Soap Opera Digest
Basically everyone has at least one guilty pleasure they're not too proud to admit they have. For some people, it's enjoying food that isn't necessarily good for you. For others, it's playing video games often thought of for kids.
For Misty, it was watching cheesy, dramatic soap operas.
In all fairness, she hadn't electively chosen to begin watching them. When she and Ash were living with his mother, she watched them every single day. Misty generally just tuned them out, but once it got to the point where she'd become pregnant and confined to bed rest, she much preferred to be downstairs with Delia rather than upstairs and alone, which pretty much forced her to begin paying attention to the TV.
"This is a little much, isn't it?" Misty wondered aloud after one of the characters tossed a drink in the face of another character…apparently her sister.
"Yes, more often than not it gets a bit silly," Delia agreed, folding a shirt and placing it in the laundry basket next to her.
"So how come you like watching it so much?" Misty asked.
"It's a perfectly valid question! Honestly, they're just really addictive. You can't help but to wonder what's going to happen next, no matter how crazy and unrealistic the story is."
Misty twisted her mouth as she considered Delia's reply. "That actually makes sense." She turned back towards the TV, resting one hand on her bloated midsection. "So why's that girl so mad?"
"That girl is Emilia, and she just found out that her husband cheated on her with her sister…well, her half-sister, Leesha," Delia explained.
"That's so messy," Misty breathed.
"It's ridiculous, but the husband certainly is good looking," Delia sighed. "She just couldn't stay away."
Misty blinked and tilted her head. "So like…where does she even go from here? What does she do with her husband? Kill him or something?"
"Wouldn't be the first time on this show," Delia noted. Misty's eyes widened as she snapped her head towards her mother-in-law, waiting for her to say she was joking. When Delia realized Misty was giving her that look, however, she simply hummed and continued, "That's really happened before. More than once, actually."
"This is actually insane," Misty commented.
"Now you see why I can't stop watching this nonsense," Delia agreed.
"It's so dumb, but it's like…I need to know what happens next!" Misty cried. "That trashy husband of hers better get what for! And her trashy half-sister too. A glass full of cocktail to the face isn't enough."
Delia smirked and cast the laundry basket aside. "Well, if you're going to get sucked into this train wreck too, might as well catch you up on the history of the whole thing."
XXX
And so, ever since then, Misty had religiously watched Days of Our Pokémon every single day. She was not proud of this fact, however, and did not admit it to anyone…not even her husband.
Misty made her way downstairs with the intent of watching her (secretly beloved) drama. She was taken off guard, however, when she found Ash sitting on the couch with the television remote in his hand.
"Ash!" Misty hissed, covering her heart. "When did you get home?!"
"Uh…like 15 minutes ago," Ash replied.
"And you came in that quietly?" Misty asked, hardly believing it.
"I guess so," Ash murmured, shrugging his shoulders. "But…probably not. You normally hear me, so you must've been pretty busy or something. Where were you?"
"Trying to eat without getting sick," Misty grumbled.
"Wow, that's basically impossible," Ash marveled. "Did it work?"
"Surprisingly enough, yes," Misty sighed, rubbing her eyes.
"You seem kind of tired yourself," Ash observed. "Maybe you should take a nap, too!"
"It's not a bad idea, but I think I'd rather just relax for a bit," Misty sighed, sinking down beside her husband.
"Sounds good to me!" Ash chuckled. "I'll even put on a show for you!"
"What show?" Misty questioned, not thinking anything of it.
"I don't know, whatever it is you have saved in your folder here," Ash replied.
Misty jumped straight up, her hands scrambling to grip the couch. "What folder?!"
"This one that I found on the TV hidden behind like three other folders," Ash answered as though it should have been obvious.
Misty's entire face involuntarily turned red. "Wh-why are you snooping around like that?!"
Ash blinked. "How come you're so worked up over it?"
"Because you're digging into my private stuff!" Misty howled.
Ash stayed silent for a moment before warily responding, "I feel like you're hiding something from me."
"I'm not," Misty grumbled unconvincingly, her face still red.
Ash, of course, wasn't convinced and clicked the final folder. Misty unleashed a horrified squeal and jumped on top of him, trying to snatch the remote from his hands. Ash grunted and tried to shoulder her off, which did him no good.
"Arceus, you hold on like an Aipom," Ash muttered.
"Don't you dare open that folder, Ash Ketchum!" Misty warned.
"I already did, Misty Ketchum" Ash deadpanned.
Misty's eyes widened as her head snapped up to look at the TV. A seemingly never ending list of the same title over and over again graced it, causing Misty to groan and sink down until her face was buried between her husband's neck and shoulder.
"Days of Our Pokémon?" Ash read, furrowing his brow. "What's this, some kind of documentary?"
Misty only responded with a huff, which Ash decided to take as a yes.
"Oh, well, that's no big deal!" Ash chuckled. "I thought this thing was gonna be full of shows with shirtless guys."
"If that had been the case, you would murder me with your bare hands, won't you?" Misty raised a brow.
"Of course, I would. You should've eyes only for me," Ash laughed.
Misty sighed and didn't bother to pick her head up. Ash clicked on the remote again, starting the first episode on the list. As soon as Misty heard the melodic theme song, she picked her head right back up and gasped.
"Why'd you turn it on?!" Misty cried, reaching for the remote once more.
"Mist, chill!" Ash laughed, holding the remote above his head. "I don't know why you're being so weird about having a bunch of Pokémon documentaries recorded. I'll watch these with you!"
Once the theme song ended, a strange sound emitted from the TV, causing Ash to raise an eyebrow. Misty caught sight of the screen and squeaked, covering her face with her hands.
Ash pursed his lips and slowly turned towards the TV. "Hey, that kind of sounds like when we…" His eyes widened, and he whipped his head back towards Misty. "How come people are making out on a documentary about Pokémon?!"
"It's not a Pokémon documentary!" Misty finally stormed.
Ash remained silent for a moment before humming thoughtfully. "Well that makes a lot more sense." He looked over at the TV again and watched for a few more seconds before realizing, "hey, wait a sec. My mom watches this show! Isn't this that-"
"Dumb, cheesy, overdramatic soap opera?" Misty finished for him. "Yes. It is."
"She's watched this for as long as I can remember," Ash mused. "She used to tell me not to bother her when it was on because it was her 'one hour of enjoyment' or something like that. I always thought it seemed like a pretty weird show. So…you like it too?"
Misty hesitated for a moment before tensely replying, "I guess you could say that."
"How come you hid it behind all these folders?" Ash asked.
"Because it's embarrassing," Misty replied, apparently shocked he even had to ask.
"It's not embarrassing," Ash chuckled. "It's just a show!"
"Yeah, a dumb show," Misty grumbled.
"But you just said you like it," Ash reasoned with her.
"Technically I didn't say that," Misty corrected him. "I said I guess you could say I like it. Not that I do like it."
"Right…" Ash drawled. "Well, you have to kind of like it to have this many episodes of it recorded."
"It's just addictive, that's all!" Misty cried. "Even your mom says that! You can't stop watching because you get sucked into it. It's really more of a hostage situation than anything."
There was a beat of silence. Then Ash burst out into laughter, much to Misty's annoyance.
"What's so funny?!" She demanded.
"You're coming up with so many excuses about liking this show," Ash snickered. "It's really not a big deal, Mist."
"Well, it is to me!" Misty growled, jumping to her feet as she began to pace the floor. "There's a stereotype that goes with those dumb shows! And the stereotype is that they're only watched by bored housewives with nothing better to do. I will not be viewed as a stereotypical housewife!"
"Hey, I don't think of you like that," Ash tried, nervously waving his hands in front of him. "You're way more than just a housewife. It's just one of the many reasons I love you so much!"
"Oh, Ash, I know that you know that," Misty breathed, settling down enough to walk back over to him and sit on his lap. "I just don't want other people thinking it."
Ash smiled against the back of Misty's ribs and wrapped his arms around her. "No one's gonna think anything. Your secret is safe with me."
"Thanks," Misty murmured.
"So…since I now know this isn't a Pokémon documentary, can we watch something else?" Ash asked sheepishly.
Misty smirked and shook her head. "Absolutely."