's hand. "Pikachu loves it too, right buddy?"
"Pi pikachu!"
"Pika!" She shouted back loudly. I cringed a little when all eyes turned toward us. "Don't stir her up too much Ash…" I mumbled awkwardly.
But Brock just laughed. "They just want to see what a cute baby she is. Isn't that right, Maya?" Brock said in a playful tone as he tickled her chin.
She laughed back and tried to swat away his hand. "Browck!"
Suzie smiled to herself without saying anything, but I thought the look on her face was a little different than usual. But I thought I understood it. Brock was an amazing guy when he didn't act like a lovestruck idiot. He was also great with kids, which made sense given how many siblings he had. I knew those were two things that impressed most women, and I didn't think Suzie was any exception. If Brock just knew to be himself and cut the act, he probably would have landed a girlfreind way before this. But at the same time, well I was glad it had turned to be Suzie.
"She sure loves you Brock." I said with a soft grin.
He laughed. "They don't call me Uncle Brock for nothing, you know!"
"My niece loved him too." Suzie added with nod and smile to me.
"Oh yeah, Brock mentioned he got to meet her and your sister." I said back.
She nodded again. "Yeah, he even cooked us all dinner."
I glanced his face going red out of the corner of my eye, but he didn't say anything, we all just listened as Suzie went on.
"Anyway, my parents were wondering if you could make them something too? I told them what an amazing chef you are."
"M-Meet you parents…?" He stuttered out.
I smirked over at him, and admittedly got even a little. "Not afraid of your in-laws are you Brock?"
He slid down in his seat a little before staring down at the table. Ash just laughed and handed Maya another fry. "Looks like she got you back, Brock. But family isn't so bad, they just want you to be happy, so… So if you really love somebody than they'll just be really happy for you."
I glanced at Ash, almost a little shocked. When he said stuff like that he sounded like a kid living in a dream world, but I thought that maybe if everyone could see things the way Ash did then it would be better.
Suzie looked down before smiling softly over at Brock. She waited until he turned to meet her eyes before saying anything. "Well, than my parents should be very happy for me."
I was still the same romantic, so I couldn't stop myself from smiling… Was this the first time Brock had basically heard her say she loved him? I wasn't sure, but from the look on his face, I thought it might as well have been anyway.
"Y-You mean it, Suzie?" He choked out.
"Of course." She said with a laugh as she turned back to her shake, as if it was a stupid question.
"Easy, Brock." I mumbled since his head looked like it was about to explode.
He balled his fist, and I expected him to go into one of his tangents any second, but this time he let it go with a big sigh. "Oh I love you too, Suzie." He almost sounded dizzy.
I sighed before popping a fry in my mouth. "Wow, now I feel like the old chaperone."
Suzie laughed and Ash smirked at me. "That means we're both old, Mist"
I rolled my eyes at him. "When are you going to learn not to agree with me when I say stuff like that, Ash?"
He scratched the side of his face. "Oh sorry, I always get that mixed up."
Before I could give him more grief, Maya looked over at me with her wide green eyes. Pointing her little finger at me she smiled ear to ear. "Mama!"
I froze and just looked at her. But Ash didn't see, fazed at all, he just smiled and picked up to sit on his lap. "Yep, she's great, huh Maya?"
Brock and Suzie got quiet but they were smiling. I on the other hand didn't know what to say at all. But finally I managed to reach out to brush a lock of her brown hair out of her face. "You won't mind that, sweetie…?"
For a second she almost looked confused by my question, then she looked up at Ash who laughed softly. "Of course not, Misty. Anybody would be lucky to have you as family."
I squinted and turned my head in a frown. I wasn't angry, but I was still fighting from showing my tears. Of course they'd all seen me cry before but… But maybe I was just hiding them from myself. Because I just never believed it would happen, that it could happen. It wasn't even a possibility. I never believed I was waiting for anything. That I'd ended up as anything other than second best. But she was sure, and so was he.
"You're both crazy…" I choked out even though my voice trembled a little.
"We're all crazy then." Brock said as he reached to put a hand on mine. Ash followed and put his on top of Brock's, then Suzie joined in and now we looked like the four musketeers. Or five once Pikachu put his little paw on the top of the stack. Maya clapped her hands in approval, and I frowned again.
"So what…?" I mumbled with a smirk. "One for all, all for one, or are we going to say something even cheesier?"
"No I think that works." Brock said with a smile.
Finally I smiled back. "I love you guys…"
Ash grinned at me with that typical boyish look on his face. How he'd managed to not end up with a million scrapes and scars from his reckless adventures, was a real mystery. But he didn't. No his face still looked as pure and innocently confused as it had the first time I saw him. Though after stealing my bike it took a while before I believed it wasn't just an act. But now...now I knew it was just Ash. My Ash, the one and only. And a million years, or bad opinions weren't ever going to change that. So why did I care…? Care about anything else.
On the way home we stopped for ice cream, which seemed more like a brain freeze contest between Ash and Psyduck. Then Brock saw a stand selling roses and swept Suzie into one of his romantic tangents. In the end it was more than I could take, so I drug him away by the ear anyway. Ash pulled me into a photo booth, and me and Pikachu took turns stealing his hat for each picture. It was just like it used to be, like it had always had been. By the time we'd made it back to the gym the sun was almost ready to set. When we all swept into the lobby we must have sounded almost drunk on silliness.
I could see it by how Daisy just looked up and smiled at me. So more than anything I knew I was home. We all were…
"Excuse me, I hope I'm not interrupting…" Said a man's voice who had just walked in after. He had blonde hair down to about his shoulders, and something about his face almost seemed like it gleamed.
"Can I help you, are you here for a challenge?" I asked without taking the smile off my face.
He shook his head without taking his eyes off of me, or should I say Maya who I was holding. "No, but…" He took a few steps forward and surprisingly knelled in front of me. He was almost unusually tall, so that doing so still put him a little above eye level with Maya in my arms. So looking down at her I watched as his face flicked with a million different emotions. She just stared out at him, before a smile appeared on her face. She laughed and clapped her hands before reaching out for him.
But he just stood back up and with a bittersweet look on his face took a respectful step back. "Can I please explain…?" He whispered, almost as if he had spoken any louder his voice would have cracked.
"Explain what…?" I asked gently, almost instinctively trying to comfort him.
He smiled softly before he gave an odd full bow. Between his clothes and that gesture, he almost seemed like a man misplaced in time. But next he said…
"My name…" I just looked at him as something in his eyes almost felt familiar. But whatever rational reason why I thought it was, disappeared as soon as he went on. Somehow I knew just when to clench my breath, almost like I was bracing for a blow I already was expecting...
"Is Vilmos."
Thanks for sticking with me guys, keep those reviews coming! More chapters on the way!
