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To say the Oak family is functional is the farthest thing from the truth, no matter what appearances say. Ever since Samuel’s son and daughter-in-law had passed in that unfortunate accident, leaving him the sole guardian of their children, things had gotten…twisted. Fragmented. Infected.
Now, don’t get him wrong. He loves his grandchildren. He’d like to think they love him. They were two lights in the face of tragedy, and he’d attempted to be the same in return.
Somewhere along the line, though, the wick had frayed. The flame had flickered. Gone out.
Maybe it was his research. It had been at a high point when the accident happened, and even he in all his pride can admit he’d dove into it with a greater fervor just to cope.
Maybe it was the pressure. Daisy, bright and intelligent, destined to follow in his line of work. Blue, brash and quick-witted, doomed to inherit his pride and grief. He’d been too hard on both of them.
Whatever the cause, he feels the distinct lack of warmth when he walks in on something he isn’t supposed to see.
“Grandpa,” Daisy says. Cool, calm, collected. “Please leave.”
Done and done. Samuel stammers an apology before hurriedly backing out of his own house. But the image is burned into his brain. Daisy, tucked up neatly into the corner of the L-shaped sofa. She wasn’t alone. Oh, no. Blue is currently curled in her arms, dressed in a soft green sweater and flannel sleep pants in spite of it being early afternoon. Clipped to the collar is a simple pacifier, and when Samuel had walked in, it looked like Daisy had been feeding her brother a bottle.
No, that was definitely what was happening.
As confusing and unexpected as the scene was to find, that’s not what bothers Samuel the most. That would be the sheer terror on Blue’s face when he’d seen his grandfather.
Samuel’s come to realize his mistakes in the time following Blue’s brief stint at championship. But to be feared… To say it leaves a sour taste in his mouth would be an understatement.
Daisy finds him later, at the lab. Samuel receives a rather stern lecture, both educational and confusing, both stern and gentle. Just like her mother, really. “Don’t screw this up,” she says before she leaves again. Right. He’d failed his responsibility before. He doesn’t think he’ll get a third chance.
Weeks pass before the topic comes up again, the regression. At first, Blue had done everything in his power to avoid his grandfather. And Samuel, of course, much to Daisy’s chagrin, didn’t do much more than tell Blue to do as he needed. There’s not much else he really can do, given how skittish the boy is around the topic. How would he even begin?
Then the day to find out rolls along. A stormy evening had swept through the area, bringing with it a percussion of rain and a melancholy wailing of wind. When Samuel leaves the lab early–having secured all the Pokemon in their pens and barns, of course–the waves on the southern shore of Pallet Town are ramming into the small beach with a vengeance. A proper storm, this.
The house is eerily silent as he enters, and even he in his old age and experience can’t stop the shiver from rolling down his spine. “I’m home,” he calls out into the dark house. Nothing. Then he remembers that Daisy is to spend the weekend in Cerulean with Bill. She must have already left.
But that begs the question: where is Blue?
It’s very possible that the boy is still in Viridian. As hard a worker as his grandfather and sister, it’s not uncommon for him to remain at the gym late into the night. And if he isn’t there, he’s conducting his own field research. Samuel severely hopes that the latter isn’t the case.
Something clatters upstairs, nearly sending Samuel jumping out of his skin. Okay, Blue’s home, then. That’s good. But something about the silence leaves room for nothing but wrong .
“Blue?” Samuel calls, padding to the stairwell. “Are you up there?”
Silence at first, but then a door creaks open and a spiky head peers over the railing. “Yeah.”
The answer itself gives nothing away, but Samuel is nothing if not observant, when he wants to be. The stylishly messy hair seems more genuinely so, and thin fingers grip the railing like it’s the only thing keeping Blue upright. Samuel searches Blue’s face next. Averted eyes. Dark circles. Chapped, chewed lips. Even as Samuel watches, Blue’s lower lip is tucked between his teeth.
He has an idea what’s going on. Unruly weather always had frightened him as a child. “Some storm, hm?” Slow, Samuel starts up the stairs, wincing as an old, dull ache in his knee makes its presence known. Blue doesn’t move, instead simply watching with wary eyes the closer his grandfather gets. Finally, once he’s up the stairs, Samuel lightly tousles Blue’s hair. Just like he’d done when the boy was scarcely knee-high.
Blue still doesn’t say anything, but he exhales quietly, as though he’d been holding his breath. His eyes slip closed for just a moment. A peaceful interim until the next roll of thunder jabs out a sharp gasp.
“Easy, kiddo,” Samuel murmurs. “Come here.” Without waiting, he tugs Blue into a hug. It’s a bit awkward, given that Blue’s a good bit taller than him now, but really it’s the years between them that make it so difficult. When was the last time he’d hugged his grandchild? The question only encourages Samuel to hold him that much tighter.
More importantly, Blue doesn’t push him away. He sinks into the hug with a keening whine, and while Samuel can no longer see his face, he’d place money on the boy being near tears. “There, there. Gramps has got you.” As they stand there, locked in place, years and years of indifference and stunted connections start to unwind, just a bit. It’s not a fix-all, but it’s a start.
And for starters, they can’t stay put. Reluctantly, Samuel eases back. His heart cracks when Blue whines again and clings a little tighter. “I’m not going anywhere, bubba.” To prove it, he slowly peels Blue’s fingers free and clasps his hand between both of his. “I’m right here. But maybe we go somewhere a bit cozier than this drafty old stairwell, hm?”
Miraculously, a ghost of a smile creeps up on Blue’s face. “Okay.” His voice is higher, softer than what Samuel is accustomed to, but he supposes that comes with the territory. So does guidance, apparently; neither of them move from their spot. In fact, it seems like Blue is simply waiting .
Well, if there’s something Samuel’s good at, it’s being bossy. Or so he’s been told. “Why don’t we go downstairs, get cozy in the armchair? In a while I can cook us up some dinner.”
“Okay.” And yet Blue still doesn’t move except to flinch and cup his ear when thunder cracks once more.
It isn’t until he bites his lip that Samuel thinks he knows what’s going on. “Go get your pacifier, bub,” he says gently. “And whatever else you need.”
Embarrassment floods Blue’s face, but so does relief. Nodding, he ducks back into his room. When he returns, in his arms are a small plastic case, an Eevee plush, and a faded blanket Samuel recognizes from Blue’s infancy. On his heels is his actual Eevee, who barks a greeting to Samuel.
He bends down as far as he’s able to scratch behind her ears. “Hey there, girl.” Looking to Blue, he smiles softly. “Let’s go, shall we?”
The trip downstairs isn’t nearly as laborious as the trip upstairs, thankfully, and soon they’re all settled in the armchair. Blue had been reluctant to sit in his lap at first, but Samuel had simply scoffed. “My bones aren’t that old.” Now, Samuel carefully tucks the baby blanket around his grandson’s shoulders, and both Eevees are, of course, curled against the boy’s chest. Belatedly, Samuel thinks maybe he should have grabbed a properly sized blanket.
But Blue is already going boneless in his arms, tensing again only with the weather outside. Samuel hushes him and pries the case out of his hands. In it is the pacifier he’d seen before, and a Pokeball-patterned clip. “How cute,” he says, flicking the case open with his thumb. He clips the strap to Green’s t-shirt first. Then he offers the pacifier itself.
Blue doesn’t take it right away. Nerves, Samuel thinks. But a quiet chirp and nudge from Eevee has Blue nursing it in no time, and finally, the rest of the edge is taken off. It’s not much longer before Blue’s head dips onto his grandfather’s shoulder.
“There’s my boy,” Samuel murmurs before pressing a kiss to his hair.
The Oak family is far from functional. But maybe they’ll be okay after all.