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The last thing Goh wants to do on his day off is get out of bed when the sun is still in the process of rising. It’s been a long winter, and the weight of his comforter is pleasant and warm and reminds him that there is still, at least, some good to be found within the perpetual chill of early February.
Unfortunately for him, Gary has decided sleeping in isn’t on the table today. When he pulls the comforter away, Goh lifts his head off the pillow and glares, but the chastisement on his tongue is quickly dissolved by the awareness that Gary is holding something else in his other hand.
He notices that Goh’s attention has shifted, and shows it with an antagonistic grin. “Morning, sunshine. You know what they say, the early bird gets the Wurmple. Or, in this case”—he lifts the folded up papers in his hand, shaking them tantalizingly in Goh’s face—“the morning paper.”
Goh is a beat too late in reaching out, for he snatches it away just as quickly, clicking his tongue at him in mock disapproval. “Yours is on the kitchen table, but I’ll have you know I’ve already figured out one-down, three-across, and seven-down in the time it took me to walk in here and wake you up.”
“You’re such a cheater!” Goh shouts, even as he scrambles out of bed and makes a mad dash for the kitchen to grab the other copy of the morning paper. He’s midway through the list of clues and about to jot down the few that have immediately jumped out at him (six letters, A secret hideout favoured by Unova-native Pokémon; four letters, Seadra’s Hidden protection against Aftermath; seven letters, The fluffiest of these surely comes from Gigantamax Eevee’s signature move (pl.)) when he realizes he doesn’t have a pen. Just as soon as it occurs to him, Gary enters the room and wordlessly places one in his hand, then settles down across from him and gets to work on his own crossword.
Goh can’t remember when they started doing this, or why, only that it is important to prove to Gary that he is not, in fact, the undefeated crossword champion of their household, as he so often claims to be. On days where Goh completes the crossword first, he must concede that Goh is better than he is; and on days when Gary completes it first, Goh grudgingly accepts it when Gary tells all their friends he is the best crossword puzzle-solver in the world, even if with a silent vow to himself to ensure he beats him the next morning.
Today, although he had a head start, Gary gets stumped by the clue for thirteen-across—the name of the lead actor from the most recent adaptation of The Sound of Meloetta—and is consequently forced to cede victory to Goh. As soon as Goh declares his crossword complete, Gary is reaching across the table to snatch it away. He pores over it for a long moment, until finally coming upon the answer that eluded him, at which point he lets out an exaggerated groan of despair.
“How do you even know these things?” he demands. “You spend too much time online. It’s an unfair advantage.”
Goh rolls his eyes. “We saw the movie together. It’s not my fault you weren’t paying attention to the credits. Just admit it. I beat you fair and square, even though you tried to cheat. That must really sting, huh? Even when you try to game the system, you still can’t win.”
Gary sets the paper down, grumbling something about no one liking a sore winner, and then rises from his seat. On his way past Goh into the kitchen, he pauses to, almost absently—a habit formed over many years that now is so natural to them both Goh doesn’t even need to think to turn his head and allow it—press a kiss to his cheek. As he moves on again, he asks over his shoulder, “Bacon and eggs?”
And just like that, the competition is done—at least until it comes time for them to get ready for the day, and Gary is standing at the entrance to the bathroom saying, “You’re still brushing your hair? Jeez, and everyone says I spend too much time in front of the mirror.”
“It’s just not behaving today,” Goh complains. “I still got dressed before you.”
“But I’m the one who’s ready and waiting for you now, so I don’t think that matters much, now does it?” In the mirror’s reflection, Goh sees his lips twitch up into that infuriating grin that never fails to make him want to punch him, or kiss him. Whatever it takes to get him to shut up for two seconds. “Should I just call ahead and let them know we’re gonna be late, or what?”
“Oh, for—” Goh forces the brush through a particularly bothersome tangle in his hair, and then whirls around and throws a glare at his husband. “Do you want a reason to be late?”
“You’re just mad ‘cause I was faster than you.”
“No, I’m mad because you’re being annoying about it. Will you tie my hair back for me?”
In an instant, Gary steps forward, reaching past Goh to grab the brush. As he runs it through Goh’s hair, using his hand to bunch up the hair he collects, Goh feels himself relax again. Wordlessly, he passes Gary a hair tie over his shoulder, and watches in the mirror as Gary wraps it around his hair, then carefully runs the brush through the ponytail once more to make sure everything stays in place.
Once the brush is set down, and Goh has repaid him for the favour with a quick peck on the lips, they head out the door together. The second Goh has locked it behind them, they both shoot off for the driver’s side door of the car. Gary beats him there, just barely, and reaches over to gloatingly pluck the car keys out of Goh’s hand.
“Better luck next time,” he crows, and Goh shoves him against the car in retaliation. He just laughs, then lunges forward to grab Goh by the waist and pull him against him, just long enough to brush their noses together. As he pulls away from him, Goh feels his lips twitch up into a smile, though he can never quite help dragging his feet in exaggerated annoyance as he comes around to the passenger’s side and climbs inside.
Gary says nothing as he fiddles with the radio, content to keep his attention on the road, except for the hand he rests on the console between them for Goh to take once he has decided on a station to fill the comfortable silence between them. Accepting it is the most natural thing in the world, to intertwine their fingers and relish in the cool metal of Gary’s wedding band brushing against his skin as he does. Even after all this time, Goh knows, from the indulgent smile Gary sends his way—which all these years later he still thinks Goh does not notice, of course—that Gary is aware of how light it makes his heart feel in his chest.
As much as Goh would have liked to stay home and relax this morning, he can’t deny he is grateful to be on the road to visit family and friends now. They take the journey from Viridian City to Pallet Town slowly, on account of the poor weather of the past few days, but it’s still morning when they arrive at Professor Oak’s laboratory, where they are immediately put to work setting up tables and chairs for the guests visiting this afternoon.
Just as Goh is hurrying to grab the last of the folding chairs from the storage closet, in order to beat Gary to it, he is stopped short by Tracey, who smiles kindly and says, “It was really good of you guys to come early to give us a hand.”
“We don’t mind,” Goh says quickly, even as he tries to peer around Tracey to catch sight of the storage room—still open, still empty, still containing that final chair that will break their current tie.
But Tracey either doesn’t notice his concern or doesn’t care, because he goes on to explain, “I think Professor Oak was worried you two might cancel because of the weather, but I had a feeling neither of you would be keen to do that to Ash. He said he would help set up too, but we didn’t want him to set up for his own celebration! So he’s with his—”
“Dammit!” Goh curses, but while his outburst stops Tracey short, it isn’t enough to prevent Gary from reaching out and grabbing Goh’s prize. As he does, he swings around and, to Goh’s utter fury, sticks his tongue out at him.
In front of him, Goh hears Tracey sigh—it is partially disappointed, but somewhat amused, too.
“I call interference!” Goh cries. “You should have timed out when you saw we were having a conversation!”
“Conversation schmonversation,” Gary dismisses. “Just admit it, Goh. I’m a better party planner than you are! And my decorations are going to be better, too. You might as well just quit now. Not that you were ever ahead, mind you…”
“Like hell I’ll admit that!”
“What have I gotten myself in the middle of…,” Tracey mutters.
Gary clearly hears him, because he chuckles, and says, far too happily for Goh’s liking, “Thanks for the assist, Trace.”
And with that, he jogs away. With the chair.
“I really thought I had him beat.” Goh sighs. Finally, though, he offers Tracey an apologetic smile. “I was listening, I promise.”
“It’s okay. I could sort of tell you weren’t really paying attention. Honestly, I should’ve known you two were in the middle of some sort of competition, from how distracted you were.” Tracey laughs a bit. “You’re pretty much always competing over one thing or another, after all.”
“Huh? Not always…”
“Pretty much always,” Tracey corrects, not unkindly. “Anyway, since that’s all set up, I guess you can get a head start on decorating, right? I’ll get the box for you.”
With the advantage gifted to him, Goh manages to decorate his section of the lab before Gary finishes his, though Gary predictably insists that his section looks better than Goh’s. When they ask Tracey and Professor Oak to settle the argument for them, however, they both refuse to be a part of it, and so Gary declares the decorating a draw—though Goh knows it’s only because he’s bitter about having lost to him, of course.
It’s not so bad, though, really. He approaches Goh after his declaration, and runs a thumb down the crease between his brow, smoothing it out. His hand comes to rest, briefly, on Goh’s cheek—but when he pulls away, the feeling remains, that lightness in his chest, the pleased stretch of his lips.
The gathering itself is in celebration of Ash’s recent defeat of the Kanto Elite Four. He turned down the title of Champion, of course—he is still the defending Champion of Alola, after all—but his mother and Professor Oak would never miss an opportunity to celebrate him, and the population of Pallet Town would never miss out on a party. For everyone else, who, like Goh and Gary, are coming from nearby cities, it is a chance to catch up with old friends.
Before Ash and his mom arrive, they enjoy lunch together with Tracey and Professor Oak, swapping stories with each other about work and life and Pokémon they have all seen recently. Then, they help Tracey with feeding the Pokémon in the corral, with the help of their own partners.
This is where Ash finds them when he arrives, and Goh is so immersed in divvying up the Pokémon food that he doesn’t notice him approaching until Gary says, casually, “Hey there, Ashy. Congrats on the big win.” He pauses, and then with a decidedly smug affect: “From both of us.”
At that, Goh straightens up and turns around. Before Ash can say more than a “Thanks, Gary!” Goh clears his throat to get their attention, and pulls out his phone to open up his text log with Ash. There, sent minutes after Ash won the battle on TV the other day, is Goh’s congratulatory message: Congrats on the win, Ash! Gary and I knew you could do it!
“That doesn’t count,” Gary says immediately. “It’s all about saying it.”
“Had a feeling you’d say that.” Goh grins, as sweetly as he can, and scrolls down a little to a voice clip sent about twenty minutes after that. His voice rings out from the speaker crisp and clear: “Congratulations, Ash! From me and Gary.”
As Gary’s expression registers his irritation, Ash bursts into laughter. “That’s why you said it twice? Just to beat Gary to congratulating me?”
“And because I really meant it,” Goh insists. “Your battle against Lance was amazing! And Agatha, wow! Gengar was incredible!”
Ash beams at him. “Thanks, Goh! We’re definitely ready for a break now, right, Pikachu?”
From atop his head, Pikachu gives a hearty agreement.
Gary raises an eyebrow at them. “My gramps told us you’re leaving again tomorrow. Pretty short break.”
“Places to see, Trainers to battle…” He shrugs. “You guys used to be the same way, y’know.”
Before Goh can respond, he feels Gary wrap an arm around his shoulder and pull him in close. Despite himself, he can’t quite seem to keep the smile off his face.
“The endless monotony of domestic life has grown on us,” Gary says dryly. “By the way, Ash, if you wanna have a battle before you go…”
Ash’s eyes light up. “Do I ever! Right now?!”
“Let’s at least try to make it through dessert first,” Goh says with a laugh. “Gary just wants to prove that he could beat the Elite Four, too, but he just can’t be bothered to waste his time battling them all…”
“What, Ash and I can’t have a little friendly competition?”
“Is there really such a thing with you?”
“You’re not exactly one to talk, Mr. ‘It Doesn’t Matter if Your Decorations are Prettier if Mine were Done First.’”
“Oh, get over it,” Goh gripes, twisting around to face him properly. They’re so close, with Gary’s arm still resting atop his shoulder, that their noses nearly rub together when Goh tilts his head up to glare at him. “You’re just mad that Tracey gave me a head start instead of you.”
“You’re right. That’s unfair. Who taught you to be such a dirty cheater?”
“Says the biggest cheater I know!”
“What kind of philosophy is that? Honestly. If I jumped off a cliff, would you jump off it too?”
Somewhat distantly, Goh hears Ash mutter to Pikachu, “Uh-oh… I think we’ve totally lost them now.”
And though he wants to reassure their best friend they haven’t forgotten about him, the need to get the last word in keeps him glued in place, gaze lost in the glimmering slate green of Gary’s. It’s been like this a long time; even after all these years, the thrill of competing with each other has never quite worn off. If anything, it’s only gotten better and better with the knowledge that Gary only tries to push his buttons because he is still, after all this time, so attracted to him.
Perhaps that’s what makes it so easy, these days, to eventually seal away their bickering with a kiss. Gary’s contented sigh against Goh’s lips is rival only to the smile that graces them at the contact. It’s a short, fleeting touch—but enough to have them both pulling back in satisfaction.
Only to look around and realize Ash and Tracey are both nowhere to be seen. They must have gone inside together at some point, without bothering to try too hard to get in between Gary and Goh’s apparent argument.
A beat passes, and then Gary grins. He’s already turned around and launched himself forward by the time he challenges, “I’ll race you inside!”
Goh curses, and stumbles to hurry after him. Even still, he is smiling; the racing of his heart isn’t only from the exertion of sprinting to catch up.
Gary knows it as well as he does: he wouldn’t really want it any other way.