☕︎
ch 13.
Pacifying The Storm!

"You better have a good enough reason to call me here, Ashy-boy," Gary sighed, his hand on his chin, bored. The girl beside him gave him a side-eye and continued sipping her Gyarados Lagoon Mocktail. "I'm depleted as is."

"I have something to tell you," I said, starting with a serious tone. If I knew anything about Gary, it was that he got bored of witty plays easily. Beating around the bush would only raise the stakes I wanted to lower for her.

"What's it?"

I took a deep breath, locking eyes with Gary. "It's about Serena and the designs. Misty thinks you're involved with her."

The girl stiffened at the mention of Serena, lowering her drink. She narrowed her eyes at her fiancé. "Are you, Gary? With her?" Her voice was sharper than before as her gaze flickered between Gary and me.

"I mean, you think—" I rephrased. "You assumed they are more than just professional acquaintances because of her designs being misfiled in Gary's collection and overhearing him teasing her."

She shook her head, looking at her mocktail. "I saw the way you looked at her the other day."

"Hey," Gary cut her short. "She was going through something, so I was just trying to cheer her up."

Misty crossed her arms, clearly upset. "So what, you think I didn't notice? All this time, I thought something was off. But this—this takes the cake."

I quickly intervened, trying to get the situation under control. "Misty, listen. It's not like that. Serena is just a colleague, and she accidentally misfiled her designs. She feels terrible about it, trust me. She's even braced herself for resignation."

Misty didn't look convinced. Her eyes slid to Gary, a mix of frustration and hurt etched across her face. "How can you be so sure, Ash? How do you know it’s just a misunderstanding? I’ve been watching them both, and—" She paused, chewing on her lip. "You’ve been acting distant too, Gary. You’ve barely noticed me lately."

Gary sighed, then placed one hand on the girl's shoulder. "Misty, I swear. Nothing's going on with Serena. I just got under the pile, nothing more."

The tension between the two was palpable, but I had to settle it once and for all. "Misty, I want you to trust me. I don't justify Serena's mistake, but it was an accident, and Gary didn't know anything about it until she told him herself after noticing the disappearance of her designs. She's not looking for anything of that sort with Gary."

Misty paused, her posture softening. My heart did a little victory dance when a small, relieved smile broke out across her face. "Fine," she muttered. "I think I owe an apology."

Gary's smirk was back. "I'm all ears."

I winced when the girl pulled my childhood friend's ear forcefully, dragging him toward her to mutter an earful to him. "Not to you, you daft. Never to you."

Gary yelped, flailing his hands around. I quickly pulled his and Misty's cups away from the counter in fear for my ceramic. "Yes, yes! I'm sorry!"

"You better be! I don't want to hear this again!"

"Yes! Yes, ma'am! Yes!"

The girl released him from her chokehold and narrowed her eyes at me. I gave her a nervous smile. "Thanks, Misty. It means a lot."

Gary let out a deep breath, glad to have the situation cooling down. "You're the best, Mist. I love you!"

"And I hate you!" I placed their cups back on the counter when Misty shot him a furious look, even though the hint of a blush dusted across her cheeks said otherwise.

─── ⋆⋅☕⋅⋆ ───

"You've got to be kidding me, champ. There's no way you're going to abandon this masterpiece for a damned hotel!"

I let out a shaky breath, adding the layer of froth to Sir Meowth's Espurr-esso. "Yeah, well, I can't help it. I should intern under someone."

"Why not us?" James started. "We'll get the eatery all built in a month or two. You can intern under the team from The Rocket's!"

"You hear that?" Jessie piped in, leaning against the counter. "We're absolutely up to take you in, darling, should you agree."

I gave the three a soft, polite smile. "Thanks, you guys, but I don't think Dad would agree, and I don't wish to impose a burden on your business."

Jessie scoffed, her usual smugness tempered by a hidden soft look. "Oh, please. Burden is Team Rocket's motto."

"Nya," Meowth piped in, raising his little paw. "Call it a collab. Ket's and Rocket's here to double your burden and cream-en your sodden days!"

"It's a double win-win," James interjected, smiling. "You don't have to leave this building or this region, and you get to work under us!"

I looked down at the exquisite froth art I was making. It was tempting—very tempting—to accept Jessie, James, and Meowth's offer. Not only were they unlikely allies, but they were also like a second family.

And leaving Kalos, after finally getting a word carved in Serena's life as a boy she'd kissed, hit harder than a trainwreck could.

"I will... ask my dad about it," I replied, my smile not quite reaching my eye as I slid Jessie's drink toward her. The three of them wore identical smirks and crossed their arms, something deviously planned on the tip of their tongues. I wasn't prepared to hear their thoughts.

"This is the extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you, twerp. To work with Master Chefs of the Rocket's elite! Ain't it just cliché?"

"To stack a toppin' qualification to your bloomin' resumé!"

"To whip up the power of kiss-embrace with the Goldilocks and parfait for you and your café!"

I froze, the frother stalling mid-air. "Whatever do you mean?" Going back to the froth art, I tried to look as unbothered as possible.

"Oh please," Jessie straightened, her eyebrows arching to a more calculative expression. "We see your heart-eyes, darling. Oh, and that chapstick mark over your kiddish lips on Christmas? Does it ring a bell?"

My hands fumbled, spilling a river of foam onto the saucer. "That wasn't—no, it's not what you think!" I snapped, perhaps a little too quickly. Flustered and with my ears going hot, I began dabbing at the spilt froth, cursing inwardly for being too obvious.

James grinned knowingly, nudging Jessie's shoulder. "Methinks this lily-livered twerp doth protest too much, nay?"

"Nya!" Meowth quipped, straightening his whiskers, Puss-in-Boots style. "It's written all over your face. Love's got ya frothin' more than that milk, kid. Better reap it off before you leave."

His words hit home again, but I masked it by shoving his cup a bit too harshly toward him. "It's not—what—you're imagining things!"

The trio exchanged identical smirks, making me want to crawl under the counter.

"Whatever pacifies you," James said with a shrug. "But when you need advice on love or latte, you know who to approach!"

I snorted, wiping the counter clean of the alarming amount of froth I had wasted, but I couldn't help my heart hammering against my chest.

There was nothing to lose should I go to Kanto. Nothing to gain, either, unless I find a suitable enough reason to stay back. So, where does that take me? Take us? Was it the time to confess?