Work Text:
Ash pressed cupped hands firmly against the store window, only slightly succeeding in blocking out the subtle breeze of early spring that forced his eyes to flutter each time it lapsed.
Could this really be the right place?
It had the right vibe, sure, but it was real damn difficult to get a good look within. His vision was obscured somewhat by the light film of condensation forming from strained breaths.
He pressed further, leaning his full body weight and shifting only subtly when his uncapped head knocked painfully against a wooden sign. Tinted glass, along with the seemingly dimmed atmosphere within the store, obligated him to really squint for a good look.
“He's gotta be in there, no doubt..” he shifted his head slightly to give the store a once over, cheek grazing lightly against Pikachu's, “Right, buddy?” he continued, half whispering to himself.
Internally, the store was painted with dim, amberish tones. The interior was warmly lit from various lamps and candles, a tell-tale sign of his presence. His scan continued, picking up on the vague shapes of plants strewn about. He seriously doubted their health, no way they could be getting good sunlight with windows like these. Every inch of the store’s walls were brightly decorated, some prints he vaguely recognized from Brassius' personal studio, whilst others remained unfamiliar.
Music littered every corner of the store, granting it its cramped nature. CDs and records were pressed into impossibly small compartments, fitting as many different artists and genres into sectionals. Cluttered, but rather charming. It was a rather cozy place. His hands flattened; thumbs tapping steadily against the glass with genuine intrigue, even if picking up a fancy new record wasn’t necessarily what he came to this specific location for.
Now pressing his ear firmly against the cool glass, he could hear the delicate, swinging rhythms of jazzy music even through the window. Smooth melodies flooded in, only to be interrupted by the soft cooing of Pikachu perched comfortably on his shoulder. Pikachu tapped its tail lightly against Ash’s shoulder blades, as if in agreement to his previous question.
No doubt, this was the record store he was looking for. The way his Rotom phone buzzed softly from his back pocket alerted him that, for once, he'd made it to destination without getting lost or sidetracked. He'd successfully used a GPS— something that, to this day, he still had never seen Leon do properly.
He was exactly where he needed to be.
Ash pressed a hand firmly against the door, sounding his entry with the gentle jingling and trilling of the store’s Chimecho. The resulting noise of his entry was far more gentle than he intended.
He was meant to make a flashy entrance, with the swing and slam of the door alerting the singular employee working their shift of his presence. However, plushy, carpeted flooring only permitted the door to brush softly. No biggie. At least now, he could drop the persona of wariness and vigilance he'd developed in trying to find this place anyway. Observationalist tendencies were better suited to his other half after all.
That one thing, one person, etched themselves into the forefront of his mind. Truthfully the only person who needed to be made aware of Ash’s entrance, one way or another. Darting his line of sight from straight ahead to the left-most corner of the store, there he sat.
Goh was already staring at him, originally concerned yet now completely unimpressed. He was slightly hunched over, failing to aid his already horrid posture issues. His chin was propped square on his fist, with his other hand stranded midair. He’d been caught in the middle of scanning an album barcode by the looks of it.
Black and red streaked hair settled across his employee’s desk and cascaded the rest of the way down his back and shoulders. Strands fell around him, as though Ash’s subpar entrance had taken him at least by enough surprise to cause sudden movement. One of the many candles sat beside him, lit by some sort of lamp contraption that completely evaded Ash in however it could possibly work. What did matter was the way the lamp-candle light hit Goh’s face, angelically illuminating his sharp facial features and the curved muscles of his arms with its ethereal glow.
Science is so amazing
His gaze was intent and calculating something Ash couldn't even begin to guess at. Goh's eyelids lowered slightly, creating their signature half-lidded and stoic look that so often appeared on his face. Then in an instant, his expression quickly turned into the look he gave most people who ticked him off even slightly. That unintended resting bitch face that could only rival Giratina itself in the way it could frighten people. His eyebrows furrowed slightly, lips pressing into a tight line and causing his nose to wrinkle. His typically calm demeanor contorting itself into a look between annoyance and genuine disgust before drawing in a sharp, somewhat pained breath.
He was already irritated within mere seconds of Ash's arrival. Perfect.
Goh's cheeks puffed, forcing out a billowing exhale. His long eyelashes fluttered shut as his eyebrows knitted themselves together, a sure characteristic of an oncoming headache, before parting his mouth in an attempt to deliver a good enough customer service greeting to his uninvited guest.
“Welco—”
”Bring me your very best right away, music boy!” Ash exclaimed, puffing out his chest and flashing his usual brace-faced, shit-eating grin. The very one that would’ve typically melted Goh's apathetic demeanor in any other circumstance. And yet, the others eyes only narrowed. His irises were plagued by weariness provided from the repeated draining of lackluster social interactions, not typically his favorite thing the world had to offer. Pikachu huffed a sigh, dipping its head with movements more thoughtful than its trainer’s, motions similar to that of Goh's.
Goh’s eyes closed painfully slowly, shut for a beat, and opened in the same, pained fashion. His mouth was now slightly agape, his unsaid customer service script still sitting on his lips, laced with even more irritation than it was before Ash cut him off.
“Do you not have like.. anything else to—”
”Get me an album that just screams” Ash paused dramatically, preparing to let out his best announcer voice, “Reigning Alolan champion, Ash Ketchum!” He finished, making sure to drag out the “-um” sound just for the hell of it.
Suddenly, the corners of Goh's lips quirked up into a mischievous smile. Ash knew what that look meant immediately. He had some smart shit to say and he'd spare Ash little empathy nor time to process before spitting it at him in response.
”Never heard of him..,” He hummed, paused, then squinted intently, “You mean the former world champion?” he emphasized, raising an arched brow. He hummed again, the initial carefulness in his tone faltering as he blinked away from Ash’s direction.
“Has he ever heard of Kidz Bop? Or maybe the Trolls soundtrack would be more his jam, hm?” He shrugged, waving his scanner-occupied hand towards the children's music section of the store.
Given the way the music played softly, given the way the store smelled sweetly of some sort of incense burning nearby, given the way the amber hues from candle lighting reflected so nicely off the blues in his eyes, and given the way Goh's features bordered perfectly between beautiful and handsome, femininity and masculinity mixed and caught nicely by the warm yellow-oranges lapped at his skin, Ash could have almost forgiven just how low of a blow that truly was. Almost.
He shifted, angling his feet in Goh’s direction and pressed onward. Taking only a couple steps before positioning himself directly in front of the less interested teen. From this angle, for once, he could be the one to stand over the other, and attempt to deliver an expression twisted similarly to his. He received a huffed laugh in reply.
“Taller research fellow gets the top bunk” he wagged his finger, clicking his tongue at Ash. A gentle reminder that Goh had been right in his judgement about who was actually the taller years ago. “Seriously, chiquito,” voice trailing, but pretentiously utilizing his mom’s Paldean pet name, muffled in its taunting nature by honest laughter. A noticeable, clowning smirk had found a place on his face, perking the rest of his features up slightly. Pikachu had hopped off its perch on Ash’s left shoulder, now nuzzling itself comfortably in the crook of Goh’s arm, bolting it and his abandoned scanner hostage in place.
Ash raised two fingers in response, pressing them against his other arm. He began walking them along the knitted sleeve of his target. They trailed up to the familiar dip between the slope of his forehead and the connecting nose bridge, right above where it hooked.
He leaned over a fraction, jutting out his bottom lip in feigned concentration. He slid his fingertips over Goh’s exasperated eyebrows, a lackluster attempt to smoothen them from his new perch.
When the sight of Goh’s softened expression satisfied him, he trailed his fingers an inch higher, pushing Goh's head back a faint bit before propelling them forward with the strength to knock the younger back at least somewhat.
“Alright, real talk dude, come do your job already,” He shot back, dipping his head and stabilizing himself with his unoccupied hand to snag a look at the other. Sure enough, he’d been surprised by the sudden force, then contorted right back to customer service irritated.
Goh raised his head. Smoothing and tucking the loose strands of his bangs back into place. He attempted to compose himself, dawning hesitant confidence. He paused subtlety, shifting his arms carefully, as though trying to determine whether he should act like a teenager or like a professional.
“Sure..” hesitating yet again “What would he be interested in?”
He’d chosen the latter.
Again, no big. Ash could work with this well enough.
— .‧₊˚♪𝄞࿐₊˚⊹ —
Despite conveying a tone that suggested he was about to ‘help’ Ash, albeit questionable in intent, even this was completely off the mark.
They were sitting at a listening nook, relaxing comfortably on plushy beanbags. Ash gazed to his left, landing on a rack of CDs hidden slightly by a potted plant, the greenery overtaking the rack as it stood in the foreground of his vision.
So they did get good sunlight afterall.
He turned to look straight again, slinging his arm back with boredom. Despite the sudden movement, he was actually being relatively still in comparison to his typical nature. It wasn’t like his elbow was the one brushing against Goh’s own each time the other moved.
Ash peered beside him, trying to figure out whatever the hell Goh was doing that could possibly be more interesting than interacting with his best friend, who’d so graciously offered his presence at his new place of work.
Goh’s head dipped slightly, expression already bordering on somewhat annoyed, yet equally plotting. Each movement was calculated, ensuring his accuracy and precision. An arm flew backwards dramatically, overextending above Ash’s head, before flying back down. He was winding something in the weirdest way humanly possible
He was wrapping a cord around headphones.
Seriously.
“Hey. Hey.” Ash nudged, poking Goh’s shoulder. “Hey. Hey!” He pressed on, irritation from being ignored so nonchalantly only growing steadily. He zeroed in on Goh’s side, fingers now darting to pinch squishy skin back to reality.
Yet Goh was a fraction quicker, slamming Ash’s wrist into his thigh with unnecessary force before Ash could attempt to close the distance. Ash looked up at him, pupils blown in shock as he’d taken completely by surprise. His lips puckered in feigned innocence.
“So you were paying attention after all?”
“Yea, and I don’t really give a shit” He sighed, the slight waver of his voice almost revealing an offhanded laugh. His attention remained steady and perceptive to the headphones. He pressed his forearm down in a quick motion, effectively trapping Ash whilst allowing him the mobility to remain enraptured with the tangled mess currently absorbing his interest. “Just wanna do my job.”
Ash puffed a sigh of his own, brushing off the sarcastic comment. He was locked stationary, resting his head in his free hand, posture now forcibly leaning. His gaze drifted towards Pikachu, who was trying on an already untangled pair and squealing, with zero intention of helping its stranded trainer.
Goh hummed, before opening his mouth to finally engage with Ash’s plotted antics.
“You don’t even own a record player. Nor a CD player for that matter..” He rolled his eyes “What could you possibly be doing here” he half-accused, fixing his eyes onto Ash through feathered eyelashes, a sharp eyebrow raised.
“You do!” He chuckled, completely ignoring the actual question. “Care to help a customer out? ‘M supposed to be ‘always right’ y’know?”
Goh set down the headphones, sighing slightly before releasing Ash.
“Gotta work. Like actually work.” he turned his attention elsewhere. His tone was firm, light at its edges yet somewhat genuine. “I’ll be at my desk, please don’t bug me too much.”
— .‧₊˚♪𝄞࿐₊˚⊹ —
He wasn’t going to get anything accomplished. Ash would make sure of that. No doubt.
“Why would you even ask for my help in the first place, if you’re just gonna deny every damn option?!” Goh huffed, holding an album cover against his forehead. The action effectively blocking Ash from seeing how his inevitable, short-tempered streak could be clawing at his features.
Ash simply hummed, placing his finger against his chin in bluffed thoughtfulness. “You should know my taste, no? It’s only been, what.. 5.. gonna be 6 years?” His comment was followed with an upbeat giggle.
“Customer’s always right, hm?”
Goh whipped the album off his face, as though he intended to chuck it to the other side of the store in pure rage. He scowled
“Ash” He wheezed, straining his entire face in genuine exhaustion.
“I promise you, these are genuinely good picks based on your taste..” He threw his head back, hair whipping with it. His eyes squeezed shut, hands digging the heels of his palms firmly into his eyes. Pikachu tugged gently on the side of his shirt, rubbing against Goh’s hip from where it sat on a table. It was urging him to calm down, to realize he was being baited into getting mad. Goh only gave it a low groan as a reply.
“You unironically listen to anderdingus phonk and edit audios to prepare for your battles,” huffing strained laughter, halfway yelling “I am doing my damn best here!”
And in Goh’s defense, they had spent 30 minutes, and had looped around the whole store at least 5 times, just to find something Ash would like. His annoyance was plenty justified and only mounting. Ash struggled terribly to not laugh in watching his best friend fall for such clearly placed ragebait.
For now, he’d begun counting the seconds he could reasonably give Goh as a break from the harassment. He glanced aside, providing him a moment to calm down while he looked around the store.
His eyes caught onto the special edition records lining the already busied walls, proudly on display. An impressive collection for the store's size. His eyes then flicked from the wall, now trained on the display tables in particular, where other vinyls were stacked neatly atop. Each table was carved with varying intricacies and patterns, providing woods of different stains and grains each with unique personalities fitting of the genres sat atop each. Similarly to a pokemon and its trainer, there surely was a record for every and any person that would suit them finely. And no doubt, Ash recognized plenty of artists he did enjoy.
To be truthful, many of his picks did pique his interest, but he couldn’t make the selection process that easy for Goh.
His attention returned to Goh, who was now hunched over and kneeling. Ash couldn’t get a great look at his profile, now hung as his forehead was pressed against the wooden table. He narrowed his eyes, kneeling slightly in an attempt to catch his face. He peered closely for a glimpse of Goh between his soft, cascading sections of hair, strands revealing his expression as each fell out of place. His facial expression was somewhat absent, peering intently directly at the floor, seemingly in thought somewhere far away from the current moment.
That wasn’t right. He was supposed to be annoyed, irritated by his lofty requests and nagging. And yet, he wasn’t. His gaze was gentle and focused, omitting any residual of anger that Ash had just dragged out.
Actually, from this angle.. he looked somewhat—
“Need help, Cedar?” A somewhat familiar voice inquired, effectively halting wherever Ash’s thoughts were going to end up. Ash shot up instantly, whipping around to locate the source of the question. He’d been caught.
From his side, Goh peered upwards slowly. He was blinking himself back for the question before locating the source to provide a response. Standing carefully, he pressed a hand against the table’s edge.
“No..,” he answered with exasperation, sighing slightly while rubbing at the angry, reddening mark left on his forehead. “Thank you, Sawyer.., but I ought to handle this, he’ll only give you more trouble, I assure you.” He murmured. When Ash had turned in the direction Goh was now facing, that’s when his eyes finally met the green haired boys’.
Had Sawyer been there the whole time? And why in the heart of Vermillion City of all places? He could've sworn up and down that Goh was the only employee in the shop. Before he had the opportunity to process Goh’s words, Sawyer continued on, head tipped.
“Positive? I wouldn’t mind in the slightest!” He tilted further, peering at Ash from beside Goh. “Y’know, we’ve got a mini questionnaire for people who aren’t particularly sure what they want.” He paused, flipping open that familiar leatherbound notebook and tapping his pen against its pages, “I can recommend you options based off of what other people with similar personalities, such as yourself, have chosen from their results?” He inquired, giving Ash a bright, somewhat nervous, grin. Sawyer had managed to show off once again the extent of his perceptive nature, similar to that of Goh’s.
“Nah,” he answered, waving a hand briskly, trying his best not to be dismissive. “I wanna see what ol’Goh here thinks of me!” He smiled, chuckling while reaching up to lean an arm against Goh, careful as to not to tug at his hair in the way he so often nagged him about. The sudden movement wasn’t commented on, as he remained completely frozen despite Ash’s full weight pressed lazily against his side.
“‘Sides, this one looks kinda cool.” He confirmed the rejection by grasping at the album Goh now held uselessly in his hand.
Sawyer nodded cooly, surprisingly not thrown off by the denial of his assistance. He directed a warm smile to Goh, the corners of his mouth tugged by an expression completely indiscernible to Ash. The taller furrowed his eyebrows slightly at the motion, mumbling something offhandedly before the green haired teen bowed politely and walked off. Ash blinked a couple times, still shellshocked by Sawyer’s arrival, only brought back to reality by the tug of the album from his loose hold.
Goh held it up against his face, leaving only his cheekbones and up visible. He adjusted his stance to fully face Ash, inadvertently shrugging off his weight. He peered intently, yet his mind was still somewhat far away.
“Currents?” He questioned, flipping the album over to stare at the back of it, gazing absent-mindedly at the tracklist. “Tame Impala..” He whispered softly, clearly satisfied with the pick himself. He ran his thumb along the edge of the cover, before handing it to Ash. He raised his eyelids to look towards him.
Ash squinted in response, occupied by a different train of thought.
Weirdly enough, standing only slightly apart like this, it was far clearer to Ash the height difference between them. Despite it being only a couple centimeters, he stood in the direct eyeline of Goh’s lips if he stared straight ahead. Interesting.
“Good pick,” Goh smiled contently, extending an arm down to ruffle Pikachu’s fur, who had been coaxing him to do so throughout the interaction. Suddenly, a thought popped into Ash’s head as he ran his thumb along the same edge, now flying out of his mouth before his brain could catch up.
“Remember when I could pick you up?” He inquired, receiving a confused expression from the other. “When we were ten and I gigantamaxed Gengar! You ran to me and I swung you around, remember that?” He chuckled softly, failing to question why a memory like that suddenly struck him. “When did’ya get heavy man?”
Goh stared at him, face stuck between puzzled and amused before looking back at Pikachu. He’d been taken somewhat aback by the sudden comment, resulting in huffed laughter. “That’s just what happens when you get older, dude. I got taller and stronger, and therefore heavier,” His gaze returned to settle on Ash.
“Random to bring up I suppose, but that’s sort of just how weight distribution works, as well as puberty and growth spurts. You know how it is.”
Ash blinked.
“You know..? It’s like..” his voice trailing off the moment he realized Ash wasn’t picking up whatever he was trying to explain. He clicked his tongue under a drawing breath, annoyance swiftly returning and tugging at the edge of his words. “You are genuinely reason number one that they changed the age you can legally be a trainer from 10 to 14. This is exactly what happens when kids don’t stay in school and go bullshit elsewhere,” He released a pained sigh, feigned irritation washing over him once again.
“Oh, okay then!” Ash huffed, plopping the album back down on the table, dramatically wiping off his hands and raising them. “You’re recs still suck by the way, ‘nd your taste in general is crap.” He grinned, eager to see Goh pissed off again.
“Music’s where you got that silly line right? ‘The future’s in the palm of my hands’?” He attempted to mimic Goh’s tone, now holding up a different record and peering at Goh through his peripheral vision. “Not corny in the slightest.”
Goh’s eye twitched in response, taking both hands over his face and wiping down, failing yet again to keep customer service-composed. His eyes widened, boring past Ash, struggling desperately to find any reason to not force him out of the store. His face was beginning to contort again.
“Divine Arceus..,” He gritted out, tearing his stare away and now burning it squarely into the ceiling. His rage comically contrasted the gentle, jazzy house music that had been washing over the whole store since Ash’s arrival in soft melodies.
“MF DOOM.” He grumbled, pointing behind him with his thumb towards the 90’s rap section. “Mm.. Food. Should be your vibe. Anything else?” He sighed, the joking irritation Ash had so lovingly coaxed out now replaced with genuine misery and bitterness.
Too mean.
“Ah..” He began, searching for any way to backtrack on what he’d said. His mouth remained agape, eyebrows shooting up as any attempt at a response was suddenly lost on him. He leaned his head back slightly, pointer finger rubbing back and forth against his upper lip with guilt. “Well.. I mean, that was..” he pressed on, moving his sweatied hands to press softly into his own shoulders, kneading against—
Those were not his hands.
Ash whipped around suddenly, eyes widening in terror at the grasp that had reached in from behind.
He was met immediately with closed eyes, eyelids squished by the pleasant smile of Sawyer. The smooth palms that had pressed against him were now held up in the air. His eyes opened ever so slightly, holding his cheery demeanor steady.
“Calming massage!” He giggled, tipped off with slight nervousness “To ease the tension, I read it’s somewhat helpful a while back.” He grinned, somewhat cherub-like, serving to ease his own facial expression with another gentle laugh. He fixed his gaze past Ash and back towards Goh, blue eyes half-lidded and fairly mellow.
“Goh..” he eased on, voice unwavering and light, “pardon the overstep.. I know you’re great at helping out customers on your own and all, but may I suggest that it could be particularly helpful to Ash if you recommended some of your personal picks?” His voice began to ebb, nervousness returning at the recommendation, with clear intent to avoid overstepping. He brushed past Ash carefully, positioning at his coworker's side, and remaining light on his feet. The same hand was placed against Goh’s shoulder this time, kneading firmly at the muscle in the same fashion.
He pulled the notebook from his shorts once more, flipping through and landing on a page. Ash watched as he rotated it quietly towards him. He rapped his keystone bookmark against the page, allowing Goh’s eyes to settle on its contents.
“If I recall, your taste is quite beautiful, right? Well thought out, specific to you. I’m sure he’d be interested,” He snapped the book shut, slotting it in his side pocket the moment Ash had leaned over in an attempt to read as well. “You two are quite close, right?”
Goh murmured in response, brightly flustered embarrassment creeping up his skin. He puffed a gentle exhale, leaving Sawyer unanswered as he stepped past the both of them and back to his desk.
He twisted back to look at Goh. What got into him so suddenly? They’d always joked around like that, rough housing, pissing each other off. That was their norm. Ash sank slightly, anxiously running the pads of his fingers along his collarbone, rubbing his shirt against the thin skin that covered bone with a certain stress-induced roughness.
Though leaving, Ash remained transfixed on him, watching as he ran his fingers smoothly along the records beside his path. He raised his line of view, finding the sudden need to commit to memory the way Goh’s hair swayed across the middle of his back with each step. He noted the way red streaks showed themselves through the soft black only when he walked near the candle-lamp, yet disappeared when he knelt behind the desk and out of view. The only sign of his presence was now the unruly hairs that never failed to stand up, peaking above the desk.
He squinted, stuck between trying to dissect Goh’s movements, versus trying to figure out why they mattered so much to begin with.
Sawyer gave Ash a quizzical glance, reaching down yet again to withdraw the notebook. He tapped his finger lightly against a certain page, before opening his mouth to continue his monologue.
“Easy to talk to about certain topics, not so much with others.” He whispered attentively “High attention to detail. Observant. Shows through in his battle style, additionally true in the way he speaks as well. Somewhat flustered when his efforts are pointed out, despite the consistent certainty behind his actions..” Ash turned to face him slowly, acutely unaware of whatever he was babbling about.
“Get’s cagey about family-related questions. Not the most appreciative of touch unless it's his hair or from someone he knows well.. excitable when the topic is Pokemon, particularly Mew.” His voice raised slightly, clearly thinking deeply as his gaze flicked back to Ash, then quickly jotted down a new note.
“Quiet.. when a note is made.. about his personality, behaviors, or appearance.. whether good.. or bad,” He scribbled, then abruptly pointed his pen to Ash.
“Been trying to get confirmation on that one for a couple days now.. anything to add?” He implored, eyes remaining trained on his note pad. His tone firm, somewhat accusatory for a reason Ash still couldn't place.
He’s referring to Goh.
“Oh..” he looked back to the desk then back at Sawyer awkwardly, finally somewhat understanding, “don’t think so?”
Squinted blue eyes looked up from his notes sharply.
“Really? I thought you’d have plenty to add” He withheld a laugh “Seems like you enjoy looking at him so I simply figured..” he let his voice fade again, summing his remaining thoughts with a flat “hm.”
Sawyer nodded to himself quickly, looking back at his notebook and jotting down more notes in varying strokes. He peered at Ash halfway through his bullet list, blinking rapidly.
“Are you gonna go then?” he questioned, raising an eyebrow. “Go to him, I mean”
Ash continued to stare at him, lips parted with his unwavering confusion before Sawyer shrugged, then quickly ushered him away.
— .‧₊˚♪𝄞࿐₊˚⊹ —
Ash stepped haphazardly around the employees’ desk, unsure of where to place his feet. He dug his heels firmly in place, attempting to ground himself as he stared at his own sneakers. Walking behind the desk meant that he was essentially closed off from the rest of the store, now solely absorbed into the cozy, dimly lit corner.
The first thing that caught his attention was Goh’s Thwackey, belly up and twisted in a way that couldn’t possibly be comfortably. And yet, it slept lazily in the cushioned desk chair, drool catching on its fur.
The smooth jazz that once painted the entirety of the store was replaced with soft, rhythmic clicking and static, denoting the end of the track.
He looked up slowly from his contemplation, somewhat anxious to meet a gaze laced with whatever explosive anger was now warping itself on Goh’s face. But Goh’s back was fully turned to him, not yet granting him the privilege of eye contact.
The teen was balanced firmly on his haunches, slinging his arms back in a stretch, forcing soft clicking sounds from his joints. He brought his arms forward, a hand now holding a filing cabinet open. Extending his other arm further, he ran a finger over various vinyls pressed together carefully. He paused over the black line of a cover he fancied, sliding it out. Held now to his face, both album cover and his expression were hidden, entirely unknown to Ash. Ash’s eyes remained deliberately trained on him, attempting to read his movements and determine the intensity of his likely soured mood.
He pulled the vinyl out of its casing, settling it atop and placing the vinyl and cover together on the ground behind him gently.
Goh placed a palm flat on the ground to keep himself stable, angling slightly to meet Ash’s face from his position on the floor. His eyes blinked open, lashes shadowing his eyes against the dim lighting, expression remaining unreadable. He stretched again, now rotating his arm and shoulder, tipping his head upwards in slight discomfort.
Ash looked away slightly, for once trying to do anything but meet Goh’s eyes despite his previous efforts. His lips parted a fraction to offer the beginnings of an apology.
“I didn’t mean..” he paused, sliding a hand along his forearm. “What I said was,” pausing again. He searched for the right words, a task that often eluded him in tense situations such as these. He opened his mouth for another weakened attempt, heat now rising beneath his skin from mounting anxiousness.
“I overdid it,” Goh sighed. Ash whipped back to him, tilting his head in confusion at his remark. “Whether it was at the gym, or letting that Granbull perch on my shoulder..” he let out a pained exhale “The reason’s beyond me.” He laughed, tilting his head to either side of him.
Ash gaped at him. “A Granbull?” He puffed, letting a shocked laugh escape him. “Why would a Granbull possibly be on you?” Goh’s sudden air of whimsy was immensely conflicting the strained tension of their previous interaction only minutes ago. The noticiable irony of it forced Ash’s laugh to distort.
Goh sighed fondly, lips turning up in a smile. “It was you who showed me that sometimes, unorthodox methods are best for interacting with others, no?” he asked calmly. “Displays of a trainer's personal strength and kindness are just as important as throwing techniques. Creates trust and respect with others. Seems like Sawyer likely knows that too.” He continued “It liked me, wanted to sit next to Thwackey so..” he shrugged to finish his answer, then continued further.
“Just the other day, I had to arm wrestle a Machoke to gain its respect and allow me to catch it. It got to gauge my worth as its trainer, and I got to show off and add to the ‘dex” he chuckled. “Win-win.”
Ash’s eyes widened. Goh only tilted his head, hair falling with the movement and curling both around his cheek and down his shoulder. He brought up his arm, resting his elbow on his thigh, then his head on the now raised fist. He grinned
A real shit-eating grin.
“You were talking about a memory from the past, and for some reason my mind went to a concept instead,” his mouth was now almost sealed, relaxed, yet still carrying a grin “You taught me that. Guess I learned from only the best.” He laughed on. Ash’s eyes widened further at the comment. He really wasn’t mad. Far from it in fact, now smiling softly at Ash. Any semblance of anger had completely vanished. Something tugged deep within him, pulling itself taut within his chest.
Goh leaned forward over the abandoned vinyl, hanging his head only a fraction. Yet, it was enough for gravity to tug at his shirt, graciously revealing a look at the dip his collarbones. It dropped his dark shirt collar further, providing the slightest look at his chest.
Why was he looking there?
Ash ripped his gaze away quickly, staring at the cash register as intently as he could, warding off other thoughts seared with guilt.
“Guess so,” he chuckled, rather awkwardly. Pikachu shuffled around his feet, running his tail across its trainer’s shoes. Somewhere from the back of the store, he heard Sawyer chirp excitedly. He’d found something interesting to jot down from the interaction, likely.
He looked at Goh again, his breath escaping him, as though it had been punched out the moment his eyes settled again.
He was still balanced on his haunches, now situated upright as opposed to leaned over. He slung an arm over his pained shoulder, hooking his pointer finger beneath his shirt collar and pulling it to the side. He grasped his hair into a makeshift bun with the hand originally stabilizing him, twirling it out of the way. Goh reached four fingers and pressed each finger pad firmly against the muscle, one at a time, to knead into tenderness.
It wasn’t meant to be any sort of performance nor an attractive display. Yet with such carefully precise actions..
He pulled his hand away suddenly, returning the collar back to its original position. Ash released a forceful breath he had no clue he was holding, sweat beading along his forehead for whatever reason. Goh peered intently at his fingertips before speaking again.
“Ever noticed that the ridges of your fingerprint are like that of a vinyl’s?” He queried thoughtfully, looking up at Ash through squinted eyes. Ash gasped with genuine interest, holding up his own hands for a mesmerized obsevation.
Goh slid a hand beneath his awaiting record, picked it up, then stood straight. His frame was significantly loosened after the stretches, clearly proving Sawyer’s research correct. He let go of his grip on his hair, allowing it to unfurl around him, with red streaks once again catching the amber lighting to reveal their hue.
He pressed forward, now only inches away, cupping his hands around one of Ash’s. He raised it to the candle-lamp, squeezing Ash’s fingers and allowing the hues to highlight the grooves of his held fingertips. Goh spoke softly, barely audible above the clicking of the finished track.
“Each vinyl is entirely unique, y’know? The microscopic, spiraled valleys store sound waves physically,” Goh ghosted his nail over Ash’s fingertip, somewhat mimicking a record’s needle. “The needle traces over the grooves, releasing physical vibrations to be converted and amplified by speakers to produce music,” he paused, pointing towards the record player setup that sat atop the abandoned filing cabinet.
He released his grasp tenderly, handing his vinyl to Ash and turned away slightly.
Ash let out a soft laugh. It was always somewhat amusing the way Goh would attempt to conceal his emotions. No matter how stoic his face remained, his underlying thoughts always managed to peak through. Like the way flush would creep along tanned skin, or how his lip would jut slightly when he was upset, or how he’d bite at his cheek to politely hold in a smartass comment.
Ash was one of few people in the entire world who actually could take note of the subtleties and twists of his features.
Yet this time, the actions were only unintentional, they had to be. Of course they’d be, he was certain. Goh was only caught within his line of scientific thoughts, not creating some sort of affectionate gesture.
He took the vinyl in awkward hands, flipping it over. Only then did he finally notice.
The cover wasn’t actually pure black in the way it had seemed to be before. It was incredibly colorful, colors splattered and dotted all over, with large words scribed in various hues. Goh pressed his pointer finger against it, causing Ash to adjust to the weight. He ran his finger from left to right.
“In Rainbows..” He whispered gently, reading the title for him. “By Radiohead,” He reached his other hand up, cupping it lightly against his own nape.
“It’s got quite beautiful vocals, I think there’s at least one song in its tracklist that anyone can relate to. Most of its themes are up to interpretation” He turned his attention to a stack of records that Ash hadn’t previously noted, anxiously picking through the pile and handing them to Ash one at a time.
“Puberty 2,” he sighed quietly, laced with hushed embarrassment but present melancholy. “Mitski. And, I promise, I’m not some sort of male manipulator I just..” Ash looked at him again, more attentive this time. Goh was finally comfortable enough to begin letting his walls down, even if still making attempts to discredit himself. He noticed only then the faint fear pulling at his features. Having his interests outside of Pokemon perceived was clearly difficult for him, something so far out from his comfort zone. Ash finally spoke.
“Y’know, I don’t have to be a customer right now, right?” he held his gaze, doing his best to not crack under the imagined tension, and therefore resulting in a wavered tone. “I care about what you care about, we’ve got a pretty close relationship,” he continued, cringing slightly at his usage of relationship. Yet he pressed on. “I may not fully get it, but your passions are important to me,” he concluded, trying his best to match Goh’s hushed voice, proving to be quite the challenge for someone with so much energy.
Goh hummed, nodding thoughtfully and taking in each word as they hung in the air. He pulled out another cover, bright red in color. “I think there are some things we’ll never truly understand about each other. Never gonna quite pick up on,” he sighed, running his fingers over the light embossment of the title. “I know you didn’t mean it, you never do. I just..” he stopped abruptly, handing Ash the decision of wherever the thought was meant to land. Ash gazed sympathetically over Goh’s features, his own eyes shutting slightly, prickled somewhat by exhaustion. He made every attempt to stay awake, unprovoked thoughts vaguely dancing into his head, loosely held together by a fading string of thoughts.
Gorgeous
He rubbed his eyes, squinting at Goh as the other continued speaking.
“Cinema. The Marías. This one's pretty good, especially Talk to Her. It's got themes like..” His eyes flicked back to his pointed finger and lingered there steadily. When did Goh start painting his nails? Was that Chloe’s idea?
He grabbed another off the desk, Ash’s eyes struggling to keep up with his movements, despite being so slow and thought out. “I think it's pretty cool how artists can..” It's chipping slightly around the edge of the pointer finger, probably from idle picking, but it's still pretty nice.
”The cover art of this one is..” Goh had some sort of faint scent lingering on him, one that Ash was now trying to absorb as discretely as possible to piece together.
He drank it in, furrowing his eyebrows and shutting his eyes slightly to maintain focus. Onlying continuing to hear the smallest bits and pieces of information regarding Goh’s personal catalog.
”Check out the greens on this one, Charm is..” Something like wood? He guessed it would be reasonable for Goh Cedar to have some sort of woody, cedar-lie fragrance. Bit on the nose, but still somewhat clever. His eyes wandered away from Goh and his vinyls, processing by staring at the one empty corner of the store before closing.
”This one's about loss and grief, I don't think you'd.." Maybe something green? Like tea? Could that be from the store’s incense? Perhaps a new fragrance?
”Proabably not your vibe, huh?” Something kind of warm too. Floral? Amber? When did he start wearing fragrance? His eyes fluttered open, then flickered back at Goh. Trained on the way his lips parted slightly, gaped at particularly interesting color choices, smacked when he remembered a more fondly placed detail Ash couldn't bring himself to follow along with anymore. He gazed intently at the way his nose hooked and curved, a detail that he hadn't noticed when they were younger. Maybe it hadn’t developed quite yet, but it was now committed loyally to his memory.
His train of thought halted abruptly, eyes widening in alarm.
He was failing.
He was failing at being normal around Goh, around his best friend.
In all fairness, being normal around Goh, especially as of recent, wasn't particularly the easiest thing in the world. Far from it in fact. Nowadays, he’d find himself focusing a bit too intently on Goh. In theory, that would be a good thing, by technicality at the very least. But now, he was noticing too many things about Goh. Everything he said was intriguing in a way that wasn't such before. And sure, Goh always had interesting things to say.
But this was his best friend.
Yet now, Ash couldn't help but notice how interesting his tone of voice was when he spoke, gentle and caring. It was different from the sharp edge that would be on his voice if they were messing around, or alternatively enraptured in a training session. How interesting was it the way he could blink with his feathered eyelashes so gently, how interesting is was when his hair fell down his back and shoulders like water, folding and curling around and under his arms. It was very interesting the way that simply holding the stack of records at the angle he was had caused his arms to flex, revealing muscle he'd spent so much effort in building in hopes of becoming a stronger trainer to stand by Mew.. or something like that. It was very interesting the way his Adam's apple bobbed when he swallowed, pausing before speaking, taking care in enunciating each vowel and sound. He couldn't help but be interested in the fact that—
“Ash.”
His eyes focused properly back to Goh. He adjusted his posture, mouth now slung open and caught off guard by the way his name was hissed with such force.
Despite the tone thrown at him, Goh’s features only reflected soothing care and concern. He’d only said it to bring Ash back to reality. To ground him in the moment. He stepped forward, hands pressing against the albums he’d stacked in Ash’s hands until they folded between both boys’ chests. He closed in quietly, breath now ghosting faintly over the tip of Ash’s nose.
“Still with me?”
Shit.
Didn’t he come here for something else?