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At least half the town had to be aware of what was going on between the two of them, maybe even more than that at this point, but as far as Delia Ketchum and Professor Samuel Oak knew, their relationship was a secret. At least, they had not yet announced to anyone that they had entered a relationship. Considering how long it had gone on, it hadn't been long before most of Pallet Town had caught on. After all, they weren't exactly idiots, save for one certain young Pokémon trainer who happened to be traveling with a Pikachu.
Even after all this time, Ash still remained completely oblivious to the mere notion that his mother and Professor Oak might actually be having a relationship.
"I wonder if we should ever tell Ash?" Samuel held Delia close as they sat together on the sofa, with their arms wrapped around each other. He had just sent Tracey off on a mission to find a shiny Clefairy he claimed was hanging around the reserve. Of course, there was no such thing as a shiny Clefairy out there and it was just a ruse to get Tracey away so that they could make some hot, sweet loving. Tracey, though, did at least have some suspicion of what might be going on but he was at least polite enough not to go questioning it.
"The poor boy would never even begin to understand it. It would blow his mind if he knew his mother and mentor were sleeping together." Delia kissed the older man on the lips and smiled radiantly at him. "Anyway, we're doing pretty well at keeping it at a secret from him. I don't think we have any need to worry."
"Yeah. I don't think he's ever going to figure it out." Professor Oak shook his head, his lips twitching in a bemused smile. Ash was much too dense to ever come to the conclusion that his mother and the elderly professor living across the road were going out with each other. "So why ruin a good thing?" He and Delia melted into an embrace, content in the knowledge that their secret was supposedly safe.
It wasn't like anyone was ever going to tell Ash after all.