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Gou yawned and looked at the clock in his Rotomphone:
1:45 AM. Still more than an hour until Ash had to take his turn. He smiled when he looked at his friend, sleeping inside the tent and with Pikachu and Riolu using his body as a pillow.
They’ve been staying in Sakuragi Park for the last couple of days, trying to figure out who was eating or stealing all their Pokemon food. So far, their efforts have been useless, but Gou hoped they could catch the thief tonight.
“Bi-bi” Raboot said, tugging at Gou’s shirt. The boy turned around, realizing he had been staring at Ash for a long time. He took his binoculars and checked the plates filled with food in front of him.
No changes so far.
“Bi-bi” Raboot repeated, shooting him a glare
“What?” Gou questioned, whispering
“Bi-Rab” the fire type said, pointing at the food, then at Gou, then at Ash
“I was just… distracted for a second, that’s all. I’ll keep attention from now on”
“Ra?” Raboot asked, raising an eyebrow
“I was…” Gou doubted for a second “checking on Ash”
“Ra…” Raboot murmured
“It’s not like that!” the boy replied, raising his voice and covering his mouth one second later. Ash turned around, disturbed but still asleep.
“Like I said, I care about Ash” Gou explained “But it’s not like I’m so interested in him, nor like I’m looking after him 24/7”
“Bi-bi- Rab” the Pokemon said, and Gou interpreted the message as “Who asked you that?”
“You did” the boy commented
Raboot stayed in silence, and Gou felt like he needed to say something else
“Besides, even if I keep an eye on him at every minute, that doesn’t mean anything”
Raboot didn’t say anything and stayed in the same place, looking at his trainer
“Don’t give me that look”
“Ra?”
“You know, that look, the ‘I know there’s something you’re not telling me, so I’m gonna keep looking at you until you tell me’ that’s the look”
“Ra-Raboot-Ra?”
Gou blushed furiously
“No… there’s nothing I haven’t told you Raboot, nothing at all”
“Bi?” the Pokemon asked, pointing at the sleeping trainer behind them, and then he looked at his trainer once again and blew him a kiss, winking at the same time
Gou blushed furiously and covered his face with his hands, unable to defend himself
“I swear it’s not like that” he finally muttered, he took his binoculars and without looking at his partner, commented “Let’s just keep watching, we have a duty, remember?”
Raboot simply nodded
A few minutes later, Gou felt a lightly push on his knee; he stopped his vigilance turn to pay attention to Raboot, who was offering him an apple.
The boy bit the fruit and gave it back to his buddy, who happily chewed the other side of it, once Gou took another bite he noticed Raboot was looking down.
“Is there something wrong?”
“Ra-raboot” the Pokemon said, without looking at him
“You’re sorry?” the boy questioned “What for?”
For all response, Raboot pointed at Ash and Gou bit his lip. His relationship with the fire type improved drastically in the last few weeks.
Maybe it was time to trust in him a little bit more.
“I’d like to kiss Ash, very much” he confessed “Happy now”
Raboot looked at his trainer with a shocked expression
“Bi-bi?”
“Are you insane?” Gou questioned, reminding himself to not raise his voice “I can’t tell him that”
“Bi?”
“Because I don’t know how he’ll react, I’m not even sure if he likes me in the same way. For Arceus’ sake, I’m not even sure if he likes boys too”
“Ra!” Raboot shouted, jumping inside the tent and trying to wake up the other human
In one swoop motion, Gou caught his partner between his arms, covering his mouth and saying
“You’re not telling him that!”
“Ra-Rab”
“I said no” Gou protested, returning to his position and forcing Raboot to sit at his side “I know you have good intentions, Raboot”
“Bi” the Pokemon said and Gou smiled as soon as he understood his Pokemon was saying ‘of course’
“But this is something I have to do myself, okay? At some point, I’ll try to confess everything I feel for him, but I have to do it on my own”
“Bi, bi ra?” the Pokemon questioned and Gou blushed again
“You want me to promise you… what?”
“Bi, bi!” Raboot insisted
“Fine, I promise I’ll confess to him, not sure when, but surely one of these days…”
Raboot gave him a little smile and nodded
“But wh are you so interested in me confessing to Ash?” the boy asked
Raboot looked down, visibly embarrassed
“Bi, bi, Rab, Raboot, bi” the Pokemon commented, without looking at his trainer
After a few seconds, Gou understood the meaning of his words and happily hugged his Pokemon, realizing he was saying he only wanted his human to be happy
“You’re such a good Pokemon, Raboot” the boy said, kissing the fire type’s forehead
Raboot let out an exasperated sigh, but smiled nonetheless. Gou finally let him go and resume his vigilance duty, taking the binoculars once again.
The boy yawned and looked at the time once more: 3:02 AM. He approached his sleeping crush and took a moment to watch how peacefully he was sleeping, with Pikachu and Riolu using his back as a pillow.
“Ash” he said, as softly as he could, lightly touching the boy’s back “It’s your turn”
Pikachu rose up an ear and Ash moved a little, looking at the other boy, he made his way out of the sleeping back and took a step outside the tent, with his two Pokemon following him closely.
Gou prepared himself to sleep but before that, he thought Ash maybe needed an extra motivation for the night.
“I’m counting on you” he said
Ash looked at him and gave him a thumbs-up, replying
“Sure! I got this!”
Gou nodded at him and covered his body with his sleeping bag, turning around, Raboot laid with his back against his trainer’s chest.
Meanwhile, Ash looked at his two Pokemon and commented:
“Let’s catch the thief in the act and brag about it to Gou”
Inside his tent, the boy chuckled before drifting off to sleep…
Ash let out a little yawn and Riolu looked at him, the Emanation Pokemon frowned and lightly slapped his cheek waking him up.
“I’m awake, I’m awake” Ash repeated, barely paying attention to the food he was suppose to be watching over.
Pikachu gave him a little shock and Ash opened his eyes
“Sorry guys” the trainer commented “I’ll focus”
“Ri, Ri, Riolu” the baby Pokemon said, pointing inside the tent
“You’re right, I promised Gou he could trust in me” Ash said, closing his fist “I can’t let him down”
“Ri?” Riolu questioned
“Because…” the boy replied, but fell silent before finishing his answer
Honestly, why was he so worried about what Gou could think if he failed in his vigilance duties?
For one part, Gou was his friend, and he didn’t want to fail him in any way, he took his promises very seriously, and he was gonna helping him in any way he could, like every single one of his friends.
On the other side…
He really, like really wanted to help him, he wanted Gou to know he took the effort of staying up all night watching over the food, he wanted Gou to be proud of him and he really needed Gou to feel satisfied with a job well done.
Ash thought about that last part for a second. Yes, he wanted Gou to be happy but… Why?
Without realizing, he turned around and stared at the sleeping boy inside the tent, he was moving around with a strange expression on his face, a nightmare of some kind…
Ash quickly crouched towards the sleeping boy and placed a hand on Gou’s forehead, he was about to whisper some soothing words to him, but the other boy spoke first.
“Ash…” he said and the trainer froze in place, fearing he might have woke him up, his mind started to think about an excuse, when Gou spoke again
“Thank you, Ash…”
“You’re welcome” the trainer replied, realizing Gou was still asleep. Very carefully, Ash returned to his position and took the binoculars, checking the food for a few seconds.
Once he was done, he realized he was being observed. He looked at his two Pokemon, both of them with a questioning look on their faces.
“Did you see that?” he questioned in a whisper
Pikachu and Riolu nodded, but Ash stated the obvious either way
“I think Gou was dreaming about me”
Another nod
A strange thought invaded the mind of the raven haired boy and he expressed it aloud
“I don’t know why, but that makes me really happy”
His Pokemon smiled, but didn’t say a thing.
After a few minutes, Ash said:
“This is your first time camping in the wild, Riolu, sorry it’s so boring”
He ruffled his partner’s ears, and Riolu cooed softly
“Pi-Pika-chu” Pikachu said, pointing inside the tent
Ash turned around and realized what his Pokemon meant
“Oh, it’s also Gou’s first time camping too” he thought about it for a moment and then added “We have to make sure to show him how much fun camping outside can be next time, okay guys”
“Rio!”
“Pika?” Pikachu asked, not sure why his trainer would want that
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to have fun with a friend, right?” Ash questioned
“Rio, Riolu”
A quick blush appeared on Ash’s face, and he denied with his head, ignoring Riolu’s comment
“Rio, Riolu” the baby insisted
The boy scratched the back of his head and replied
“I don’t know what you mean with ‘more than a friend’, Riolu”
His Pokemon frowned and Ash reached for his binoculars, but Pikachu acted quickly and jumped, laying on top of them
“I need to check the food”
“Ri!” Riolu said, standing in front of his face and forcing him to look at his eyes “Ri, Ri, Riolu”
“Blushing? I wasn’t blushing” Ash commented, and a pink shadow appeared on his cheeks once more
“Ri!” Riolu accused him and Pikachu let out a chuckle
“Guys, cut it off, you’re going to wake up Gou”
“Pika, Pika, Pi-Pikachu?”
“I care about him; I don’t want to wake up my friend”
“Ri, Riolu, Ri”
Ash froze at the comment, Riolu couldn’t be serious.
Before he could argue something, Riolu put a palm on his trainer’s chest and commented
“Ri, Riolu, Ri”
Pikachu stood at the side of the fighting-type Pokemon and crossed his little arms, looking at the human in front of him
“Pi-Pikapi” he simply said, and Ash noticed the two Pokemon said exactly the same. Riolu closed his eyes and touched his trainer’s chest again
“Fine, I got it” Ash said, picking up the baby and putting him on the grass “Both of you know what’s in my heart, right?”
“Ri”
“Pika”
Ash looked inside the tent once more and laid back in the grass
“Problem is, I’m not sure what’s in my heart, I never felt this way about…”
“Pika”
“Exactly” Ash conceded “About anyone, ever before”
“Rio?” Riolu questioned, hugging his trainer with a concerned expression
Ash returned the hug with a smile
“Actually, no, it feels weird but it doesn’t feel bad at all, although thanks for the hug, Riolu”
“Ri” the baby whispered, before wrapping his arms around Ash’s legs and letting out a yawn, ready to sleep in his improvised nest
Pikachu yawned too, climbing to the boy’s chest and trying to make him remember he was suppose to be watching over the food.
However, Ash ignored the Pokemon, solely focusing on the boy sleeping less than a meter away from him.
“I wonder if I’m going to dream about you tonight, Gou…”
He closed his eyes and whispered
“I’ve been dreaming about you a lot lately…”
Ash, Pikachu and Riolu fell asleep practically at the same time.
When morning came, Ash, still sleeping, whispered:
“Pikachu… 100000 volts”
By instinct, his Pokemon ear twitched, and Pikachu let out a powerful electric discharge, waking everyone up.
“What as that for, Pikachu?” Ash questioned, letting out a cloud of smoke from his mouth
“Pika pika” the creature apologized
A second later, Ash and Gou looked at the empty plates of food in front of them and shouted
“Ehhhhh?”
“You’re kidding!” the trainer complained
“Ash, weren’t you keeping watch?” Gou accused
“S-sorry”
Gou smiled at his crush, he was about to say he didn’t need to apologize…
But the raging screams of a group of his own Pokemon interrupted him and the boys realized the mystery of who was stealing the food was far from being solved…