Chapter Text
“This is the fourth time, Leon!”
Gooey blinks awake, head swimming as she glances around the room. What was that? Wonders the small Goomy, her mouth widening in a yawn as her eyes begin to adjust to the darkness. Besides her comes a soft murmur, and the press of a wet snout against her side makes her turn to look at her Uncle Darude. He’s sound asleep, mouth slightly agape as quiet snores echo through his chest, and she has half a mind to follow him back into dreamland when another voice, clipped and frustrated, cuts through the night.
“I’m sorry? I was busy with the tower! Why are you so mad? We can just reschedule the date!”
Her eyes fly open, and Gooey feels herself freeze against her mother’s side. Her antennae, normally perked and swaying gently, have stilled. She recognizes both voices, of course, but she’s never heard them like this before. Tight, wound-up, ready for a fight, angry. It makes her tremble at the thought, and she presses her face against her mother’s belly as her sharp-toothed dad bites back.
“Why am I mad? Are you kidding me? Do you even know what today is?”
Silence.
And then pained laughter.
“You don’t, do you? You really don’t. Ok, well, let me spell it out for you. You left me at the restaurant, alone, on our third fucking anniversary.”
“O-Oh Arceus, I-“
Gooey jolts when she hears a slam from outside. Flesh meets wood, and she can feel the low growl that escapes her dad as his voice pitches. Her purple-maned papa stutters, tripping over his words as panic bubbles out of his lips, but her dad doesn’t let up. He cages him in, and doesn’t let him budge a single inch, and Gooey hates it. She whines, quiet and high-pitched, as she tries to bury herself into the safety of her mother’s arms.
Uncle Darude had told her once that this kind of thing was normal, for both humans and pokémon. There was always something to argue over, because people didn’t always agree. It was natural, he had said, it happens. But even so, she thinks as she presses her antennae flat to her head, she doesn’t enjoy it all. Especially not with how fragile her dad’s voice is beginning to sound, his words breaking into choked sobs as emotions boil over.
“Rai, I-“
“Don’t. Just get out!”
“Plea-“
“Get out!”
She hears the door slam shut. Then silence.
And then a sob.
The tight expression on her face melts into worry, and she twists to gaze over at the bedroom door. Outside, her dad coughs to cover the sounds of his cries, but she can hear the way his breath hitches. Words fall from his lips like broken glass, pained and fragile, and it hurts. This wasn’t normal, Gooey thinks as she continues to stare at the bedroom door. Her dad was strong and vibrant and wonderful. He never cried. Never!
Gooey’s brows furrow, her lips thin to a line, and carefully, she extracts her from the warm and comfortable pile her family has made. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t right at all! And she was going to find out exactly what was happening.
She makes for the door as quickly as her little body will take care, careful not to make too much noise so not to wake anyone else. As she reaches it, wondering how exactly she was going to get it open, the door swings out. Gooey gasps as it clips her nose and tumbles backwards with a cry as a sharp gasp rings through the room. Large, warm arms encircle her, and she finds herself pressed to a broad chest.
“Oh, baby.” Raihan coos, stroking her head as he speaks. “I’m so sorry, did I nick you? That must smart. What are you doing awake? You should be sleeping!” His voice is hushed and gentle, but worried and stressed as he hurries to sit down at the edge of the bed to get a better look at her.
Gooey whines under the scrutiny, scrunching up her (kind of sore) nose and pushing his hand away with a glare. Raihan stares back, a little dumbfounded at his little Goomy’s attitude, before his surprise morphs into a sad smile. “We woke you, didn’t we?” The hand Gooey had pushed away is back, and gently thumbing at her cheek pads. “Sorry, baby.”
He goes quiet, and his brow pinches together as tears begin to form at the corners of his eyes again. Gooey begins to panic. No, no, no! He wasn’t supposed to cry! She opens her mouth to say something, when he shifts, pulling her up against his chest as he lays back against the bed. “I bet it scared you. I’m so sorry.” His lips tremble as he cuddles her, desperately fighting back the tears. “I-“ He shudders and brings her closer as his expression twists. “I’m sorry.”
Something in his voice breaks, and his jaw clenches as he rolls onto his side. The hand on Gooey’s head shifts, and she finds herself enveloped in a tight hug. His entire body is shaking, and Gooey nuzzles under his chin with a soft noise to comfort him. “Sorry.” He breathes out again, shaky and upset as his voice hitches. “I’m so sorry. I’m such a fuck-up. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Gooey gets the sense that he’s not talking to her anymore, or even about her, but she is a good daughter, so she lets him talk. She nuzzles against him as his voice breaks into quiet sobs, lets him grip the back of her head tightly, and squeezes herself as close to his chest as she can. She does her best just to be there for him, after all, she’s just a Goomy. What more could she do?
…
Gooey thinks as she listens to Raihan’s breath beginning to even out, maybe she couldn’t do anything. But that didn’t mean she was out of options. She glances up at her dad, taking in the way the frown tugs at the edges of his lips as he drifts off to sleep, and she feels her resolve steel. That’s right, she couldn’t do anything, but Papa could.
All she had to do was find him.
Sure, maybe they were angry at each other, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t make up! After all, just because people got mad at each other, it didn’t mean they didn’t love each other. It just meant they had to talk and stuff (she distantly remembers Uncle Darude saying something about “communication” and “understanding why the other was hurt” but she’s not really sure what that means besides hugging and being happy).
Still, easier said than done.
The earlier door slam must’ve meant that Papa had left, and if he’d left then that would make looking for him kind of hard. If there was one disadvantage to being a Goomy (and there weren’t many!), it was that she was much slower than the average human. Especially the ones with long legs like Dad and Papa. But that wouldn’t deter her! She nods to herself, brows set in fiery determination as she settles against Raihan’s chest.
Once Dad fell asleep, she would leave the apartment and track down her Papa any way she could! She was familiar enough with Papa’s scent, and it probably wouldn’t be too hard to follow him through the streets of Hammerlocke. Then, all she had to do was convince him to come back and everyone would be happy! Easy! She grins slightly as she settles down against Raihan, listening to his gentle breaths as she waits for the perfect moment to execute her plan.