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Sam reached for his set of ceramic mugs, intending to fish two of them down to pour tea for him and his current companion. They hung on a small mug tree – a project Daisy had made at school last year and given to him as a gift at Christmas – which just so happened to be positioned next to his cannister of tea bags. Now the Oak family was not known for their dexterity and so living up to his name, he bumped into said cannister and knocked twenty-plus teabags all over his counter.
His hands dropped to his sides and he stood there for a moment, watching the fiasco in front of him. He had no energy to even be mad and so he continued to stare while his fatigued brain caught up to the monumental task in front of him.
"Sam, hey," Delia's voice broke through and he tilted his head to look at her. "I'll make the tea, you sit down."
"No no, you're a guest here." His voice was echoey, like it didn't belong to him. Not an unusual occurence as of late.
"Pfft barely," She laughed, hopping up from her stool at the kitchen counter and scooting around to the kettle. It was true though, the kids were such good friends that it seemed like one of them was at the other's house causing havoc every day. "You're exhausted and I can see you missing the mugs and accidentally pouring boiling water all over your hand instead. Now that will really put you out of action."
"Alright alright," He conceded and flopped down onto the stool from whence she came. "Thank you and I'm sorry."
She laughed again. "No apologies necessary. I know how tiring it is with one kid, I can't even imagine two."
This had become a weekly thing between them – a nice relaxing cup of tea on a Friday afternoon while they waited for the school bus to arrive from Viridian carrying Daisy, Green and Red. It was a good way to mentally prep as there was nothing quite as energetic as kidss who knew they didn't have to go back to school for another two days.
The two of them had struck up quite a friendship over the years, having children (or rather grandchildren in his case) that were very close in age. Pallet was mostly filled with retirees – which admittedly had been his plan when he'd first relocated here – and so the few parents that did live here tended to band together, particularly those that were parenting alone. Ie. only them.
Delia had arrived when Red was one, citing that Saffron City was just too expensive to stay in for any longer. They'd always said hello to each other, but it wasn't until Sam had full custody of Green and Daisy at three and six respectively did they actually start to chat.
It was nice to have a friend, despite his storied reputation both as a trainer and a researcher, he was not exempt to small town gossip. Judgmental eyes of grandparents who only saw their grandkids during holidays would watch and whisper as he met Green and Daisy at the bus stop, averting their eyes as he passed them to walk back home.
He was trying his hardest, but grandparenting-parenting was a whole different ballgame to parenting-parenting. Balancing that, whatever was going on with his own adult son and his work meant he had little time for much else besides these brief Friday afternoon catch ups. In twenty years time when he'd look back at his career, he knew there would be a distinct ten to fifteen year period where very little meaningful research had been done.
The tea came and went and he had to admit, Delia definitely made it better than he did. What little caffeine was in the drink did little to lift his energy levels, but the break from work had been needed. Soon enough the familiar sound of bus brakes screeching to a halt echoed through his open windows and was soon joined by three chattering voices. Well, two of those voices were arguing while Red – the quietest of the three at the best of times – attempted to interject and diffuse whatever sibling rivalry was going on.
A moment later and the youngest (Green, although he'd be fuming if he knew Sam was telling you) stomped through the doorway, face thunderous. Daisy was trailing, smirking as she had clearly gotten whatever rise she'd wanted out of her brother. Last was Red who looked like he was trying to be the mediator but the twitching of his cheeks indicated that he was desperately trying to hold in laughter.
"Hello dear children," He said, feigning that he hadn't seen his stroppy grandson's face. "How was school?"
Before either of the other two could even start to think about answering, Green launched in with a, "Gramps! Daisy is being mean to me, can you tell her off?" Daisy meanwhile had ducked her head down to avoid eye contact.
"You're going to have to let me know what happened first."
Further frustrated that his dear old Gramps wasn't a mind reader, Green huffed and crossed his arms. "She said that my hair looks like an eevee but–"
"–but I thought you liked eevee, you always say how they're your favourite pokemon." He glanced back at Delia, worried that if he continued to look at Grumpy Green then he too would burst into laughter like Red was trying not to do.
"I do," He continued. "But you didn't let me finish. She said that my hair looks like an eevee butt."
Oh. Well, that was arguably funnier but it was upsetting Green so the situation did have to be dealt with even though he so desperately wanted to laugh. So instead he trained his gaze onto the oldest of the trio who was now sheepishly playing with the hem of her school shirt.
"Dai–"
"But it does," She doubled down, suddenly looking up at him with a determination only found in siblings making fun of each other. "It was windy at the bus stop and it blew his hair up like that."
"Daisy, it's not nice to make fun of someone's appearance. You're twelve, you should know better," He wanted to retract the words as soon as he'd said them, sudden memories of being reprimanded when he'd gotten into mischief with Samson as a kid. He was older by a year and he'd spent his entire childhood acutely aware of it thanks to similar sentiments from his own parents. "And Green your hair looks fine, your sister is just teasing you," He stuck his tongue out at her and her mouth dropped open. "That is not on, mister."
"Fine fine, sorry," He huffed. "Can I go to Red's?"
"Can I go to Red's please?" Green's cheeks pinkened and he mumbled a barely discernible please under his breath. "It's fine by me, but you'll have to ask his mother." He glanced up at her and she nodded, a gentle smile on her face. How she was holding it together after that showdown was beyond him.
"Of course you can, but Red and I are having dinner in Viridian this evening," ("We are?") "So I'm afraid I'll have to send you back to your lovely home around six."
That was all the two of them needed to hear and in an instant they'd sped from the house so quickly that if they'd been in a cartoon, they would have left a trail of smoke in their wake. Not wanting two nine-year-olds to tear up her house, Delia hopped up and followed them out. She gave them a wink before leaving, making Daisy giggle at the antics of her brother and let's face it at this point, almost-brother.
With his rowdy grandson out the way, the rest of the afternoon had been spent helping his more relaxed granddaughter with her homework and answering the millions of questions she had about pokemon typings. She'd recently decided she was going to be a coordinator and wanted to know everything there was about how moves could be used to put on a show rather than just in battles. It was something that he was out of his depth with only having ever been a trainer, so they'd decided to learn alongside each other.
Green had come rushing in like the whirlwind he was a few hours later, waving around a pen Red had bought back for him from his trip to Cerulean on the weekend. It's so cool, look at the eevee bobble head on top! After showing that off, he'd promptly launched into conversation with his sister about this cool pidgey he'd seen near Red's place and Sam took that brief reprieve in coordinator questions to sneak off to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
He just wanted the best for them, you know? There was only one of him but he had to be twice the parent so that they were supported and confident as they grew up and became teenagers, then adults (what was this lump in his throat?). He wanted to give them the opportunities he wasn't able to give his own son and what his son wasn't able to give to them, a fact that made that lump even bigger if he thought about it too much.
They'd been through so much turbulence and disruption those first few years and yet here they were, keeping on as if they'd had the easiest life in the world. He wasn't sure if they quite understood that their parents weren't up to taking care of them right now, so he was trying his hardest to let them know that regardless of anything else going on, they'd always have him. Arceus above, whoever said parenting was an easy gig was a liar.
"Hey Green," He could hear Daisy's soft voice out in the lounge room as he switched his worries off for the evening. "I'm sorry about saying that about your hair before...and thanks for backing me up at the bus stop."
"That kid always says dumb stuff to all the kids in my class," There was a frown in Green's voice and for a moment Sam wondered if this was a conversation he needed to pursue. "I'm going to beat him in a pokemon battle one day and then that'll show him."
A giggle and then, "Hey, do you wanna play cards? I traded my metapod card for a pikachu today and I wanna try it out."
He focused his attention back on the onion he was dicing as he listened to their chattering in the background. Oh how easily kids got over things, he thought through definitely-onion-induced-tears, and at least they have each other.
Daisy was unlocking her grooming studio for the day's work when she heard the phone ringing on the inside. It was probably Gramps, he usually called if he'd forgotten something and no one else tended to call this early anyway. He was usually pretty conscientious of the time and would just walk over if need be, but sometimes he'd get so wrapped up in whatever he was doing that calling was just easier. Could be a client too, sometimes they called to let her know they were running late. Kind of hoped that it was, she was tired this morning.
Wanting to seem punctual in case it was a client though, she rushed through the door and launched herself at the phone. "Hello, this is Dai–"
"sy." The voice was low and though she'd never heard him be that quiet in his life, it was distinctively Green's. Alarm bells immediately sounded in her mind because A) the quiet thing and B) he only ever called at the end of the day. Oh and C) he was currently gallivanting around Kanto on the gym circuit and it was dangerous out there. So yeah, something was off.
"Hey Green, everything okay?"
"Yeah. Actually, don't worry about it." And then he was gone, indicated by the call ended tone.
She felt a small surge of annoyance (he couldn't just do that and not expect her to freak out!) but it was quickly quashed by a hydro pump of concern. So without wasting a second, she quickly clicked the redial button and fiddled nervously with the antenna while she waited for him to answer.
"Sis hey, it's fine," There was a hesitation. "Seriously."
"Don't you hang up, Green Oak," She replied and was met with silence. But silence was good, it meant he was still there. "What's going on? You just called me out of the blue and it's got me worried."
"Accidental."
"There’s no way to accidentally call from a public phone," More silence. "I'm happy to help if you need something, I don't have a client for another twenty minutes."
There was another pause and she could feel the awkwardness through the phone. Green didn't mind talking about himself when it was to gloat but when it came to anything even slightly honest, he struggled. There was a soft sigh and then the words tumbled out so quickly as if the faster they were said the less uncomfortable it would be, "I don't feel very good."
"How so?"
The room sprung to life as the lights flicked on, blinding studio lights that she'd had installed so she could see what she was doing properly. Great for work but not great for morning times. Balancing the phone between her shoulder and ear – a new wireless handset she'd picked up in Pewter – she filled the kettle up so she could make her second tea of the morning and prep one for her first client, a growlithe owner who only drunk a specific Hoenn blend.
"I dunno, I feel kinda sick to my stomach a little but I also feel dizzy. My hands were a bit shaky before but I think they’re alright now."
She appreciated him calling with the update but it just sounded like some sort of cold or stomach bug. There wasn't much she could really do from Pallet besides telling him to take a nap and some flu tablets. "I'm sorry to hear that. Did you eat something off maybe?"
"Nah, haven't had breakfast yet." There was still that hesitancy in his voice, like there was something he wasn't tacking on to the end of his explanation. Maybe he'd gotten in trouble with Red and was too embarrassed to say anything, they were both in Celadon last she'd heard. Knowing that she'd have to pry it out of him, she slumped down into the armchair she kept for her clients and settled in for the long haul as the kettle boiled in the background.
"Okay. Is it bad enough that you need to see a doctor or go to the hospital? Could you get Red to take you?"
"No!" His voice jumped up several octaves. "I mean no, I don't need to. I don't think I'm like sick sick or anything."
She hmm'd, a little more concerned now. "Are you allergic to something maybe? Like how oddishes always give me hayfever?"
"It's not that, I think it's kinda..no actually, it's nothing. Don't worry about it. I'm just going to go back to bed and try to sleep it off. That’s worked before."
"Before? This has happened before? ...Hey, don't hang up," She raised out of her chair instinctively as if that would somehow stop him from ending the call. "What's really going on? You know I'm always happy to chat."
There was an audible ugh on the other end. It was an ugh she'd heard throughout her childhood when he was frustrated that people couldn't just get what he meant without telling them. He may have been seventeen now but he was still just that, seventeen.
"Yeah...it's uh, it's dumb and I..." He trailed off as if somehow she'd clue in without him having to explain. When she didn't say anything, he continued, "I was planning on challenging Erika today, but each time I go for a gym badge, I feel sick to my stomach. Like there's a pit in there that's saying 'if you lose, Gramps'll be so disappointed and then what if he never wants to talk to you again and then what if Daisy feels the same way and ugh'. It sounds so stupid saying that out loud because I know that'll never happen, and I tell myself that but then another part of me is like but what if...? I thought calling you might help and maybe it has, I dunno but I still don't feel that good."
Oh. Oh? That was...unexpected. Her brother had always been filled with such unshakeable determination and confidence when it came to pokemon training that he'd convinced everyone else that was the absolute truth. All he'd spoken about since he could talk was becoming the Champion.
But had that pressure he'd put on himself been too much? And had the unwavering support Gramps had given them made Green afraid to fail? Daisy just wanted to reach through the phone and hug him.
"Hey," There was a sudden ache in her chest. "You're right, it will never happen and I am happy to tell you that as many times as you need. It'll never happen, it'll never happen, see? I'll never stop talking to you even if you want me to," There was a chuckle on the other end and she relaxed slightly. "Why don't you tell me about what else you've been up to in Celadon? It's probably the liveliest city in all of Kanto."
For the next ten minutes, he regaled her with what he'd been up to the past week. Sneaking into the Game Corner with Red and blowing pretty much all of their money they won (which was very little) at this Unovan style diner they'd discovered on the east side of the city. She in turn told him about this vulpix yesterday who's owner insisted she dye their tail black. By the time her first client knocked on her door, it was like nothing had even been wrong.
"I gotta go but I'll show you the photo I took when I see you next," She said in between laughs. "But Green, if you ever feel like you need to chat just call and I will be there for you. Even if you just wanna have a gab."
"Thanks sis, I do feel better. Um, do you mind not mentioning anything to Gramps or Red or his mum or anything though? It's embarrassing."
"Of course, I'll leave that up to you. Now I really do have to go because this lady will not let me forget it if I keep her waiting," She hopped up from her slumped over position in the chair and started towards the door. "Love you Green, don't forget that."
"I know I know, I love you guys too."
He called her a few more times out of the blue but never quite acknowledged his reasons like he had that first time. She'd ask how he was going and all he'd offer was a "not feeling great" before asking what she was up to and for an update on Gramps. She thought he should open up a little more but if conversation was what he needed right now, then she would give him that.
She had just sat down with her daily three pm cup of tea when her phone – sitting innocently on the table next to her – decided to vibrate violently. It was next to her mug and the force at which is buzzed against the table sent droplets flying out of the cup and onto her table. Galarian Breakfast blend was known for its superior taste but was not known for its lightness in colour and she sighed as the dark liquid stained her bright white tablecloth.
Frustrated, she snatched up her phone to see who in Arceus's name was calling her during teatime. Anyone who knew her knew that three to four pm each day was designated for drinking tea and not to disturb her unless it was an emergency. It was the one time during the day where she could just be and not have to think or worry about anything, a ritual borne from her past life as a coordinator. People didn't realise, but entering contests was just as stressful as battling and she'd had to really work on the me time thing for her own wellbeing.
It was Green, the dumb photo she'd set as his contact image flashing up on her buzzing screen (a Pokesnapchat photo she'd taken one Christmas – Green, hair a mess from sleep and one eye shut as he blinked out of sync). She giggled but the amusement was quickly overtaken with a concern, he knew about teatime so something had to be wrong. Was Gramps okay? Maybe he was –
"Green!"
"Ah hey sis," Returned the voice of her little brother. "Why do you sound so alarmed?"
"So everything is okay?" There was a certain relief but it was mixed with a frustration, a frustration with being interrupted for no reason at all.
"Yeah...why wouldn't it be?"
"Look at the time."
There was a brief pause and then a, "Fuck."
"Language."
"Sorry sorry," He laughed. "Today's been a blur, I didn't even look at the clock. I can call you back in an hour."
She sighed again and took a sip of her tea. It was lukewarm now, she'd have to make another cup so she could drink it hot. "No, it's okay. Can I put you on video though? I want to be able to use both hands for my tea."
Before he even had a chance to respond, she clicked on the red camera button on the screen and almost immediately she was greeted with a close-up of her sibling's face as he scrambled to move phone from ear to face. Both their angles were quite awkward while she attempted to balance her own phone against a small potted plant she kept on her dining room table. After much fumbling, they both sorted themselves out and stared back through each other's screens with their eerily similar eyes that everyone always pointed out.
"You're not at work today?" She asked, eyes flicking over the familiar background of her brother's apartment.
He was in his study, as indicated by the framed League badges on the wall and the photos from throughout his younger years. There was one of the two of them, his arm slung around her shoulders (just when he'd started getting taller than her!) while she proudly held up a gaudy pink ribbon she'd won. The Spring Contest, she remembered it like it was yesterday but in reality it had been ten years ago. Those blonde streaks in her hair were definitely nineteen year old Daisy and the small red spots littering Green's cheeks told a tale of a teenage skin.
"Nah I am, working from home though. There were no challengers and I had a lot of admin stuff to do."
"Must be nice," She answered and he laughed. Despite his attitude, the privileges of his position were not unappreciated by her brother. "So, what's up?"
"Did you get that email?"
"Which one? I get lots of emails, it's part of running your own business unfortunately." She shuddered at the memory of opening up her phone this morning and seeing a 99+ unread on her email app.
"If you'd read it, you'd know what I'm talking about," He said. "Go on, check now. We gotta talk about it."
"Why can't you just tell me what it said?"
"No no, you have to read it yourself. It might say something different to what mine did, I think they were sent separately."
"Alright," She said. "But I'm checking it on my phone, so you're going to have to deal with a close up of my face while I read through it."
She scooped up the device and flicked from the camera over to her emails, giving Green a lovely view of her nostrils. The first few were from potential clients enquiring about her availability for pokemon grooming – she could answer those ones after teatime – but it was the fourth one down that caught her eye. Would love to chat! read the subject line and the sender was...DJ Lily? From the Lavender Radio Tower? She felt her heart start to flutter.
Hey Daisy and Green!
Sent separately, yeah right.
Hope you two are having a wonderful week so far. My name is Lily and I host the Places and People and Podcasts podcast, a spin-off from the original radio show Places and People that used to broadcast from the Lavender Radio Tower. I'm not sure if you have listened to the show before, but each episode we interview noteworthy people from around the region and let them tell their stories. We would love to invite you both to be on the show.
You are both very successful in your training and coordinating careers that it would be great to chat to you about that and as a brother and sister duo. Hear about what led you to where you are and what advice you'd give to those out there trying to follow similar paths. All travel and accomodation costs will be covered, as well as payment for appearing on the episode.
Don't hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions and I hope to hear from you soon,
Lily
After finishing the email, she repositioned her phone back against the plant and Green took that as a signal to start talking again. It gave her a moment to compose herself. "So?"
"I think it would be really cool to do," She replied. "I haven't done an interview for years and you...well now that I think about it, you haven't either."
He nodded. "Yeah, I'm down. Although I do wonder what sorta questions they're going to ask."
"I've listened to the show before and it's usually childhood stories, career highlights, words of wisdom, that sort of thing," She shrugged. "We should probably set some ground rules between us though, like things that are off limits and what we don't want the other talking about otherwise you're going have all of your embarrassing stories aired."
"And the world will finally know the story behind your contest-debut buzzcut," He agreed and she laughed to hide how she was dying inside. "Do you want to come around and we can suss it out? I finish at five."
"Sure, I'll bring dinner."
And that Daisy did. She stood in the hallway outside her brother's second floor apartment, arms completely overflowing with the pizza ingredients she'd picked up on her way over. She'd forgotten to bring her reusable bag and hadn't wanted to use the plastic ones at the store. She'd seen firsthand the amount of rubbish that was washing up on their coastline and refused to use any more plastic than was necessary.
Green's apartment was on the south side of Viridian and if she were to turn around right now she'd be able to see the houses in Pallet twinkling in the far distance (and the ocean during the daytime). He'd never admit it, but she knew part of the reason he was renting this place was the closeness to home.
Trying to awkwardly balance two pizza bases and stacks of vegetables, she clumsily brought her elbow up and banged it against the door in a sort of bastardised knock. There was some muffled shuffling inside and a moment later she was greeted by her much-taller-but-still-younger brother.
In an instant her eyes were at his feet and the source of the muffled shuffling revealed itself to her. Fluffy eevee slippers accompanied by bright green Viridian Gym socks from the lobby gift shop. Hopping around the fake eevees was a real one, Green's to be exact and she mewed with excitement of seeing her favourite aunty. Daisy felt her mouth twitch upwards but before she could burst into full laughter, he held his finger up to stop her.
"Hey it's not like I wear them out or anything."
"Why not, you coward," She giggled and he gasped in fake-offense. "Hope you're happy with pizza. It was the only thing I could think of when I got to the grocery store."
He grinned, relieving her of the various vegetables and sauces and dumping them on his kitchen island. It gave her a chance to scoop up Eevee and give her a snuggle, she'd missed her.
"I will never say no to pizza, sis."
"Well good because I'm starving."
Taking that as a sign to start straight away, Green disappeared below the counter, reappearing a second later with a wooden chopping board – a housewarming gift from Brock he said. With much protest on Eevee's part, she plopped her down on the floor and when she realised that her visitor was occupied, promptly curled up on the rug and fell asleep.
Wasting no time, she grabbed an onion and started slicing it up while ignoring the sudden stinging in her eyes it was causing. Neither of them were particularly skilled cooks – a skill, or rather, non-skill – learnt from their grandfather...or rather, not learnt. They weren't good cooks, is what she was trying to say. But pizza she could do, and pizza she did on the regular. Judging by the way Green flicked his oven on without even looking at the packet to check the required temperature, she gathered that he did too.
He'd always been a tidy person and his apartment reflected that. His utensils were hung up by the stove in descending size order and the magnets on his fridge were arranged so that they sat straight on the door. She took a break to let her eyes calm down and looked over at said magnets, trying to read them through onion-induced tears. One of them was for a local GP and it was holding up a referral for a physiotherapist in Pewter.
He'd been having a few knee problems recently and Gramps had admitted that his were the same and urged him to get it sorted now. Trainer's knee, they called it. Very common due to the sustained walking that a lot of trainers on the gym circuit did. It makes long battles difficult, Gramps had explained to a dramatically despondent Green, so please go get them checked out as soon as you can. Glad to see he'd actually listened. Same went for the Viridian Psychology appointment card stuck on the top left.
She turned her attention back towards the onion, feeling brave enough to continue. "So, how was your day?"
"Was fine," He replied, joining her on the opposite side of the island to prep the tomato. "Didn't go in at all today. Just didn't feel it, you know? But it gave me a chance to catch up on everything, I have a trainer transferring in from the Fuchsia gym so I had a lot of their paperwork to process."
Her eyes flicked up but Green was focused on his chopping that he didn't notice. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, just wasn't feeling great," Ah, she hadn't heard that for a while. She reached out and placed her hand on his forearm and he looked up at the contact with cheery eyes. "But I'm fine now. So, Places and People and Podcasts. I was thinking we could email Lily back while we wait for dinner to cook? I reckon we should ask her what sorta questions they're going to ask, just so we know what to expect."
You wouldn't know it, but Green liked to be prepared. Being from a family of academics, Gramps had instilled that way of thinking in them from a young age and she attributed their success in their careers largely to that. It meant they were always prepared for any outcome, ready with moves or items to use no matter what. They often joked that it was peer-reviewed battling (or coordinating in her case).
However it did spill over to the rest of Green's life when he wasn't battling, perhaps the tidiness was an extension of that. Whereas she was a little more easy-going, her brother liked to know exactly what was going on and when. She did think he could stand to be a little more relaxed, but after twenty-six years things probably weren’t going to change.
She look back down at the onion and nodded, "Of course."
They prepped the rest of their dinner quickly while Green regaled her with stories about his past week at the gym and she showed him photos of some of the ridiculous grooming requests she'd had to do. Seriously, you trim a mohawk on a pidgeotto once and now suddenly you're the go-to for extreme pokemon hairstyles.
Once their pizzas were in, Green grabbed his laptop out from his study and they settled down at his small dining table together to answer. The surface was clear and if she looked closely, the placemats had a light layer of dust, suggesting that he (and occasionally Red) only ate on the couch. Gramps would be horrified.
Bonjour Lily,
This is Green and Daisy here – thanks for writing to us! Hope you're doing well.
"Wow, you can type professionally when you have to."
"Shush," He socked her playfully on the arm. "I spend half my days writing emails and I have a degree, of course I can. Now can I get back to this please?"
We'd love to be guests on the podcast, when were you thinking of recording? I have to submit my leave request two weeks in advance and Daisy may have to rearrange some appointments, so it'll have to be at least next fortnight. Let us know when you can and we can get it sorted ASAP.
Just out of interest, what sort of approach are you wanting to take with the interview? And what sort of questions should we prep for? We just want to make sure we have enough content to talk about so we can be entertaining enough for your listeners.
Thanks again for the opportunity and we look forward to talking to you soon.
Smell ya,
Green and Daisy Oak
"I cannot believe you ended your email with smell ya." She said, surprised but kind of not at all.
"I say it to our own grandfather," He laughed, closing the laptop lid. "There is no way DJ Lily is getting any special treatment, and besides, it's my trademark now. Who would I be if I didn't depart with a well intentioned smell ya later?"
"A talented trainer and gym leader?" The comment made his expression soften a little and he hopped up to go check on their pizzas. If she were to question him, he'd blame the heat from the oven for his pink cheeks but she decided to leave it be. She'd antagonised him enough this evening (well, for now anyway).
She watched as he plated up their dinner and struggled to slice it up with his pizza cutter. He'd found it in the gift shop at the Safari Zone, he told her through a frustrated grunt, and the wheel looked like a voltorb. It was so blunt which just added to her hypothesis of the frequency of his pizza consumption. After the cutter practically used self-destruct, he placed their two plates down with a flourish at the table and asked if she'd like anything to drink.
"I have this bottle of Kalos red one of my trainers gave me last week, or a bottle of sparkling that was also gifted...hey, that's from Kalos too. Guess I can call it champagne then."
She mulled it over for a second (a little wine joke for you, who said she wasn't the funny one in the family?) before pointing to the corked bottle. "The champagne. Let's celebrate this podcast, hey?"
He disappeared behind the counter again, emerging a moment later with two flutes. With a clumsiness reserved for those who didn't often pour their own drinks, he filled the glasses and then finally joined her at the table.
"I'm surprised it took so long for someone to interview us together. Actually you know what, I'm surprised they didn't ask Gramps too, make it full family affair, you know? He's arguably the most famous out of the three of us." Ten years ago Green would have kicked up a stink at their grandfather being touted as the most well known of the trio, but tonight he just shrugged. He'd grown up a lot, huh?
"Yeah I dunno, guess they wanted to go the brother-sister route? There aren't too many sibling duos out there and not to toot our own horns or anything, but having us both on will probably get people tuning in," He replied, mouth full of sauce. Well, he hadn't grow up that much. "How is he, by the way? I haven't had a chance to call in a few days."
"He had a fall in the lab yesterday. He's okay, just has a bruise on his knee but I still think he should get it checked out. He won't though, you know what he's like."
Green's lips pursed. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"He didn't even want to tell me," She said. "Didn't want to worry us is what he said. I ended up hearing it from one of the lab techs."
He shook his head with a frustrated huff. "He works himself too hard."
It wasn't the first time one of them had brought this up but it usually ended with Gramps waving off their concerns and returning to said work. He had been young for a grandfather when she was born but that was almost (shudder) thirty years ago. Even though none of them wanted to admit it, the fact of the matter was that he was older now and did need to take it a little easier. She looked up at Green and he looked back, the words hanging unsaid but understood.
After a moment he dropped his eyes back down to his plate. "They'll probably ask about mum and dad." His voice was low, as it always was when this topic was brought up. Both of them had managed to dodge the conversation in past interviews but with them both being there together it was inevitable it would be brought up.
"I think we can just politely direct the conversation elsewhere," She replied. "I don't really want to bring up anyone that hasn't given permission to be spoken about."
"And I don't want to give them the airtime," Green said. His teeth were grit and he was pinching the fabric of his placemat so tightly that Daisy thought his fingers might go right through. After a moment his grip loosened and she continued with a sigh, "When was the last time you saw them?"
She felt her own shoulders slump involuntarily. "When we went to Celadon a few years ago. I find it a bit hard so unless something changes, it'll probably be a while until the next time. Hope they're doing okay though."
"I guess." They fell silent again but their shared disappointment in their parents was almost palpable. Neither of them spoke about it very often due to the host of confusing emotions that came along with it, but it was the classic case of being too young for children and falling in with the wrong crowd...and then staying in the wrong crowd. One thing was certain though, she was going to let all of Kanto know what a great parent Gramps had been.
But anyway enough of that, tonight was a fun night!
"How's things between you and Red? I'm only asking because you know Lily is going to want the goss on that."
Green scrunched his nose up. "Goss? You know all the cool kids say tea, that's what the younger trainers in my gym have told me."
"Green, as much as I hate to say this, you and I are firmly in millennial category. We can't speak like the young people do without sounding – dare I say – cringe."
He lifted his hand to his forehead and groaned melodramatically, face in faux-agony. "I can't be old, I'm the youngest Champion in the Indigo League's history."
It was true, Red was a few months older, a fact he reminded him of constantly.
"That may be true but there is no way to deny that we are in our late twenties now," She motioned to the small murkrow's feet in the corners of her eyes. "But just be grateful you're not thirty next year."
"Oh I am, older sis," He said. "But to answer your question, things are good. He went to Saffron last week for some battling thing and brought us back matching shirts. Guess his love language is gift giving or whatever because he always buys things for me whenever he travels. It's pretty cute."
Even though it had been years now, it was nice to see her brother talk so casually and warmly about Red. There had been a time (guess when?) when even mentioning his name would cause a complete shut down. Green would go to work and come home, wouldn't tell them anything about his days. They'd been worried, he'd always been a relentless talker.
She'd started coming around to trim eevee's fur, bringing around a flask of pre-prepared tea so that he had no reason not to sit with her while she worked. He hadn't asked her to, but it was a small kindness she could offer without pushing him to do anything he didn't feel up to. It had helped and slowly he'd started calling her again, just like he had while he was doing the gym circuit.
So yeah, it made her happy to see them in such a good place now. Both together and separately. It was nice to see them making each other happy again and that's all she could want for him really. Ugh, listen to her. She'd gone off on an emotional tangent again.
"That's...actually really sweet," She said and Green noded. "On a similar but unrelated note, I need to warn you that I'm probably going to be a bit starstruck when we meet Lily. She was one of my teenage crushes you know, so its surreal that we're going to be on her show."
Green leant forward, hands folded under his chin with a smirk. "Oh I know, I remember you had that poster of her in your room," The heat rose to her cheeks and this must have been physically evident because Green quickly added (perhaps taking pity), "It was Brawly for me. I wanted to be him so bad instead of this red headed kid from regional Kanto."
"Hey there's nothing wrong with regional Kanto."
"I know that now," He cackled. "Why do you think I ham up the accent whenever I get interviewed post-battle?"
"I knew you were purposely dropping your g's!"
He laughed again, stuffing a whole slice of pizza in his mouth. "What mmm are you talkin' about?"
She joined in with her own laughter and as they ate, a great sense of joy flooded through the room. The lighting was warm in Green's apartment and the yellow globes made the bubbles in their drinks sparkle more than usual. She'd thought it kind of strange when he'd first moved in and asked her to help change them over from cool bulbs, but maybe he'd been on to something (even though it wasn't the most flattering on their freckly skin).
They'd turned out alright in the end and so she raised her glass and together they clinked in celebration of well, everything.