Hello! It is Wednesday and I am back with a new chapter. This one like "The One With The Dress" were both ideas that I had at the end of last year. However, unlike the other chapter, this one wasn't written and uploaded quite so quickly. This idea lingered in my brain and then I finally tackled it not too long ago. It's more of a light one and this time focuses on mother and son rather than father and son. It focuses on Misty and her and Ash's eldest son, Ben, and all of the thoughts and feelings that come with him at six years old! I hope you enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I own the story and the OCs mentioned.
Although I did try rather hard to stick close to the raven haired young lad for he had an expression as sour as some of the drinks on the table, soon enough I couldn't help but scurry away, enjoying everything that there was to see! Looking up as much as my neck would allow, I found it intriguing how fascinated I could be by all of the shades of the same colour.
Apart from all the chattering and giggling and dancing of all of the guests, there were things to take note of as far as the eye could see. I very much enjoyed the pink chandelier swinging above my head. A gasp hitched in my throat at the rose coloured, dolly pink and then magenta hues of different drinks. My stomach sounded like thunder at the sandwiches with their various pink coloured fillings. I simply loved the pink and white spotted napkins and tablecloth of the buffet table!
There was blush as far as the eye could see for the baby shower of a new baby girl. And I might have thought it bordering on sickening during some days of my life but on that day I was taking it all in. I was on a high!
However, Ben Ketchum couldn't have been further from having the same experience as me.
I allowed my lungs to inflate and inhale all the food and drinks that were on offer at the party and filled my vision with a few more things. The salmon pink and white streamers. The present bags that were a couple of other colours too but had a vast majority of flushed hues. The very large and shiny balloons that acted as a mirror to anyone who got close to it, spelling out 'baby girl' to mark the occasion.
Then, I trotted off back to where I was needed, sitting right between the knees of the six year old boy and understanding how far removed he was not only from his stance but from the way that he didn't bother to reach down to me, too.
Instead his hands were occupied by his own face as he rested his elbows on his bare kneecaps. He let out such an exhalation of breath that it would've been handy to have him around when the party preparations were taking place and balloons were being blown up.
Craning my neck to look back towards him instead, I felt the corner of my mouth elevating. It really wasn't his scene at all. And for that, I felt my shoulders sinking for him.
It became clear that I was not the only one noticing his forlorn expression and body language that screamed how little he wanted to be there, even if he didn't murmur a single sound, when soon enough, another person came to join our little duo.
Thankfully for Ben, it wasn't one of the people dressed in a pink frilly frock and who had laughter that sounded like a girlish yet repellent siren in his mind. His father instead joined him by his side. And no sooner as he had appeared like a sturdy statue, his hand that wasn't being used to prop up his food plate smashed carefully down on his son's head.
Ash's fingers were tangled with Ben's thick head of hair as he spoke to him.
"Are you not getting the food that you want over at the buffet table, buddy?" he asked his son with a hand still embedded in thick, unruly raven locks. In spite of the fact that his words were muffled from behind a mouthful of generously spread jam sandwich, I heard them clear as day. "Don't stress, I think they're bringing more cake out now."
My best friend added, continually speaking to his eldest son. My neck remained craned and had an angle towards the right so I watched him use the back of his hand that wasn't balancing a plate to gesture over to the buffet table that he was talking about.
Before I had a chance to look myself, I grew occupied with widening my eyes at the way that Ben erupted with a scoff, his elbows remaining fixed on his knees as for once in his life, he didn't care about more cake being on offer at all.
Ash was equally as taken aback as I was from the minute that he let this be known, almost sending his white and pink dotted paper plate flopping down towards the ground.
"I couldn't care less about cake." Ben sulked, his knees finally no longer feeling the company of his elbows as his arms stretched backwards instead, wrapping around the back of the chair behind him. Ben didn't dare look in the direction of the buffet table. Maybe the corner of his mouth would moisten and show that he was passionate but not that passionate about his grumbling. "Pink cake. Pink sandwiches. Pink drinks. Pink cookies." He lapped any saliva away before it could form out of hunger or frustration. "Why does it all have to be pink?!"
Ridding himself of any remaining mouthfuls of food, my best friend managed to resist glancing down at me but could not fight the curve taking over his lips and lifting them upwards. Removing his hand from his son's head, that arm loosely folded over his muscular chest while his left one still held his plate of food that he could care less what colors they were.
Ash assumed that his son was the same. Food was food. A party was a party. Apparently not. Apparently he had things to say about it!
"A lot of people choose to do this kind of thing when they have a new baby, Benny. Especially a new baby girl." He was informed. From the way that Ben's eyebrows moved closer towards each other and his lips had a mind of their own and threatened to scowl, it was clear that this wasn't news to him.
He knew the concept. He understood it. He participated in that kind of thing before. But on that day and now he was six years old, it seemed silly! Beyond that, it was sickening. And just like he often did, he made that opinion be known, one upping his father and folding both arms over his chest.
I watched as from behind me, Ben had an expression growing more lemony expression with each second and hair that seemed to sprig outwards in all directions.
"Well it's stupid!" he announced. While Ash and Misty most certainly encouraged their children to have their own opinions and welcomed them, in that moment my best friend had half an instinct to cover his mouth with his hand. "I know Auntie Violet is having a baby girl. I don't need to see every color of pink to celebrate." His lips were equally as pink as the decorations which he detested with the despair of it all. "I'll be happy when the baby is here. I don't need all of this bother beforehand."
He spoke through pouted, fuller lips. I felt that Misty would've encouraged her son to be louder at dissing her sister's baby shower party! And although I figured that Ash wouldn't feel comfortable having too much of an intense opinion about the whole thing – especially not one as strong as his son – I did notice the smile that took over his face that was a bit of a contrast to the one of pure amusement from moments before.
Ash noticed something different, even quite mature about his six year old son's frustrated ramblings. So because of this, he swallowed he awe and his pride in the same way that he swallowed the jam sandwiches practically whole and tried to articulate himself in a way that was equally as observational.
The more that he tried at this sort of thing, the more that he usually missed the mark! But my best friend's heart was in the right place. He attempted for his brain to be in the right place as well. That would need some more work.
"I hear ya, Ben." Ash began and hearing his name rather than a pet name caused his raven haired boy to loosen his grip of his own small chest and look up at him with a hue in his eyes that was the same as the chocolate cake hidden beneath layers of pink icing in pride of place on the buffet table. "This little girl might not even be the kind of person that we think they will become. Maybe they'll like this kind of stuff as little as you do!"
He chuckled at his own words and then I did too at what he came out with and for doubting his ability to express himself as well as a handful of other things. When we made eye contact and chuckled, I tittered to myself all the more as I caught onto something that Ben was oblivious too.
With the person in question, Ash avoided telling the tale of how Jayden was presumed to be a girl for a great many months of the pregnancy before he revealed himself as the boy that he was. I encouraged my laughter to die down and see my best friend thought slanted eyes instead. He would've usually lavished in the idea of bellowing out that story one more time.
Through my own creased eyes, I started to see that Ben was mirroring my expression but for a reason that felt true to him. His narrow framed chest began to feel a tighter hugging from the both of his arms once again. He listened to his father's words and focused on the last point that he made, growing all the more sulky than ever before.
"Of course the baby will love all the gross girly stuff. It's Auntie Violet's baby." He muttered and the puffiness of his lips made it difficult to hear all the words that he was saying. Regardless, like his father from behind mouthfuls of food, I heard every single word.
I pressed my lips together and felt my cheeks dimpling the more that time passed and as Ash decided against pointing out that the little girl might take after Ben's Uncle Chili. I supposed that he wasn't sure whether he should put that sort of image into the mind of anybody, let alone a six year old!
I think he knew that his boy was right and even if he didn't outwardly express this, his eyes wandering to Violet and her pregnant belly spoke volumes. If three out of four of the Williams sisters liked to indulge in all things perceived as girly then there was a high chance that this new baby girl would as well.
Even with the influence of her father Chili and his brothers in Cilan and Cress too, she was certain to be a delicate and fairy-like little thing. The apple often didn't fall far from the tree and if the girly side of the Williams' genes weren't enough then the world and party that she was being welcomed into would probably prevail.
Ash absentmindedly stared all the more. He understood why Ben felt like a fish out of water when his vision was filled with the sight of Violet adoringly rubbing past the material of her pink figure hugging dress and doting on her bump while her immediately older and immediately younger sister doted on the two of them.
There and then, with a shake of the head to bring him back to reality, my best friend decided to turn back to his son once more rather than indulging in the thoughts that would go on to take over his mind the more that he stared.
Tufts of hair surrounded Ash's fingernails once more and the flat of his palm nested on the top of his son's skull. Reassurance came naturally to him.
"Don't stress." His former words came back full circle. Ben resisted his eyes swirling around in his sockets and looked up at his father again with as much patience as he could muster. He was met with Ash's friendly and comforting grin. "Why don't you go grab yourself some more food and go and join Eddie? I have no doubts that the two of you can boy-up this party a bit."
He encouraged and before he could get even the slightest of inclinations to what his boy's response was going to be, he decided to pat the top of his head before ridding himself from the scene for good. I understood why he did this. He didn't want to encourage his sulkiness by feeding it and he didn't want it to persist for all that much longer.
While it was okay he felt that way, they had all received a rare invite from a Williams' sister so Ash especially didn't want to brush anybody the wrong way. We all knew that if anybody did this then it was going to be Misty, not any of her children!
Nevertheless, Ash took himself off and Ben assumed that his father decided that he wanted some more cake, even if he was unusually not to into the idea for himself. The six year old boy's neck attempted to crane but soon enough, he lost all track on his parent as he grew concealed by the gaggle of other party guests.
Ben frowned more. And then wearily, his elbows rested on his knees once again and he shook his head at the words that Ash had proffered before he left. For once, he did not want more food and he did not want to seek out the company of his best friend.
His toes pointed forwards in his trainers. Eddie was occupied with other things and things that he did not want to be a part of. So Ben would just sit there alone and sulk. Of course he was not alone, though. I had since risen above all my enjoyment for all things pink and figured it was better to keep the boy company and make the most of the party some more when he felt a little better.
And as well as this, he would soon be doubly not alone from the way that, though the six year old boy hadn't kept well enough tabs on his father, I not only started to see him once more but I saw his wife as well.
After Ash swapped the plate of food into his left hand rather than his right and he had a kiss on the cheek for his wife as well as for the small baby clutched in her hold, he had an elevation of the mouth that told anyone who cared enough to look that he was about to bring his wife's attention to something.
However, she got there before her husband had a chance to. Her hand lingering on the solid arm of Ash while her other arm continually cradled the bundle close to her, she proved that he and I hadn't been the only one noticing the persisting mood of Ben.
"Is everything okay with Ben over there?" she questioned, her hand falling away from the arm of Ash in order for her fingers to twitch ever so slightly in the direction of the eldest son that they both shared. Following this, a slight smile tugged at her lips while she elaborated. "For most of the party he's had the same expression as when your Mom turned up to pick him up from school wearing her fruit and flower hat."
Somehow, Ash managed not to erupt into out of place laughter at the memory as well as the comparison that was very much accurate! For someone who liked food as much as his father, Ben didn't feel very warmly about when Delia indeed wore a hat to his school that was adorned with grapes and bananas and apples.
Still keeping his laughter mostly to himself despite the fact that he glanced over at me and we shared a silent, glee-filled expression, he pressed another kiss to his wife's cheek to compose himself before answering. As he did this, Misty's shoulders felt the wrapping of an arm and this time, he didn't care about the reaction that he garnered from Jayden as he frolicked past yet again.
"He's hangin' in there." He began, though of course, nobody needed to have a second glance at Ben for it to become very clear that he was about to lose patience with the whole affair once and for all. Feeling her husband's touch lingering on her, Misty managed to fight her own smile. A tilt of her head expressed that she didn't believe him. "Maybe you should try and perk him up, though, Mist. Remind him that not every girl is sickeningly sweet."
And with that, I knew that Misty was very much glad that she had kept her smile to herself. And not because she wanted to unleash it sunnily on her husband there and then, oh no!
Upon hearing these words, she shrugged herself away from his hold and her eyes became the toothpicks on the buffet table. My best friend only had half a second to widen his eyes and glance down at their new-born child in her arms, reminding her that she can't blow her top too much and wake the sleeping baby.
Silently, this angered Misty more. I felt that Ben was the least of anybody's concerns at that point and any sulking from him was going to pale to insignificance in comparison to his mother's!
"What is that supposed to mean?" Was all the woman with locks that matched her temper needed to utter for Ash to change his tune entirely. He didn't need to just change his tune. He needed to change his tracks!
His eyes stopped widening from warning her not to wake little sleeping James to panic of trying to think of a response that not only didn't annoy her further but instead calmed her down and ideally got his point across better. He didn't know exactly what he had meant with his words but it certainly hadn't been what she had understood them to be.
Ash knew he had to be quick. He had half a second to bite on his bottom lip as well as trace his tongue over the area between his upper lip and base of his nose, already tasting the salt. Because Misty didn't offer the single fraction of a smile, he didn't realize that she was only teasing him in a very calculative manner. She was glad that he hurried himself along. If he looked panicked and trembled for much longer then her own intention would shine through.
"Don't get it twisted, Mist, I love that you're not ultra girly." He tried to begin. Whether it was intentional or not or thought out to the greatest of details, Misty's eyes became even smaller. Ash was forced to take a chance by enveloping her in his draped arm once more. "Please. Go see our son. I hate to see him so blue."
I couldn't even allow my own lips to quirk upwards at the pun that Ash had possibly been making. Aside from suspiciousness whether my best friend was actually smart enough to make that sort of joke, I was instead far more interested in the way that his heart shone through even at panic stricken times.
And it was the same for Misty too. A stubborn woman she could be and one that hardly backed down. But even so, she heard the somewhat plea from her husband and felt the warmness of his touch as it lingered on her shoulders and it was not just the metaphorical kind.
It didn't take too much at all for her to admit that she hated seeing Ben out of place in the presence of her sisters too. And while it took a tad more from her, she could see when it was time to end the mock feud and share a bit more oneness.
Although she made a point of keeping her eyes as straight as horizons, she pressed the briefest of kisses to her husband's lips and then took herself off to go and see her eldest son. Before I focused properly on her presence and her joining Ben and I, I saw the one of Ash's hands go to his hips and his lips become an 'o' shape as he blew air from out his mouth.
He had survived! Now he just had to hope that his son would continue surviving a very pink filled party. And to tell you the truth, I did too. I wanted to go back to being able to jovially enjoy it!
The perks of only just having a baby meant Misty could get away with occupying one of the chairs being used in a small game of musical chairs over in one corner of the party. It bode very well for her when she yanked the child's size chair and landed it right in front of her son and sat down.
Her bottom barely had enough time to touch the white wooden material hovering beneath her. She had long since garnered Ben's attention. And now that she was there and in front of him and with his new baby brother, his eyes glimmered as much as the candles that had been on Violet and Chili's new baby's cake.
"Is it time to go home now?" he questioned and the more that he kid himself it was true, the more that his eyes ignited like sparklers rather than just plain old candles. As well as to give my own bottom a break from sitting on the wooden floor of the party venue hall, I effortlessly clambered onto Misty's lap to be near both her and the new little baby.
From nestling my cheek close against James and his own soft, faint zig-zag freckles, I could tell as well as Ben that the answer was no. As his mother's lips remained firmly yet compellingly pressed together, the back of his own seat felt the company of his spine. The six year old boy felt much deflated. So because of this, his mother leaned forward in her own seat, still clutching the little baby close to her but allowing me to make a fuss of him, too.
"Even I can admit that it's not that bad to be here." She told her son with a secret urge to allow the corner of her mouth to quirk upwards more than she let on. I'm guessing that it felt all the more easy to even this look out and it felt harder to show her words were true when Violet and her other sisters let out more of their siren shrieks not long after.
Ben didn't have the same inclination to conceal his expressions and motives in the same way that his mother did. His head turned so abruptly that it might've snapped when he heard these noises. And then he gave Misty his full attention once more, his youthful eyes widening and his head bobbing in a motion that told her he was deadly serious.
"Oh, but it is." He insisted, his neck threatening to have a crick in it from the speed in which it had turned and then from how many seconds he nodded his head. Thankfully, eventually it came to a halt and instead his expression screwed up like he had nabbed a hunk of lemon straight out from the punch bowl. "It's so loud and giggly and girly and pink!"
The more adjectives that Ben came out with, the more and more he spat them! It was as though he had finished with swallowing the hunk of lemon but had continued feeling the pips latching between his teeth. I giggled softly to myself at just how vehemently the little boy was standing firm in his opinions.
It wasn't the first time that a little boy had grown a dislike for everything perceived as girly. And it wasn't the first time that someone in his family had had feelings of such. Yet saying that, no one quite lingered in their disdain like Ben Ketchum. I just had to wonder whether Misty was silently glad that it wasn't towards her best friend like his negative attention could often be focused.
Bringing baby James closer to her chest and rocking him gently even though he was still soundly asleep and did not need extra soothing, whether she intended this or not, Ben's cheeks stopped insistently flushing a similar color to everything that he disliked about the party.
Misty felt the cheek of her youngest son with the pad of her pointer finger and then her eyes felt the inclination to look right at her eldest son so she did exactly this.
"My sisters are loud and giggly and girly and pink." She told him, a look in her eye that was too grown up for Ben to catch onto at that point in his life but maybe would look back on with understanding. "Especially…"
My best friend's wife's eyes wandered to the trio that were her three sisters, two of them doting on the third that was pregnant. Misty shook her head in such a way that I could feel rippling through her lap even if she didn't do this gesture particularly intensely or in a prolonged manner.
She didn't need to say any particular names. Like Ben, it was a long time coming her getting along with her three older sisters and the journey still couldn't be further from being complete. A long road had been climbed. There was an even longer one ahead. But she just didn't want that baby to feel unloved the way that she had done. That was why she had said yes to attending in the first place.
Ben's legs were beginning to kick against the wood of the chair as he waited for Misty to say more things brought her back to reality. I possessed a soft smile to myself but didn't go so far as to nudge my cheek against her arm. I would've liked to, though.
Because the six year old boy started to wonder why his mother still hadn't said anything, he decided that it was his turn. And along with his legs nonchalantly kicking against the wood of the chair, he decided that he would come out with words that couldn't be denied.
As well as getting his point across for good, I suspect that he was hoping to humor her into a more engaging reaction once more.
"They're all pink and girly and giggly and loud!" he insisted once more, timing his legs kicking in time with the words that he uttered out. While Misty was listening, she grabbed hold of her son's ankle and prevented him from being a disturbance to the party as well as his new baby brother. Exasperated at his own words rather than his parent, his arms dramatically fell to his sides. "And they all won't stop asking me if I have a girlfriend!"
It humored me to see the different way that Ben acted with his father and then with his mother. His sulky, more sullen side had made an appearance with Ash as he knew his soft heart was best penetrated with a more sad and submissive persona. His mother, on the other hand, was best targeted with a dramatic display.
Whether he got his own way eventually or not, it usually got a reaction out of her. And whether it prompted her to be stern with him or try to resist and hide her amusement from her, he received a reaction and it was a reaction which he wanted.
Ben was not as clueless as some people thought and (I hated to linger on it) but he was light-years ahead of his father at that point even at the age in which I first knew Ash! His method to get his mother's attention was successful.
Though she continually held his sock enveloped ankle in her hands, it was for affection and to portray an unfaltering sense of company far more than it was to prevent his legs from moving restlessly once more. Misty gave her son a look in her eyes of one that he could perfectly read at the age of six years old as well as into the future.
The glint in her eye spoke more amusement than the pressed line of her mouth before it opened.
"Been there! Why do you think I ran away from home?" she responded to her son and no sooner as she had done this, the diamond stopped being portrayed only in her eye and her teeth started to show as she shook her head, not letting go of Ben's ankle from her hold.
Upon hearing this, I had a notion that if Ben focused on me rather than his mother for more than a few seconds, then he would have caught onto the understanding in the not too distant future. But his eyes were directly towards his mother and at that point, not taking in any of the outside world. Not even the world of pink and girly-ness that he had previously found so offensive.
For another time that day, while Misty's mouth continued to grin for she hadn't realized what kind of words had slipped out at that point, Ben's eyes were round chocolate cakes. His head and face appeared fuller like a full moon close to his mother's as he leaned his body closer to his mother.
All I could do was look between the two of them and offer Misty some help explaining herself if he caught onto the word that had slipped.
"Your sisters used to ask you if you had a girlfriend?" he questioned. Instead of showing that he thought these words were peculiar, Ben's lingering innocent and moon-like appearance portrayed that he was inwardly glad that he shared something in common with his mother.
Inwardly, it started to dawn on her what she had allowed to slip. She had only enough time to utter one, single word, her smile fading away like a white disc in the sky becoming concealed by clouds.
"No…" she began. In spite of the fact that her grin longed to hide itself, it then started to creep back up again in the hope that her son wouldn't read into her gestures. Of course, he was only going to read into her words if he was going to read into anything at all. But then again, he was six years old.
And on top of being a young child, he was Ash's child! Misty could say practically anything and unless it was related to Pokémon in some way, he was never going to understand what it meant unless it was clear cut.
Misty should've known not to underestimate her son. I should've known not to underestimate their son. He longed to connect with his mother and have all the more things in common with her that he already shared.
Instead of focusing on any of the other noises of the party, he acknowledged the words that his mother shared with them. With a slope of the neck, he showed that he had been attentive to them all.
"Wait…" As Ben began, Misty already knew that it was no good and she could feel no qualms over ridding herself of her grin for good. Straight away, she believed that she could not lie to her son. She could not lead him towards any direction other than the one that was the truth. "I thought you went on a Pokémon Journey when you were ten years old? I thought you went on one with Daddy?"
Such questions. Such innocence. On any other day, one would've melted at the tone of his voice and his purity of heart but on that day, it was clear that Misty was loitering near a conversation that she had simply never had with that son of hers before. He knew that her childhood wasn't the happiest. But how could she tell him that it was so unhappy that she fled?
She felt that she couldn't. But she felt all the more strongly that she plainly and simply could not lie. She vowed never to do such things again.
"I did…" Misty told Ben truthfully. We really needed to give him more credit than we often gave him, we all did. Perhaps I should've given my best friend some of that when he was ten years old as well. Amongst the feelings of protection and readying myself to assist my best friend's wife in any way that I could, I suddenly felt a pang of guilt that Ash had always been known as the dense one.
Maybe he had been the naïve one of the group. And maybe Ben could be as well. But he could always tell when he was being given a half truth. His superior insight to when it came to journeying and those sorts of requirements perhaps gave him an upper hand to many aspects of their conversation on that day.
"But you didn't head out on a Pokémon Journey with your license and going to see Professor Oak for your first Pokémon?" he questioned. A shake of the head was the answer that he received. It was clear to me that he learned the art of expression from the woman right in front of him when he started to see her through slit eyes the longer that Misty's head shook. More questions came. "Did you have any Pokémon before you ran away and if so, can I get one soon?"
My head swiveled. His mother for once did not catch on. Her mouth opened and fulfilling her knowing that she must honor the relationship with her son and never speak to him with lies, she prepared to converse with him even more times.
"Ye-" she began and then realization hit her! My natural instinct was to clap a paw over my chest and then my second one was to feel the laughter brewing in my teeth and oozing around my clenched jaw. Mother and son switched expression. It was her turn to have the horizontal line eyes and his to resume their width of the moon. "Not so fast. You must have patience."
Like when he was huffing over the fate of the party, Ben's back of the seat felt the company of his spine again and once more, his lips became puffy as he pouted. He really thought that he would have succeeded at that and not that I ever dared express it, but I thought he did a pretty darn good job!
Taking a minute to herself to subtly compose herself, wondering where the next few moments would take her, Misty leaned back in her own seat and held little James closer to her chest. I was no longer feeling the softness of his cheek with my cheek. My vision was filled with nobody else but Ben. And from leaning back and feeling his lips puckering and to slowly, inch by inch moving away from the back of the chair once more, I saw his demeanor change another time.
He had tried to pull a fast one on his mother. He really did not want to be there at the party. But now his eyes had been ever so slightly opened to worlds and stories beyond ones that he already knew. And he was ready to lose himself in each and every part.
His six year old self could somehow tell that it wasn't Misty's favorite thing to talk about from the way that she had never spoken of it before and the way that she needed to hug onto his new little brother that extra bit tightly. Even so, he felt that if anyone could be a really good listening ear then it was him.
And if anyone was going to comfort his mother from the feelings that she would go on to have, whatever they were, then he was the person to do it.
"Why did you run away…?" he asked and for a second time that party, his voice came out very child-like and very directly innocent. And that time that he expressed himself, it did melt our hearts away and break them all in one.
It was a peculiar thing to hear the sweetness of a voice provoking memories of times that one did not want to think about. Yet at the same time, I couldn't help but wonder whether it was exactly this that caused honest answers to follow, even more transparent ones than if an older, more worldly-wise voice had spoken.
At first, all that Ben was met with was a wan smile from his mother and a shrug too as both of her arms that time were occupied with enveloping around baby James sleeping peacefully and every so often making mewling noises as he dreamt.
The six year old boy longed to bash his legs against the wooden of the chair to offer himself comfort as well as pass the time while his mother decided whether she was going to answer or not. Ben did not act out on this instinct though. He kept very still and very quiet and as I rewarded him for this by choosing to hop onto his lap instead, it was entirely intentional.
"Because I had an impulse one day to see more of the world than I had seen and I couldn't help but act on it." Misty started and immediately, I knew on the surface of my heart that Ben even at the age that he was most definitely could have understood every part of these words like he was expressing them himself. "My sisters weren't my favorite to be around back then…"
That was putting it lightly, I thought to myself. I wondered if Ben was thinking of similar things. I wondered that even he caught on to the fact that things hadn't really changed too much beyond that opinion of ten year old Misty.
I didn't look at him to gauge his innermost thoughts and reactions. I didn't want to steal the focus away from them both by turning my head all over again.
But then, I couldn't help but show these potential scene-stealing actions by what happened next. Although Ben did not bash his legs as he sat upon the chair, his little toes clenched and then pressed against the very ends of his shoes. And as his voice uttered, it spoke words that one wouldn't expect from a boy of six. You couldn't expect them from anybody.
"I'm sorry…" he told his mother and while his eyes did wander towards anybody in particular, his words pierced right into the hearts of where they needed to go. Tremulously, Misty resisted holding a hand to her heart and had to make do with James beginning to wake from slumber ever so slightly. "Which sister is your favorite now then?"
He asked and as he asked, he continually didn't look over at his mother. One beat passed. Two beats passed. Very nearly three beats passed.
It was the same way in which Misty had almost answered him by telling him that he could have his own Pokémon before the age of ten years old.
It was at the same moment that Misty stopped feeling so focused on feeling her son's strangely mature sincerity cutting right through her that she looked back at him and felt him beginning to look back at her.
Ben's chin was jutted and just one eye of his was focused on her. He had done it again. He was encouraging reaction from her by using humor to garner any sort of attention. And it worked! Once more, he didn't want attention from her for the sake of it.
He wanted the quiet of her voice and the aching of her heart to go away. He wanted her to experience better things. Laughter.
"Ben…" Misty attempted to begin scolding her six year old boy but the intentional words from him to gauge the right reaction caused her initial word to be most feeble indeed as well as laced with the inkling to laugh. My cheeks had hurt from focusing on the scene but they then ached from amusement. Somehow, I had never been prepared for the joy that children of my two best friends' would bring. "You can't choose favorites of people like you can do for things."
Misty tried to educate her son, one hand untucking from her other son in her arms as his sleepy lids threatened to open and running through the soft fiery hue of her locks instead. I shouldn't have been surprised when immediately, Ben's saucer-like eyes fixed on her and he nodded his head.
Straight away, be begged to differ!
"Yeah you can." He disagreed with her, the innocent tone of his voice allowing him to get away with things. And he knew it! He went on to explain; almost leading me to believe that he thought his mother was mistaken to the point of needing educating herself. "I do it all the time. It's like how Justin is my favorite of those boys."
He said with such an angelic and straight-forward smile that one could've missed the way that he timed these words perfectly right as Jayden went past yet again! The look on the middle Morgan son's expression and the way that his cheeks flushed a similar hue to the magenta curls on the top of his head spoke volumes of how he wasn't going to hover near any Ketchum's at the party any longer.
Ben didn't care in the slightest. His vision was then filled with the sight of the Morgan boy who was indeed his favorite as hand clasped around the shoulder of a friend that he had brought over to the party, preventing them from annoying Katie by trying to take her bear away from her.
In between a breathy sigh, Misty spoke words that showed she caught on to all of these things – her son's words and Jayden's presence as well as Ben's favoritism for anybody who minded their own business and was kind to his family without expecting anything in return.
"I know you do…" she exhaled, her fingers no longer rooting through her bangs and resting on her forehead to somehow offer herself some composure. From remaining sitting on her son's lap, it seemed to me that as she did this gesture to herself, the cool pads of her fingers transpired some words to say into her mind. "Being here with my sisters isn't the easiest thing for me, Ben, like today hasn't been the easiest for you. But I still showed up, and that's the important thing, isn't it?"
And in that moment, I watched as though, although another thing that wasn't the easiest for Misty was the way that she was being vulnerable with her son over some parts of her life that she didn't like to share, it was something important that she did anyway. She made eye contact too; nodding her head as well as it was her turn to have a fuller appearing face as she leaned towards her son.
Immediately, he had another reaction that was a reminiscent of the way that he had looked with Delia and her fruit hat! Why did parents have to turn everything into a lesson? With a sigh and a scoff, he flopped himself back against the chair. But then he felt Misty's hand moving away from her own forehead and wrapping around his ankle and it brought him a sense of ease like her presence had done for herself.
Ben figured that he let her get away with it. After all, she had spent a good amount of time making sure he was okay as well as reminding him that not all girls were sickening and gross. Some of them were really cool and really strong. And some of them made boys that he could hang out with and look up to.
He was reminded then that his mother was exactly this type of person. And she had done all that. Only recently, she had given him a new baby brother for the first and only time in his life. And he decided to focus on that rather than the overwhelming hue of pink that was beginning to bother him less and less.
Ben copied Misty by leaning forward all over in his seat once more and as he did this, the little baby in his mother's arms eyes fluttered open. He blinked, revealing spiky black eyelashes and some very sea green orbs when he fixated on all of the rosy hues all around him.
His six year old brother was none the wiser to where his attention was directed. He instead had a rosy blush taking over his tanned cheeks as he decided to put his finger in his little brother's hold and he clamped around it like a very determined starfish.
Ben's cheeks felt all the warmer and he had diamonds in his eyes that outshone any of the decorations in the party room.
"I'm glad that I have my very own baby brother." He told Misty even though most of his attention was down towards that little boy, his finger pulsating as the infant gripped onto it so tight and copying my previous antics of having his cheek pressed against his. Ben's eyes fanned shut as he inhaled the love of a sibling. "Together we boys can fight against any pink girly-ness that we see."
And with that, a peck was planted on the nose of the little boy which caused him to giggle and kick his legs in his suit decorated sleep suit. Misty was melting like the frosting on the cake, anybody could see. However, with a hand reaching for her eldest boy's shoulder while she continually cradled her new, youngest ones, she spoke her own words.
Afterward, she touches her nose with both of theirs, like Ben's had done to his brother's freckled snout.
"Hey…" she began and the softness of her tone didn't make Ben feel that his intentional was being molded into another shape. "He's going to like whatever he likes. And be exactly who he wants too… Just like you."
Misty told Ben and while the boy listened and this caused his brow to furrow just a fraction, he focused more on the calmness of the mother's tones and then the closeness of both her and his new baby brother. For the first time during that party, he didn't want that moment to end. The girly-ness and the sweetness could increase tenfold for all he cared! He knew where he stood. He knew he had a brother he could count on to face up to any girls that came their way.
In truth, the future would be a little different than Ben anticipated. And the present would be the exact same way. In that moment, a whole lot of girlishness came up towards them all and it was up to Ben and it was up to Ben alone to counter it in any way that he knew how.
Leaving their giggling and their well-dressed friends and their gaggle of little girls all come to the party clad in glittery dresses and hair in perfect ringlets, all three of Daisy, Lily and Violet approached the scene when they saw, in their minds, the four of us in our own gang being quite isolated from everybody else.
Ben's prior sulking hadn't gone unnoticed by them either, even if none of them had done anything about it. However, that was about to change. While Daisy was the one who didn't say anything and instead waved a perfectly manicured down at the baby with the same eyes as her and Lily fixed her locks the colour of a good amount of the party decorations, Violet let her feelings be known.
Her expression became a put on pout which shone from the layers of lip-gloss that she had applied. Her hands massaging her bump that would dissipate into a baby much like little James in due course, all of her attention was down towards her nephew.
"Why don't you run along and play with your friend Eddie, cutie pie?" she encouraged him, her doe eyes locking onto him and immediately, these words alone causing his tongue to appear and flicker like a snake out of the parting of his lips. "He's having, like, so much fun picking himself a girlfriend from all the sweet girls!"
And with that, no years of experience gave Misty the ability to keep her expressions to herself. Not letting go of her baby boy in her arms, her eyes rolled like bowling balls which caused Daisy to take note of but not say anything.
Violet was none the wiser. Lily, on the other hand, had very much noticed and was going to take a leaf out of her sister's book and let it be known. She didn't have a chance to, though. It wasn't the fury of the gaggle of girly-ness which did this. It wasn't the mention of the word 'girlfriend' all over again, either, nor the reminder that his best friend had ditched him to try and find himself a "cutie pie"!
His natural protection for Misty leapt out. Perhaps it was necessary. But he deemed it reasonable at the time.
"No wonder my Mommy ran away from all this nonsense!" he suddenly made his feelings be known and it took to his mother quickly wrapping her arm around his waist and encouraging him down onto his lap for him not to let out any more words.
His cheeks still pulsated though and he looked between the three of them that proved he meant it. Needless to say, the three of them were taken aback! I cleared my throat awkwardly and before I could feel second-hand embarrassment that a good chunk of the party had gone quiet from hearing this outburst, I busied myself to going into Misty's shoulder to dangle my tail in front of James, occupying him.
While it was true that no years of practice could keep Misty's expressions to herself, she knew when to make the most of her words and when to swallow them back, deciding they're not worth uttering. Though she felt a very real wave of fondness crashing through her veins at the way that her son had stood up for her, she didn't need him to do it for her then and there.
She wanted to go the high road. She would, of course, call on him if she ever needed him though!
"It's all water under the bridge." She said hurriedly, not knowing where to look and eventually settling on Daisy. Even though she was the one who looked most like their father who had been unable to face turning up at the party and least like her mother who felt similarly for the sake of Jordan, her eyes filled with the vision of her eldest sister.
In hindsight, it was she who looked the most alarmed. Although, one would think it was Violet from her naturally doe eyed expression.
All the same, Ben had a similar saucer-like look in his eyes and I knew I wasn't making things up when I saw the words 'water under the bridge' and 'where' escaping from his lips. Misty had done a bold thing by not engaging and certainly not reacting to the way that her sisters were potentially coming to cause drama how her little family had been keeping themselves to themselves.
She had done a truly admirable thing. And one that inspired many but certainly not least in the fact that she had inspired her eldest son.
Ridding himself of all thoughts of water and a bridge and wherever that unknown place was, he suddenly felt very inspired indeed and wriggled his bottom on his mother's lap. Turning to look at her, he whispered to her in a very secret way although it didn't matter who heard these words.
Ben's hand clasped on her shoulder like he was much younger than he was. But he looked at her like he was much older than he was. Ignoring anybody else who was present, he spoke to his mother and his mother alone.
"I would never want to run away from you…" he told her and immediately, Misty's hand moved upwards and clasped his hand back. She had never asked for this reassurance but deep inside her heart, she was over the moon at the sincerity which had led her to receive it. "So can we run away together? Can we go outside just for a little bit?"
And with that, Misty's mouth didn't need to utter the words of an affirmation for Ben to know how well received his own words had been. A light in her eyes that only grew more with time, her hand reached out to brush through her son's unruly locks before they gave up. Not because it was a waste of time containing them! But because she had other things to do.
Ben felt a kiss on the end of his nose and then a forehead pressing against his own. Before he knew it he was standing on his own two feet and a hand was outstretched towards him. He felt somebody looking at him and as they did this, they had no room in their vision for anybody else.
Words finally came. Though they had never needed to.
"I can't think of a sweeter thing to do." She told her son and with that, her outstretched hand didn't feel so empty. Her shoulder didn't feel empty for a second with me still lingering there. Her arm didn't feel empty for any time at all with her new-born little boy there.
Her hand didn't feel empty for she had the hold of her eldest boy. She didn't feel empty on that day. For she had us all.
No more words of affirmation or compliance were needed. Mother and sons and me as well headed out into the grounds for fresh air and we breathed each other in as much as we inhaled nature. We left Daisy, Violet and Lily in our wake. They didn't quite understand what had gone on. But they didn't need to. It was just for us to know.
They would never understand the bond between mother and son, not until they had the chance to formulate that relation of their own. But in truth, they would never understand the one between Misty and Ben because it was so very precious and simply for them.
Misty had always wanted a son exactly like her husband. She had been granted that with Ben. And then, like she said, he went above and beyond and became exactly who he was meant to be. Of course, it was the same way for little James too. And while he provided equal amounts of adventures as his older brother, they were vastly different as well.
Nevertheless, they were the kind of experiences that were her favorites. They were the kind of chances that she never thought about running away from once. Not even when it got very tough. Not even when it became very weary. Every second of every day was rewarding.
Parenthood was exactly that. And it was when Misty felt able to reconnect with her sisters once more. Past became just a wound. The only thing that was the future. The only thing was togetherness. A kind of togetherness that needed separation to thrive.
The End.
There you go! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed :) Within an easy-going chapter, there were certainly moments of bigger themes. Misty's childhood of course being one of them, as well as how Jordan and Lynne don't feel quite ready to reconnect with their other daughters even once their visits to earth become more frequent. There's some pretty intense reasons for that. This chapter, though, shows Misty and her family show up for no reason alone other than being there for that unborn daughter of Violet, and not wanting her to grow up thinking she wasn't cared for. This chapter also subtlety debuts another pairing that I decided a long time ago! Misty's sister, Violet, pairing up with Cilan's triplet brother, Chili. Unusual to be sure! But that's what I came up with :P Thanks again for reading and I will be back on the 28th to update The Diary of Baby Rey so see you then!
Amy signing out :)