Chapter Text
You never know what people have up their sleeves
Ghosts from your past gonna jump out at me
Lurking in the shadows with their lip gloss smiles
But I don't care, 'cause right now, you're mine
🌸
“Do you really need to go?”, Goh pouts as Ash is getting ready to leave. Ash tries to cheerfully smile, but his smile turns out rather sad too. It’s the first time Goh and Ash will be separated for almost a week unwillingly. He knows there’s nothing they can’t handle, but Goh’s sad expression doesn’t help the whole situation.
It’s been a week since Goh has started to work on the big project that Professor Oak and Professor Cerise assigned him to. The big project is just to voice the Pokedex entries for the next update of the Rotom Phone’s Pokedex app, but for Goh, it’s a dream come true.
Professor Cerise got on the video call with Jacq – a famous teacher from the Paldea region – to discuss all the details, and Goh’s eyes sparked in excitement to see someone from Paldea for the first time, and in gratitude because it’s Jacq, who actually needed a new voice to recite the entries. Professor Cerise and Professor Oak were kind to recommend Goh’s help, and Goh couldn’t be more grateful for that.
As the talk was going on, Jacq’s eyes laid on Ash and he got excited to recognize the World Champion, which made Ash a little bit shy.
You know, Paldea has its own gyms, and you can challenge The Elite Four, so maybe you would be interested in visiting the region. I’m sure Nemona or Rika would be excited to meet you as well. Ah, I’m sure your battle against Geeta would be phenomenal. You could learn something about the Terastal phenomenon too and– , Jacq was rambling and Ash uncomfortably shifted when the attention moved to him. It was supposed to be Goh’s big moment and he ruined it. He didn’t mean to outshine his boyfriend in any way. Goh didn’t seem to mind it at all, but the whole situation made Ash uncomfortable.
To stop Jacq from rambling, Ash quickly waved his hand and said that he would have to give it some thought, but he’s always excited to take on any of the challenges, so he would be excited to battle against The Elite Four or a Champion – and with that, Jacq just smiled as a reply and focused his attention on the Pokedex app and Goh again to finally work on it.
And after a week, Goh is making such great progress. He’s already on Johto Pokemon entries, and Jacq and the Professors seem really satisfied with the progress. Goh is voicing Chikorita’s entry as Grookey jumps on his lap and ruins the take. Everyone laughs at it, and Ash snaps an adorable photo of laughing Goh and Grookey. He decided to post the photo on his social media with the caption my baby’s working hard – it was meant to be only on his friend’s circle, but his finger slipped and it got posted publicly. Well, shit, Ash thinks. A thousand people have already liked it in barely three seconds, so there’s no point in deleting it now. He sighs as he closes the app to not to see any of the comments that have already been posted.
It’s not like it’s the first photo of Goh that Ash shared publicly online. The first one he posted was actually the one that Gary took of them both last year at the World Coronation Series. Confetti surrounded them as they shared their first kiss in the middle of the arena with the caption This love is ours.
Ash’s fans welcomed the news of his relationship really opened mindly, and Ash was so thankful for that. There were no hateful comments from their end, and it was so refreshing to see, but even if Ash’s fans were accepting, there were still some nasty comments from other people that Ash would rather avoid. Of course, he knew not everyone would be as accepting. The positive comments outrun the negative ones by many miles though, and Ash is grateful for that, but even with that, Ash is glad that Goh is not a very social media person, and he doesn’t see the hateful comments some people post about their relationship. Sometimes Goh peeks through Ash’s shoulder to see what he’s reading or what photo he’s posting, but he never intervenes into what people post about them. This love is ours, Goh was always saying, and Ash tries to keep the same mindset, even if sometimes it gets hard.
Professor Cerise takes Ash back to reality from his thoughts by putting a firm hand on his shoulder and saying that there’s an emergency in Vermillion. Ren and Chryssa can’t do that research from behind the desk and he needs Ash to go to Kalos and research something important and– Ash’s mind is still cloudy to fully get to what he actually agreed to. He finally understands it when he’s standing in the doorway, ready to leave with a pouty and sad Goh in front of him.
“And who’s gonna give me my favorite cookies in between the takes?”, Goh sadly murmurs and Ash chuckles, intertwining their hands together.
“This little fella over here”, Ash smiles, and Cinderace stands next to Goh, fistbumping Ash and Goh raises his brow in suspicion. Since when did they get so close anyway?
“And my favorite tea?”, Goh pouts again, and Ash points to Gary, who came to stand next to them with Tracey following him closely.
Goh rolls his eyes, mumbling that Gary will make my tea too hot on purpose so I will burn my tongue– but Tracey hits Gary’s back with his hand, laughing and saying not on my watch. He will behave. Goh doesn’t believe him in any slightest. He doesn’t have that much trust in Gary’s actions after all.
“I’ll be back soon. I’ll be here for your birthday before you know it”, Ash promises as Pikachu jumps on his shoulder, but Goh still pouts, and Gary laughs.
“You’ll be fine Goh-boy, we will keep you company”.
Goh rolls his eyes again at the nickname, and because a week without Ash is a nightmare, and a week with Gary is even more of a nightmare. He looks forward to spending more time with Tracey though, since he has never met the boy before. He’s excited to see his drawings that the boy promised to show him.
“Be careful, ‘kay?”, Goh asks before he places a soft kiss on Ash’s lips.
“I will. And you remember to take a break at least after 30 entries”, Ash pleads, and Goh laughs as he squeezes Ash’s hand for the last time for the whole week.
“We will take care of that”, Tracey winks, and Goh’s face flushes in embarrassment. It’s gonna be a long week, isn’t it?
“Message me when you’ll arrive in Kalos”, Goh says for the last time before Ash is ready to turn and go for his little adventure.
As Ash walks, he gently squeezes one of Goh’s empty Pokeballs in his pocket. It’s not only Goh’s birthday soon, but also their anniversary, and he plans to reunite Goh with one of his friends. He’s not gonna come back to Vermillion until he will find her , and he will search a whole Kalos region for her if necessary.
🌸
Professor Cerise sent the next bunch of recordings of Goh’s entries to Jacq, to which he responded excitedly and said that they are as perfect as ever.
Goh bowed politely as Jacq said that it’s enough for today and he looks forward to recording Hoenn Pokemon entries the next day, and with Jacq ending the video call, Goh sat on the couch next to Tracey to get some much needed rest.
Grookey jumped onto his lap as Gary came as a rescue for his strained voice. He brought him the promised tea, and Goh gently took the first sip from the spoon to see if he wouldn't in fact burn his tongue, but to his surprise, Gary prepared his tea the way he likes – not too cold, but warm enough to drink. So kind of him.
“You can draw people too?”, Goh asks curiously, focusing on Tracey’s drawing, to which the boy excitedly nods.
“Yeah, I love drawing Pokemon, but there’s nothing better than drawing happy Pokemon as they share an unbreakable bond with their trainer. Like you and Grookey, see?”, Tracey shows the drawing to Goh, and the boy almost chokes on the tea.
“You drew me and Grookey?”, Goh takes a look at the drawing and smiles. “Wow, you must have such a great memory if you still remember so many details”.
“Oh yeah, I do. But I think the fact that Ash has posted the photo of you and Grookey on his social media helped me to draw it”, Tracey says, continuing to draw as Goh looks up at him, surprised.
“I didn’t know Ash had posted something”, Goh mumbles mostly to himself, but Gary hears him just fine and gives him a concerned look.
It doesn’t bother Goh that Ash had posted him again on social media. Honestly, it makes him happy whenever Ash proudly shows him off as his second half. But at the same time, Goh knows what a private person Ash is, especially when it comes to their relationship. He’s not the kind of person to post a lot about their relationship on his social media, so Goh’s more worried about what kind of comments the post got welcomed with. He can only hope that Ash wasn’t curious and hasn't read many of them.
“The photo is so cute, got a lot of likes”, Gary smiles, taking a bite of one of the cookies that Cinderace just brought for Goh. The boy only hums in reply. Looking at Tracey’s drawing the photo must be cute indeed.
Somehow, Goh feels a familiar wave of anxiety washing over him. He starts to feel anxious about the potential attention that the photo must’ve gotten. He takes a deep breath as he pets Grookey, who’s napping on his lap, for some comfort, when his Rotom Phone notification snaps him from his thoughts.
Hey baby. Arrived safely in Kalos.
Goh smiles to himself as he types. I know it’s late for you. Go to sleep. Ttylxox 😘
What does it even mean 😭
Talk to you later, hugs and kisses 🤦♀️😅
Ohhh, right. I’ll call you tomorrow. I love you. I hope Gary takes care of you.
Surprisingly, he does, lmao. Love you too 💖
Goh still smiles to himself as he puts his phone down. The relief washes over him at the fact that Ash arrived safely in Kalos. Now he can really relax too.
He still pets Grookey as he heavily sighs. 7 days without Ash. 7 days with annoying Gary. He can do this.
🌸
— a day without Goh —
But Ash couldn't sleep that night. He softly strokes Pikachu as his Pokemon is the only one in a deep slumber. He sighs as he glances at the clock on the wall. It’s 2 a.m, and yet he can’t fall asleep even if he’s tired after the trip.
Ash longs to hear Goh’s voice. He longs to feel his body next to him. He wants to text him right now, but Goh is very familiar with time zones, and he knows he would worry his boyfriend if he would text him now.
Ash still reaches for his Rotom Phone though, and he clicks on the familiar app where he usually posts his photos updates for well, mostly his fans and people he cares about – his friends and family.
Ash, despite not being active much, still gets a lot of likes under his posts. He’s not surprised even now to see that the photo he posted of Goh has reached over one million likes. He knits his brows when he notices that the comments section has a pretty high amount of them as well. With a shaky thumb, he clicks on them, and he breathes out in relief when at least most of them are positive and show the genuine curiosity of what Goh is up to.
Ash snorts when he sees that Goh only logged into his account to reply to the photo. He must’ve been in a silly mood, because the reply is pretty humorous.
Why do I always have to find out that you posted such a cute pic of me from your friends? 😘
And there’s of course, Gary’s reply to his comment, to which Ash rolls his eyes.
I’m pretty sure it’s Ash’s new lockscreen. He changes it approximately three times a day 😂
Ash scrolls further, and with every single scroll, he starts to feel more and more uneasy. He stops scrolling when he starts to feel the anger taking over him.
Will we ever find out his name or will he always be World’s Champion fame exploiter? Genuinely, dunno who the guy is. He’s no one important. What does the World Champion see in that kind of person?
Ash laughs when he sees that Gary ratioed the person by commenting.
His name is Goh, and I would recommend you to go(h) and log off for today 🥰
Ash doesn’t scroll any further. He closes the app and puts the phone down. He takes a deep breath as he feels his anxiety getting over him. He pets Pikachu again in an attempt to ground himself as closes his eyes for a second and takes another deep breath.
Ash reaches for his phone again as he opens his eyes, and he dials a familiar number.
“Ash? I swear it’s like 2 a.m–”
“May? I’m sorry, I didn’t know you’re in Kalos as well”, Ash says, trying not to sound distressed so he won’t worry his friend. He fails though, because May sees right through him.
“You’re in Kalos too? Are you okay, though? You sound pretty–”
“Yeah, I just– sorry for waking you up, I just– I need some advice. Can we meet up later, please?”, he shyly asks, and he swears he feels May smile on the other side of the phone call.
“Let’s meet up at Clemont’s Gym”, May proposes and Ash nods, even if the girl can’t see him.
“Thank you”, Ash quietly whispers, gratefully as he hangs up and puts his phone down.
It’s already easier to breathe for him.
🌸
— still a day without Goh —
Ash stands on the top of Prism Tower when May finally joins him as well. She puts a comforting hand on his shoulder, to which he kindly smiles.
Max hangs out with Clemont to watch his new invention, and Serena braids Bonnie’s hair, so they can have that moment for themselves.
The day’s just getting started. It’s around 10 a.m, and it’s November, so the air is rather chilly, but Ash doesn’t mind that. It’s still warm enough for him not to wear a jacket. Goh would probably kill him for it if he ever finds out, but Ash was always a warm person and the cold doesn’t bother him as much.
He still looks at how beautiful the city looks from this view when May starts the conversation.
“I think you are going through what every famous person does – insecurity. You’re insecure to post about your relationship because you’re scared of the hate, and that’s a normal reaction. I was the same with Serena”.
“The difference is, you both are big names, and I’m just– and Goh is not someone famous. A lot of people think he just uses me for fame. I know the comparison always affects him in some way”, Ash confesses, and May nods her head.
“I think that’s considerate how you try to protect him from the public eyes”, May softly chuckles. “But do you think hiding helps?”
Ash is a little confused. “What do you mean?”
“What I learned is…the more you show people that you don’t care what they think about your relationship, the more they stop bothering to comment about it, because they see it doesn’t affect you in any way. Post Goh more. Go on more public dates. Show everyone that you don’t care what they think. Show that you can live a normal life”.
If only it was easy for Ash.
He exhales a shaky breath, but May once again helps Ash to get rid of his intrusive thoughts.
“Your fans love when you post silly stuff. Remember that one selfie with Pikachu?”, Ash chuckles at her words and at the memory of the photo he had posted. “Hate always will be there, but don’t let it get between you and your fans' love as well. I know that you’re a private person and you try not to post much, but what I noticed as well is that your fans miss you when you used to be as active on social media as before. I know it’s also a way of you taking care of Goh so he won’t be affected by the hateful comments. But Ash…what the hell do they know about your relationship?”
Ash’s eyes widened at the last sentence. He holds to the railing so he won’t lose his balance from the anxiety he has been feeling throughout the whole talk. What do they know about your relationship? He takes a deep breath. May is right.
Ash says as much. “You’re right”.
“Ash, it’s your relationship, and you are allowed to show it off whether people like it or not”, May says, and Ash finally turns to face her and smiles kindly.
“Thank you for the advice, May”, Ash says, grateful, and May gives his shoulder a comforting squeeze.
“Let’s hang out with the rest?”, May proposes, and Ash nods his head.
The talk has helped to clear his head a little.
🌸
— sadly, still a day without Goh —
“So Kalos League soon, Bonnie?”, Ash chuckles as the girl shows off her set of badges to him.
“Naturally”, she confidently says, and everyone in the room laughs.
“And you, Max?”, Ash focuses his attention on the boy. “Following your dad’s footsteps to be a Gym Leader?”
“Actually, Goh’s dream really inspired me. I love to battle a lot just like you, but there’s something about bonding with Pokemon and becoming friends with them. So I think I would love to be like Goh, catch Pokemon and be friends with them”, Max says shyly, and Ash playfully ruffles his hair.
“I’m sure Goh will be thrilled to hear that”, Ash says and fishes his Rotom Phone from his pocket. “About that…Bonnie, smile for the camera!”.
Bonnie jumps on Ash’s back and shows her eight badges proudly to the camera as Ash snaps the photo. Max gets into frame as well as he grins and shows two thumbs up.
Ash sends the photo to Goh with the caption A little reunion with the princess. Two seconds don’t even pass when Goh already calls him. Shouldn’t he already be asleep?
Ash wants to ask if he has woken him up, but Goh doesn’t let him by yelling, put me on speaker!
“Bonnie, do you hear me???? I’m so incredibly proud of you. We will be there to cheer you on in the Kalos League, just let us know when it starts. My little girl has come so far. I’m so so proud of you”, Goh almost yells, and Ash notices how strained his voice starts to sound from the constant recording of the entries lately.
“We probably should go and cheer on Sawyer first. The Hoenn League is around the corner”, Max thinks aloud, and when Ash notices Clemont’s face getting subtly pink at the mention of Sawyer’s name, he’s kind enough not to draw any attention to it.
“I’m sure we could make it for the Hoenn League too. I would love to see Sawyer battle, right Ash?”, Goh asks, but he’s met with silence, and Goh worriedly repeats the question. “Ash?”
“Oh, sorry. I’m just–”, an awkward pause when he’s embarrassed to admit it aloud. “–glad to hear your voice”.
There’s now silence on Goh’s end, and Ash swears that his boyfriend must be blushing crimson on the other side of the line.
“Me too”, Goh softly admits after a few seconds of silence, and there's a knowing and teasing look on Bonnie’s face.
“Did I wake you up?”, Ash worriedly asks but Goh cuts his worries off.
“No, not at all. It’s like just 8 p.m. right now in Vermillion. Besides, I–”.
Goh doesn’t finish his sentence, and Ash gets the clue that it’s something only meant for him to hear, so he turns off the speaker.
“I– don’t think I’m able to sleep without you next to me”, and now it’s Ash’s turn to blush furiously.
Bonnie coughs awkwardly in a sense that she still overheard what Goh has said to Ash and wants to tease them both about it, but May comes to the rescue to take both Bonnie and Max to play with her Glaceon and Serena’s Sylveon. Ash smiled at her as a thank you. He really appreciates that little bit of privacy he and Goh will have right now through that simple phone call.
“I’ll be back soon, I promise”, Ash says, and Goh chuckles. “I know, I know, it’s just a week, but I just– miss you so much already”.
“I miss you too”, Ash breathes out, and Goh smiled sympathetically even if the boy can’t see him.
“How’s the research going?”, Goh asks curiously, and Ash stiffens at the mention of the research. He hasn’t done any research so far if he’s being honest – he got a bit distracted, and Goh must’ve seen right through him because he laughs. “You haven’t even started it, have you?”
Ash laughs as well and admits as much. “Yeah, I got sidetracked a little”.
“It’s okay, you have six days for it after all and–”, Goh says, but he’s caught off by his own yawn as the tiredness finally overcomes him.
“Go to sleep, baby. You deserve some rest. I’ll call you later, well, tomorrow for you”, Ash softly says, and Goh replies the last I love you as he hangs up.
Clemont, noticing that Ash had finished his conversation, shyly approaches him. For a second, the boy thinks his friend is about to ask him for a battle, but the blush covering his face tells Ash everything he must know.
“Ash? Could I ask you something?”
🌸
— still a day without Goh, but closer to 2 days —
“I swear, I’m not lying, Goh. He has a crush on Sawyer”, Ash says, and Goh raises his brow. It’s around 4 a.m for Goh, and Ash feels guilty for calling that early, but Goh brushed everything off by saying that he had to wake up early anyway to feed his Pokemon. Grookey jumps in the frame of the video call, and Goh has to put him on his shoulder instead so he can see his boyfriend clearly.
Pikachu excitedly jumps in the frame as well, and Ash chuckles as he has to do the same to his partner – he puts him on his head instead.
“Ha! I knew something was going on between them”, Goh finally admits, and Ash laughs at the confession.
“It’s so rare to see Clemont in that state”, Ash chuckles, and Goh tilts his head as he smiles.
“Well, hopefully, they will gain the courage to confess to each other”, Goh says, and Ash hums to his words. He absentmindedly sidetracks from the main topic in his head to his anxiety again – to the photo he posted, to the comments it got. He clenches his fist on the blanket around him.
Goh notices how his boyfriend suddenly got uneasy, so he asks. “Ash, are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine”, that’s a lie and Goh feels it. He knows it.
“I know about the photo–”
“I know you know. I posted it by mistake. Was meant only for our friends and families”, Ash confesses and Goh bites his lips.
“You know, I don’t mind that you had posted it publicly”, Goh shyly admits after a moment of silence. “I’m just more worried how it affects you whenever you do it”.
“Goh, I swear I’m fine”, Ash raises his voice a little, which he regrets right away. He mumbles a quiet I’m sorry as he pets Pikachu sitting on his head to ground himself.
“Ash, it’s okay if you’re not. I know it’s not easy to deal with all of that”, Goh says, but he’s met with silence. He won’t push Ash to talk about it if he doesn’t want to, but he still can’t stop worrying about his boyfriend’s wellbeing. But it’s too late. The anger already washed over Ash and he starts to vent what stings his heart the most.
“You don’t know how it feels when they talk shit about the love of my life. Like they would know better what's best for me. I don’t care that you’re no one famous. I love you because you are Goh. I don’t want anyone else but you”, Ash says before he bites his lips painfully in an attempt to not to sob. He hopes his words won’t affect Goh in any way. He knows how self-conscious the boy can get when it comes to their comparison online. Living constantly in the shade of your boyfriend was always hard to deal with for Goh.
But Goh tilts his head again as he smiles. “People must have a boring life if they spend their free time wondering who the World Champion is dating”.
Ash meets the blue eyes through the screen, and he wonders if Goh is just trying to cover his pain or he’s being serious right now. He studies his boyfriend’s face carefully, but he can’t find anything except for Goh cursing the distance between them right now.
“I don’t care what they think. They don’t know anything about us”, Goh says after a while, and Ash chuckles mostly to himself. “Yeah, May said as much as well”.
“Is she having a contest soon?”, Goh changes the topic to lift the heavy mood. It must work, because Ash cheers up a little.
“I could ask her. Would you like to go?”, Ash asks, and his boyfriend nods excitedly. “Yeah, I would love to”.
Ash wants to reply, but Professor Oak comes to the room and tells Goh that they need to revisit the entries of Hoenn Pokemon they already recorded, and Goh is needed for that. They’re gonna start recording Sinnoh Pokemon later in the day, and Ash hopes he’s gonna be back in Vermillion to hear at least a few entries that Goh is recording aside from only Kanto Pokemon.
“Good luck with recording”, Ash says, and Goh thanks him before he says get some rest and hangs up.
Almost two days without Goh, and Ash doesn’t know how he’s gonna survive the rest. He sighs to himself as he stares at his phone. The talk with May helped to clear his head a little, but still, the anxiety doesn’t seem to fade from his body.
He takes a few deep breaths before he dials another person’s number who could help him with his struggles. The person who he has looked up to since he was thirteen. Someone who was once in his shoes. Someone who will understand him on a deeper level.
🌸
I loved you in spite of deep fears that the world would divide us
So, baby, can we dance through an avalanche?
And say, say that we got it
I'm a mess, but I'm the mess that you wanted 'cause it's gravity keeping you with me