Work Text:
Adrenaline Rush
Leaves crunched underfoot and Ash stared at the trees around them in awe. He had never been in this particular forest, protected as it was, and it was thick, beautiful, and wild. As a protected pokemon habitat, it was strictly off limits to trainers and hikers alike. The only reason he was allowed to be here was because of who he was with.
Gary was one of the few people who had clearance to come and go as he pleased. He had been working with the Pokemon League for years now, surveying pokemon populations in the wildest, most remote areas of Kanto. Ash could freely admit how jealous he was of this gig: Gary had unlimited access to places that any trainer would be thrilled to venture through and could spend as much or as little time out in the wilds as he pleased, so long as he kept collecting and submitting data.
Typical Gary, he spent most days out in a forest somewhere, most nights in a tent under clear skies far from the light of the cities and towns, and came back to his little apartment in Pewter City only when he felt like it. Some worried about Gary being off in remote places, specifically seeking out some of the strongest and most dangerous pokemon, but not Ash.
Ash knew Gary better than that. After all, Gary was one of the rare opponents that could still beat Ash in most battles, regardless of Ash’s champion titles. If Gary could still hold his own against a multi-region champion, then he would be just fine against any pokemon short of a high-tier legendary.
Today they were looking for ursarings in the forests to the northwest of Pewter City. According to everyone Ash knew, they were nuts for setting foot in that forest. According to Gary, they were right. Apparently the pokemon in this forest were powerful and didn't care much for people. The ursaring population was especially dangerous and, worse, it was cub season.
But Gary wasn't afraid, just cautious, and so Ash wasn’t scared either. The pokemon here were familiar enough with Gary’s presence. They would be fine, so long as they were careful.
It seemed to be going well, at least that's what Ash thought. The morning had consisted of looking for pokemon tracks - so far they had counted four ursaring and three teddiursa. They kept mostly quiet, talking occasionally, keeping their voices low enough to hear the noises of the forest. After seeing the size of some of the prints and hearing what others had said, Ash found himself being far jumpier than usual, startling at every sound with such frequency that Gary had taken to purposely stepping on large sticks just to see him jump out of skin.
"Stop!" He finally complained through a laugh. He heard Gary snicker up ahead and rolled his eyes. "You're having way too much fun with this."
"Can you blame me?" Gary turned with a smirk. "Who'd have thought Mister Pokemon Master would be such a scaredy skitty?"
Ash groaned as Gary intentionally stepped off the path to step on a pinecone, which crunched loudly. "I hate you sometimes."
Gary laughed openly. "No you don't."
He was right but he didn't have to say it… just like he didn't have to step on the next stick in the path. "Jerk…"
"That's why you love me."
Typical Gary. Crimson spread across Ash’s face as he sputtered an incoherent response that only made Gary laugh harder. Ash grumbled under his breath, cursing his friend and his dickish ways.
Although… Gary wasn't wrong. Ash just hoped it was a coincidence that Gary had used those specific words. Hopefully he wasn't that obvious, but with how well Gary knew him…
Yeah, he probably knew. He'd probably known .
Damn it.
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice Gary stop ahead of him until he crashed into the researcher. Gary was looking down at the ground, his expression far more serious than it had been all day. He shot Ash a glare and pointed at a set of tracks.
"Mother and cubs," he explained, voice barely above a whisper. He snapped a few photos with his phone. "Looks like the big female. We have to be careful."
Ash nodded. "Got it."
"Seriously, Ash," Gary said. "She’s mean without cubs. No screwing around until we're a good distance away."
“I got it,” Ash repeated, narrowing his eyes.
Did Gary really think he didn’t know how to act around dangerous pokemon? Actually, wait. That was actually kind of fair on Gary’s part - Ash was loud, impulsive, and distractible at the best of times. Gary’s warning, much as Ash hated to admit it, was warranted.
They continued on, slower and much quieter than before. All of the teasing was gone in an instant and Ash found that he almost missed Gary’s insistence on scaring the hell out of him every ten seconds. Pikachu was tense and still on his shoulder, though Ash could feel one of his ears twitching against the side of his head as his starter listened to the forest.
It was quiet, Ash noticed. Much quieter than it had been. Where had all the chirping pidgeys gone? He peered up at the tree branches over their heads and saw a mankey nervously peeking out of the canopy.
A chill crept down Ash’s spine. It was eerie how the entire forest changed in an instant.
Pikachu’s ear twitched against the side of Ash’s head once again and he insistently tapped Ash’s shoulder with a tiny paw. Ash turned to see what his pokemon was trying to warn him about but saw nothing. Some of the brush nearby swayed, moved by something unseen and then -
Ash wasn't sure what happened - one second he was walking along behind Gary, the next his back was against a tree, Gary’s hand clamped over his mouth, his other arm across Ash’s chest.
"Mmpf-"
Gary shook his head, eyes wider than usual, and pressed his hand a little harder over Ash’s mouth. Ash tried not to think about how very close they were. He could feel the warmth radiating from Gary's body, but Gary wasn't paying attention to him - his eyes were trained over Ash’s shoulder, somewhere beyond the tree they were behind.
Something crashed through the underbrush just behind the tree and Ash felt Pikachu tense on his shoulder. A soft growl came from somewhere behind them, followed by the chatter of young pokemon. Gary stepped even closer to Ash, steering him around the other side of the tree, away from the direction the pokemon were heading, his eyes following the noise.
Seconds ticked by, each one painfully longer than the last. Ash’s eyes trailed downward, his gaze ghosting over his lips and along his jaw. Another growl could be heard, further away, and Ash’s eyes returned to Gary’s.
He couldn’t remember when they had last been this close - close enough to see all of the little flecks of gold hidden in those emerald depths…
Damn it, Misty was right. He really did have it bad for him.
Finally the sound of the pokemon faded into the distance.
The hand over Ash's mouth dropped down to his shoulder and Gary heaved a quiet sigh of relief. The arm across his chest relaxed, but Gary didn’t move away yet. Instead, he looked back at Ash with a strange expression, as though he couldn’t quite figure something out.
For a moment, they just breathed as the sounds of the forest started to return around them.
Then, a thought came to mind - a mental image so strong that fulfilling it became an impulse. Ash tried to quash the urge, but his body betrayed him.
He moved without even being entirely aware of it. Suddenly the distance between them was closed and his lips were pressed to Gary's. Simultaneously elated and panicked by the feeling of soft lips against his, Ash nearly missed the tiny sound of surprise that came from Gary.
Sense rushed through his system and Ash pulled away as suddenly as he had kissed the other man.
"S-sorry - I -"
But the arm across Ash’s chest pushed him back against the tree before he could move away. He chanced a glance up at Gary and was met with a familiar smirk.
"Bet you're too scared to do it again."
Ash raised his head, his jaw dropping, in too much shock to give any sort of response. The hand on his shoulder moved to cup his cheek and then Gary was the one closing the distance between them. The trainer's eyes widened as Gary captured his lips with his own.
Ash’s eyes slid shut in bliss as Gary’s lips moved against his. A small, desperate noise escaped him and one of his arms wrapped around Gary’s waist, pulling him closer still, his other hand moving upward to run his fingers through the researcher’s hair.
This was better than he had ever imagined.
Ash became vaguely aware of Pikachu’s absence from his shoulder and quickly remembered just where they were and how they had gotten into this position in the first place. He removed his hand from Gary's hair and pressed his palm against Gary’s chest, pushing ever so slightly.
Gary pulled back just enough to rest his forehead against Ash's. "Hmm?"
"We just missed getting attacked by an ursaring, didn't we?" Ash asked, careful to keep his quiet despite the laugh that colored his voice.
Gary shrugged his shoulders and pulled away further. "I've had closer calls -" he gave Ash an easy smirk "- but with how jumpy you've been, yeah, you'd have given us away."
"So, on that note, do you think we could head back to your place now?"
"Are you that scared, Ashy-boy?" Gary was already heading back the way he came, and was smiling rather than smirking, Ash noticed.
Ash grinned as he followed. "Nah, I just want a pizza date at that place down the road."
"Well, lucky you, we came in to find out if she had cubs, so we can go now."
Ash paused. He had been joking, but was Gary serious? "Wait, really?"
"Really what?" Gary turned to shoot him an amused look. "The date, or being done here?"
"Both?"
Gary rolled his eyes and reached out to grab Ash’s hand. "Yes to both, but only if you buy dessert," he replied, tugging Ash down the path with him.
“Okay,” Ash agreed, laughing, though he glanced over his shoulder to make sure no ursarings were stomping through the nearby underbrush. “It’s a date!”