"Daisy… Lily… Violet…" Misty stumbled over the introductions, feeling
absurdly as if she was bringing a date home for her parents' approval.
She would have preferred to avoid this altogether, but as Prima had taken
up Misty's invitation stay and work in the Cerulean Gym's famous water
fields for a while, there was no way to keep her new employer away from the
other Gym Leaders. It didn't help that her older sisters were staring at
Prima with frank interest, casting occasional sidelong glances at Misty to
see if she was blushing.
She was pretty sure, too, that her sisters had lined up like that because they wanted to intimidate her. It was the kind of thing the trio would think was funny, and they knew about her childhood crush. Sometimes, being the youngest was just… not fair.
And then Prima gave one of her exceedingly slow smiles, like melting ice, her eyes warming to meet her mouth's expression, and there was a sudden relaxation in the room. Misty was almost sure Daisy blushed, and the other two girls returned to their usual selves.
At last Lily did her hospitable duty, with her usual gushy charm. "Oooh, it's an honour to meet one of the legendary Elite Four!" she squealed. "Except that you're, like, not really an Elite Four member anymore, but…"
Misty winced, but Violet was already talking over her sister. "And you've given Misty a job? That's just so cool!"
Daisy, somewhat recovered, belatedly added her voice to the clamour. "She'll be terrific! She, like, works really really hard," the tone of her voice made it apparent that Daisy wasn't quite sure if this was really a desirable character trait, "and she just looooooooooves water pokémon." She winked roguishly, and her sisters twittered. Misty resisted the urge to go hide in a corner.
Prima didn't seem taken aback by all the noise, or to register Daisy's heavy hinting. She slid an arm through Misty's, and remarked, "Passion is the dew on the grass of the world."
"Ooh, really?" Daisy giggled. "I'm glad you're interested in Misty's… passion…"
//I'm going to kill her,// Misty told herself. //I am really really going to kill her. I should use the mallet of doom… Except that I don't want Prima to think I'm a violent, immature kid.
//I don't want her to think I'm a kid at all.//
She smiled, gritted her teeth, and prepared to endure dinner. Only endure dinner, and then she would be alone in her room to absorb the miracle of the day. And then tomorrow… she would be working by Prima's side. She just had to hold on to that thought. It might help her avoid fratricide.
After all… She had learned exactly where losing her temper got her. She had learned her lesson.
"She's, like, really old, and a bit chunky, but she's a total babe! Go for it Misty!" Violet hissed in her sister's ear. Her "discreet" whisper could be heard a mile away, and Prima cast a coolly reflective look at Misty that made her ears burn.
Misty ruffled Togetic's feathers to hide her confusion. Keeping her temper was going to be just a little more difficult than she had thought.
* * *
Dinner was… not as bad as Misty had expected, at least at first. Prima talked charming, incomprehensible nonsense… no, that wasn't it, she shared her meaningful wisdom. And the Waterflowers were fascinated. Wide-eyed, they absorbed every word, and remarked at intervals, "Wow! That's, like, so deep!"
Misty felt a little left out at first, but she soon relaxed. It was nice, after all, to bask in Prima's beauty and the glowing aura of wellbeing she seemed to radiate. Amazing that her speciality was ice… Prima reminded Misty of sunshine, beautiful, warming and relaxing. Difficult to remember that both ice and sunshine could burn…
She found herself slipping into a dreamlike state, lulled by the gentle voice and only jolted into awakeness every now and then by her sisters' piercing voices. It was almost not necessary to listen to Prima's words. It was enough to lose herself in the rhythms of her voice, to watch that perfect red mouth, the occasional glint of white beneath the unpainted reddish-pink lips, an unexpected glimpse of her tongue as she mouthed a consonant. Such an impossibly lovely mouth… generous, sweet, made for kissing.
Part of Misty knew she was being foolish, but she was lulled by happiness and wine into following the enticing thought instead of repressing it. Prima's lips were so full, they would feel like velvet against her mouth… They would part softly, to let Misty's tongue play on the hard teeth, slide between and enter her mouth…
To kiss another woman again. It had been so long, after all… Her mind slid back to the first time, without her control, the wine encouraging her thoughts to move of their own accord, whether she wished it or not. Back…
After all, your first real kiss was not something you could forget.
++ Misty could feel herself shivering, but she was warm, very warm, with a heat that flamed from her mouth and her groin and through every inch of her body. Her tongue was in another girl's mouth… The world wasn't supposed to work that way, but it was the most exquisite sensation she had ever felt, barely acknowledged longings pounding through her bloodstream… When she felt a tongue press against hers, and then sudden hard suction, she thought she would pass out.
Then the mouth left hers, and she let her lashes creep open, to meet amused blue eyes, and a tongue that ran teasingly over the lips she had just kissed.
In that moment, Misty didn't care who or what she might have betrayed. She just wanted to kiss that mouth again.
Maybe, she thought, as her second real kiss began, this was how love felt.++
"Misty, are you okay?"
Misty realised that Prima's face had blurred beyond her recognition. She turned to face Lily's concern. Wiping the back of her hand against her eyes, she tried to smile.
"I just got something in my eyes," she said, falling back on the classic lie. No one could be expected to believe it, but at least it saved face. Well, a little, anyway.
Togetic, perched on the back of her chair as usual, leaned forward and pressed its head against her cheek sympathetically. The happiness pokémon's tenderness was a clear betrayal of her distress, but she just hoped no one would catch her up on her untruth.
Prima reached across the table, and laid her hand on Misty's smaller hand. She startled at the contact, and then was desperately glad when Prima did not remove her touch. She stared up into Prima's eyes – blue, but not like those she remembered so bitterly – and silently begged her not to ask why she was suddenly so upset.
"Your Togetic is devoted to you," she said, softly. "You are blessed to have such a rare and loving pokémon."
Mist managed to gleam gratefully at her through her tears, adding another measure of adoration to Prima's account. "I've had it ever since it was a baby Togepi," she said proudly.
Prima squeezed her hand. "The secret of truly gifted training is the bond of love between trainer and pokémon. To make a pokémon evolve through happiness is something of which to be proud. I have chosen my assistant well."
"You should meet her Psyduck!" Daisy slyly put in. "Misty's bond with it is truly special."
Prima gave the red-haired girl a sweet look. "I should be glad to meet your Psyduck. Perhaps I shall learn something from this, too."
Misty smiled weakly, and began to plan new ways to murder her sisters. There was an uncomfortable silence, with only Prima seeming oblivious to any tension.
Finally, Violet tossed her sparkling hair and changed the subject. "Um, Prima, do you mind if I ask a kind of personal question?" Her eyes ran down from Prima's face, to settle just below her shoulders, widening. "Are those things *real*? They're humungous!"
Misty resisted the urge to bang her head against the table. With difficulty. It took even more self-control not to bang Violet's head against the table.
"What is true is genuine, but is what is genuine also true?" Prima asked, serenely. Violet blinked at her.
"Yes," Prima supplemented. "They are mine… but not as significant as some people seem to think." The eyes of all three sisters swivelled towards Misty, who choked on her wine. Fortunately, the subject was dropped as the four women tried to help restore her breathing.
"So," Lily asked brightly as order was restored, "why don't you wear contact lenses?"
* * * *
Much later that night, Misty curled up in bed. She didn't want to think about most of dinner… Only the way Prima had smiled at her, sometimes, with what looked like understanding, and the praise of Togetic.
Not, definitely not, about her sisters.
She had called Tracey after dinner, deciding she at least owed him the acknowledgement that his gift was appreciated. It had taken ages to get hold of him – which could have menat either that he was hard at work, or another candlelit dinner with Professor Oak. Finally, she had managed to give him the tribute of thanks.
He had smiled cheerfully at her. Tracey was always cheerful nowadays. "You deserve the job. And I can tell you're happy about it. You're glowing."
"Really?"
"Yes… It's good to see, Mist. I've been worried about you lately – we all have."
"I'm okay." She leaned against the screen, and Togetic chirruped confirmation. "It's just that… My sisters are kind of hard to talk to, sometimes."
He twinkled at her. "You think Prima will be easier?"
She giggled. "Maybe not… But at least she isn't a ditz. She's… wonderful."
Tracey grinned at her. "Try and keep it together, okay, Misty?"
Later, she wondered what he had meant. Oh, who was she kidding… It was all too obvious. And she knew… she would be sensible, work hard, and hope to become Prima's friend. That was all she could reasonably hope for.
Only… When she had faced Daisy head-on about her teasng, Daisy had merely widened luminous eyes and said, "We're only trying to, like, help young love along. You'll never have a chance with her if she doesn't know you like her."
"Daisy, she's my employer, not my date!"
Daisy shrugged. "And you've only obsessed about her for centuries. And she likes you too – I can tell."
"She – she d-does? No… Daisy, you're delusional."
Daisy shrugged. "What harm can it do? And besides… What's the point of having a dyke sister with no girlfriend? We can't, like, show we accept you if there's nothing to accept."
Misty suddenly hugged her. "I love you, Daisy."
"I love you too, shrimp." She affectionately tugged a red lock. "I say, go for your dreams!"
"Yeah, sure," Misty sighed, not meaning to. It would be enough to just be near her idol, without complicating things.
But… Now, in her quiet bedroom, she couldn't help wondering if Daisy was, at all, anywhere close to the truth.
tbc
She was pretty sure, too, that her sisters had lined up like that because they wanted to intimidate her. It was the kind of thing the trio would think was funny, and they knew about her childhood crush. Sometimes, being the youngest was just… not fair.
And then Prima gave one of her exceedingly slow smiles, like melting ice, her eyes warming to meet her mouth's expression, and there was a sudden relaxation in the room. Misty was almost sure Daisy blushed, and the other two girls returned to their usual selves.
At last Lily did her hospitable duty, with her usual gushy charm. "Oooh, it's an honour to meet one of the legendary Elite Four!" she squealed. "Except that you're, like, not really an Elite Four member anymore, but…"
Misty winced, but Violet was already talking over her sister. "And you've given Misty a job? That's just so cool!"
Daisy, somewhat recovered, belatedly added her voice to the clamour. "She'll be terrific! She, like, works really really hard," the tone of her voice made it apparent that Daisy wasn't quite sure if this was really a desirable character trait, "and she just looooooooooves water pokémon." She winked roguishly, and her sisters twittered. Misty resisted the urge to go hide in a corner.
Prima didn't seem taken aback by all the noise, or to register Daisy's heavy hinting. She slid an arm through Misty's, and remarked, "Passion is the dew on the grass of the world."
"Ooh, really?" Daisy giggled. "I'm glad you're interested in Misty's… passion…"
//I'm going to kill her,// Misty told herself. //I am really really going to kill her. I should use the mallet of doom… Except that I don't want Prima to think I'm a violent, immature kid.
//I don't want her to think I'm a kid at all.//
She smiled, gritted her teeth, and prepared to endure dinner. Only endure dinner, and then she would be alone in her room to absorb the miracle of the day. And then tomorrow… she would be working by Prima's side. She just had to hold on to that thought. It might help her avoid fratricide.
After all… She had learned exactly where losing her temper got her. She had learned her lesson.
"She's, like, really old, and a bit chunky, but she's a total babe! Go for it Misty!" Violet hissed in her sister's ear. Her "discreet" whisper could be heard a mile away, and Prima cast a coolly reflective look at Misty that made her ears burn.
Misty ruffled Togetic's feathers to hide her confusion. Keeping her temper was going to be just a little more difficult than she had thought.
* * *
Dinner was… not as bad as Misty had expected, at least at first. Prima talked charming, incomprehensible nonsense… no, that wasn't it, she shared her meaningful wisdom. And the Waterflowers were fascinated. Wide-eyed, they absorbed every word, and remarked at intervals, "Wow! That's, like, so deep!"
Misty felt a little left out at first, but she soon relaxed. It was nice, after all, to bask in Prima's beauty and the glowing aura of wellbeing she seemed to radiate. Amazing that her speciality was ice… Prima reminded Misty of sunshine, beautiful, warming and relaxing. Difficult to remember that both ice and sunshine could burn…
She found herself slipping into a dreamlike state, lulled by the gentle voice and only jolted into awakeness every now and then by her sisters' piercing voices. It was almost not necessary to listen to Prima's words. It was enough to lose herself in the rhythms of her voice, to watch that perfect red mouth, the occasional glint of white beneath the unpainted reddish-pink lips, an unexpected glimpse of her tongue as she mouthed a consonant. Such an impossibly lovely mouth… generous, sweet, made for kissing.
Part of Misty knew she was being foolish, but she was lulled by happiness and wine into following the enticing thought instead of repressing it. Prima's lips were so full, they would feel like velvet against her mouth… They would part softly, to let Misty's tongue play on the hard teeth, slide between and enter her mouth…
To kiss another woman again. It had been so long, after all… Her mind slid back to the first time, without her control, the wine encouraging her thoughts to move of their own accord, whether she wished it or not. Back…
After all, your first real kiss was not something you could forget.
++ Misty could feel herself shivering, but she was warm, very warm, with a heat that flamed from her mouth and her groin and through every inch of her body. Her tongue was in another girl's mouth… The world wasn't supposed to work that way, but it was the most exquisite sensation she had ever felt, barely acknowledged longings pounding through her bloodstream… When she felt a tongue press against hers, and then sudden hard suction, she thought she would pass out.
Then the mouth left hers, and she let her lashes creep open, to meet amused blue eyes, and a tongue that ran teasingly over the lips she had just kissed.
In that moment, Misty didn't care who or what she might have betrayed. She just wanted to kiss that mouth again.
Maybe, she thought, as her second real kiss began, this was how love felt.++
"Misty, are you okay?"
Misty realised that Prima's face had blurred beyond her recognition. She turned to face Lily's concern. Wiping the back of her hand against her eyes, she tried to smile.
"I just got something in my eyes," she said, falling back on the classic lie. No one could be expected to believe it, but at least it saved face. Well, a little, anyway.
Togetic, perched on the back of her chair as usual, leaned forward and pressed its head against her cheek sympathetically. The happiness pokémon's tenderness was a clear betrayal of her distress, but she just hoped no one would catch her up on her untruth.
Prima reached across the table, and laid her hand on Misty's smaller hand. She startled at the contact, and then was desperately glad when Prima did not remove her touch. She stared up into Prima's eyes – blue, but not like those she remembered so bitterly – and silently begged her not to ask why she was suddenly so upset.
"Your Togetic is devoted to you," she said, softly. "You are blessed to have such a rare and loving pokémon."
Mist managed to gleam gratefully at her through her tears, adding another measure of adoration to Prima's account. "I've had it ever since it was a baby Togepi," she said proudly.
Prima squeezed her hand. "The secret of truly gifted training is the bond of love between trainer and pokémon. To make a pokémon evolve through happiness is something of which to be proud. I have chosen my assistant well."
"You should meet her Psyduck!" Daisy slyly put in. "Misty's bond with it is truly special."
Prima gave the red-haired girl a sweet look. "I should be glad to meet your Psyduck. Perhaps I shall learn something from this, too."
Misty smiled weakly, and began to plan new ways to murder her sisters. There was an uncomfortable silence, with only Prima seeming oblivious to any tension.
Finally, Violet tossed her sparkling hair and changed the subject. "Um, Prima, do you mind if I ask a kind of personal question?" Her eyes ran down from Prima's face, to settle just below her shoulders, widening. "Are those things *real*? They're humungous!"
Misty resisted the urge to bang her head against the table. With difficulty. It took even more self-control not to bang Violet's head against the table.
"What is true is genuine, but is what is genuine also true?" Prima asked, serenely. Violet blinked at her.
"Yes," Prima supplemented. "They are mine… but not as significant as some people seem to think." The eyes of all three sisters swivelled towards Misty, who choked on her wine. Fortunately, the subject was dropped as the four women tried to help restore her breathing.
"So," Lily asked brightly as order was restored, "why don't you wear contact lenses?"
* * * *
Much later that night, Misty curled up in bed. She didn't want to think about most of dinner… Only the way Prima had smiled at her, sometimes, with what looked like understanding, and the praise of Togetic.
Not, definitely not, about her sisters.
She had called Tracey after dinner, deciding she at least owed him the acknowledgement that his gift was appreciated. It had taken ages to get hold of him – which could have menat either that he was hard at work, or another candlelit dinner with Professor Oak. Finally, she had managed to give him the tribute of thanks.
He had smiled cheerfully at her. Tracey was always cheerful nowadays. "You deserve the job. And I can tell you're happy about it. You're glowing."
"Really?"
"Yes… It's good to see, Mist. I've been worried about you lately – we all have."
"I'm okay." She leaned against the screen, and Togetic chirruped confirmation. "It's just that… My sisters are kind of hard to talk to, sometimes."
He twinkled at her. "You think Prima will be easier?"
She giggled. "Maybe not… But at least she isn't a ditz. She's… wonderful."
Tracey grinned at her. "Try and keep it together, okay, Misty?"
Later, she wondered what he had meant. Oh, who was she kidding… It was all too obvious. And she knew… she would be sensible, work hard, and hope to become Prima's friend. That was all she could reasonably hope for.
Only… When she had faced Daisy head-on about her teasng, Daisy had merely widened luminous eyes and said, "We're only trying to, like, help young love along. You'll never have a chance with her if she doesn't know you like her."
"Daisy, she's my employer, not my date!"
Daisy shrugged. "And you've only obsessed about her for centuries. And she likes you too – I can tell."
"She – she d-does? No… Daisy, you're delusional."
Daisy shrugged. "What harm can it do? And besides… What's the point of having a dyke sister with no girlfriend? We can't, like, show we accept you if there's nothing to accept."
Misty suddenly hugged her. "I love you, Daisy."
"I love you too, shrimp." She affectionately tugged a red lock. "I say, go for your dreams!"
"Yeah, sure," Misty sighed, not meaning to. It would be enough to just be near her idol, without complicating things.
But… Now, in her quiet bedroom, she couldn't help wondering if Daisy was, at all, anywhere close to the truth.
tbc
