Hello! It is Wednesday and I am back to upload this new chapter. I was getting the reading through and the editing done early so I just have to press upload tomorrow morning. However, it is now midnight UK time so I might as well get it out of the Doc Manager and publish it now! This is the fourth and final chapter following the themes of PokeShipping Month on Tumblr. I had fun with this one. It was good to again, not write something completely Ash and Misty-centric but showing their future together all the same. I hope you enjoy. They are on a double date as the title suggests. But with whom?! :)
Disclaimer: I own the story and the OCs mentioned!
This is going to be the most embarrassing evening of my life.
These words echoed around my brain like it was an empty chamber and because of the tone of voice that accompanied them, I knew who exactly was thinking them. Peering ahead from the boot cover of the car to Katie, I could quickly tell that she was not just thinking these words to herself.
Seeing her face lit up from the glow of her phone screen, her fingers were typing away, sending a text to a specific someone. And soon enough, I was not the only one who came to know of them.
You see, Jayden had insisted on sitting in the middle seat of the back of the car, so he could give his new girlfriend hugs and kisses whenever he wanted to. I thought it was sweet. In that moment, he nuzzled his cheek against Katie's shoulder and drew her closer with a single arm of his and caught sight of the words that she had typed and was preparing to send.
That was the occasion when Katie's face wasn't the only glow in the car as Jayden's irises lit up with curiosity. He stretched closer to his girlfriend, getting a second look to make sure he was correct.
"Why are you sending that text to Justin?" he wondered, eyebrows not drawing together but instead clambering closer to Katie, his arm stretching so far around her that it almost reached the window on her side. "It's going to be an embarrassing evening, is it?"
Although his eyebrows still didn't encourage the other to come closer, he couldn't stop the inflection in his deep voice as he conveyed hurt of what Katie was seemingly thinking of the occasion that they were preparing to engage in.
I could practically feel the orange haired teenage girl's frozen state as her thumb also paused, hovering over the 'send' button. I could also tell that Misty had started to listen in to what was happening, her driving from the front seat starting to fall a lot slower.
My cheeks threatened to become the colour of the red traffic lights that were just ahead of us and I almost felt my heartbeat thudding in them at Katie getting caught out. I thought about defending her. But then again, she had to learn these lessons on her own! And then, it seemed to me that she was well equipped.
I wondered where she got her composure from when, after having a thumb pausing in mid-air, she turned to blink at her boyfriend. Following this, a puzzled expression took over her features and she appeared to re-read what she had typed.
"What?" she mused, studying to herself and pretending to wonder why on earth her boyfriend was questioning this sort of thing. I watched, trying not to be too impressed when she even managed to feign a blush that could give my natural one a run for its money. "O-Oh. I meant amazing. It's going to be an amazing evening."
As Katie corrected her words in speech, she also slid her finger along the words that she had typed and removed the 'incorrect' word and put in its place the right one. Jayden relaxed immediately and showed this by not slinking so close to his girlfriend, letting out a mumble of understanding as well as a chuckle of amusement that was followed by a gentlemanly peck on the cheek.
I couldn't help but notice that as soon as he pulled away from being so close, Katie quickly press the undo button so the text read its original form and it was promptly sent off to Jayden's brother before the phone shut off with a click!
Meanwhile, I could feel a gaze being put forth to me from the rear view mirror and I shared a knowing look with Misty, me then realising that she had caught onto the whole thing as I had. While driving, her head swung from side to side and her lips felt the need to quirk up in the corner.
However, before she could rat out her daughter or offer Jayden some advice that it might be helpful to be a bit less naïve, Misty was distracted by the person in the passenger seat instead. He had done well in keeping quiet for most of the short journey but now that the rest of the car weren't occupied with either being sucked into Katie's shenanigans or observing them, he evidently felt that it was time for the attention to fall on him.
Ash pressed his forehead forlornly against his window and groaned like a sea creature, his hand going down to his body and patting in a way that he made sure was equal measures hidden but also obvious to everyone else to prove a point.
Promptly humouring him, as the car made its way towards a red light and slowed down to a halt, Misty was given the opportunity to reach her hand out to her husband's one that was lingering on his bloated belly.
"Aww, you okay there, hon?" the orange haired woman questioned in a manner that was easily read as sarcastically to anybody else but both Ash and Jayden believed that it was nothing but caring and attentive. Misty's hand lingered there for a while longer, squeezing Ash's fingers. "You feeling a bit peckish?"
A pause and then Ash did not bother to conceal his discomfort.
"I'm not just peckish, I'm famished!" he exclaimed, hauling himself up from being sunk low in the passenger seat and making it seem as though his starved stomach was weighing him down. He held onto the car roof handle to give himself an extra lift. "I knew that I should have phoned ahead and got a takeaway box so I could eat it in there straight away."
The car groaned and came back to life as the traffic lights alternated to amber and yet it was mostly drowned out from the noises that escaped my best friend's lips (not his belly) there and then!
Somehow, Misty managed to swallow her own noises as her hand slid away from her husband's, returning to a ten and two position on the steering wheel in preparation to continue driving.
She thought that it would be futile to say the words that she would go on to say but she came out with them so Katie and Jayden knew that at least someone was taking their special occasion seriously.
"That wouldn't be polite, would it, Ash?" Misty reminded him, driving along the road once again when the light shone the colour that my best friend believed that he was because of nauseous starvation. Despite the fact that she had pulled her touch away from him, she reached out to him with her words. "I'm sure we will be eating in no time. Just hang tight."
And with that and ignoring more of her husband's groans and stomach clutching antics that followed, Misty peered back into the rear view mirror once again. However, that time she lured in the gaze of Katie and Jayden too, those two teenagers sharing a moment with her instead of me.
Jayden, new to the family thanks to his romance with Katie and natural eagerness to please all of the Ketchum's, refrained from showing any other sort of expression on his angular features and smiled charmingly back at Misty. Katie on the other hand, had no such desires to impress anyone and showed what she thought by wholeheartedly rolling her eyes in response to her father!
I also couldn't help but wonder whether Katie's irises also revolved in their sockets due to the way that her mother pandered to her dad's antics, even if she was fully aware of them and did it in a sarcastic way. But I did not have time to ponder it any further.
Aside from the fact that I felt a smile tugging each corner of my lips at the way that Jayden excitedly reached for his girlfriend's hand and planted a kiss to it at the thought that they would be dining all together soon, I knew that it was time to spring into action. The neon sign of the restaurant was starting to appear and I realised that Misty could not be more right.
Eating time was almost upon us! Ash really didn't have to hold on for much longer. Soon enough his belly would be filled to the brim. And my heart would be too for a different reason.
To prove a continual point, my best friend made groaning noises from the corner of his mouth and pretended that it was his stomach even as we all disembarked from the car and couples hands joined together as they prepared to walk into the bustling place with their loved one.
Thankfully, however, he perked up and stopped misbehaving so much when he had faith that his wife would be right and it would be dinner time soon enough. I trailed behind the other gaggle of people, eager to observe with my paws crunching against the gravel as because Katie and Jayden went first, he was the first male in the group to separate his fingers from his girlfriends for just a moment in order to hold the door open for her.
That time, the blush that took over her porcelain cheeks was genuine and it resembled the roses that her boyfriend often kindly bestowed upon her. She showed her gratitude with a hand reaching out to his cheek but it didn't make it all that far, Jayden instantly catching it and planting yet another kiss on top of it early on in the evening.
I had my own bought of gratitude shimmying from the tip of my toes to the base of my throat when Ash managed to contain groans of his, that time due to the way that Jayden doted on his daughter so!
Yet although he pooh-poohed the way that Jayden apparently did too much for such a young couple, he seemingly followed in his footsteps from the way that his hungry demeanour didn't cause him to barge in the restaurant third, letting the door swing in his wife's face.
He held the door open for her too and he might not have bestowed upon her a sweet new lover's kiss, but he smiled at her and he reached for her hand yet again when she joined him by his side once more.
I exhaled deeply to myself and followed in after them all, already basking in the glory of love all around me. But to tell you the truth, I basked all the more in the smells of the restaurant that hit me as soon as the five of us properly headed in to the eating area!
There were a great many feelings, sensations and smells that provided me with a sense of home but walking into a fragrant restaurant was certainly one of them. My chest elevated proudly, I was always taken aback to the days in Delia Ketchum's restaurant, watching her bustle around and make sure everything was ship shape and the food tasted even better.
There was something treasured about walking into a restaurant and getting an excitable sneak peak of what might be in store – and it was always all the more spectacular to be walking along with people that I held dearest to my heart.
I missed those days of loitering in a restaurant kitchen and having Delia's friendly features cropping up and propping a spoon against my lips. But she had other dreams these days. And I couldn't exactly blame her as I had made changes in my life too.
"Your grandmother says that this is a lovely place to eat." Jayden planted his cheek against Katie as he walked with her, opposing hands still intertwined and now an arm draping lovingly around her too and in order to pull her closer. "And she should know!"
I had been thinking about Ash's mother but it was Jayden who was mentioning her. Katie gave her boyfriend an agreeing smile, not saying any words in response but nodding her head. I'm sure that she wanted to try things out for herself, not needing someone else's approval beforehand.
Ash couldn't have been vastly different. He should have been elated that his mother was being brought into the conversation like she too was joining us all but perhaps he really was so very hungry from the way that he snapped!
The greeter of the restaurant leaving us to it now they had walked us to our table and was off fetching our menus, my best friend decided this was the moment to drop his wife's hand. And he scowled over at Jayden.
"No one could ever give my Mom a run for her money." Ash insisted, in a grumpy manner helping himself to sit in the seat and already looking around for the menu in a fashion which greatly contrasted his stubborn words! "She was probably just being nice."
And with that, Misty and I managed not to share our second look with each other that evening and the orange haired woman instead looked around for where the greeter had disappeared off to, wanting to ask in the politest of ways that they could hurry up with a copy of the menu for her husband.
I shared a look with myself in the reflection of the sparkling cutlery and that was enough! And then, instead of occupying myself with heading off to find a copy of the menu like I probably should have done, I saw Jayden leap into his own kind of action like Ash, before Katie could get any ideas of seating herself in the way that her father had done.
"Don't move a muscle, my beauty." He spoke to Katie, seemingly recovering quickly from the way that his girlfriend's father had snapped towards him as he made polite conversation. Jayden swanned in his neatly ironed suit over to the chair opposite Ash and pulled it out for his orange haired love. "For you."
Ash couldn't help but think that there was hardly any point uttering any of these words and I could read that from his face. Who else would he be pulling a chair out for? Misty? Of course it had to be Katie!
I saw my best friend part his pouting lips but thankfully, Katie expressed her gratitude once again and even Ash's hungry self didn't have the heart to bark over her words.
Demurely tucking a loose strand of her short locks behind her ear, she managed to swallow the blush down to her throat and had eyes that sparkled in a way that gave the drinks glasses on the table a run for their money.
She spoke in between halted breath as she took the seat that had been pulled out for her and looked up at her boyfriend.
"You… You're the best." She told him and that time, she couldn't reach her hand all the way up to his face so it reached for his ring decorated fingers, patting there instead. Jayden had a pearly white grin for her in return and momentarily, he squeezed his fingers around hers.
Yet it was shown to us all that Ash's thoughts to himself were right. They were grumpy! But they were right. And Katie was right in her own way too. Seemingly, Jayden really was the best.
Misty was finding it difficult to relax that the greeter still hadn't returned with a handful of menus.
"It's better to be comfy when waiting, I find." Jayden began, that time his words not showing what he would go on to do. In fact, Misty didn't realise that it was she that was being spoken to until he lightly touched her on the elbow and pulled out the chair that was next to Ash. "For you, Mrs Ketchum."
I observed the orange haired woman's eyes fixating like a rabbit caught in the headlights as she waited, trying to catch the eye of another greeter in order to get them onto the case of the missing menus too. Nevertheless, they were torn away from doing that in quite an effortless manner and soon enough, they peered into Jayden's ones instead.
For quite a few seconds more, they retained being very large and very wide for a different reason. But when she was met with another pearly white grin and one that seemed so very pleased to be doing this for the women at the table, Misty knew that her focus needed to be elsewhere. And it couldn't be towards the fact she had been called the name that she deemed to be for her mother-in- law and her mother-in-law alone.
Bobbing her head up and down and holding a menu-less hand to her heart, she accepted the gesture and sat down next to her husband. Like her daughter, she made sure to thank Jayden with her words as well as her actions.
"You are beyond sweet, Jayden, thank you." She told him and immediately, the eighteen year old young man glowed like the fire in the corner of the restaurant at these compliments. Misty's own warm radiance was then just for the teenagers, she turned to her husband in a firm manner. "Why don't you go and chase the menus down yourself, Ash, if you're so hungry?"
And with that, like Ash had been encouraged to hitch himself up in the car, he slowly forced himself to sit up from slumping in the seat in the restaurant. As he did so, he couldn't hide the dismay from taking over his features - he was the hungriest so he should be waited on hand and foot!
My laughter towards my best friend's silly ideas paired with Misty looking back away from her husband and smiling instead at Jayden soon made him comply with what was being suggested. With muttering noises that couldn't be deciphered escaping from his lips, Ash made himself useful in gathering the menus for the rest of the table.
Well, I hoped that he would get them for all of us! With the way that Misty had treated him, there was a possibility that out of petulance he would only sort himself out.
Seemingly, however, this thought didn't cross Misty's mind or it was the least of her worries. Or she knew that her husband would not dream of setting such a poor example on their double date with Katie and Jayden.
Misty turned to her daughter there and then with Ash disappearing out of sight, her mothering nature still apparent and doting for Katie more present than ever even though she was engaging in such grown up occasions these days.
"Are you sure you're okay there, Katie, love?" the orange haired woman began, her elbow edging towards the table in order to cup her fingers around her chin before it quickly fell away again seeing the slightest of disapproving twitches that embraced Jayden's features. "Do you want to swap around with me so you're nearest to the toilets if you need some quiet space?"
Immediately, Katie had looked away from correcting a knife and fork tucked inside a napkin the wrong way around and glanced over at her mother when she heard the beginning part of her words. Then as Misty had continued some more, the orange haired young woman felt her eyes flickering like an old chandelier in a haunted mansion.
She paused, not finding her voice for a couple of seconds while her expressions did all of the talking instead, experiencing her cheeks warming in a way that wasn't due to the fire and eyebrows seeking the company of each other.
Then, she did not need to find her voice anyway because Jayden stepped in there for her. He leaned closer to Misty in a way he was certain was reassuring while not resting his elbows on the table in an uncouth fashion.
"Katie is absolutely okay." He told his girlfriend's mother with a bob of his head and a fictional feline-like smile that took over his features in the split second after. Then, he turned to that same girl as he had uttered her name, reaching for her hand all over again. "Right, my beauty?"
I watched as, although Katie did clutch her boyfriend's hand in return, it was done in a slightly different way than before. I steered my focus elsewhere to see if Misty caught on too. But it seemed that it was just in my head or I was noticing it because I was closest to the two of them in proximity.
The orange haired young woman limply held onto her boyfriend's hand in return and nodded her head but the smile that she offered both him and her mother was queasy. Misty looked away, trying to kid that it was in order to look for her husband but it wasn't. I understood.
Katie knew that Misty was only looking out for her because she cared and she wanted her to feel safe but sometimes, comments and even care like that made her feel like a fish out of water. She felt like a fool. Why shouldn't she be like any other girl? One who didn't need to know exactly where the bathroom was and one who didn't need to be nearest to there to have a safe space to escape to? Why couldn't she just be ordinary?
The orange haired young woman discovered herself to be looking at the sparse array of other people in the restaurant on that Tuesday evening. She could be like any of them, she told herself. Just nonchalantly eating and casually chatting and none of them needed a back-up plan or to take extra deep breaths when the smell of the restaurant got too intense. She could just be ordinary.
When she happened to glance away, she happened to look in my direction. When she did so, I smiled at her. She read it as just a companionable smile so she offered it in return, her hand sliding out of Jayden's and patting me on the head instead. She didn't know what I was thinking when I had looked in her direction. That I never wanted her to be ordinary. I much preferred that she was Katie.
Before Misty could ponder hugely to a different disagree about the same thing, picking up and letting go of her cutlery for something to do as she grew concerned that she had embarrassed Katie in the restaurant, Ash returned and to the relief of the table, he had enough menus for all!
He tossed them down to the middle of the red and white checked tablecloth and just narrowly missed the candle that was giving my paws a heavenly glow as they pointed right next to it. He held onto one himself. Already, he seemed in better spirits than the way in which he had left.
"So is everyone excited to choose?" he asked, his bottom barely hovering an inch or so above his seat when everyone, even Jayden as he temporarily forgot his etiquette, reached a hand out and snatched a menu for themselves. "Is it cool if I order each of the courses at the same time?" He was seated once again back next to his wife, hand resting on the back of her chair. "That way I can eat my dessert straight after everything else?"
He didn't actually come out with the words that he might even eat a little bit of everything at the same time; I heard these words echoing around my brain because I knew that he was thinking them. I tried not to smirk. And at the same time that I was focusing on keeping my mouth even and focusing on the heat comfortably pricking against my toes from the candle, I heard Misty's voice float into my ears like a balloon in the wind on a summer's day.
She briefly lowered her menu away from her face, turning to the side and these actions alone already speaking what kind of words she would go on to convey.
"You're not serious, are you?" Misty questioned her husband and now that she had fully turned her body towards his, she could see that it was pointless her even asking these words! She let out a torrent of breath from her nostrils in an exasperated fashion. "Ash, that would be impolite." She took a pause, glancing between Jayden and Katie before back at her quickly scowling husband. "I'm not even sure we will even be having the three courses."
A scowl melted from the face of my best friend as if he was butter and had been placed above the blazing candle. And it was not because he decided to be reasonable. Like his wife, he decided to show an exasperated expression that was also full of hurt! He couldn't believe what he was hearing. A meal out and not enjoying all of the courses that were on offer. Outrageous! Who could do such a thing?
"I think I might just h-have a star…starter or a s-side dish." Katie piped up, having a chance to scan her menu at the side of boyfriend and wondering what sort of thing that she would go on to choose. All eyes fell on her. Thankfully, Ash managed to reign in his countenance so Katie didn't think it was directed at her. "Everything looks kinda big."
It seeming like I was watching a ping pong match from the way that my eyes darted between each interaction so, I hadn't even had a chance to look at the menu myself. I would look at it in a couple of minutes, I told myself.
First and foremost, I saw Misty make up for the way that she felt she had treated Katie earlier on and after brushing a hand through her bangs, she decided that she didn't care about any wordlessly articulated comments from Jayden.
Misty rested her elbows on the table as she read her menu before giving Katie an approving glance paired with a nod of the head.
"That sounds like a smart idea, love." She told her daughter to which she reacted well, bobbing her own head above her menu and preparing to have another look at the scribblings on the page. But Misty would go on to speak more words to her. And because they had cleared the air more, she would listen. "They do takeaway boxes too. So don't worry about eating everything on your plate."
Another head bob from Katie that was concealed by a menu as it elevated back up once again. However, eyes secretly shone as they read words and she started to feel a lot more confident about everything. I was glad that she had heard these words.
Evidently, Ash had heard them as well. And I tried not to laugh so suddenly that it blew out the candle when he rather comically appeared from behind his own menu.
"I won't need a takeaway box because I will eat everything on my plate!" he insisted, Misty's eyebrow practically immediately shooting upwards on her face as her body turned towards her husband once again. "Everything on my plate and every single course at once!"
The orange haired woman was beginning to feel like she was taking a ten year old version of her husband out to dinner on that day rather than his thirty five year old self! She was unable to hold back her reactions and thankfully, even her sigh managed not to snuff the candle completely to nothingness.
Even her own stubborn self, started to realise that she was not going to be able to tone her husband down all by herself. For just a second, her fingers swanned to her forehead. And then she tried to be reasonable with Ash, reaching out to him and rubbing his arm from the inside as her hand hooked around him.
"Ash, that would be improper as well as impolite." She tried to reason with him but she should have known that manners were the least of his concern – especially the more that she spoke that same word. That was clear from the way that his nose shot up so near to the ceiling that it practically collided with a chandelier! He shimmied out of her hold. Misty was forced to try another tactic. "It's not proper restaurant etiquette, is it, Jayden?"
The orange haired woman's hand no longer tucked under the arm of her husband, her elbows were still planted against the tablecloth. My eyes dropped down rather than to Jayden but I could sense him hesitating. Was he going to point out that she didn't have a right to point out Ash's lack of manners when she was breaking the most basic of ones there and then? Of course he didn't quite have the nerve!
But nonetheless, he was hesitating. And he did it for so long that I actually turned to look at him. Katie did too. It was her turn to tick her hand into the crook of her boyfriend's arm, pinching it lightly in an affectionate but also purposeful way. Jayden turned to her but only briefly which was rare for him. And it was even rarer than he didn't smile at her. It would go on to be clear why.
Jayden took a glance at the menu but it was one so brief that he couldn't have possibly read it some more. He even looked at Ash. But naturally, this wasn't returned. He was too busy tracing his finger hungrily along his own menu as if that could give him a taste sample of what was to come.
At long last, Jayden confessed in response to Misty and to the long silence that he was showing. His eyebrows knotted together at the top of his face and his eyes became inverted sheepish rainbows.
"…..I think Ash's idea sounds kind of nice, actually." He admitted and if we had all not been seated, then we would have all surely collided towards the floor! Sitting on top of the table rather than a chair, I still managed to keep my balance.
But I could not contain my mirth. That time the candle really did nearly snuff to nothingness when I hooted and everyone else followed along too apart from Ash, that was not only smug but he was approving that Jayden was going along with one of his ideas.
Katie observed her father interact with her boyfriend with a hand tucked back under his arm and not wanting to leave there in between continually giggling to herself.
"It will be very nice, Jayden." Ash affirmed, for the first time ever bobbing his head approvingly towards Jayden and at long last, putting his menu away and stretching his folded arms backwards so they resided at the back of his messy locks. "Well I know what I'm having. What about everybody else?"
And with that, we all set about to properly choosing, including me who reached for the menu for the first time that evening. Instead of getting occupied with what everyone else was deciding to have, I decided to also take a leaf out of Katie's book and go for something that I wanted all on my own accord.
As my paw traced the swirly but readable writing of the menu as if, like my best friend, I was getting myself a taste of what to come, I couldn't stop my brain from filling with all kinds of colours at the possibility of it all. From sausages and mash to Bolognese to a good old pizza to a vegetarian pasta dish, I knew that I wouldn't be disappointed with any of them!
But what did I want? What would make me happy?
The thing about happiness, sometimes someone makes the effort to offer a little bit of it to you. I was shown that in that moment when Katie knew that it was okay to do what she would go on to do. It was often the case when we went out picnicking together.
I felt gentle and porcelain fingers on top of my paw, stopping me from reading the menu as if I could feel the letters like braille. Apparently I wasn't quite ready to make my own decisions!
"Pikachu can have a little bit of everyone's. But especially mine." She smiled at me and it was the kind of smile that made me think that I had ingested the candle right from the table.
Katie was infectious and I couldn't stop myself from smiling back. But to contrast that inner glow that I felt to myself, my best friend decided that he would extinguish that just a little bit. At least he was doing it out of humour rather than out of hunger that time!
"That's good, Katie, because I am not sharing a single mouthful with him." He announced yet with the grin that he soon enough offered me and the ruffling of the top of my head too, he prepared to leave the table for a second time and I knew it was because he wanted to hurry things along by going into the kitchen and placing the order directly.
And he was hoping that if the chef was anything like his mother, then he would be snuck some mouthfuls and some treats to try here and there if he hung around long enough! He hung around at the table long enough for Misty to slip Ash a list so he didn't forget a single thing. Then with a brief but meaningful peck on the lips from that couple, he was off.
And I was surprised that he didn't complain that it had actually taken quite a bit of time to place the order. Maybe he was mellowed from the way that Jayden had agreed with him. Or perhaps, like a lot of things when it came to Ash, it had just been for a bit of attention!
At the table when my best friend had gone, the attention was scattered. But after clambering onto Katie's lap for a comfier seat and to thank her for her kind offer just moments before, it settled and Jayden's certainly settled one place in particular.
Leaning closer to Misty all over again, he still didn't rest any elbows on the table but he smiled at her in such a way that told her that he would go on to interact with her. Katie quietly peered in between massaging both of the beginning parts of my ears with a thumb and a middle finger from just one of her hands.
"So Mrs Ketchum…" Jayden started, apparently not learning from all of the times that Misty insisted that he still call her by her name even if he was her daughter's sweetheart. Hands resting on his lap for something to do, I wondered if they longed to rest on the table. "Do you have your eye on any young trainers that you expect to challenge your Elite Four team later on in the year?"
Katie's expressions were not missed by me at the best of times. However, they were on the back burner in my priorities list when she was touching me in the way that she was! I had to do my best in not allowing my eyes to roll backwards in my head at the restaurant table.
Meanwhile her eyes revolved in their own way but out of fondness at what her boyfriend was trying to do.
Misty had nothing of the sort taking over her expression but still equal levels of affection. Playing with the hem of her skirt under the table, she tilted her head towards Jayden and he must have felt glad that she had finally removed her elbows from the oak of the table!
"Oh, there are always young ones coming through but you also must expect the unexpected." She told him, her skirt hem no longer feeling the touch of her fingers and strands of her bangs feeling it instead. Then, she shook her head, causing her bangs to unravel all over again. "You don't have to try and make conversation with me, you know, Jayden." She pointed out, causing the young man's features to fill with the beginnings of dismay. She corrected, a knowing look on her face. "I'm sure you'd much rather talk to Katie."
Again, Katie swivelled her eyes and this time it was to make a joke of the fact that her mother was only pretending to be nice! I caught onto this but fortunately Misty didn't. But if she did, she would have done something in equal wit in return. Or threatened to not let her have any pudding. But that would have probably hurt Ash out of empathy rather than hurt Katie herself.
Meanwhile, Jayden's expression of confusion lasted for a couple of seconds longer as he saw Misty at an angle. But then, he realised where she was coming from and reassurance was the main ingredient to his expression, shaking his head so politely that magenta curtains of his unravelled and shielded some of his best features.
"Oh, on the contrary." He began and then he realised how his words sounded. He stopped looking at Misty for just a moment to give Katie such an appalled look and paired that with an apologetic kiss to her hand. She was unbothered either way. But she did appreciate an extra kiss. Jayden went back to her mother. "I'm not trying. I find it easy talking to you. I enjoy it."
And before the orange haired woman could do a thing that her daughter often did when it came to Jayden – or display an action that she often did when he was a little boy but had got lost on the way – Misty's hand couldn't reach out all the way and run her fingers through his absent curls.
Out of nowhere and making an appearance again from the kitchen quite suddenly, Ash grabbed hold of that hand and took it for himself. And in addition to this, he squeezed it in a teasing fashion, referring to the words that he had just caught on to Jayden uttering.
"Well you would be the only one." He told him but was of course meant for Misty to hear. For this, he received an equally as teasing slap around the arm! But he didn't care. Or rather, his main objective there and then was to slip Jayden something which he did. And he even offered him a clumsy, slightly awkward wink. "There ya go, boy." Ash bobbed his head now that he was properly seated again. "Got it from the kitchen. I wanted to share it with the person who made it possible for me to have four courses."
And with that, I watched as Jayden's lips parted before he could even thank Ash, but then he stopped himself from pointing out that surely it was the chefs who did that. In the same breath, Misty, Katie and I shared a look and Misty expressed herself on her face most of all as she wondered how on earth her husband had slipped an extra course in there!
But she decided to let it go, as Jayden did. And she was filled with gladness that her husband had shared something with their daughter's boyfriend. Though she would go on to ignore it when Ash would go on to point out that it didn't mean that he no longer disliked him.
Nonetheless, like the words that Jayden spoke a bit earlier on, I couldn't help but feel as though it was a bit on the contrary. Ash would like anyone who treated his daughter with such respect. And if he disliked him, it was only because he pointed out ways in which he could still dote upon his wife in the same way in which he doted upon Ash's daughter.
Often, Jayden was a bit too much like his father for Ash's liking! But there he was sharing a treat with him. And a whole meal too. I was more than over the moon to be there for the double date. And in the end, not only was my belly filled with food, but my heart was filled with love and laughter too.
I never would have dreamed when Ash and Misty were far younger than both Jayden and Katie that I could ever find myself in that scenario. Still, it did feel like a full circle moment that Ash was oftentimes the clueless one when it came to courtesy. And Jayden was the new Brock, demonstrating and displaying how exactly to act.
But in truth, he was also his own person. He was a wonderful addition to the table. I for one enjoyed his company as the night went on almost as much as I enjoyed everyone else. And I had such a smile on my face because of this reason when at last, food had long since been eaten and takeaway boxes had been carried inside and the evening was drawing to a close.
I found myself once again in the boot of the car and Jayden was clambering into the passenger seat that time as Misty was giving him a lift home following his sweet and tender goodbye with Katie. One where he had pulled out a rose last minute and made sure it was thorn-less before tucking it behind her ear.
The orange haired woman looked over to Jayden immediately as he climbed next to her onto his own seat, her hand reaching to pat his arm rather than clutch the steering wheel in preparation for one of the last car journeys of the night.
However, despite the fact that Misty had wanted to speak words of gratitude as well as gestures of the same quality over how he treated her daughter, it was Jayden who got in there first. He was buckling up his seat belt and making himself comfy when he was the one to break the comfortable silence.
"I think things went smoothly, don't you?" he asked, curtains of his hair cascading back around his features and him not bothering to smooth them and not just because it was the end of the night. It was time to be a bit more relaxed. But he still added. "Do you approve?"
From the back seat of the car, I garnered what exactly he was referring to and my eyes couldn't help but shine into the reflection of the rear view mirror in the hope that he would somehow look into it himself and feel not only my reassurance but my approval too.
He didn't have to worry about that. It might have been early on in him and Katie's relationship and Ash and Misty had been chaperoning on one of their first restaurant dates but I knew that he didn't have to worry about anything. For reasons that Misty would go on to express.
However, at the beginning, Misty was mistaken. And as she put the key in ignition, she thought that Jayden meant something else entirely.
"Oh, I think it went as smoothly as it could have possibly gone." She began, a nervous sort of smile being uttered from Jayden's features as it wasn't wholehearted praise but it was good enough. Before taking off, Misty fixed her bangs in the rear view mirror but I had stopped peering into it at that point. "After his initial hungriness and snappiness, I think he warmed up considerably." Misty continued, not turning to Jayden as if she knew something was up. "He even gave you that snack from the kitchen which I never would have expected!"
A long pause. As if mimicking his one from the restaurant where he ended up agreeing with Ash, Jayden allowed a long silence to ring out. Initially, Misty was none the wiser because she was still fixing her bangs.
The dual haired young man during his silence felt the need to do the same suddenly and ran a hand through his own hair, pushing his floppy locks back.
In the end, the silence rung out comically. And it was made even the more so when Jayden finally corrected.
"….No." he started by stating, immediately garnering Misty's attention and she turned her whole body towards him. He decided to copy the same exact stance. Two different people were each other's mirror image in the car. "I meant me! Were you happy with me?"
It was only amusing in hindsight. And if it was for those two people at the time, it was kept inside!
It was Misty's turn to initiate a long pause, one where she finally stopped playing with her bangs. I could see her eyelashes clapping together as she considered Jayden's words. And then because she thought of her own response, she didn't bother to hold it back.
Her body was still craned towards his as she uttered his name first of all.
"Jayden…" she started, giving the eighteen year old young man an initial elevation of the heartrate as his mind flickered to any manners that he might have slipped up on. Misty hoped that the shake of her head would help him understand. "You don't need to be observed and you certainly don't need to be taught how to behave." She told him. It was time for the inklings of amusement to tug at her brow. "If anything, I am hoping that Ash has walked away tonight learning something from you!"
And with that, I could see that Jayden felt it impolite to burst into fits of giggles like I felt the urge to do. But he still could not stop himself from grinning in a particular way and his head ducking down, allowing his bangs to conceal his features for a couple of moments.
Then, he felt an approving hand rubbing at and squeezing his shoulder even though the person that the hand belonged to told him that he never needed any approval at all. This is what caused his neck to elevate once again. And it caused him to grin at Misty before nodding his head once more.
He didn't say whether he agreed or not! But naturally, there was a part of him that wanted to rub off on Ash in a good way. He adored his daughter more than anything in the world. And he wanted him to know that he always had her best interests at heart.
Both Ash and Jayden were not dissimilar in that way. They might have gone about it in entirely different ways but from the very beginning, the people that they loved were always on the forefront of their minds.
I thought about this on the drive to drop Jayden back home, his shoulder still feeling the contact of Misty's hand while the other resided on the steering wheel.
It was good to have people in the world who wore their hearts on their sleeve. No, it was great. In a world where people hid their most powerful feelings, it was inspiring to me that people wore their lovingness like a proud badge for all to see.
Ash and Jayden might have shown it in vastly different ways but they were birds of a feather. In more ways than one. Sometimes competing. But mostly understanding. Silently understanding. But understanding all the same.
Lovebirds at heart, the both of them were. And it fills me with my own level of love to have watched Ash and Misty's story blossom. And for them to help cultivate a whole other generation of it too. They started it all. Right at the very beginning. And how could that not last until not only the end, but beyond too.
Some tales live forever. And I am here to treasure them all.
The End.
There you go! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed :) So yeah, that was Ash and Misty on a double date with Katie and Jayden! Ash is pretty childish here at times, isn't he? But I think that's his way of coping for the fact that his little girl is growing up and dating none other than a Morgan boy! It was fun for me to explore Jayden's character in this chapter. How he compares and differs to Ash. And also to his older brother, Justin, in some ways - because we all know Katie has a bit of future romance with him too. And how Jayden treats her leads her to get with Justin - and then back with Jayden all over again :D I have to confess that getting the themes done this year was a challenge and not because of the subjects at all. Life has just been really busy and it was hard for me to find time to write. But I prioritised it and I'm glad I did. I think the chapters feel different this year. But I tried something new nonetheless :) Thanks again and I will be back on the 28th to update Dear Darlings with one more Ash x Misty themed fic! See you then.
Amy signing out :3