Angela's OneShots

Pokeshipping: Heart and soul

"How's your mom?"

Something was different about Misty's voice. Ash caught it. "She's fine."

"That's good." Misty got off the bed. She fetched the makeup remover from her vanity desk to take off all this absurdity of her face. What was she thinking, wearing makeup and a dress for a homemade dinner that was never on schedule? Well, of course! She had to book her own fiance...

"So, I was thinking for tomor-..."

Ash stopped talking when he heard the slam of the bathroom's door.

* * *

"I woke up and she wasn't there. She slept on the couch."

Gary Oak was the expert when it comes to women. He knew how to get them wrapped around his fingers and how to keep them wrapped. That said, there was an exception called Misty Waterflower, who, instead of falling for him, fell in love with Ash, and was acting in this way he didn't understand.

"She slept on the couch because you went to see your mom?"

"That's not it." Ash sighed after he took a sip of his coffee. "Thing is... uh... I barely eat with Misty." Even his lunchboxes were sponsored by Delia since he didn't want to waste all the food he gets after each visit.

"So? That's less work for her. She won't have to cook." And everyone including Ash himself knew how bad he was at cooking.

Ash chuckled. "You don't know Misty. Cooking isn't work for her." That dinner yesterday looked really good and smelled incredible, but Ash wasn't hungry so he didn't touch it - and he knew Misty was upset because of that. Actually, his mother and his fiancee weren't different from each other...

"Are you kidding me? She's upset over this?" Gary narrowed his eyes.

"Even when we're eating together, we're not actually eating together." Ash shrugged. "She eats the food she makes and I eat the food mom makes, so we don't share."

"I can't believe this is actually a problem." 

"Thing is, I can't say no to mom's food." Ash explained. "Saying no to it is like saying no to her."

"Again, I still can't believe this is actually a problem."

"My fridge is full of my mom's containers, I tell you," Ash said. "They never end."

"Again, I don't see where the problem is!" Gary insisted. "She can't sleep on the couch because of this!"

Ash shrugged again. He understood where Misty was coming from. He noticed it the first time they went on a date together - which was actually a dinner back at her old apartment. After moving in together, he noticed how offering him food made Misty happy. It was exactly that happiness he'd see on his mother's face when she's offering him food.

"Fine. I get it. Your mom puts her soul into making food and Misty puts her heart into making food."

"That sums it up."

"And you can't afford to eat all that."

"Not emotionally nor physically." Ash laughed. 

"Yeah, it must be hard to be Ash Ketchum." Gary smirked. "All the food that's flooding - all the love. Two-timing must be a lot of work."

"Stop it, will you?" Ash rolled his eyes. "It's getting bad."

"Okay then." Gary sipped his coffee. "Maybe it's time your mom retired. How about this?"

Ash raised his eyebrows.

"You're marrying Misty in a couple of months. In this reverie world of passionate-cooking-love-Ash-feeding I can't relate to, maybe she thinks it's... her turn, you know? You're leading a separate life with Misty. Your mom cooked for you when you were under her wing. Now..."