Work Text:
An Unnecessary Step
Ash was nervous. Actually, that was an understatement, though he couldn't exactly say why. He had never felt more sure of anything in his life. Everything was leading in a particular direction and this was the next logical step on that path. But that was just it, wasn’t it?
Following logical steps wasn't exactly Ash’s thing – he was impulsive and spontaneous, and had a partner who was much the same. He and Gary didn't deal with logic: they dealt with reflex and intuition. That was just life in the field with wild pokemon – but Ash wanted to do this part properly and that was why he was feeling so nervous today.
This wasn't a necessary step by any means, he could skip it if he wanted to – it was an outdated tradition that didn't exactly fit their situation but… Ash didn't know why, but he wanted to do this. With the way their lives were, he and Gary had never had a chance for a normal relationship – but he could do this one thing properly. He had control over this. He could tell the professor that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Gary.
He could do this. He was a world champion, he had faced legendaries and battled villains. He could absolutely do this.
But his stomach twisted with nerves and his hands trembled and the words lodged in his throat. He had to talk to someone else first.
Ash couldn’t explain why, but the professor being the first person to know about the ring felt just slightly wrong. He could – and would – be the second person, but the person who would best help with Ash’s nerves was someone who was just as important to Gary as his grandfather was.
“Hey, Mom?” he ventured, fingers nervously tapping on the side of the coffee mug he held in his hands. She had invited him over for breakfast, just as she always did when Ash was in town without Gary now that they had their own place.
His mother had let him be quiet and fidgety all breakfast but her gaze snapped up from her book at that shaky question. “What’s wrong, dear?”
He hesitated another moment. “I… I, uh –” he had to clear his throat before he could continue. “I did something.”
Oh no. There was that worried look he’d known she would get. He cringed at his terrible attempt to start the conversation.
Hopefully he would be able to speak when it came time to actually do it. Gary wouldn’t let him live it down otherwise.
“Oh dear,” Delia sighed. “What sort of legendaries were involved this time?”
Ash gave a weak laugh and shook his head. “It’s nothing like that,” he assured her. Her worried gaze lightened at that, but the assurance did nothing, however, to soothe Ash’s own nerves.
He swallowed hard and took a small black box from his jacket pocket, placing it in the center of the table with trembling hands. Delia set her book down and picked it up curiously, her smile growing when she opened it and saw the ring inside. The moonstone glimmered in the sunlight streaming through the windows – Ash didn’t need to see it to know how stunning it looked right now. He'd peered at it over and over again ever since picking it out. With the sun at Delia’s back, there was no way it didn’t look absolutely perfect.
“My goodness! It’s beautiful,” she exclaimed. Her smile turned a bit sly as she glanced back at Ash. “I’m surprised there’s no pokeball involved somehow.”
Ash rolled his eyes despite the goofy smile that had plastered itself to his face the moment she opened the box. “You spend too much time with Gary,” he complained.
She only laughed and passed the box back to him. “You’re the one who bought a house with him, dear,” she reminded him.
He returned the laugh easily as he took the box and stared down at the ring for a moment. “Yeah,” he agreed absently, a little too distracted by the ring to think about what he was agreeing to. He’d had it for almost a month now and had been waiting to be able to have his conversation with the professor – he finally could now that Gary was in Hoenn, working on one of the select few research projects he still helped with.
There was no plan for after that conversation, however, and despite all the ideas that came to mind for how to actually ask the question , Ash hadn’t found one that felt right . Gary wasn’t exactly easy to plan for, considering how easily he rivaled Ash’s spontaneity. He liked the romantic gestures and such, even if he would never admit it, which Ash felt only made it all the more complicated.
But this wasn’t the time to think about that. He still had another person to talk to and Gary was still going to be gone for another three months – possibly less, if Gary decided to surprise him by coming home a week early, but that wasn’t something Ash could plan for.
“I wanted to talk to Professor Oak too. Y’know, get his blessing and do it properly, but I…” his voice trailed off as he rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously.
“You’re nervous?” Ash nodded and Delia gave him a gentle smile. “It’s just Sam, dear: there’s nothing to be nervous about. Oh, he’ll be so excited to hear!”
“I know he will, but… I dunno. I - I felt like I needed to talk to you first.”
Delia’s smile was soft and loving at that, and Ash felt some of the remaining nerves drain away with just that smile. This was why he’d needed to talk to her first. “Well, you know I’ll always support my boys, and Sam’s no different.”
Ash took a deep breath and nodded again. He knew that – he’d known that all along – but, again, logic wasn’t exactly his thing and nerves weren’t exactly logical.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “I’ll talk to him today.”
“Why don’t you head on over there right now?” his mother suggested. “You’ll feel better once you’ve gotten it over with.”
That was all the encouragement he needed and he set out with Pikachu just a few moments later. He took a different route to the lab than usual: a longer one that cut through the woods he and Gary walked through every day that they were home. As he walked, he felt a touch of wistfulness: he missed his boyfriend. Gary hadn’t been gone long and he had been gone for longer periods of time, but it was rare for them to travel without each other for more than a couple of weeks at a time. It felt wrong being apart for three months, but this was a project that Gary had been helping Professor Birch with since he was a teenager and there was only so much room on the research vessel. It was going by quickly, at least, and he and Gary were able to talk almost constantly, so that made it easier.
But he needed to get this conversation over with while Gary was still gone. Ash couldn’t risk him finding out before he was ready to ask him.
He came to the back of the lab through the trees and began crossing the large yard, greeting the pokemon who lived there as he went. As he came closer to the lab, he caught sight of Tracey working with some of the grass types in the field and gave him a quick wave, which was quickly returned with a grin. He would catch up with his friend soon enough – as soon as he was done with the professor.
Speaking of – the professor was returning to the lab from the area where the water types liked to stay.
Well. Might as well get it over with now.
“Professor!” Ash ran to catch up to the older man before he entered the lab. Pikachu’s reproachful squawk echoed across the field as he clung to his hat.
The professor waited outside the lab door for the trainer to reach him. “Good morning, Ash, Pikachu,” he greeted warmly. “Do you need one of your pokemon?”
“No, I actually wanted to talk to you without Gary around. Can we go inside?”
The professor’s smile was just a little too knowing for comfort. “Ah, of course.” He led Ash into the lab and closed the door behind them. “Have we reached that special point in the relationship?”
“Special point?”
Pikachu chittered out a little squeak of a laugh as the professor gave Ash a knowing look and led him into his office.
“Oh, you know what I mean! You boys have been together for ages, you've bought a house together. Don't think I don't see the way you look at each other. It was only a matter of time before one of you bought a ring.”
Ash had a feeling he should have known the professor would have seen right through him. He didn’t know how, but somehow the professor and his mother always knew when it came to him and Gary.
Oh well.
No point in beating around doing the bush.
He reached into the pocket of his jacket and retrieved a small black box. Pikachu immediately began chattering excitedly, chirping far too fast for Ash to make out much other than the multiple utterances of ‘Pipichu’ and ‘Pikapi’ Ash supposed he didn't need to hear more to understand, and the professor seemed to agree.
“May I?” he asked, holding out a hand.
“Yeah, ‘course!” Ash opened the box and placed it carefully in the professor’s palm, unable to keep the grin from his face. “It’s a moon stone,” he explained unnecessarily. Surely he recognized the stone.
“Quite fitting for our noctowl,” the professor noted, his smile rather watery as he peered at the ring from every angle.
“That's why I picked it.”
It was as perfect as his mother’s nickname. His boyfriend was very much a nocturnal creature, was utterly fascinated by the night sky, knew the constellations like the back of his hand…
There hadn’t been a doubt in Ash’s mind when he had seen the ring. But there was still a concern that lurked in the back of his head.
“Do…”
“Yes?”
Ash took a breath and forced out the words that threatened to lodge in his throat. “Do you think he’ll say yes?”
“I think the only thing you need to worry about is him asking you first.”
Panic flooded Ash’s chest. The professor didn’t know something Ash didn’t, did he? Gary hadn’t already had this very conversation with him, had he?
Fortunately the professor seemed to notice Ash’s sudden struggle and shook his head with an amused smile as he passed the box back to Ash. “No, I don’t know about any plans or rings other than this one,” he assured him. “And Gary’s been rather content to let you take the lead with your relationship. No need to worry, I think,” he added with a quick flash of a grin that put Ash right at ease. “Do you know how you’ll ask him?”
Ash shook his head. “Not yet,” he admitted. “He’s not easy to plan for.”
The professor chuckled at that. “No, that he’s not,” he agreed. “Fortunately, I believe your spontaneity is his favorite trait. Perhaps leaning into that would be a good plan?”
That sounded like the perfect idea: an ideal meeting point between logic and impulse. Just like their relationship.
Ash couldn’t help the broad grin that spread across his face. “Thank you, Professor.”
“Of course!” the professor returned, seeming rather happy himself. But his smile turned serious as he spoke again. “I do need you to promise one thing, however.”
Uh oh. Ash’s smile turned nervous. “Promise?” he asked warily. If it involved keeping Gary from being impulsive with wild pokemon, there was no way Ash would be able to keep that promise. His boyfriend was as bad as he was, and even more stubborn.
“You know how Gary can get with planning things. Don’t let him get stressed out over little details that no one else will notice. We don’t need him having one of his migraine episodes over something as wonderful as getting married.”
It was still a tall order, but Ash nodded nonetheless. His mother and Tracey would help with that for sure. “You got it, Professor!”
Now he just needed to wait for his boyfriend to come back home.