Title: Spill the Tea
Chapter One: Releasing Steam
Word Count: 1,120
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.
Summary: Brock quells Delia Ketchum's concerns over the trio's traveling arrangement during tea. Only Ash can't lie to his mother. Drabble. Pokeshipping.
Set during the trio's initial visit to the Ketchum residence during the Indigo League.
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Delia Ketchum shot a worried glance at the spiky-haired, young man sitting across the kitchen table from her. His lack of reaction was of small reassurance, though she still put concern to words.
"Do they do this often?"
"Daily." Brock assured her with a knowing nod.
Pikachu "Chaaa'd" affirmationally from his stretched out spot in a lingering sunspot on the table.
"It doesn't come to blows does it?" Mrs. Ketchum fretfully asked.
"Pokemon battles or fists?" Brock joked lightly, before adding, "Not often for either."
"At least tell me he's never hurt her."
"Oh no, they get quite heated, but they're basically kids on a playground. A couple of scrapes and bruises here and there, but nothing lasting." Brock reassured. "Pikachu and I are pretty good curbing things before they get too bad."
"Why?"
"Why do they fight?" Brock clarified rubbing his chin thoughtfully with his thumb, "I mean they're both stubborn with short tempers, but I do think there's more to it...They both seem to have issues with feelings and this seems to be how they've chosen to express it. I think they like each other, but have no idea how to process it."
Delia sighed with concern.
"They're quite protective of each other too though. And they're a real force to be reckoned with if they put their nonsense aside and team up." Brock offered up.
"Sometimes I think I failed him as a parent." Mrs. Ketchum admitted quietly, hushing her tones so her raven haired boy wouldn't hear.
"Nonsense; he's still young so he just has some growing up to do. They both get under each other's skin, it's how they flirt."
Brock sipped at the tea in the small floral mug in front of him while Delia studied the pair arguing in the adjacent living room.
"It's my fault he doesn't know how to process those emotions though. He never saw a functional relationship given how things went with his dad…" Mrs. Ketchum trailed off apologetically, "And knowing how much Ash idolized his dad, I couldn't say anything about Samuel because I didn't know how he'd react…"
"Samuel...You mean Professor Oak?" Brock inquired more curiously than intended.
Come to think of it, Ash had mentioned Professor Oak often visited the Ketchum residence and that the professor and his mother were good friends, but clearly Brock's dense traveling companion never actually put two and two together.
Delia was too lost in her own concerns to address Brock's interested query.
"And if I'm being honest I don't think Ash ever learned to talk to girls. All the girls in his age group seemed interested in Gary so he was never one to receive valentines outside of what the school mandated." Mrs. Ketchum lamented. "Sometimes I'd make him fake valentines so he could feel special, but I think he always knew it was me."
Brock chuckled at the thought. Ash with Pokemon was exceptional; Ash with girls, survival skills, cooking, and well pretty much anything else was near useless.
"I'd imagine Misty's quite a bit different when compared to the girls from Pallet Town." Brock stated. Whether it was a compliment or otherwise was left to interpretation from the older woman.
"Do you think she'll stick around? I know he can be quite dense, but I get the feeling she's been good for him." Mrs. Ketchum asked curiously. She liked the redhead already. From everything Ash had said about her over video calls throughout his journey, the younger girl had gumption with a good head on her shoulders which meant Delia worried less for Ash as long as she knew Misty was with him.
If Delia was being honest with herself, she had initially lacked confidence that Ash would even make it out of Pallet's surrounding fields without seriously maiming himself. He had always been danger prone. When she first saw his scraped, charred, and dirt covered face pop up on the video call from the Viridian City pokecenter the day after he left, she almost demanded he return home that instant. When he told her that he had Jumped off a waterfall, gotten fished off of the lake after a near miss with a gyarados, stolen a girl's bikes (and then destroyed it), and had been chased down by a flock of angry Spearow and electrocuted, Delia nearly fainted. Her baby boy was so ill-prepared for the world. And yet she knew, like his father, the road would call and he would have to answer.
At least this girl, the one who fished him out of the lake and had been the owner of the destroyed bike, was still around to call Ash on his nonsense ideas and challenging him to work harder and smarter.
"If there was a chance she'd leave him, she'd have done that about 3 days into Viridian Forest. To be honest, she hasn't brought up the bike in about three months. I'm pretty sure now she'd go with him to the ends of the earth." Brock sagely offered.
As if on cue "don't think I've forgotten that you still owe me a bike, Ketchum" could be heard from the female of the quarreling duo.
Brock laughed in response with the two turning angry attention to him.
"What's so funny?" Ash demanded.
"You two fight like an old married couple." Brock grinned, his confidence bolstered by the fact that he had backup in refereeing the grumbling pair with Mrs. Ketchum around.
"We do not!" Misty insisted vehemently.
Brock pretended to mull this over for a moment.
"Huh, I guess you're right...you don't fight like a married couple, you two fight like people who are in absolute denial about their feelings for each other." Brock teased waggling his eyebrows slightly to amplify the effect.
Mrs. Ketchum couldn't help but chuckle as she watched the color drain from her son's face. Ash's quick-eyed glance at the redhead to his left to gauge Misty's reaction told her all she needed to know.
"Me? Have feelings for him? Impossible! He has one brain cell and even that only works half the time!" Misty shouted stomping off to the backyard in retreat.
Ash watched Misty storm out, but was unnaturally quiet.
"You okay, Ash?" Brock asked curiously, wondering what had gotten into the teen.
"I can't lie in front of my mom." Ash shrugged before quickly making his way out the door where a resumed shouting match could be heard once more.
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I've been in a pokeshippy mood lately. Winter treadmill running has me re-watching the first season so I may write the occasional Fic for this category. It might be something to do while my mind works through a Teen Titan's hiatus after which I'll hopefully wrap up some of my longstanding stories.
I have thoughts for a couple of oneshots and a potential, smaller scale chapter type deal. I work full time, I'm writing an independent YA novel, and I'm trying to start a food blog (I've always been a creature of too many hobbies) in addition to my marathon training schedule so my life is hectic. Never expect consistent posts or updates from me – you'll only be disappointed.
That being said, if you'd like this to be continued I would be open to continuing it in the form of a Delia kitchen table talks throughout Ash and Misty's relationship development kind of plot. I have ideas, just need to know if there's interest.
Review if you'd like!
-FWFT