Beauties and the Beach (This one was requested by Mclash)
MADDIE: AGE 18
NOAH: AGE 13
BROCK'S POV
"Uh oh," I heard Ash and Misty's thirteen-year old son say. He had been sitting next to me in a beach chair, having taken a break from swimming. His coal, black hair was plastered to the side of his face, and he had on green swimming trunks. Curled up on his lap was a sleeping Poochyena. "He's going to try it again."
I looked where he was looking to see a man about my age walking toward Misty, his body language reflecting what I had always associated with my younger self. We had seen him earlier walking up and down the beach, trying to "accidentally" run into Misty when Ash wasn't around. His efforts had proven futile, however, as Ash hadn't really left Misty's side. Now that Ash had disappeared to who knows where, his opportunity was waiting for him. As the guy chatted up Misty-probably using some extremely lame pick-up lines-Noah and I watched the scene unfold in front of us.
"You know? I don't really understand why people hit on my mom," Noah told me. For a thirteen-year old boy, he was a lot more mature than I gave him credit for. "I mean I could see why people would hit on my sister, but my mom, well, she's old. She's married, AND she's had two kids."
"It's because she's famous, and she happens to be a very, uh, good looking person despite her age," I told him. "Although, I will say that none of these guys could stay long once they got to really know her. No offense to your mom, but I know I couldn't marry her. I never understood how your father did. I give him props, though. He did something I thought was impossible."
Noah laughed, completely understanding what I was talking about. Don't get me wrong, I loved Misty as a best friend, but her temper… well, that was just something I would rather deal with in moderation. I would leave all the other times to Ash.
"Speaking of which…" Noah interrupted my thoughts. I turned around to see a very angry Ash headed right for Misty and the guy. "Five bucks my dad threatens him with Pikachu."
"You're on."
"Hey, guys!" I turned around to see Maddie standing behind us, two bottles of water in her hands. She had on a blue bikini top and purple surfer shorts. Next to her stood her friend Grant, a beach ball tucked under his arm. Unlike Noah, he had on blue bottoms that, interestingly enough, were the exact same shade of blue as Maddie's suit. "What's going on?"
"Some guy's trying to hit on mom again," Noah explained to her, his tone of voice making it sound like this was something that happened on a regular basis. "Five bucks he threatens him with Pikachu."
"No way," Maddie retorted. "Five bucks he's going to send out Charizard."
Noah turned around to look at his sister, giving her a look of pure bewilderment. "Why would he send Charizard out? We're at a beach, Maddie. There's water!"
She was completely unfazed by his comment. "I've seen this before. He starts out with Pikachu, but if the guy keeps coming back, he sends out Charizard. I'm sure of it." It was as if her and Noah were talking about a T.V. episode they had both seen.
"Fine. Winner gets all the money?"
"Deal."
"I love this family," Grant announced, reminding us that he was standing there.
If he finally realized what we all knew except him-and maybe, Maddie-he might just become part of this family. And if my memory hadn't let me down, Maddie and Grant were the same age as when Ash and Misty had confessed. I neglected to say that out loud, though. Maddie and Noah just looked at him rolling their eyes as they both gave him a look that I had always associated with Ash. I know those two would hate being told this, but they really did look related when they did things like that, and they were definitely Ash's children.
Quickly moving on, Maddie sat down on the empty chair next to Noah, while Grant sat at the edge of the seat next to her. Maddie and Noah watched Ash intently, waiting to see which one of them would be right. Despite their differences, if there was one thing Maddie and Noah had both inherited, it was their parent's stubborn and competitive nature. I doubt the two of them actually cared about the money, this competition-like all the others-being more about pride and who was right.
We watched as Ash reached Misty and the guy, putting himself between them as he faced the guy. He twirled a Pokeball on his finger like a basketball as the man slowly started to back away.
"I kind of feel sorry for that guy," Grant commented. Noah and Maddie turned around and glared at him. "What? I know exactly how he feels. Your dad-and your mom for that matter-can be scary."
I smiled, knowing what he was alluding to. Misty had called me the next day and told me how Gary had told Maddie's friend to call her Mrs. Red. I guess things hadn't gone so well for Grant, as Ash was ready to kill him for insulting Misty.
Ignoring him-Poor guy. The Ketchums could be rough-Maddie and Noah turned back around to see what Pokemon would come out.
Misty, completely amused by the whole thing, laughed as Ash finally tossed the Pokeball in the air, releasing Charizard.
"Yes! I knew it. Dad's way to predictable," Maddie cheered. She turned around to face Noah, thrusting her open hand in the space between them. "Now hand over the money little brother."
"Damn it," Noah cursed. He pulled out his wallet from a nearby bag and pulled out five dollars, placing it grudgingly into his sister's hand. Pulling out my own wallet, I handed over the five dollars I owed her. Maddie beamed, having snatched a victory.
"Now that I've won all this money, I think I'm going to go spend some on a snow cone. Any requests while I'm at the snack bar?" She stood up from the chair and waited for replies.
"I'm good," I told her.
"I would love some ice cream," Noah told her. Ah, so he loved ice cream like Misty. "Chocolate and-"
"Chocolate and vanilla with extra sprinkles? I know," Maddie winked at him. "How 'bout you Grant?"
"I'm okay. Thanks Madeline."
Hearing no other requests, she turned around and headed off to the snack bar. On her way there, she stopped to say something to her passing father who looked as peeved as he was before. I didn't hear what Maddie said, but by the small, mischievous, smile on Ash's face, I could tell she must have said something that made him laugh. When they were done talking, Maddie continued on while Ash headed back to where we were.
"Damn it. Why couldn't she have stayed a scrawny runt?" Ash huffed in anger. Grant looked taken a back either surprised to hear someone as famous as Ash cuss or surprised to hear him insult Misty like that. I wasn't quite sure. It was then, however, that I realized, if Grant ever did become part of this family, I would probably have to clear up a few things for him. One of those being that Ash didn't actually mean the things he said about Misty. That this was just part of their relationship with each other, and to not be surprised if he ever heard Misty call Ash a stupid, dense trainer in return. "It would make my life so much easier."
"I heard that," Misty sneered who, unbeknownst to Ash, had been behind him the whole time. "You don't think my life would have been much easier if I didn't live with such a dense husband?" See? What did I tell you?
Despite what she said, she wrapped her arms around Ash and gave him a kiss on the cheek much to Noah's dismay. This, of course, caused Ash's anger and jealousy to instantly disappear. She had that effect on him.
"Next time you fight off mom's suitors, make sure you use Pikachu," Noah instructed Ash.
"What?" Ash asked, not understanding why his son was telling him this.
"Maddie, Noah and I made a bet to see what Pokemon you would use to threaten the guy with. Noah picked Pikachu, while Maddie picked Charizard. She apparently knows you pretty well."
"Guess so," Ash nodded in agreement.
Noticing Ash and Misty had nowhere to sit, Grant stood up, allowing them to take the chair Maddie had left vacant, while Pikachu, who had been on Ash's shoulder, curled up between the two. Grant looked around, trying to find somewhere to sit, but after a few seconds, it appeared as if something else caught his eye.
"I'm going to go help Madeline," he told us. "She, uh, looks like she could use some help."
We watched him go as he walked down the beach and over to the snack bar where the real reason he had gone to "help" Maddie revealed itself. Noah must have caught on because he started laughing at the sight of Maddie talking to a boy and his Poliwag. It was clearly evident that the boy was somewhat attracted to Maddie, as he was looking more at a certain part of Maddie that, if Ash knew, the boy would never see another day.
"Psh. And he says he doesn't like my sister," Noah smirked. "She obviously needs no help. He's just going over there because he knows that boy's ten times better looking than he is."
"Ash, look," I said, pointing over to where Maddie, Grant and the boy were standing.
"Huh?" Ash asked, sitting up so he could get a better look at what I was talking about.
Taking notice to Ash's sudden movement, Misty sat up as well to try and get a glance at what I was talking about. "Oh, dear," she sighed.
"What?" Ash asked again.
"Really?" Misty asked him, cocking her eyebrow as she gave him a look of disbelief. "You really are dense. Do you not see what's going on?"
"I'm not dense," he argued back. He looked over at where his daughter was standing, taking note of the two boys surrounding her. "He's helping her just like he said he was going to."
"I rest my case," Misty sighed. Noah just gave his dad a look as he shook his head. You'd think Ash would be able to pick up on these things by now. "Grant clearly likes Maddie. He didn't just go over there to help her, Ash. He went over there for the same reason you scared that guy away."
"Grant like Maddie?" Ash repeated as more of a question. Oddly, though, he suddenly started laughing. "Yeah right, Misty. If Grant liked Maddie more than that, I would be able to tell. Trust me."
"Oh would you now?" This peaked her interest as she gave her husband yet another look of disbelief, this time raising both her eyebrows.
"I guess Grant's not the only one in denial," I laughed. This caused Misty to smirk, knowing exactly what I was talking about. "It appears as if Ash can't seem to accept the fact his little girl is growing up. That a boy actually likes her as more than a friend."
"You do realize Ash, that Maddie and Grant are the same age as when we started dating," she told him, saying out loud what I had decided not to earlier. "I happen to know for a fact that Maddie likes Grant so, I wouldn't be surprised if the next time we talked to her, those two are dating."
"You don't actually mean that, Mist?" Ash asked, fear evident in his voice. I guess the thought of his little girl having a boyfriend was something he'd rather not deal with. "Plus, if Maddie did, she would have told me."
"Maddie's smart, Ash. There's a reason you don't know." Misty did have a point. Ash was very protective of Maddie, as I had learned when Noah called me to ask me to convince Ash to let him travel by himself. If Maddie had told Ash that she liked the boy she had been traveling with, he probably would have made her come home.
Not having anything to say to that, Ash turned his attention back to his daughter who was now talking to Grant, the other boy nowhere to be found. We all watched as Maddie and Grant talked, Maddie laughing and smiling every now and then, while Grant shifted uneasily from side to side. He was obviously nervous about something. Maddie smiled one last time before she gave Grant a kiss on the cheek and walked away, leaving Grant stuck where he was in a daze.
"PIKA!" Pikachu yelled in anger shocking Ash who, when leaning into get a closer look, had squished the Pokemon's tail.
Ash toppled off the chair face first into the sand. Maddie saw this, stopping in her tracks just four feet away, as her mouth gaped open and her whole face turned a bright red. Grant, having snapped out of his daze, had walked up behind her and was staring at Ash.
"Told you," was all Misty said as she looked at her husband who was sprawled out in the sand.
"I don't know about you, Brock, but I think this has been my best trip to the beach to date," Noah told me.
"Agreed."
Recovering from his spill, Ash dusted the sand off himself and looked up to search for Maddie. When Maddie saw Ash starting at her, she grabbed Grant's hand and bolted the opposite way, pulling him along with her. I guess Maddie didn't want to face Ash right now, and I didn't blame her.
"It was a thank you!" she yelled before running off.
"Some thank you," Noah snorted. "I'll be back. I still want my ice cream." With that, Noah got up and left his Poochyana chasing after him.
"I-I-I," Ash stuttered as he watched Maddie run in the opposite direction.
"Shh," Misty told him, pressing her finger to his lips to silence him. "Give it up, Ash. You're not going to win this one."
"At least we still have Noah," he sighed, looking to his son who had ran to the snack bar.
Noah had finally gotten his ice cream and was standing a few feet away talking to two girls who were petting his Poochyena, giggling at whatever he had said. I hated to say it, but Noah was much better with girls than I was. If I knew him when I was younger, I would have envied him.
"Hmm. It must be my eyes," Misty commented, alluding to her and Noah both having green eyes.
"Ahh! That's it!" Ash yelled in frustration, throwing his hands in the air. Sitting back down on the chair, he slammed into the back of the chair, folding his arms and huffing like a four-year old. "This family is banned from coming to the beach."
I hope you enjoyed this story! Since this story could very well go on forever, I have decided to end it here with these ages. However, I am more than happy to take any requests you may have. Just let me know-preferably via a private message-what your idea is with some details, and I will try my best to write a one-shot. If you choose to make a request, I would appreciate it if you had the story occur with Maddie being 18 or younger, and Noah being 13 and younger, since, for now, I don't plan on writing stories with them older than that. Also, Noah and Maddie don't necessarily have to be the main focus of the story, as seen when Giovanni comes to visit Ash. Thanks to all for the reviews over the writing of this story. You don't know how much I appreciate them.
