Yeah, so, it turns out I'm actually alive!
I just, uh, haven't updated in...a while. I, um, have, uh, a life, you know?
Lol, no I don't. Just school. So much school.
So. Much.
DAMN IT, COLLEGE PREP SCHOOLS.
I mean, yeah, um, anyway, I'm done with this rambling babbling bullshit. Please enjoy this chapter of Twenty-Six. :3
Yes
"Hey, Ash?"
Ash chewed off a bite of his ham sandwich. The two sat comfortably at a hole-in-the-wall diner in Cerulean.
"Yeah?"
"Do you ever think about getting married?"
Misty cringed. No, no, she couldn't possibly say that.
The gym leader watched as bits of ham and bread fell from her boyfriend's mouth and onto the plate below him. She was appalled. In fact, Misty was so appalled that she completely forgot what she was going to ask the trainer before her.
Or at least, that's what she'd have him think.
"That's disgusting."
Ash swallowed and raised an eyebrow.
"That's not really what you were going to ask, is it?" Before Misty could retort, he continued. "We've been dating long enough, and I've known you even longer, so I think I know when something's bothering you." Ash paused at Misty's wide-eyed reaction across the table and took another bite of the sandwich. He took a quick glance at Misty's half-eaten roast beef. "Even if 'm a li'l shtupid shometimes," he added through his mouthful.
"A little," Misty grumbled, folding her arms.
"We've been dating long enough, and I've known you even longer."
That was just it. They'd been dating for three years now, and they'd lived together for one. Wasn't it time to take the next step?
Misty suddenly noticed Ash's snapping fingers in her face, and Pikachu pawing at her lap.
"Pikachupi?" Misty awkwardly patted him on the head. The rodent cocked a long ear.
He knew something was up.
"Gee, Misty, are you alright?" Ash uttered through yet another glob of ham. The worried glances he shot between her and her roast beef sandwich led Misty to believe he'd forgotten about whatever it was she wanted to ask him.
"Ou've 'ardly touched 'our 'andwich."
The water trainer cringed again, although this time it really was because of her lover's eating habits.
And maybe because he was too dense to marry her.
Misty face-palmed.
After lunch, Misty hurriedly announced that her lunch break was over and scurried back to the Cerulean Gym. Ash parted with her cheerfully and called out Charizard on the empty sidewalk by the diner.
"Charizard, buddy, are you up for a little fly? Whaddya' say we visit Mom in Pallet?"
"Rrrroooooooaaaaaarr!"
Ash chuckled and swung his leg over Charizard's back. Pikachu latched himself firmly on his trainer's shoulder.
"Alright, guys, let's go!"
Following a short flight, Ash, Pikachu, and Charizard found themselves in Delia Ketchum's garden. The Kanto champion felt a familiar sense of panic, but couldn't quite place the feeling. Ash slowly glanced around the garden, eying the surrounding picket fence. He noticed a discreet warning label on the fence, and distinctly remembered his Christmas gift to his own mother: an electric fencing system with a completely built-in motion sensor and alarm system.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
"RRROOOAAAARRRRRRR!"
"PPPIIIIIIIKKKAAAAAA!"
The three cries of pain rang out simultaneously, but not without:
"INTRUDER ALERT. INTRUDER ALERT. INTRUDER ALERT."
And then:
"MIME, MIME, MIME, MR. MIME!"
Followed by:
"OH, I'M GOING TO GET YOU, YOU AWFUL VEGETABLE SNATCHERS! I HAVE HALF THE MIND TO TAKE THOSE CARROTS AND SHOVE THEM SO FAR U-"
Ash, Charizard, and Pikachu lay fried in the center of Delia's garden as she rushed out with a broomstick, with quick-to-aid Mr. Mime hot on her heels. The pair came to a quick halt as Delia lowered her broom upon recognizing her son's charred face.
"Oh, it's just Ash!" Delia smiled and bashfully hid the broom behind her back, blushing lightly. "I wasn't expecting you, honey!"
"Mime!" the apron clad Pokémon agreed.
"I wasn't expecting this," Ash groaned, picking himself up off the ground. Pikachu shook himself off, and Charizard huffed flames out his nostrils, annoyance clearly playing upon his dragon-like features. Ash quickly recalled him, hoping a good rest would right his mood.
"Well, sweetheart, you did give me the Garden Protection Package 8000!" Delia giggled, embracing her burnt son.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Ash laughed in spite of himself. He squeezed his mother tightly before they let go.
"Pika!"
"Well, hello there, Pikachu!" Delia added, picking Pikachu up from the grass. "You're so big and strong, aren't you? Let's get you a nice treat!"
Ash watched as his mother turned on her heel and carried Pikachu into the house.
"But, Mom! I'm your son! You should be coddling me!" Ash whined. Mimey latched himself onto Ash's hip.
"Mime!"
Ash rolled his eyes and dragged them both inside.
"This day keeps getting weirder and weirder," he grumbled.
"So, Ash, how are things with Misty?" Delia asked over her mug of tea. In reality, Delia knew exactly how things were going. Misty had called three days ago, expressing her impatience with Ash for not proposing already. Normally, Delia wouldn't have pegged Misty as the type to yearn for marriage in such a way, but after three years of dating, Delia conceded that Misty was in the right and agreed to speak to Ash for her.
Ash, unbeknownst to the situation before him, sat across the kitchen table shoving cookies into his mouth. Pikachu snatched a cookie with his jaws and scurried into the living room, undoubtedly looking for a spot in which to nap.
"Well," Ash gasped between bites, "I'm pretty sure they're great! I mean, she makes me really happy, and I really love her, and we're living together, and it's great, so, great!" Ash babbled.
"Then why aren't you married?"
Ash choked.
"Mimey!" Delia called casually, as she watched her son's arms flail wildly about, while his face slowly changed shades. Mr. Mime rushed in immediately and stared expectantly at his master. "Could you help Ash out, please? He seems to have choked on his bad table manners."
"Mr. Mime!" the mime Pokémon complied, giving Ash's back one mighty pound as his face turned blue.
Coughing echoed throughout the quaint kitchen.
Ash gasped for air, his face slowly returning to its normal color. Mimey placed a glass of water in front of him, grinning gleefully, as always.
"Now," Delia continued after a sip of tea, as if the conversation had never been interrupted, "Why aren't you and Misty married? I expect legitimate grandchildren, Ash Ketchum!"
Ash watched in confusion as his mother pointed sternly at him.
"But, Mom, why does getting married even matter? It's a piece of paper. Isn't it more important that Misty and I are in love and we know it?"
Delia lowered her finger.
This is one of those rare streaks of genius this boy has...
"Well," the older woman conceded, "You are right... But have you considered that maybe that piece of paper matters to Misty?"
"But why?" Ash asked, once again.
"It just does, Ash," Delia sighed. "Girls like those things. A marriage certificate is a symbol of your love. A real, tangible symbol. I know for a fact that that symbol would mean the world to Misty, even if it doesn't mean anything to you."
"But, Mom, it's not that the piece of paper doesn't mean anything, it's that Misty means everything." Ash gazed under the bill of his hat, hard into his mother's matching eyes. "And what..." Ash stopped and closed his eyes tightly. "What if she says no? Then what?"
Delia sipped her tea thoughtfully.
"Oh, Ash, open your eyes!"
Ash complied, blinking rapidly.
Delia pursed her lips, trying not to laugh. "I meant metaphorically."
"Oh," Ash said simply. The practiced mother waited patiently for the coming question.
"What do you mean?"
"The girl is madly in love with you. Buy a ring," Delia articulated slowly.
"Oh."
Mother and son held eye contact.
"So... You mean... An engagement ring, right?"
"Yes, Ash."
"And you really think she'll say yes?"
"Yes, Ash."
"Yes?"
"Yes."
Originally, I was going to write Ash actually proposing to Misty, but I wasn't feeling it. I didn't think it was going to be very in-character, so this happened instead. I'm pretty satisfied with it. :)
Maybe I won't take a long time to get Z out.
Except I probably will.
...
I'll at least try not to. XD