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“Gary I swear to Arceus if you don’t shut up—” Goh basically screamed while entering the lab, a grinning Gary next to him.
“Make me” Gary leans against his desk, Goh glaring at him before turning on his computer to start entering the data they just collected.
“I would, but I doubt Professor Cerise would appreciate me punching you in the face”
Before they could continue, Professor Cerise cleared his throat from the doorway, a tired but somehow amused expression on his face.
“...Should I ask?”
“Yes,” Goh answered flatly.
“No,” Gary said at the same time, amusement clear in his eyes and the smile tugging at his lips.
Professor Cerise sighed, grabbing the bridge of his nose as he entered to gather some papers for his investigation. “I’m beginning to understand why Chloe refuses to go with you two on field missions”
Gary snorted, a small smirk tugged on his lips. “She just lacks appreciation for a healthy academic debate”
“You’ve called me, and I quote, “Too intelligently constipated to function” like six times in the last hour.”
“And I’ve meant them affectionately”
Goh nearly choked at that, blush spreading onto his cheeks while Professor Cerise just shook his head in resignation.
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“Goh, do you think you could go and catch me some caterpies? I need them for a study, at least fifteen will do if possible” Professor Cerise asked, not really looking away from his screen.
“Sure Professor, I’ll get that done” Goh grabbed some pokemons and his SmartRotom then went to the door, closing his eyes as soon as he heard some distinctive footsteps.
“I’ll go with you, it’ll be quicker that way” Gary had this stupid smile, trying to seem nice and helpful. But Goh knew better than that, he could see the mischief in his eyes. What a shame he couldn’t call him out without seeming paranoid.
The trip towards the tall grass was easy enough, some bickering here and there, but nothing bad enough (at least for what would be expected from Gary and Goh). They captured the first five, two due to Goh and three thanks to Gary.
“You know, I bet I could catch more caterpies than you”
“Wh— of course not, I would totally crush you”
“Yeah? Prove it darling. One hour, no rules”
“Fine, but don’t cry when I beat you”
They separated, each of them taking different routes. For the better part of the hour they didn’t cross each other. Goh was near a river, hiding behind some bushes as he tried to sneak up on a caterpie drinking water.
“Do you really think that will work?” Gary leaned over Goh’s shoulder, startling the boy which in turn scared the caterpie.
“Damnit Oak, what the hell?” Goh glared at him, his eye twitching slightly due to the annoyance. “What are you doing here, keeping your eyes on me?” Goh tried to taunt him, but Gary was never one to back down, even when it meant flirting a little.
“Oh, you noticed?” Gary chuckled, the sound full of arrogance. “I wanted to see what your strategy was.. unfortunately, you are as predictable as ever” Gary leaned away, smirking down at Goh just to rile him up.
Instead of reacting, Goh stood up gracefully. Dusting off some dirt on his clothes before leaning into Gary's space, whispering in his ear. “And yet you still love to chase me”
Gary lost his composure momentarily, disbelieving and embarrassed adorning his face slightly. It was Goh’s turn to giggle, turning around and walking back towards the lab. “Come on, even if you haven’t captured a single caterpie I already got twenty two, so we are done here.”
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“Let go! I can finish this playground on my own thank you” Goh took away the instructions, Gary giving him an exasperated look. Chloe and Ash were standing on the side line, amusement and tiredness over the antics of the two of them.
“You can’t, I’ve seen you confuse the #4 and #6 screws three times already. Unless you want the pokemons to get hurt, let me help.”
Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, and Gary also knew that. The moment those words left his mouth regret flashed through his eyes, but it was too late to take them back.
“Fine, do it yourself then.” Goh stands to leave, his face showing no readable emotion.
“Goh please wait—” Ash tried to stop him, knowing how sensitive he can be about his pokemon and taking good care of them. Still, Goh was too wrapped around his thoughts to pay any mind.
“You know, maybe I was wrong to assume you were smart enough not to cross some lines.” Chloe had this disappointed look on her face, making Gary feel like a scolded child.
“You guys go ahead and finish this please… I’ll go talk to him” With that Gary stood and went inside too. The lab was silent, the professor and his researchers had gone home for the weekend. A quick look around told Gary that Goh had gone to his bedroom, so up the stairs he went.
He could hear movement inside of the room. Gary knocked twice to let his presence known before entering, he knew better than to wait for an answer that was never gonna come. Inside he found Goh sitting down on the floor, fidgeting with an empty pokeball as he stared at the wall.
Gary moved awkwardly, emotions and apologies had never been his strongest suit, yet he was still there trying. He sat down next to the youngest, staying in silence for some minutes as they both accepted the company.
“I’m sorry I said that, I know you would never endanger your pokemons— any pokemon on purpose…” Gary kept his gaze on the wall, his hand falling in between him and Goh.
There was a beat of silence, before Goh spoke softly. “Is… is okay, you were right anyway.” He laughed bitterly, small tears forming on his eyes. “I would have ended up causing an accident, I suck at being a trainer.” He sighed heavily before looking up towards the ceiling. “You are right to question my every move, I don’t trust myself either.”
“That’s what you think I’ve been doing?” Gary was now looking directly at Goh, even if he was still avoiding his gaze. “You think I fight you and challenge you to prove you are a bad trainer?”
Goh finally looked at him, hurt and a deep tiredness haunting his eyes. “What other reason could you possibly have then?” His eyes were glossy, his breath turning shallow. “Why would you waste your time if not to prove how unfit I am—”
“Do you seriously think I’d waste this much time competing with someone I didn’t respect? ” Gary let out a quiet, disbelieving laugh as he runned his hand through his hair. “If I thought you were incompetent I wouldn’t argue with you every chance I get.”
Goh’s expression faltered slightly to his words.
“You think I’d trust just anyone to work alongside me on missions?” Gary continued, frustration bleeding into his voice. “You think I’d keep coming back if I didn’t think you could keep up?”
The room fell silent again, Gary’s rapid breath mixing with Goh’s arhythmic respiration. Gary exhaled sharply before turning his look away.
“You’re the only person who actually challenges me, Goh.”
Goh froze up, his brain scrambling to either react or gain some composure. Gary sounded honest, painfully honest.
“And yeah, maybe sometimes I push too much. Sometimes I get carried away trying to beat you. But that’s not the same thing as looking down on you.”
Goh stared at him, air caught somewhere in his throat.
“I don’t think you’re a bad trainer,” Gary said softly, a slight blushness painting his cheeks. “If anything, I think you might be as good as me” He tried to smile, trying to alleviate the pressure of being so vulnerable with his words.
“And for the record,” Gary added, the corner of his mouth twitching despite himself. Taking one of Goh’s hands, intertwining their fingers as redness spread across the smaller boy he continued, “ you are incredibly easy to rile up. That part’s just endearing.