The annual Father's Day one shot is here! I went back and forth a little on what I wanted to do for this year, but recent anime events pushed me in this direction and I really enjoyed writing it.
Father's Day Surprise
Ash Ketchum, unlike his wife, was a big fan of surprises. She knew this, of course, and when it came to special holidays, she always did her best to come up with ideas that he would like. Father's Day was a big one for him, maybe even the biggest, and so that was the one Misty always eyed.
She'd come up with a really good one for this year's, and just had to hope it could remain a secret until then. Misty had made the decision to tell the twins about the surprise, which did make her a little nervous. Aiden and Michelle had gotten much better about not blabbing with age, but they still sometimes let things slip.
"When are they coming?"
Like now.
"Shh," Misty gently silenced her daughter, nervously glancing towards the bathroom door. "Not so loud, Shelly! It's a secret, remember?"
"Oh, yeah," Michelle breathed.
"We don't want Daddy to find out," Misty continued as she pulled her daughter's hair back with a brush. "I had to tell you two what was going on because you're both so observant."
"What's that mean?" Aiden chirped, looking up from the open drawer of hair accessories he'd been playing with.
"It means you're really good at noticing things," Misty giggled. "You know, like how you two both realized I was tidying up the guest room and sending a lot of messages on my phone."
"That was weird," Aiden agreed, nodding his head.
"But now you know why I was doing those things," Misty replied. "And as long as Daddy doesn't find out in the next couple of hours, it'll be the best surprise ever!"
"I think so too!" Michelle trilled, swinging her legs back and forth as her mother finished tying her hair up into its usual ponytail.
"There, all done!" Misty announced, putting the brush down on the counter. "Why don't you two go play for a bit?"
Aiden scurried out of the bathroom, and Michelle was quick to hop to her feet and follow after her brother. Sighing, Misty rubbed at her temple before leaving the room herself, just hoping the twins would be able to contain themselves for a little while longer.
When she made it down the stairs, she found Ash in the kitchen and let out a relieved sigh. That meant there had been no chance of him overhearing Michelle's little slip up before. "What're you up to?"
Ash looked over his shoulder and smiled, which sent Misty's heart fluttering. He was always so happy to see her, even if she had only been gone for ten minutes. It was exactly the type of romanticism she'd dreamed about when she was young.
"Putting dishes away," Ash replied, turning back around so he could slip the last of the plates onto its shelf and closing the cabinet door. "Why, what's up?"
Misty shook her head and chirped, "Nothing." She strode up to Ash, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head against his shoulder.
"You sure are being affectionate this morning!" Ash remarked with a chuckle. He was hardly complaining; he loved it when Misty was all sweet and just wanted to cuddle. "Something gotten into you?"
"Yeah, a baby," Misty teased, her playful giggles floating directly into Ash's ears. Indeed, he could feel her rounded belly against his back, and he responded with a laugh of his own.
"Come on, that sounds like a joke I'd make!" Ash jokingly bemoaned.
"It does, doesn't it?" Misty mused, inclining her head so her and Ash's temples touched. "I knew we spent too much time together!"
"Nah," Ash refuted, craning his neck to kiss Misty's forehead. "I don't think it'll ever be too much."
With a content smile, Misty pulled away from Ash, causing him to frown. "What're you doing now that you've finished putting the dishes away?"
He shrugged. "No idea. Where are the kids?"
"Playing upstairs," Misty answered, placing a hand against her stomach. "Why? You looking to do something?"
"No!" Ash cried, waving his hands in front of him. "Even I know there's no getting away with that this early in the day. Aiden and Michelle will start looking for us before we know it. Not to mention the fact they've apparently figured out how to pick locks…"
"Sorry, I think that's my fault," Misty apologized with a grimace. "I had a real affinity for that kind of stuff as a kid. I didn't realize it would be genetic. And I'm definitely regretting it now."
"Eh, you weren't thinking about that kind of stuff when you were their age," Ash casually refuted. "And honestly, I'd be impressed with those skills if it didn't mean you and I were always in danger of getting walked in on by a couple of five-year-olds!"
"Yeah, that pretty much eliminates any of the admiration," Misty agreed with a weak laugh.
"Well, I guess we could always just snuggle!" Ash suggested, wiggling his eyebrows. "Nothing wrong with that, right? It's totally innocent!"
"Sure, as long as you keep it that way," Misty teased, winking at her flustered husband.
Before they were able to make another move, however, the doorbell rang. Ash furrowed his brow, wondering aloud, "were you expecting someone?"
"No," Misty replied, shaking her head.
Ash scowled. "Well, I want my alone time with you, so I think if we ignore it, they'll just go away."
Misty blinked. Was Ash seriously about to ruin her plans? She should've known putting the idea of intimacy in his head was a bad one!
"We can't just ignore whoever's there," Misty innocently reasoned with him. "What if it's important?"
Ash furrowed his brow. "What could be so important on a Friday morning?"
Misty shrugged. "Heck if I know." Moving her hand from her stomach to over her heart, she continued in a sarcastic, honey dripping voice, "but you and I…we're famous! And beloved! Who knows what kind of lavish, expensive gifts our adoring fans have sent us now!"
Ash instantly dropped his irritated look and burst out laughing. "Okay, okay, I get it! I'll go see who, or what, it is."
"Thank you!" Misty giggled, sweeping forward to give Ash a quick kiss. "And I promise you'll still get your cuddles."
"Good," Ash chuckled, returning Misty's kiss before walking past her. Once he was behind her, Misty smirked and just peeked over her shoulder, eager to see her husband's reaction. She watched as he opened his door, his eyes growing wide once he saw who was there.
"Professor Kukui?!"
"Heh, surprise!"
Turning his head to look at Misty, his jaw still hanging open, Ash gawked, "Professor Kukui is standing on our doorstep."
Giggling, Misty skirted up to Ash, winking playfully at him. "I told you it might've been important!"
"Might've been?" Professor Kukui asked with a teasing chuckle.
"Oh, professor, you know you're important," Misty gently chided, a big smile on her face. "I just couldn't let Ash in on our little secret!"
"Wait…you knew he was coming?!" Ash gasped.
Misty laughed again, nodding her head. "Of course, I did! I'm the one who invited him and – "
"Boo!"
Ash yelped and stumbled backwards, startled by the sudden appearance of a pre-teen girl. She laughed wildly at his shock, while Misty couldn't help but to smirk herself.
"The family," Misty finished with obvious mirth, motioning towards the satisfied girl.
"I decided to hide in the bushes so I could really surprise you!" Lexi trilled, her hazel eyes shimmering. "And it worked!"
"Yeah, you bet it did…" Ash chuckled weakly, rubbing the back of his neck until realization hit. "Hold on, if you invited the whole family, where's Professor Burnet?"
"Take a guess," Kukui snickered.
Ash groaned, not even having to bother to venture a guess. "You guys know you don't have to bring presents every time you visit, right?"
"We do, but you'll never stop us!" Lexi declared.
"She's right, you know!"
Professor Burnet finally ambled up behind her husband and daughter, arms full of gifts. By her feet was Lexi's Rockruff partner, Roxy, with a small gift bag hanging from her mouth.
Peering over the boxes, Burnet grinned from ear to ear. "Bringing gifts is one of my absolute favorite parts of getting to visit!" As soon as she took one look at Misty, however, Burnet gasped and practically tossed the gifts to an unsuspecting Kukui. "Oh, look at you!"
"Me?" Misty asked innocently, accompanied by a soft giggle.
"Yes, you!" Burnet laughed. "That belly of yours is so precious!"
Lexi beamed and strode up next to her mother. "Yeah, you look so cute!"
"Aw, you two are so sweet!" Misty cooed. "I'm just starting to get a bit uncomfortable, so I appreciate the compliments."
"I know the feeling…" Kukui choked out, struggling to hold up the mountain of gifts Burnet had passed him.
"Here, let me help!" Ash offered, pouncing forward to relieve Kukui from the pile of presents.
"Thank you, Ash," Kukui sighed as soon as the boxes were out of his hands, entering the house and closing the door behind him. "I have no idea what's in those things, but they weigh a ton!"
"Maybe you're just getting old," Lexi mused, causing her father to sputter protests.
Snickering, Burnet patted an amused Misty's shoulder. "And to think, soon you'll have three of those!"
"Yeah, I don't know if we're totally sure what we're getting ourselves into," Misty quipped.
"That would be an understatement," Ash muttered, assuming no one would hear him. Kukui had, however, and clapped a hand on the younger man's shoulder, offering him a sympathetic smile when he turned his head.
"You know, it's a lovely day out, and my legs are a bit stiff from the plane," Kukui began, ignoring the hushed "old" comment from his daughter. "Why don't we go for a walk?"
"Uh…sure!" Ash replied, his smile returning. Looking over at Misty, Ash asked, "will you guys be alright here?"
"Absolutely!" Misty assured him. "Burnet, Lexi, and I can entertain ourselves no problem."
"HEY!"
"MOM!"
Without so much as a glance behind her, Misty smirked, adding, "and the twins, apparently."
Aiden and Michelle came trampling down the stairs, both with looks of betrayal on their cute faces. Pikachu was at their feet, but unlike the twins, looked positively elated when he realized the Alolan family was standing before him.
"You didn't tell us they were here!" Michelle cried.
"Yeah, we've been upstairs the whole time!" Aiden added.
"They only got here five minutes ago," Misty reassured the children. "You haven't missed anything!"
For the second time in as many minutes, Ash was struck by surprise. "Hold on…even the twins knew about this?!"
"Yeah," Misty sighed, as though admitting it physically pained her. "I had to tell them because they caught onto me."
"Mommy says we're ob-sis-stervant!" Aiden announced, beaming with pride.
Misty smirked at her son's valiant attempt to use the newfound word she'd just taught him. "But they said nothing to you! So, I'd say we're making progress on that front."
"Well, that's no surprise, look at how grown up they are!" Kukui chuckled, causing the twins to giggle as they rushed down the stairs to properly greet him.
"Seriously!" Burnet cried, shuffling over to kneel beside the twins and gather them into a hug. "You two need to stop getting so big!"
"We can't!" Aiden giggled. "We're not babies anymore!"
"I know you're not," Burnet sighed sadly, shaking her head. "But I remember so clearly when you were! It feels like just yesterday."
"You're not kidding," Ash chuckled. He then knelt down near the twins and asked, "Hey, Professor Kukui and I were gonna go for a walk. Do you two want to come?"
"Me! I do!" Aiden practically shouted, tearing himself away from Burnet and hopping between his father and Kukui. "I want to look for Pokémon with Professor Kukui!"
The Alolan researcher snickered at the boy's exuberance. "Sounds fun!" Looking over at Michelle, he asked, "how about you, Shelly?"
The girl slowly shook her head. "I think I wanna stay here with Mommy and Professor Burnet and Lexi."
"Good choice!" Lexi cheered, swooping in to lift the little girl off the floor. Michelle giggled in Lexi's grasp, quickly throwing her arms around the older girl's neck. She had always viewed Lexi like an older sister; looked up to her greatly and was ecstatic anytime they got to be reunited. Lexi, quite similarly, had always thought of Aiden and Michelle as her long-distance younger siblings. As an only child, Lexi had always enjoyed the twins' company and was more than happy to be a role model for them.
"No prob," Ash assured his daughter before shooting the trio a toothy grin. "You girls have fun! We'll be back soon enough."
"Take your time," Misty urged, throwing in a wink for good measure. "We'll be just fine here!"
XXX
After spending the first bit of the walk taking turns pointing out Pokémon with Professor Kukui, Aiden seemed to have lost interest and instead was running ahead of his father and the researcher, Pikachu keeping alongside the boy so he wouldn't stray too far.
"He is just full of energy," Kukui chuckled, watching as Aiden encouraged Pikachu to chase him.
"He is," Ash agreed with a soft smile. "I know that Misty and I are still young, but it can be exhausting trying to keep up with him! I find myself apologizing to my mom a lot, because I know I was exactly like Aiden when I was a kid. Now I know how rough it must've been on her."
Kukui laughed heartily at Ash's admission. "I'm sure she appreciates it!"
"She does," Ash confirmed, smirking as he nodded. "I've apologized for a lot of things, honestly. I love Aiden and Michelle more than anything, but they are definitely eye opening and not always easy!"
"And the third one just makes things even more interesting," Kukui mused. Ash nodded again, this time more slowly. Kukui, of course, noticed this, and threw Ash a sympathetic smile. "Nervous, huh?"
"Yeah," Ash admitted after a beat of hesitance. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm also really excited! I love being a dad; it's the best job ever. But I can't stop thinking about the fact that Misty and I are gonna be outnumbered by kids."
"That's true," Kukui conceded. "But think about it this way: you and Misty already had two babies at once, so this should be pretty easy for you both!"
"I guess so," Ash murmured. "But it's been almost six years already. What if I don't even remember how to take care of a baby?"
"I don't really think that's something you forget," Kukui chuckled. "It's almost like riding a bike! Besides, you didn't know how to take care of a baby before the twins were born, and you did just fine with them."
Ash seemed to think about it for a moment before beaming at Professor Kukui. "You know what, you're right! Thanks, professor; that makes me feel a lot better!"
Professor Kukui returned Ash's grin. "Glad I could help!"
"Is that part of the reason Misty surprised me with you guys?"
The researcher nearly stumbled over his own feet when he heard that. Managing to straighten himself up, Kukui locked eyes with Ash, who smirked in response. "Wh-what?"
"Did she invite you guys because I was nervous about the baby?" Ash repeated with more clarity.
Sighing, Kukui admitted, "That was part of it. But not the whole reason! She really just wanted to give you a nice surprise for this Father's Day. It's a special one, after all!"
"It is!" Ash agreed cheerfully. "I really can't believe it's my last one with just the twins. I asked Misty if Mother's Day felt kind of weird for her too, and she said it did. Probably because it's been the four of us for so long."
"You two will be just fine," Kukui assured him. "You've done such a good job with Aiden and Michelle! They're so sweet and kind, and they always make me laugh! I know that new little girl will be just as perfect."
Ash's smile softened. "You think so?"
"I know so."
Sheepishly, Ash rubbed under his nose. "Y'know, I sure am lucky to have you. You always know just what to say! And you always know how to get me to slow down and not overthink stuff, too. It means a lot to me!"
Professor Kukui seemed to be speechless. It wasn't much of a secret that he thought of Ash like a son, and it also wasn't a secret that Ash viewed Kukui as his father figure. Still, it always touched Kukui whenever Ash expressed just how important their bond was to him.
"It means a lot to me, too," Kukui finally managed to reply, reaching over to ruffle Ash's hair the way he had since they'd first met.
Chuckling, Ash shot Kukui a playful side eye. "Don't you think I'm a little old to still be doing that?"
"Nope!" Kukui effortlessly refuted, crossing his arms. "And don't think you'll ever get me to stop, either!"
Ash and Professor Kukui's relationship is very important to me. It's just so sweet and special and nuanced!
