"So how's it going?" Jace asks his friend. It's been a month since they learned about Ariel's parents having meals with her. He's heard plenty about their arguments, though Ariel is grateful her parents don't argue about anything major in front of her. Their arguments have been nothing Pikachu can't handle.
It is currently Sunday, and Misty had dinner at Delia's house yesterday. Thus, the Oak siblings want to hear the details about the dinner this time. Sighing, Ariel looks up at the darkening sky. They're at the lab, and it looks like it's going to rain soon. "They still hate each other."
"But you said they're talking to each other, right?" Lauren is always the optimist.
"And I'm sure they'll see you off for your journey next year." Jace adds.
Ariel frowns. "Yeah, I know, but I'm not satisfied."
Jace sits up since they're all laying on the grass with the Pokemon. "What do you mean? I thought that's all you wanted?"
"Is it selfish of me to want more?" Ariel pipes out.
Lauren now sits up too to look at her friend. "No way! You're not selfish at all Arie!"
Despite being the only child to the Champion and Cerulean City Gym Leader, Ariel isn't as spoiled or rotten as others would think. Yes, her parents are divorced, so she could be showered with gifts for their affection; however, that's now how Ash and Misty parent.
Ash, for one, is terrible at gifts. Besides, Ash prefers quality time with Ariel over anything else. Misty won't let her daughter's status get to her head. Thus, Misty has raised Ariel with respect and humility. Moreover, Ariel spends most of her time with Misty, so the girl is on a strict behavior tracker with her mother. Ariel never feels like this because she's a good child.
Nodding, Jace says, "Yeah, so what do you want?"
Ariel sits up to smile at her friends. "I want my parents back together."
"But they are." Lauren dumbfoundly replies. "They see each other at least twice a week."
Ariel shakes her head. "No. I want them to be a couple again. I want Melody gone." Ariel hates the tension around Melody, especially at Sunday dinners. It's why Ariel loves her Wednesday dinners with her parents because it's just the three of them alone.
Jace nervously rubs the back of his head. "I don't know, Ariel. We can't force people to fall in love. My mom always told me that." Lauren eyes her brother. Since when had he talked to their mother about love? Why would a 9 year old need to talk about love?
"Maybe you're right." Ariel lays back on the grass with her eyes closed. It's impossible for her parents to fall in love again. They hate each other so much. They're only tolerating each other because of her, which she's grateful for, but it's not the happy family she's wanted.
"No way!" Lauren stands to shout at them, causing the older kids to look at her with a start. Even Pikachu and Charizard shake from her shout. Ash has Charizard on all time babysitting duty now too so that the kids can fly away if trouble ever occurs again. Ariel isn't on crutches anymore, but she is bearing a boot on her broken leg. Plus, they're at the lab, so Gary and Leaf are nearby.
"What are you talking about, Lauren?" Jace groans. Here his sister is with her intense optimism again. Even though Jace appreciates it, he fears that if things go awry, Ariel will be hurting a lot.
"Listen, okay?" the young girl enthusiastically grins. "We all hate Melody, and we like Ms. Misty. Even if we can't get Ariel's parents together, we can at least get Melody out."
Jace facepalms. Was she not listening to him? No one can control love. Only those involved can control their relationships. "Lauren-"
"I like it!" Ariel stands up to hug Lauren. "Melody makes everything terrible! Let's get rid of her!"
The boy looks over at the worried Pikachu. Shrugging in defeat, Jace stands up to extend a hand towards the girls. "Operation: Goodbye, Melody."
"Not a good bye!" Lauren furrows her brows as she places her hand on top of Jace's. "Operation: Bye Bye, Melody!"
"I like that!" Ariel giggles with her hand on top of theirs. "Operation!"
"Bye Bye, Melody!" The girls shout while Jace mumbles it. The things he does for these two.
Pikachu sweatdrops. Although the mouse isn't a fan of their plans, he finds himself agreeing with the children. He wants Ash and Misty back together. He doesn't like Melody. Therefore, Pikachu doesn't stop the children, though Pikachu would prefer them not to meddle. "Pi…" his ears go flat with concern, so Ariel picks him up.
"It'll be fine, Pikachu!"
That's what she said last time. "Pi chu…"
"This time we have Charizard!" Lauren pats the orange lizard's back. Charizard reluctantly nods. He knows he'll do anything to protect Ariel, especially after her Team Rocket run in. Thus, he will have to partake in these children's plans again.
Jace looks at the Pokemon. "We're all in, guys."
Wednesday
"What's for dinner today?" Ariel excitedly asks her mother. The girl got home from school, but Ash is running late. Thus, Ariel is choosing to spend her time in the gym, which makes Misty relieved because Ariel is under her watch.
This is the first time Ash has been late this month, and Misty hopes this isn't the last. The less time she spends with her ex, the better. Plus, she hopes he starts bailing on these dinners soon. It's what she expects from him anyway. "I haven't thought about it." Misty answers. They usually alternate who picks dinner on Wednesday. Ariel picked the first week, then Misty, and then Ash. Ariel went again last week, so this time, it's Misty's turn.
"Well, you have until dad comes, mom!" Ariel grins at her mother. They're currently in the lobby cleaning. After meeting with the Oak siblings on Sunday morning, Ariel and her friends have decided to spend the week thinking of ideas before meeting on Saturday and implementing their plans. They can't wait to be free of Melody.
Sighing, Misty knows her daughter is right. Mew, Misty hates knowing Ash is going to be here. It's like he's legally trespassing on her life, and she hates it. However, Ariel's happiness is all Misty has ever put first. "If he comes." Misty mutters out of Ariel's earshot.
Flashback
"I'm fine, Politoed." the redhead quietly tells her concerned Pokemon. Blowing out the candle, Misty takes the two plates into the kitchen where she dumps their contents in the trash. Yes, she could've saved the uneaten meals for leftovers, but they're too painful right now.
"Poli politoed poli pol."
"Please, Politoed. I don't wanna talk about it."
"Poli!"
"He's not gonna come, okay! You were right! Everyone is always right! He's not coming! He lied again!" she cries out. Today is her third wedding anniversary. After Ash missed the first two, he promised he'd be here for this one. He promised.
Misty managed to convince Lily and Violet to watch Ariel for the day and night. Of course, this means Misty owes her sisters a lot. Moreover, Misty isn't sure if they're the best babysitters, but she also left Psyduck with Ariel. Come to think of it, Psyduck isn't going to be the best either. She should've left Politoed, especially because Politoed keeps bothering her about Ash.
Misty furiously washes the dishes in the sink. He promised to be here today. She waited for him for hours. She even called and texted him, but she's gotten nothing back. This isn't new, though, because Ash constantly makes broken promises. He's never home when he says he will be. However, Misty really thought this time would be different. It's their anniversary, and he promised they can finally spend it together.
Finishing with the dishes, she makes her way upstairs with Politoed still following. The frog pokemon is scared for what his trainer might do. He knows Misty cries herself to sleep a lot, and he wants to comfort her. He hates seeing her alone. Politoed knows it's because of Ash, causing the frog Pokemon to has a strong dislike towards Ash.
Once upstairs, Misty returns Politoed, much to his dismay. She changes and turns into bed. Yes. Ash never comes home anymore. She should've known this. Misty feels like such a fool for believing him this time. Looking at her pokenav one final time before she goes to sleep, she still doesn't see any new messages or calls from him.
Happy Anniversary, Ash. She texts him and goes to sleep. Ash never replies to the message. Instead, he messages her a week later about something else. He saw the message, but by the time he saw it, it was too late, so he didn't feel the need to address it unless Misty said anything again. Of course, she brushed it aside, like she always does with him.
Flashback Over
"I wonder where dad is." Ariel huffs out in disappointment. She had called and texted him, but he didn't answer anything yet.
Misty hates seeing her daughter like this. This is precisely why she divorced Ash in the first place: so that Ariel won't have to feel as abandoned as Misty did. Even though Misty was fine with his broken promises, she knew she could never do that to Ariel. Now that Ash has been committing more time to Ariel, Misty is seeing what she always expected to happen. Obviously Ash would start missing dinners.
Choosing to not answer the question, Misty continues stirring the pot. She's making a nice warm stew since it's chilly out. Plus, she feels like she's coming down with something, so she hopes the stew will help. These grimy challengers really need to learn about proper hygiene on the road. Misty doesn't want to pass on any sickness to Ariel who is still recovering from her attack.
"Poli!" Politoed glares at the front door. Everyone can clearly see the dark clouds outside in the evening sky. It's been raining a lot lately due to the changing weather.
"Stop it, Politoed!" Ariel scolds her Cerulean City babysitter. She knows how much Politoed hates her father.
Sighing, Misty recalls Politoed. "There's enough people fighting when he comes." She mumbles to his pokeball.
As Ariel anxiously looks out the window while she tries to contact her father, Misty finishes with the stew. She sets out two bowls of it because it obviously looks like he won't be coming, especially with the rain pouring down now. "Dinner, Ariel!" Just because Ash is late, that doesn't mean Misty will let Ariel stay up waiting for him. Mew, Misty isn't even sure if Ash will show up! It's a school night, so it's Ash's fault for missing time with Ariel.
"But dad's not here yet!" whines the girl.
Misty closes her eyes in frustration. Checking the time, the woman walks over to sit on the couch in the living room beside Ariel. She'll let Ariel wait a little longer. "He has 10 minutes."
"Mom!"
"The stew will be cold by then."
"Can't you just keep the stove on low, so it's warm?" Her innocent eyes plead with Misty, causing the woman to inwardly groan.
"Fine, Ariel." Misty doubts Ash will be coming. There's no way Charizard will fly in this rain.
When Misty reaches the stove to turn it on again, she hears an excited shout from the living room. "He's here!"
"Great." mutters the woman. Choosing to stay hidden in the kitchen, Misty sits at the island waiting for Ariel and her father to be ready for dinner.
The front door swings open as Ariel loudly greets her father and Pikachu. Misty overhears Ash apologizing for being late. Charizard hates flying during storms, so he refused to fly due to the dark clouds. Thus, Ash had to drive, but Melody was being indecisive about coming. Eventually, Melody chose to stay at the Indigo Plateau because she couldn't find her purse, and Ash was tired of waiting. Moreover, Ash doesn't drive often, so he isn't that good of a driver. It's why he didn't pick up any calls or texts while he was on the road.
Ariel later learns that Pikachu had hidden Melody's purse. Ariel high fives him and gives him extra ketchup packets for his help. She's proud of his improvising because Operation: Bye Bye, Melody hasn't officially started yet.
Walking into the kitchen with Ariel quickly speaking to her tired father, the Ketchums look at Misty. "Dinner's ready." She coldly tells them.
Ash, knowing all too well how to behave around his ex, just nods. While he hated the drive here, he's glad to not be wet if he flew on Charizard. Ash grabs a bowl to fill up with stew, and he grabs some bread too. He sets the food on the table for Ariel before fixing his own meal. Misty had given Pikachu some food and then went to grab her own food. This leads to the two adults awkwardly being alone at the pot at the same time.
"You can go first." Misty mumbles to her ex.
"You cooked it. You can go first." Ash awkwardly backs away from the stove.
"You're the guest. And you had a long drive."
"I'm fine."
"Just grab the stew already, Ash." exasperates Misty. When he just blinks at her in confusion, Misty asks, "What?"
This makes Ash shake his head. She hasn't said his name since the Pallet Town Clinic. They've both been avoiding being familiar with each other, so he was surprised to hear her say it now, though in frustration. "Okay." He replies and grabs his food.
Ariel curiously shares a glance with Pikachu. Just what happened? Her parents' backs were turned to her, so she didn't get a good look at their interaction, nor could she hear much of what they said. However, she heard her mother's outburst just now.
When both parents sit down at the table, they begin their usual meal of listening to Ariel talk about herself. Ariel does try to include her parents in the conversation, but both adults would rather keep their lives away from the other. They give short answers to Ariel, much to the girl's dismay.
"You should sleep over, dad! It's late!" Ariel tells her father. The storm is still going on; thus, Charizard won't fly. If Ash drives back to the Indigo Plateau after dinner, he won't arrive until early in the morning. Ariel doesn't want her tired father driving through the night, especially in this storm.
Ash frowns at her. "No thanks, champ."
Misty finds herself letting out a relieved breath. Did she think her ex would agree? No. But just the fact that he had a choice scared her. She does not want him under this roof any long, much less overnight. The media would go crazy, and Melody would too. Misty can handle Melody, but Melody is such a headache that Misty would rather avoid her altogether. "Achoo!" Misty sneezes into her arm, making the Ketchums look at her.
"Bless you, mom."
"Thanks, sweetie." Misty sniffles a litte.
"Are you sick?" Ariel was confused about Misty's choice for dinner this week.
"I'm fine. It was just a sneeze." Misty smiles at her concerned daughter.
Ariel has noticed that her parents avoid interacting unless they have to, which involves talking too. Therefore, Ash hasn't said anything about Misty's sneeze, but he also doesn't care. Since dinner is done, everyone cleans up. Ash has to make the long drive back now, and Misty is surprised he even came at all. She didn't expect him to ever drive out here due to the long commute. Nevertheless, she doubts he would do this for long.
Because it's a school night, Ariel will be going to sleep soon. As much as she likes to spend more time with her father, she wants him to get back to the League quickly. Thus, she's fine with just having dinner with him today. Looking at Pikachu, Ariel rubs his head. "Make sure dad gets back safely!"
"Pi ka!" Pikachu salutes her. He nuzzles her face one last time as well as Misty's and then he hops on Ash's shoulder. The two leave, and Ariel watches her father drive off in the storm.
Once the car is nowhere to be seen, Misty says, "Time to wash up, Ariel."
Ariel really hopes the rainy season stops soon. Else she won't get much time with just her parents. Cerulean City is the only place where she has them to herself. Moreover, with the rain, then Ash will drive, which means Melody may come along too. Pikachu can't keep hiding her purse forever. Melody isn't stupid.