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By now, Ash had come to the realization that he was in love with not just Goh, but Gary as well. The catch? They were happily dating each other and seemingly oblivious to how Ash was feeling.
It sucked. A lot. But it was gradually getting easier for him to stomach, with Chloe willing to listen to his predicaments (sometimes), as well as Goh and Gary... actually hanging out with him like normal people again? The latter was a blessing and a curse for Ash; a vicious cycle of giddy adrenaline when they shared a laugh or a fond gaze, followed by a sudden nausea whenever his crushes got briefly affectionate with each other. But Ash decided it was worth it. He wouldn't trade time spent with his best friends for the world.
This Friday night was no exception. Chloe would be joining them again like she had last weekend, but this time, Ash had also been able to convince Misty and Tracey to come to Vermillion City to join in on a fun night of games and whatever shenanigans might abound.
In the midst of helping Goh and Chloe pick up trash from the living room and shove random objects into corners, Ash heard the doorbell ring. He bolted to the door, and Gary walked right past him to embrace Goh, of course, which Ash did his best to ignore as he greeted his other two guests and introduced them to Chloe. Tracey had just asked Chloe the cursed question of "so what do you do?" when Ash felt a hand on his shoulder and Gary's voice asking how his week had been.
"Uh, you know," Ash let out a giddy laugh as the sight of his friend's face evaporated any residual disappointment from minutes earlier. "Lotta traveling. Excited to battle Raihan."
Meanwhile, Misty was introducing herself to Goh, with the caveat that perhaps this wasn't the first time they had been in the same place together.
"Wait, yeah, I was there. Twice, actually. With Gary," Goh stuttered, recalling his recent trips to Mt. Moon. "So Lana saw me? And you were... so wait, you're her girlfriend?"
Misty nodded and explained that they were both too busy to fly cross-region to see each other this weekend. "I used to think long-distance relationships were a waste of time, but actually, it's going great! Lana's amazing." Snapping out of her sentimental self, she interrupted Ash's conversation by poking his shoulder. "So this is game night, huh? What are we playing?"
"Huh? I dunno," Ash stuttered, followed by Chloe leading everyone downstairs to check out the board games on the shelves.
If Goh's excited laughter was any indicator, they'd struck gold. "You still have this, Chloe?" he exclaimed as he pulled a Chutes and Ladders box from the shelf. "I remember this from when we were kids!"
Everyone was feeling similarly nostalgic and agreed to play. As they opened the box and set everything up, and then rushed upstairs to get drinks, Gary came up with the idea of turning Chutes and Ladders into a drinking game.
"So... every time you get chutes, you drink?" Goh asked.
"Oh boy," Tracey said with a laugh. "That's gonna get messy quick."
"Yeah, some of us have shit to do tomorrow, Gary," Misty added.
Gary gave Ash an expectant look, and Ash instinctively shrugged. "Fuck it, I'm in." He still wasn't sure that the drinking game was a good idea, but Gary and Goh cheering and fist-bumping him made him lean towards yes.
Meanwhile, Chloe made it clear that she wasn't doing the drinking game thing, all while pouring herself a glass of rosé.
"You're just having a bit, too?" Misty asked.
Chloe nodded and whispered, "you need something to make dealing with these idiots bearable."
Misty laughed in agreement. "With Ash and Gary? Absolutely."
"Oh, Goh, too. You have no idea."
As the group brought their drinks back downstairs and started the game, they all realized pretty quickly why no one played Chutes and Ladders past preschool. There was no strategy and little excitement involved -- other than the alcohol component and the fact that apparently Goh couldn't get a good spin on the wheel to save his life.
"Hey, you know you don't have to chug, right?" Gary said as Goh threw his cup back. "With how many chutes you've gotten, you'd be wise not to."
"Whatever, I'm good," Goh gave Gary's hand a squeeze before giggling and raising his cup towards Ash, as if to toast. "Right, Ash?"
Ash wordlessly chuckled and clinked his plastic cup against Goh's, while Tracey said something about "famous last words." In the end, Misty won, and they moved onto Connect Four for a bit before ditching the board games altogether.
"Wanna do Truth or Dare?" Misty suggested.
"Nah, we played that last week," Ash said, recalling how he had very purposefully only chosen "dare" whenever he was called upon in order to avoid... certain embarrassing and friendship-ruining questions. He figured that if he repeated that stunt tonight, his non-Chloe friends might catch on and ask what he was hiding.
Chloe suggested Never Have I Ever, and they started with the classic questions about catching Pokémon, collecting badges, participating in contests, and the like, which actually helped Chloe, Tracey, Misty and Goh get to know each other a bit better. But eventually, renowned Pokémon collectors Goh and Gary got sick of being singled out with the "never have I ever caught X Pokémon" questions, and the game changed tracks.
"Hmm, this is tough," Ash said, struggling to think of a non-Pokémon question until he glanced at Chloe to his left. "Oh, I got it! Never have I ever hit on someone who's not single!"
"Ash!" Chloe yelped, covering her mouth as her face turned crimson. "I didn't know!"
"Oh, Dawn?" Goh asked.
"Yes," she hissed. "But really, I didn't know. She was alone when I met her."
"Yeah, tell that to Zoey," Gary teased, while Tracey sympathetically told her that he'd been there before.
Chloe gave Ash a menacing smirk. "Besides, Ash, are you sure you've never done that?"
"I-I'm sure," Ash protested, though he knew what she meant and cursed himself for not coming up with a question that targeted someone else.
Thankfully, Chloe had a shred of mercy and let the question go as she hummed and went back to the game. "Hmm, never have I ever... had a boyfriend."
"Still singling me out, I see," Goh said bitterly.
"It's not singling out if it applies to other people," Chloe said dryly, gesturing to Gary and Misty.
Goh huffed, conceding that Chloe had a point. "Fine. Never have I ever had a girlfriend."
"Fair enough," Chloe said as she put a finger down, along with Misty and Tracey.
"Wait, who?" Ash asked.
"From school," Chloe sighed, rolling her eyes. "Clarissa."
"Fuck Clarissa," Goh said, offering no further context as he took another sip. "Your turn, Gary."
"Oh, I'm out."
"Huh? Wait, you had a... girlfriend?" Goh asked, to which Gary nodded. "I-- wait, how haven't we talked about this?"
"I thought we already did. We definitely did, Goh."
"I guess sort of, but--"
"Well, I've never heard about it," Ash said, giggling to mute the accidentally possessive nature of his statement. "Who was it? What happened?"
"Whoa, what's with the sudden interest?"
"Tell us!" Goh butted in.
Gary let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine. It's just... Her name's Sarah. I worked with her in Kalos, but it didn't work out. Obviously. And, while we're on the topic, Goh, I told you about Zeno, right?"
"I mean, you said you'd been with other people, but uh... no. No names."
"Well, there you go."
Ash had to admit, it was fun to see Gary get uncharacteristically flustered as he rambled about his exes. And he kind of didn't want it to stop. "So what happened to them?"
"Jesus, the question's over, Ashy," Gary pouted as he pointed to Tracey, who proceeded to ask the coup de grâce of questions.
"Never have I ever had a crush on anyone in this room."
"Goddamnit, Tracey," Misty said as she put a finger down. Ash just chuckled at this -- Misty's preteen crush on him was old news by now -- but he braced himself as he glanced over at his other friends.
Goh's finger was down, but he was quick to clarify that it was for "Gary. Obviously." Ash's heart sank as he tried to discreetly lower a finger, but what else did he really expect?
"Hey, I saw that, Ashy," Gary said. "C'mon, spill it."
"Uh..." Ash started, looking around the room and trying to think of a way to delay, deflect, deny, anything to...
"It's Misty, isn't it?" Tracey asked with all the confidence in the world.
Thank fucking god. "Uh, yup, you got me, Tracey."
"Wait, really?" Misty asked.
"Yeah. Uh, I kinda liked you, back when we were traveling together?" He wasn't lying, but it was the least truthful true answer he could've had to that question.
Misty looked at Ash stunned for a moment before bursting out into laughter. "Well, too late, mister. I'm off the market now!"
"Yeah, better luck next time," he joked.
"What? Ash having feelings for someone?" Goh asked sarcastically. "Are we sure we didn't get sucked into an Ultra Wormhole?"
Ash felt like he could shoot daggers into Goh as he gave him his best approximation of a glare and told him how so very funny he was.
"Why're you looking at me?" Gary blurted, diverting Ash's attention away from Goh. He wasn't talking to him, though; he was talking to... Misty?
"You don't have anything to add?" Misty said innocently.
"I'm out."
"That's convenient."
Oh god, Ash thought as he realized what Misty was getting at. Was she really testing her theory that Gary's whole rivalry with Ash was a dramatic front for his secret gay crush on him?
"Secret's out, I like Goh," Gary said, waving his hands in the air in mock surprise and throwing his arms around his boyfriend. "Now isn't it your turn?"
"Yeah, Misty, go," Chloe said forcefully.
Misty just cackled to herself and took a sip of her Decolore Island iced tea. "Alright, Tracey, never have I ever hit on my friend's sister."
That question ended up being an ego blow for Ash as well, who got ripped to pieces for having a crush on Gary's sister when he was nine, but as he looked over at Chloe after that commotion had settled, he silently thanked her for keeping his secret on the last question.
Oh, wait, it was his turn. And Gary was gonna pay for calling him out on that last question. "Uh, never have I ever pretended to go to the gym to impress a guy!"
Tracey let out an amused "oh shit," and everyone turned to face Gary, who was chuckling in disbelief. "Wow, brutal. But again, I'm out, and so are you, in case you forgot."
Ash looked down and realized that, oh yeah, he lost his last finger on the last turn. Chloe chuckled and moved onto her question. The game delved into other amusing territory, such as Chloe having a stoner phase in high school, Misty having a wardrobe malfunction during a gym battle, and Tracey raiding Professor Oak's closet for an impersonation contest. In the end, it was down to Chloe and Tracey, and Tracey earned the win by saying that he had never let his hair grow past his shoulders. Boring, but it did the trick.
"Alright, what are we playing now?" Chloe asked.
"Uh, there's Fuck, Marry, Kill?" Goh suggested, looking unsure of the idea.
"Ooh, that's fun," Misty said. "Let's do it. Ash, you first?"
"Uh..." Ash said, suddenly forgetting every person in existence. "Sonia?"
"What?"
"Sonia. Fuck, marry, or kill?"
"No, no, Ash," Tracey said. "You name three people, and everyone chooses who they'd put in each category."
"Oh," Ash said. That made a lot more sense, but it was already hard enough to think of one person. He thought hard and blurted out the first group of three that came to mind. "Uh... Jessie, James, Meowth?"
Everyone made noises of protest and disgust as they reminded Ash that Meowth was definitely not a person. The game didn't go much better from there, as evidenced by various outbursts from the group:
"You're making me pick between all women, Chloe?" Goh asked jokingly. "That's pretty homophobic."
"Shut up! They're literally upstairs," Chloe hissed when Gary's names included Ren and Chrysa.
"Why do I have to kill someone?" Ash complained. "Can't there be like, a 'ignore' option?"
"Marry Lorelei, no question," Misty gushed, explaining that the Indigo Elite Four member was her bi awakening.
"Ash, I don't know these people," Tracey said.
"Uh, can we please keep Kukui out of this?" Ash pleaded.
"Damnit, Goh," Chloe said through gritted teeth. "Uh, marry Serena, and then, uh..."
"I'd marry Dawn. Like, for taxes," Ash interjected. Everyone gawked at this answer, and Goh and Misty spent the next five minutes chanting"for taxes" as a response to everything.
"Seriously? Agatha?" Gary exclaimed. "You're sick, Tracey."
"Yeah, I'll drink," Misty cackled when Goh's names included Kiawe, Sophocles, and Mallow.
"Fuck Brock," Goh whispered from the floor, which could have passed for a normal in-game response if he hadn't panicked and followed it up with "What, have you seen his abs?"
Overall, a brutal game with no winners, although it did include some fun debate over whether Cynthia or Diantha was more attractive, or whether it would be easier to kill Koga or Bruno.
On Ash's next turn, he decided to end the game "because it's stupid. And instead, we're gonna try Goh's new dancing game that he got!"
Goh seemed surprised by this suggestion for some reason, but he booted up the Nintendo Switch and launched the game. They tried the human-Pokémon partner dance mode first and had fun laughing at how badly it kept glitching out.
"No way, it thinks Umbreon is in the air?!" Goh laughed.
"They really can't have Staryu spin or something?" Misty said. "Talk about wasted potential."
The human-only mode turned out to be a lot less glitchy, and the group had fun dancing to strangely-titled songs like "Sword & Shield Gym Battle," "Battle vs. Champion Cynthia," "Alolan Apparel Shop," and "Black & White Low HP Theme."
"Oh shit, 1 2 3's on here!" Goh grabbed Ash's hand and pulled him over. "C'mon, let's do this one. You too, Chloe!"
The two men gave the fast-paced song their all, while Chloe did the bare minimum of a dance. At first, everyone tried to goad her into actually dancing, but Ash and Goh quickly decided that she was a lost cause and had fun twirling each other and trying to out-dance each other. Misty kept hollering at them every time they did the "stanky leg" move on the chorus, while Gary kept cackling at them and their ridiculous routine. It hardly mattered right now to Ash, though -- he was in his element.
"Well, I don't think we're seeing any better than that tonight," Tracey said, checking his watch and deciding it was time to drive Misty home, who, despite her declaration at the beginning of the night, had ended up shitfaced while Tracey had managed to sober up. "You coming, Gary?"
Gary looked back at Goh and Ash, as if to ask for their approval. That goddamn look again. Ash couldn't resist it as he blurted out to Gary, "you can stay."
"Alright," Gary said, giving Ash a nod. "Yeah, I'll do that."
Misty gave Goh and Chloe big farewell hugs, saying it was so nice to meet them, and Tracey waved goodbye as he dragged Misty out the door.
"Well, that was fun," Ash said. "Hey Chloe, wanna pick the next game?"
"Actually, I'm going to bed," she said with a yawn.
"What?"
"Yeah, you're all drunk, and I'm not babysitting you. So goodnight."
Chloe vanished up the stairs, and now they were all alone. It kind of terrified Ash... but then again, this was what he'd been waiting for, right?
"Wait, this thing has a karaoke game?" Gary said, fiddling with the Switch controller.
"Yeah! There's a mic somewhere..." Goh began to search for the game's included accessory in the cabinet under the TV.
The first song in the game's menu was aptly titled "Misty's Song," and the audio preview of it featured a woman softly and dramatically singing "I wanna tell you how I'm feeling but I don't know where to start..."
"Ooh, you should sing this one, Ash!" Goh said. "He's a really good singer," he whispered to Gary, nudging his arm.
Gary's eyes widened as if he'd never heard Ash sing to himself before. "Oh, is he?" he asked, taking the fake microphone from Goh to hand to Ash. "I guess you'll have to prove it, then."
"No," Ash said, more sharply than intended. Even in his drunken state, he knew it would be a horrible idea to sing a love confession to his two crushes. "Uh, something else, please."
"Sheesh, okay," Goh said, scrolling through the list of songs until it landed on "What Kind Of Pokémon Are You" -- a much more fun and lighthearted number. From there, Gary chose to do the Pokérap, which he claimed to still know by heart, but Ash and Goh were there to chime in and jokingly boo him whenever he forgot a word. Then, Goh chose "The Journey Starts Today," -- a "certified bop" in his opinion -- and Ash and Gary enthusiastically sang-shouted the "oh-oh-oh-OH-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh"'s of the chorus.
Gary had the remote again, and he scrolled until he landed on one called "The Time Has Come" and the first notes of a decades-old synth ballad played. "Ashy-boy, this one's all you," he said, chuckling as he handed him the mic.
"Fine, but you guys gotta sing it with me," Ash laughed, taking a deep breath as the first verse started."I close my eyes, and I can see... the first moment that we met," he began, crouching down and singing dramatically to Pikachu. "You're my best friend, do anythiiing... for you."
He got up and sang the last two words to Goh before handing him the mic and letting him take the second verse. As Goh sang to Gary and Grookey, Ash couldn't resist throwing his arm around him to shout sing the last line: "You're the part of my life, I'll always remember..."
"The time has coooome," Gary screeched, so horrifically that Ash and Goh felt obligated to join him for the rest of the chorus. "It's for the best that you and I, somehow someday, we have to say goodbyyyyye..."
Ash was in euphoria, huddled up with his two favorite people as they sang that last line. But then he heard Gary trail off suddenly, and Ash looked up and saw the reason glaring at them from the steps in her pajamas.
"Would you keep it down?" Chloe grumbled. "Some of us are trying to sleep."
The men apologized and bid Chloe goodnight yet again as they let go of each other. Goh attempted to save the song by suggesting that they turn the TV volume down and just whisper the lyrics, but Gary just laughed and turned off the console.
As Goh flopped onto the carpet beside Ash, Pikachu jumped into Ash's lap, and Ash smiled and pet his head. "I know. You're the best, Pikachu."
"Whassup?" Goh asked absentmindedly.
"For some reason, that song reminds me of when I almost released Pikachu."
"You what?" Goh and Gary said in unison.
"I know. I was, uh, feeling weird, and we found a village of baby Pikachu... and my Pikachu was happy with them. I thought it was for the best, but he came back," Ash said, giving his Pokémon's head another pat.
"Holy shit," Gary said. "Good thing he did."
"Hey, that's like me and Raboot," Goh said. After some prompting from Ash, Goh sputtered out that he tried to release his first Pokémon because he thought it would be better off without him, but he instantly regretted it and they reunited.
Ash's mind was still stuck on the song, though, as he confessed that "now that song makes me think of you guys."
"Why?"
"...Because we'll have to say goodbye eventually, right?" Oh god, this was getting depressing. Why couldn't Ash keep his drunk mouth shut?
"The way you play it, yeah," Gary said. Ash felt like he was trying to imply something, but he didn't have the chance to ask what before he felt Goh's hands squeezing his.
"Nonsense," Goh said. "You'll stay here forever..." Ash wasn't sure whether to smile, giggle, or cry as Goh rolled away and sprawled out on the carpet. "Time is an illusion," he continued, "made by the Poketch company to sell more Poketches. You feel me?"
Gary stared at Goh for a moment before letting out an amused chuckle. "Guess Rotom Phone and Pokégear are cashing in on that one too."
Damn, Goh was cute when he acted goofy. Ash couldn't resist scooting closer and extending his hand. "You okay over there, Goh?"
Goh took his hand and pulled himself up... and forward, collapsing his head onto Ash's shoulder. And he stayed there.
Shit. Holy shit. Ash knew this was too far, even if he really wanted it. "Uh, Goh? Gary's..." he started, trailing off when he looked up and saw Gary shrug and nod.
Goh let out a hearty giggle as he snuggled up into Ash's shoulder. "Mhm. Garyyy..."
"He's gone," Gary whispered teasingly, "don't worry."
"Hey, I-I'm not gone, I--" Goh protested, trying to sit up. "Oh god, I don't feel so..."
"Keep him steady," Gary told Ash as he rushed to the kitchen to grab a glass of water and a small trash bin. Ash carefully wrapped his arm around Goh, who groaned at the contact but didn't move. He was battling conflicting feelings right now -- concerned for his friend's wellbeing, but also a bit selfishly happy. Would he hate himself for it the next morning? Probably, but that was a tomorrow problem.
Gary set the bin in front of Goh and handed him the glass, and Goh wiggled out of Ash's embrace to take it. "Mmh, much better," he said, setting it down and now leaning into Gary, who was sitting by his other side. As things should be.
"You gonna be okay, Goh?" Ash asked, unsure what else to say.
"I'm sure he will," Gary said. "We'll just keep an eye on him, and hopefully, this will serve as a good lesson for him to not chug during Chutes and Ladders."
Goh grunted in response to this, but didn't have it in him to defend himself further.
"Tell me, Ashy, is he always this much of a lightweight?"
"I don't think so?" Ash said. "Well, we never really did this kind of stuff before. You're kind of a bad influence, y'know."
"Wow," Gary said, feigning outrage. "I told him to go easy, though. You heard that, right?"
"Uh-huh."
"So exactly."
"But it was still your idea."
"And yet the rest of us are still conscious and not about to throw up on the carpet."
"I dunno, Misty was slurring her words pretty good."
Gary let out a roar of laughter, which Ash joined in before the room fell silent. "So you and Misty, huh? I shoulda guessed."
"Yeah, it's so weird. It's like I was a different person back then."
"Were you, though?"
"Whaddya mean?"
Gary's answer was cut off by a loud snore coming from his shoulder, causing him and Ash to cackle incredulously.
"Let's get him to bed," Gary said. Ash sort-of helped Goh onto his feet, but Gary had the rest taken care of as he slung Goh over his shoulder and carried him up the steps, with Ash following behind. They got to their room, and Gary set Goh down gently onto the bottom bunk.
"Still asleep?" Ash whispered.
"Looks like it," Gary said. "Hey, thanks for letting me stay tonight."
"Of course." He wasn't sure if he was supposed to say something else; why was Gary still looking at him?
Gary broke Ash's train of thought with an awkward pat on the shoulders. "Night, Ashy."
-----
Gary woke up pressed against Goh, who was sleeping serenely on his side. He smiled as he wrapped his arm around him and took in how unfairly cute his boyfriend managed to be by doing absolutely nothing, how lucky he was to have such an earnest, like-minded, and all-around amazing person in his life...
He wondered how much longer their relationship would continue like this, with Goh and Ash blatantly flirting with each other, and Gary not knowing where he stood with the latter. He couldn't really blame Goh for his feelings -- after all, he'd been there before -- but he'd be damned if he let himself get left behind because he wasn't enough on his own.
Did he imagine Ash blushing last night when he greeted him? What about that stutter, or that glance during Never Have I Ever, or...?
No. Ash was lying about only having a crush on Misty, that was for damn sure. But he probably just didn't want to make Goh uncomfortable, right? Or risk upsetting Gary by basically stealing his boyfriend in front of a bunch of friends?
Maybe he should steal a move from Goh's playbook next time and pretend to be blackout drunk, collapse on him and pretend to be asleep. Just to see what would happen. If only he had that kind of courage...
Whatever. At least he and Goh had the fortune of wanting the same person.
Eventually, he got bored of thinking and decided to check the time, so he reached for his Rotom Phone, accidentally jostling Goh and waking him up in the process.
"Hey," Goh grunted as he rolled over to his other side. "You stayed?"
"Of course," Gary said, pressing his lips to Goh's. "How're you feeling?"
"Like crap," Goh said, cuddling his head into Gary's shoulder. "My head hurts like crazy."
"Yeah, well you had a lot to drink last night."
"How much?"
Gary gawked at this response. "That's the problem, enough that you don't remember."
They chatted a bit longer in each other's arms, trying to piece together the night. It turned out Goh didn't remember passing out downstairs, or even doing karaoke. Eventually, Goh asked for some painkillers, and Gary got up to check his backpack. No luck. He ran into the bathroom across the hall and and came back with two pills in hand, and he handed Goh his water bottle.
"Hey Gary," Goh said, scooting closer with his hand outstretched. "Did I do anything stupid last night? Besides fall asleep?"
Gary glanced up at Ash, who was sound asleep in the top bunk, and in his mind, the answer was obvious: it was never stupid to fall asleep on Ash Ketchum.
"Nope. Just sleeping, that's all."