Work Text:
(Too Much) Fun In The Sun
For once, Ash was on time. He grinned when Charizard landed next to the boardwalk at Cerulean's beach and slid off his pokemon’s back. It looked like he had even beaten Misty and Tracey here – that was a first. He was never the first one to arrive. A bit of doubt rose within him at that realization. He had the right day, right? He hadn’t shown up a day early, had he?
He pulled his phone from his pocket and double checked the date. Yep. It was the right day and he was actually fourteen minutes late. Had they told him an earlier time than they intended to be there? Probably.
Damn it.
They were spending too much time with Gary.
He hoped they hadn’t told him too much earlier than they planned, but if they did… Well, the little coffee shop on the boardwalk was open. That would kill a little bit of time. But a flash of copper hair caught his eye before he could become too tempted by a second breakfast and Ash grinned broadly as he waved to the couple making their way towards him.
“Holy shit, he's on time!” Misty’s shocked voice carried across the parking lot.
Ash rolled his eyes when she and Tracey both laughed. He raised his hand and gave her the finger, ignoring Pikachu’s reproachful chitter.
Okay, maybe he spent too much time with Gary too.
His friends only laughed harder at the move.
“You guys are jerks,” he complained, following them onto the boardwalk when they reached him.
“We actually meant to be here earlier,” Tracey explained with an apologetic smile, “but we were coming from Pallet and traffic around Viridian was a nightmare.”
We? Hadn’t Misty been in Cerulean last night? “What were you doing in Pallet?” he asked.
Tracey fixed him with such a deadpan expression that Ash couldn’t not roll his eyes. His friend was definitely spending too much time with Gary. “I live there,” he replied as if it were obvious… which it was, even to Ash.
“I meant Misty!”
“Oh, I wasn’t in Pallet,” she returned easily, looking away from Charizard, whom she had been giving a very thorough neck rub in greeting. “I was at the gym. Tracey just picked me up.”
“Then who…?”
Ash shouldn't have been surprised when Pikachu gave an excited squeal a split second before an unexpected pair of arms wrapped about his shoulders, but he was. He nearly jumped out of his skin but laughed all the same as he leaned back against his boyfriend – because who else would it be?
Gary and his surprise visits. Ash really should have expected it.
There was a familiar laugh next to his ear and a kiss was pressed to his cheek. “I’m amazed you didn’t oversleep today,” Gary’s amused voice spoke, confirming what Ash already knew.
Ash narrowed his eyes and let his weight fall backwards, grinning when he felt Gary stumble behind him beneath his weight. “I set an alarm today,” he retorted, laughing when Gary gave him a playful shove.
“That's rare. Did ya know something was happening?”
“I didn't tell him,” Tracey answered quickly, raising his hands innocently.
“You only show up every other beach day, he was bound to figure out the pattern sooner or later,” Misty retorted as she set her surfboard in the sand and took their usual beach blanket from Tracey.
Ash watched her spread it out over the sand before remembering that he had prepared for this, just in case. “I even remembered my wallet so I can rent a board this time!” he chirped cheerfully, tilting his head back to look up at his boyfriend.
“The one time I didn’t bring my board,” Gary sighed and Ash immediately deflated.
What? Gary never went to a beach without his board unless it was a research or training trip – which this definitely wasn’t. That was just plain weird, especially considering he had come from Pallet. Even if he hadn’t come from Pallet, he had been traveling in his Jeep in Johto and the board was usually stowed on the rack atop the roof.
He turned in Gary’s arms to look up at him with a frown. “What d’you mean, you didn’t bring your board?” he whined. “You always bring it!” Gary’s amused smirk was telling and Ash rolled his eyes, giving him a shove. “Asshole,” he bit out, drawing a laugh from his boyfriend.
“Alright, alright,” Gary relented and pressed a kiss to Ash’s cheek. “I brought my board with me. Wanna come with me to grab it?”
Ash brightened and nodded enthusiastically. “Did you get us a hotel room again?” he asked curiously, following Gary into the parking lot.
“For tonight, yeah.”
Only one night? He wasn’t leaving that soon, was he? “What happens tomorrow?” Ash asked.
“You’ll see.”
“You gonna tell me?”
Gary nodded as he weaved between parked cars, Ash hot on his heels. “Tomorrow,” he replied, drawing a groan from Ash.
“Aww, c'mon, Gary.” Why did he always have to do this?
“Pipichu,” Pikachu complained from his shoulder but Gary only shook his head.
“Tomorrow,” he repeated.
“Are we going camping again?”
Gary’s eyes narrowed and Ash laughed. Apparently he was right – Gary hated whenever Ash guessed his plans. “Tomorrow,” he repeated again, but Ash wasn’t fooled.
Ash grinned when he spotted the Jeep a little ways down the row of cars a moment later. It was filthy from the field work Gary had been doing in the Johto forests lately. Mud covered the lower half of the car and dirt and dust had settled over the rest of it. The roof was half covered with a storage container for field gear, while the other half had a rack that sometimes held a kayak, but today held not one, but two surfboards.
“Brought your old board for Tracey?”
Gary rolled his eyes. “My old board was purple, Ash.”
Oh. Right. This one was white with red and yellow details and was quite a bit nicer than Gary’s old board. He was still confused.
“What happened to your new board?”
Gary shot him an amused look as he undid the straps holding said new board to the roof. “Nothing.” It looked the same as always: sleek black with understated purple linework painted on.
Ash wasn’t sure what to make of the grin on his boyfriend’s face. “Then why do you have two boards?”
“Look at the details, genius.”
There were painted lines along the edges of the board in red and yellow, with pokeballs and lightning bolts as tasteful accents. It was absolutely nothing like the flashy one Gary had picked out when he was younger, nor the simple but top quality one he’d chosen now that they were adults.
Definitely not Gary’s style.
Ash frowned, utterly bewildered. “Why the lightning bolts and pokeballs?”
Gary’s grin widened. “Because it’s yours.”
“What?”
His surprised squawk was met with a laugh. “Did you forget that your birthday was last month?”
“I – shut up.” He had, indeed, forgotten. He had also forgotten what Gary had told him over the phone on his birthday. But he remembered now.
‘I got you something I think you'll really like,’ he had said.
He was right. As always.
“You got me my own board?”
Gary snickered and shook his head amusedly. “Obviously,” he replied as he pulled the board down from the roof and passed it over to Ash, who took it with a grin. “I’m telling you ahead of time – first to fall off his board isn’t the victory you think it is.” With that, he turned and started the walk back over to where Misty and Tracey were waiting on them.
Ash gritted his teeth at the smirk his boyfriend shot him over his shoulder. That pain in the ass was lucky he looked so good in that rashguard, otherwise Ash would be tempted to throw something at him - not that he wasn’t already. “It is if you’re the one falling off,” he shot back.
“Pikapi, chu pika pipichu!”
“Hey, whose side are you on?” Ash squawked.
“Mine, apparently.”
“As always.” Ash rolled his eyes but leaned into his boyfriend’s shoulder with a small smile nonetheless.
… … …
Many hours later found the boys in their hotel room as the afternoon settled into a quiet evening. Thoroughly exhausted by the day in the sunshine and on the water, Ash and Gary had barely had the energy to get out of their wet swimsuits before dropping onto the bed for a much needed nap. They woke an hour later to the alarm on Gary’s phone letting them know that it was time to start getting ready to meet up with Misty and Tracey for a late dinner and a few drinks.
A quick rinse in the shower and a few quick minutes to dress and tame his hair later, and Gary found himself lounging on the couch, scrolling absently on his phone while he waited on Ash to wrap up in the bathroom. He was taking longer than usual and had been particularly difficult to get out of bed, but Gary wasn’t worried. Ash was always lazy after an afternoon nap and they’d had a busy day. Gary would have gladly stayed in bed the rest of the night too, if he wasn’t so eager for their dinner plans with their friends.
The water in the bathroom turned off and several long minutes passed before Gary heard the bathroom door creak open. In the middle of an article about some bit of research happening in Hoenn, Gary didn’t immediately look up when Ash emerged from the bathroom.
Another minute passed before… “Gary? I don’t feel so great.”
He looked up at Ash’s uncharacteristically small voice. “What’s wrong?” The trainer was paler than usual, a bit clammy, and had his arms wrapped about his stomach. Pikachu hopped down from his perch on Gary’s shoulder and made to jump up on Ash’s, only for the trainer to shake his head slightly.
“Not now, Pikachu,” he said apologetically, before looking back at Gary. “I feel really sick.”
That wasn’t good. “Have you had enough water?” Gary asked.
“Dunno,” Ash mumbled. “I had a bunch, but maybe not.”
Gary stood and made his way over to his boyfriend, resting a hand against his forehead when he reached him. Ash’s skin was cool to the touch but slick with sweat. He dropped his hand to grab Ash’s and gently pressed his fingertips against the inside of his wrist until he felt the rapid thrum of Ash’s pulse.
Well. Fuck. That definitely wasn't good, not after how long they had been out in the heat that afternoon.
“We need to get you cooled down.”
Gary started to lead him to the bed and Ash went without a protest – something concerning in and of itself. The trainer staggered against him, tripping over absolutely nothing, but Gary caught him with an arm about his waist. “Easy,” he murmured. “I've got you.”
He managed to get Ash settled on the edge of the bed and pressed a kiss to his cheek before hurrying over to his field bag. It took a moment of digging to find his food bag and another moment to find the electrolyte packets that had managed to make their way all the way to the bottom. He fished out two of the packets and took another moment to top off Ash's water bottle at the sink before dumping both packets in and closing the bottle, shaking it to mix.
“Here.” Gary knelt in front of Ash and passed him the water bottle. “Drink as much as you can without making yourself sick. I’m gonna go call Trace, just stay here for now.” He hurried off to the little balcony overlooking the Cerulean Bay, pulling his phone out and scrolling through his contacts as he went.
It only took a moment. Tracey was as understanding as ever, always a good friend. He offered to bring them some food and supplies, not that it was entirely necessary. The shop in the hotel lobby had sports drinks and plenty of options for snacks, nevermind the large room service menu, but Gary appreciated it nonetheless. He hurried back to his boyfriend as soon as he hung up the phone.
The water bottle in Ash’s hand was still largely full and Gary shook his head as he sat down next to him. “You gotta drink, Ash. You're dehydrated and overheated.” Ash took a small sip but grimaced afterwards, looking vaguely nauseated. That wasn’t good enough. “Keep drinking.”
“It's not gonna help if I puke it back up,” Ash complained, voice small again.
Well, he wasn't wrong. “Alright,” Gary relented, “but we need to get these clothes off.” He tugged gently at the edge of Ash’s shirt for emphasis. The trainer had dressed in his usual jeans and tee but that was clearly too much.
“You're always tryin’ to get my clothes off,” Ash said. He was aiming for that whiney, complain-y teasing that he sometimes did, Gary could tell, but it came out almost slurred.
“Yeah, well, it’s for medical reasons right now, so don’t get too excited,” Gary retorted, though he spared Ash a small smile. “C'mon, clothes off.” Ash gave him a look that was so pathetic that Gary couldn't help but laugh. “If you can't drink water without feeling sick, then you're definitely not feeling up to anything else we would do with your clothes off.”
It took several minutes and a baffling amount of effort to get the trainer undressed. As it turned out, Ash was especially squirmy and whiney when he wasn’t feeling well, and didn’t much care for being touched when he was so uncomfortably warm. Gary made sure to tuck that information away for later – with the way their relationship had been going for the last few years, he had a feeling taking care of Ash would be a long-term thing. Tending to minor wounds out in the field had already become second nature, but this was the first time Gary’d had to deal with Ash actually being ill. Ash had put in all the effort to understand Gary’s migraines - the least Gary could do was remember that Ash did not like being touched while he was feverish.
With Ash down to his boxers and a cool wet cloth on his forehead, Gary figured he should be okay. It was summer and it was hot, but Ash was used to being outside. He had probably just overdone it and would be fine with a good night’s sleep. Gary could use the sleep himself, so he wasn’t about to complain too much. After the frantic day of travel he’d dealt with the day before, he definitely wasn’t going to complain about having to spend a quiet evening in their hotel room.
“Just try to sleep it off, alright?” Gary said softly, brushing some of Ash's messy hair from his face. “We’ll figure out what to do in the morning.” His plans would need to be adjusted – Ash wasn’t in any condition for a surprise camping trip – but that wouldn't be much trouble.
He laid down next to his boyfriend, careful to keep plenty of space between them so he didn't inadvertently make the overheating worse with his own body heat. Pikachu, who had been curled up on the pillow next to Ash’s head, crawled over and curled up on his chest, drawing a smile from the researcher as he scratched behind the mouse's ears.
“Sorry about our plans…”
The mumble was tiny and utterly pathetic, but brought a warm smile to Gary’s face regardless. “It’s fine,” he assured him. “All that matters is you taking it easy and feeling better.”
“Pi, pikapi!”
“See, even Pikachu agrees.”
“He always sides with you,” Ash mumbled, though Gary saw the tiny smile.
Tempted as he was to tease him over that fact, Gary only shook his head and adjusted the cool cloth on Ash’s forehead. “Hush,” he scolded gently. “Just rest for now.”
A hand brushed against his and Gary took it without hesitating, and raised it to press a soft kiss to Ash’s knuckles.
“Rest,” he repeated.
Ash listened this time. He stayed quiet and didn’t remove his hand from Gary’s as his breathing slowly deepened and steadied. Gary watched him for a few minutes but it seemed everything was okay for now and he let himself relax and be lulled to sleep by the soft breathing of the pokemon on his chest and his boyfriend beside him.
… … …
Gary awoke to a loud snuffling in his ear and a tiny paw batting at his cheek. His eyes snapped open to meet a pair of beady eyes wide with concern. The snuffling in his ear stopped and was replaced by the gentle thumping of Arcanine’s tail wagging against the bedside table.
“Pipichu!” a worried voice squeaked hopefully. Then he heard the retching from the bathroom. “Pikapi!” The little mouse pointed frantically at the bathroom, looking at Gary with wide pleading eyes.
Shit.
How long had he slept through that? Anything longer than a few minutes and a visit to the hospital was in order. Gary scrambled out of the bed and into the bathroom, grabbing the water bottle full of electrolyte mix as he went. Umbreon was already in there, sitting next to Ash, her ears drooped sadly. She gave a sympathetic whine and nuzzled her face against his shoulder once the retching stopped.
Gary joined them and passed Ash the water bottle. He gave him a moment to recover before asking quietly, “How long has this been going on?”
Ash shrugged listlessly. “Few minutes,” he said thickly. He sounded awful, but at least he was more coherent than he had been before he had gone back to sleep.
“Is this the first time you’ve puked tonight?”
An affirmative hum was the only response Gary received as Ash opened the bottle and took a small sip. He screwed the cap back on and dropped his head against Gary’s shoulder. “I feel awful,” he complained.
Gary took the bottle from Ash and gently rubbed his back. “You’re going to,” he murmured, “but you’ll be okay. It’ll pass.” Gary knew from experience: he had done the very same thing on a trip to Alola, where a day on a surfboard had turned into a night on the bathroom floor – though his case had apparently been bad enough that he should have gone to the emergency room, as his grandfather had quite sternly told him when he had found out.
“Not fast enough,” Ash groaned and folded himself further into Gary’s arms. He was quiet enough for long enough that Gary was certain he had fallen asleep until he asked in a small voice, “Where were we gonna go camping?”
“Who said anything about camping?” Gary returned as innocently as he could.
Ash gave a tiny laugh. “You're predictable,” he replied as though it was obvious.
“And yet you're always surprised when I show up…” Gary shook his head with a small laugh of his own. He should have known Ash would catch on to the patterns sooner or later – Ash was smarter than he seemed, after all. Sometimes. “East of Viridian Forest,” Gary finally answered. The spot with the meadow, where Ash had surprised him with a birthday picnic not long after they had started dating. It was his favorite spot.
“Sorry the plans got ruined.”
Gary shrugged his shoulders and ran his fingers through Ash’s hair, shaking his head again. He was hardly worried about that - they went camping all the time, he could manage a surprise needing to be postponed because Ash was sick. “We can camp in Pallet if you're feeling better tomorrow night,” he offered.
“Chuuu, pikapi.”
Umbreon dipped her head and carefully picked up Ash’s water bottle while fixing Ash with a pointed stare.
“They're right, y'know,” Gary said. “You're going to feel a lot worse tomorrow if you don't drink more water.”
Ash groaned but took the bottle and took a few sips before returning his head to its spot on Gary’s shoulder. “Thanks,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to Gary’s collarbone.
“Hey, I’m just paying you back for all the times you’ve dropped everything to help me with my migraines.” Gary took the water bottle from him and screwed the cap back on. After all the afternoons spent in a dark and silent room, all the fetched glasses of water and cups of tea, the hours spent on a bathroom floor just like this… Well, there was no way in hell that he was going to be anywhere other than by Ash’s side.
That was what you did when you loved someone, right?
Another soft kiss was pressed to his collarbone and Gary smiled despite their surroundings. “Are you feeling well enough to go back to bed?” he asked.
Ash hummed thoughtfully but it came out sounding closer to a groan and Gary knew the answer before Ash shook his head slightly. “A little longer,” he replied, wrapping his arm tighter around his stomach.
Gary nodded and smoothed his hand back and forth across Ash’s back. “As long as you need,” he assured his boyfriend. He couldn’t help the tiny smirk that curved his lips when he teased, “just don’t puke on me again.”
“We were six!" Ash groaned loudly.
“Umbre!”
“Pi!”
Gary laughed and gave their pokemon each a placating pat. “Hush,” he admonished Ash gently. “Just rest.”
“Then no teasing.”
The whine drew another laugh from Gary and he pressed a kiss to Ash’s hair. “I’ll be good,” he promised. “You rest and drink your electrolytes.”
Ash grumbled but settled more comfortably into Gary’s arms, something he took as a good sign. He’d been overly sensitive to his touch earlier – but not in the fun way. If he was willingly staying close, then he was clearly starting to feel a little better, and that was all that mattered. It didn’t matter that they’d missed out on dinner with their friends, or that the plans for the next few days had gotten thrown off. All that mattered was being together and getting Ash feeling better, and if that involved falling asleep on a bathroom floor… Well, they had both dealt with worse.
... ... ...