Chapter 36

"Hey, champ, I'm outside." the man awkwardly stands with Pikachu excitedly on his shoulder. Despite coming here every week for months now, Ash is still uncomfortable. It's been a few weeks since the Rocket attack, so his wound is fully healed. Fortunately, he and Misty have been avoiding any one on one interactions.

Over the pokenav, the girl begrudgingly replies, "I'm in the gym, dad." She knew her father would be coming today because he always comes to Cerulean City on Wednesdays. However, this is a day her mother won't let her skip gym duties for.

"Okay. I'll wait for you here."

"I won't be back until late." Ariel groans. "Mom says we need to finish cleaning the gym." They closed the gym today so that they can clean it. With Misty gone on the weekends and Friday, and her exhausted on Monday, the woman started cleaning yesterday. However, they haven't finished cleaning, so it's led to today.

Ash remembers those monthly gym cleaning days. He is peeved that his ex would choose a Wednesday to clean the gym. Is that her way of keeping Ariel away from him. "I'll find something to do then." Ash mutters.

"Can you come help?" whines the girl. The sooner they get this done, then the better. Plus, with her father, comes his 6 Pokemon too. Ariel will be done with the cleaning duties in no time!

"Ariel…" He really doesn't want to. He hates being in the house enough as is. He hasn't been in the gym since the day he was teleported there. Ash wants to limit as much of Cerulean City as possible that he needs to come in contact with.

"It'll make the chores go faster, dad!"

Sighing, Ash glances at the curious Pikachu on his shoulder. "Fine. I'll be there soon." The things he does for his daughter.

"Thanks, dad! I'll unlock the door! Love you!" Ariel hangs up, and Ash groans.

"Chu?"

Slowly walking off the porch, the man makes his way to the nearby gym. "It's gym cleaning day."

"Pi…" Pikachu nods. He hates today too. No one likes gym cleaning day, but it has to happen. Normally, Pikachu would run away, leaving Ash to clean the gym alone with the other pokemon, but Pikachu won't leave Ariel.

The two finally make their way to the automatic double glass doors of the front of the gym. Like Ariel had said, she unlocked the doors. When Ash walks in, he doesn't see anyone in the lobby. The man knows how to lock the doors again, so he does that to prevent any challengers from wanting to come in.

"Where's Ariel?" Ash asks Pikachu in hopes that the mouse can sniff her out before he runs into his ex.

Pikachu sniffs at the air, but he can't tell where she is. Ariel's scent is strong everywhere due to her always being at the gym. "Pi…" he defeatedly replies.

Ash inwardly groans. "Ariel?" He yells loudly.

Of course, the last person he wants to see, steps out of the office. They both narrow their eyes at each other. "What're you doing here?"

"It's Wednesday."

"And?" Misty was going to let Ariel leave at dinner time if they didn't finish cleaning. Ash can wait until then.

"Why'd you choose today to clean?" Mew, Ash hates how he's wasting time with Ariel here.

Misty crosses her arms over her chest. "If you forgot, we're in Pallet Town every weekend and Friday. I'm exhausted from the drive on Mondays. And we didn't finish cleaning yesterday."

"You could finish tomorrow." Ash points out.

"And if I don't? Then Friday we leave for Pallet Town. I can't close the gym for more than a week." Obviously, he wouldn't know anything about responsibility.

"Pika!" Pikachu sparks his cheeks at the adults, making them finally look away from each other. Satisfied that the argument has stopped, Pikachu runs over to greet Misty. "Pikachupi!"

Misty welcomes the little hug. "Hey, Pikachu. I missed you so much." He's just so adorable and cute. She loves seeing Pikachu.

Ash rolls his eyes at his traitor of a Pokemon. "Where's Ariel?"

Misty motions into the arena. "Cleaning the pool."

He walks past her and into the arena, leaving Pikachu with Misty. The redhead and Pikachu head back to the office. Ash spots the gym Pokemon cleaning, but he can't see his little girl. Unfortunately for him, he also doesn't see a certain green frog until a water gun attack sends him into the pool.

When Ash swims up to the poolside, he's ready to glare at Politoed, but it seems like someone else is doing the scolding for him. "Stop it, Politoed! That's not nice!"

Ash can't help but grin at her as he rests his arms on the poolside with his body still in the water. Apparently, Ariel was in the room next door cleaning the pokemon resting area. Corsola had gone to inform her that Ash is here, and Ariel came out to see Politoed laughing by the poolside. She figured Politoed must've done something to her father again.

Pulling himself out of the pool, Ash says, "Hey, champ."

Ariel stops scolding Politoed to smile at her father. "Hey, dad!" Normally, she'd tackle him in a hug, but she wants to stay dry. It's why the Pokemon are on pool duty. "Let me find a towel. Stay there!" She doesn't want to mop up a trail of water from him.

With Ariel out of the arena, Ash slips off his soaked shirt. He hears Politoed's snickering, making him glare at the frog. "I'll get you back." As Ash wrings out his shirt in the pool, Ariel comes back in with a towel.

"Here, dad!"

He gratefully takes the towel to dry off his upper body. "You wouldn't happen to have spare clothes, would you?"

"I have the blue shirt you gave me." offers the girl.

Ash shakes his head. Slipping off his soaked pants and socks, the man lays out his clothes on the bleachers while walking around in his boxers. "Guess I'll help clean the pool then."

"I can ask mom. There might be stuff here from Uncle Tracey or Aunt Violet's or Aunt Lily's old boyfriends."

"It's fine." Ash smiles at her. He then grabs the mop roughly from Politoed.

Ariel nods. "Okay! I'll be next door if you need anything, dad! Thanks for cleaning with me!" Ariel grabs Politoed because she doesn't want any fighting between him and her father. The other pokemon don't like Ash either, but Politoed is the only one who actually acts on it. Ariel is glad her father is here to help clean the gym. They'll be done in no time!

Ash calls out his Pokemon, with the exception of Charizard who never participates in gym cleaning day. Totodile laughs at Ash in his boxers, Sceptile looks away at his trainer in embarrassment, Gliscor sweatdrops, and Noivern curiously looks around. "It's gym cleaning day." Ash mutters to them.

A few hours later, Misty decides she needs a break from organizing files. Pikachu is dozing on one of the comfortable office chairs. Misty makes her way to the arena where she likes to swim to relax. She doubts Ariel and Ash will be there because Ash hates the water. They're most likely cleaning up the rest area for the Pokemon, or they're outside.

The woman tiredly makes her way into the arena where she takes off her jacket. However, she stops in her tracks when she notices the various other Pokemon in the arena. These are definitely her ex's pokemon. So they're helping Ariel clean? How nice. Misty even sees the goofy Totodile working diligently.

When she sets her jacket on the bleachers, she notices a pair of clothes sprawled out. These are definitely too big to be hers or Ariel's. Frowning, Misty looks up the stands where she sees her ex in just his boxers sweeping the bleachers. "Why are you naked?" She yells.

He hadn't noticed her come in because he's far from the entrance; thus, Misty's voice makes him shake with a start. Glaring down at her, he shouts back, "I'm not!" He's got one piece of clothing on. And what's with her attitude? He's helping clean this gym.

Misty motions to his clothes. "You're basically naked. I know you're single now, but I'm not interested." She fights the smirk trying to form on her lips. This is payback for all the times Ash would claim he's happily taken while with Melody. Misty never intentionally did anything, but Ash always assumed she was trying to seduce him.

Ash rolls his eyes. "Good! I don't wanna be with a scrawny nagging gym leader again!"

"And I don't wanna be with an annoying irresponsible champion too!"

Ash shakes his head. "Also, control your pokemon! If he hadn't attacked me into the pool, I'd be wearing clothes now."

Misty makes a mental note to thank Politoed later. She knows he's the only one who will attack Ash. "You deserve it." There's a reason her Pokemon don't like Ash, but his pokemon still love her.

Ash, being done with the bleachers, makes his way back down with the broom and dustpan. Standing in front of his blushing ex, Ash smirks. He can see her avoiding his body. When he was way up in the stands, it was difficult to see the details of his muscles. Now that he's right in front of her, Misty can see he's really aged well, and she hates him. Nevertheless, Ash can make out her body in her swimsuit too. He awkwardly blushes and avoids her gaze too.

"I think this room is done." he mutters.

She awkwardly nods. "I'll dry your clothes." Picking up his wet clothes, she says, "All that's left is the resting room and the office. When Ariel's done, you two can hang out."

"Uh. Okay."

Unfortunately for her, Misty slips on the small puddle the wet clothes in her arms made while she was awkwardly talking to her ex. This makes her collide into the unsuspecting man who has also been avoiding looking at her. The good thing, though, is that Ash cushioned Misty's fall. However, she is now laying directly on top of her barely clothed ex who she hates. Misty can't bring herself to pull away because she'd rather just die from embarrassment right now.

Wincing due to the hard fall on his back, Ash asks, "Are you gonna get up yet?" He knows he was teasing her about his body, but he never meant it. This is too much embarrassment for him.

With her head still buried in his exposed chest, Misty takes in a very deep breath. Can this day get any worse? She likes it better when they didn't have to see each other at all. Lifting her head to get up, her eyes meet his, and like always, they lock on. Those chocolate brown eyes that do the most to her. And her cerulean blue eyes that he can't compare to any other. She finds herself inching her face closer to his as she tries to get a closer look at those eyes she rarely sees.

When Misty feels something hard press against her thigh, it shocks her from her daze. She instantly gets off of him to cover her eyes. "You're disgusting."

The man blushes more deeply as he now sits up with his back to her. "You're the one touching down there!"

"You're the one claiming you're not interested in me!"

"I'm not!" Mew, coming here was a mistake. He should've just gone into the resting room with Ariel.

"Your body says otherwise." Misty points out victoriously, though she is disgusted.

"I'm sure if you had one, yours would be up just seeing me all the time." Ash remarks. He noticed her gazing at his body earlier. He knows she checks him out. Just because they hate each other doesn't mean they can't appreciate a nice body. He checks her out. Mew, Ash, stop it!

"I have standards." Misty stands up with his wet clothes. Walking past him while keeping her eyes away, she smirks, "You were always bad at lying."

Once Misty is out of the arena, Ash groans into his hands. This is awful. He's just making himself look like such an idiot in front of the person he hates the most. If Ash could crawl into a hole for 10 years and never come out, he'd do that right now. However, he has a daughter he can't abandon.

Hours Later

"Thanks for helping me finish, dad." Ariel grins at her father who is still in his boxers. After gaining enough courage to live again, Ash got off the poolside floor to head into the resting room where his daughter and Politoed were cleaning. The Pokemon resting room is usually pretty dirty because of all the Pokemon in it. It takes a lot of cleaning.

"Any time, champ." Ash smiles. Ariel is who makes everything more bearable. He'll do anything for her. He feels very relaxed around her, which he needs in Cerulean City.

Walking into the room, Misty tosses a bag at her ex. She had gone back to her house to wash and dry his clothes. "Put some clothes on already."

With a dark blush on his cheeks, Ash slips all of his clothes back on. Mew, clothes never felt so good before. "It's not like I wanted to fall into the pool and get my only pair of clothes wet." He knowingly remarks.

Not in the mood for an argument, Ariel quickly runs between her parents. "We're done, mom! Can we go?"

Misty checks her pokenav for the time. It is almost dinner time, and she's also exhausted from the office work. The gym is done with it's cleaning too. "Sure. Let's go."

"Uh. Don't you have work?" Ash would much rather not spend anymore time with her.

Misty narrows her eyes at him. "No matter how much work I have, I always make time for my family." She then places a finger on her chin. "Don't you have work?" He's the one who could never come around because of his work.

Ariel looks over at Politoed and sweatdrops. She's glad her parents are talking again, but all they do is argue. Grabbing her father's hand, the girl leads him to her mother whose hand she also grabs. "Let's go!" She excitedly exclaims. They've been here too long for her liking. Ariel normally doesn't mind being at the gym, but on gym cleaning day, it makes her exhausted.

After locking up, the three and Pikachu make their way to the house. Ariel is still holding their hands as she skips down the sidewalk while the adults begrudgingly follow. Today, it's Ash's turn to pick dinner. The man isn't sure what he wants. Plus, he's lost his appetite after the immense embarrassment he suffered today. Yes, Ash Ketchum lost his appetite.

"What's for dinner, dad?" the girl curiously asks her father once they're inside the house.

Ash shrugs. "You can pick. Let's skip me."

"No!" Ariel exclaims. "No skipping, dad! You have to pick!"

The man looks at Pikachu. "What should we eat today?"

Pikachu shakes his head. It's not like he eats people food. "Pika pikachu." He then scampers off to Ariel's room.

Ariel's expectant eyes fall back on her uncomfortable father. "Dad?"

"C'mon." Misty comes to her ex's rescue. This is mostly because the woman is hungry, and she's not going to wait around for Ash's response.

In the kitchen, Ariel sits on the counter after everyone washes their hands. "What are we making, mom?" Today is her father's turn to pick dinner. Ariel won't let anyone be skipped.

"Baked Corphish with green beans." the woman mutters while pulling out the corphish tails from the fridge. Ash curiously eyes her suggestion.

"It's dad's turn to pick!" Ariel reminds her mother. Even though Ariel has never had this before, she won't let her father miss his turn. It's not fair. Though, the girl is curious how corphish tail tastes.

Misty looks over at her ex who she sees is already looking at her. Their eyes lock, and both instantly remember their awkward encounter earlier. Glancing away again, Misty asks, "How's it sound?"

Ash weakly nods. "Sounds good."

"But mom picked it!" whines the girl.

Sighing, Ash gives his daughter a grateful smile for her sticking up for him. "It's my favorite meal, champ."

Ariel's attention now snaps back to her uncomfortable mother who is preparing the tails in the sink. As much as the girl wants to bring up her mother remembering Ash's favorite meal, she won't. Ariel doesn't want to ruin anything before it even starts. Instead, the girl grins at her nervous parents. "I never had corphish tail before!"

Now, Misty looks over at her ex. It's his favorite. His mother doesn't make it because Pallet Town isn't a seaside town. It's near the ocean, but it's a small town. Corphish tail is everywhere in Cerulean City. Nevertheless, Misty expected the man to share his favorite delicacy with his daughter. "Really?"

Ariel nods. "Yeah! You never wanna buy it, mom." Ariel has asked what corphish tail tastes like because she always sees it for sale in the city. However, Misty avoids it and never buys it.

Now, Ash glances at the uncomfortable woman, and again, their eyes lock. So they've both been avoiding corphish tails. A part of Ash feels his heart ache knowing she hates being reminded of him too. Either she was hurting that badly from their divorce that she couldn't stand corphish tail anymore, or she hates him too much to be reminded of it. He figures it's the latter since she filed for divorce.

With Misty now done washing the corphish tail, Ash walks over to the sink. "Want me to crack the shells?" It's what he's always done in the past because he has the strength for it.

The woman weakly nods and steps back for him to use the sink. She heads to the fridge to grab the green beans. "Wanna help me with the vegetables, Ariel?"

"Yeah!" Ariel is so happy cooking with her parents every Wednesday. Although it is awkward, she feels like they've been getting more and more comfortable with each other every week. She appreciates her parents' efforts in making her happy, even if they hate each other.

During dinner, Ariel is again doing most of the talking. The meal turned out good, despite Misty not cooking it in years. Ariel loves the corphish tail. It's exactly how Ash remembers it, and it brings back a wave of nostalgia with every bite, aching his heart. He really did love her cooking, especially when she'd make his favorite dishes. The fact that she had the corphish tail in her fridge already means she expected him to want it today. It is his day to pick a dish.

"Are you gonna hang out with us again this weekend, mom?" Ariel hopefully asks her mother.

Misty keeps her gaze on her food. "What do you have in mind, sweetie?"

"How about we all eat with the Oaks?"

Anything but that. Both adults look at each other in shock, and Misty gulps. They're not trying to be subjected to the Oaks' teasing. "Uh…"

"I know Mr. and Mrs. Oak miss you." Ariel knowingly tells her mother.

Sighing, Misty keeps her eyes on her nervous ex's. "I'll go if your father goes." No way will Misty be tortured alone.

Ash's eyes narrow at her in a glare. She did not just drag him into this! However, when Ariel's hopeful eyes land on him, Ash smiles sweetly. "Only if your mother washes my car."

"You never drive your car!" Misty snaps.

"I will if you wash it." he challenges her.

"I'll wash it if you admit…" her eyes dart at Ariel and then back. This isn't the time to hear Ash admit she's the better parent. Nevertheless, Misty already started her sentence, so in a panic, she says, "this meal is good."

As much as he knows the meal is great, he won't compliment her. That's just giving her a little victory, and Ash won't let her feel victorious over him, no matter how small the victory is. "I'll only do it when you beat me in a battle."

"Is that a challenge, Ketchum?"

"What else does it sound like?" seethes the man. Ariel worriedly glances at Pikachu whose ears perk up whenever his trainer mentions battling or training. The two watch Ash and Misty continue to glare at one another.

With a twinkle in her eye, the redhead stands up, "It's on."

It's rated T for a reason! ;)