Work Text:
"You can spend the night in Gary's room. He was supposed to return home this evening but the storm must've delayed him. Hopefully he'll be back tomorrow morning."
As Ash follows Professor Oak down the hall, he runs his hand across the old worn wallpaper. He hasn’t entered this part of the Oak household in a long time; he can’t remember his last visit to Gary’s bedroom. Usually he greets Professor Oak and the others in the lab or he visits his Pokemon outdoors. He always returns home for dinner but he decided to stay tonight because an unexpected snowstorm is currently battering Pallet Town. Ash rocks on his heels when they finally reach the room.
“Maybe I should sleep on the sofa. You know Gary doesn’t like people touching his things.”
Professor Oak laughs, “I’m sure it’s alright. Gary’s got a soft spot for you. It just took him a long time to admit it.”
Oh, Ash really doesn’t want relationship advice from Professor Oak. He stutters a good night before rushing inside. The layout of the bedroom surprises him. It looks like Gary barely made any changes to his room over the years. A new bookshelf replaced the old toy chest but an Arcanine plush still rests on the windowsill. Ash laughs lightly; Gary’s really more sentimental than he admits.
Despite his initial concern, Ash easily settles into bed. He’s nearly asleep when there’s a sudden bang outside the door. In his drowsy state, Ash assumes Professor Oak is passing through the hall but then the door opens. Ash snaps awake. Those light footsteps don’t match Professor Oak’s heavy stride.
Slowly, Ash draws the blanket over his head. He needs to hide, no, think. What type of person visits in the middle of the night? No one visits at night. Well, no person. A ghost visits at night.
A ghost.
This is a terrible time to be awake.
Ash considers pretending to be asleep but he can’t let a ghost make a mess of the bedroom. As his boyfriend, Ash is pretty sure he's obligated to defend Gary’s things. He’ll just handle this ghost like he handled all his previous ghostly encounters. Ash takes a deep breath to prepare himself and then bolts upright in bed.
“Let’s battle!”
“Shit!”
There isn’t a ghostly white figure standing in the room. It’s actually a spiky haired man clutching at his chest. Two thoughts rush into Ash’s head: ‘It’s Gary!’ and ‘Ha, I scared him!’
“Ash! What are you doing here?”
“Sleeping. I woke up because I thought a ghost got into the room.”
“You wanted to battle a ghost?”
“Yeah. I’ve battled ghosts before.” Ash stops himself before saying, ‘I’ve been a ghost.’ Gary probably won’t find it funny. Ash really doesn’t want a lecture about his so-called ‘lack of self-preservation’ right now. “I didn’t expect you home tonight. Professor Oak said you would return tomorrow.”
“I wanted to come home earlier but the storm slowed me down.” Gary tugs at Ash’s blanket. “C’mon on, move over.”
Ash pouts, “The other side of the bed is cold.”
Gary snatches away the blanket. He doesn’t even look sorry.
“Alright! I’m moving! Give me back the blanket.”
After Gary settles into bed, Ash turns on his side and then flat on his back again. He pulls the blanket over his head for a moment. It's uncomfortable so he pulls it down.
“What are you doing now?” Gary sighs.
“Something is wrong.”
There’s a long pause before Gary speaks again.
“Do you want me to leave?”
“No, it’s not you.” Ash stares at the ceiling. Suddenly he remembers there are thirty-six ceiling tiles. During his childhood sleepovers with Gary, he used to count them when he couldn’t sleep. Gary rarely stayed up all night back then even though it was supposed to be a sleepover party. It’s been a long time since they shared a bed. “Yeah, it is you. Aren’t you going to make a pillow fort?”
Gary pinches his arm.
“Hey!”
“You must be sleep talking,” Gary says. “Did you really tell me to build a fort? We’re too old for those games.”
“You’re never too old for a pillow fort. You used to make one every time we had a sleepover. Don’t you remember? You would pile the pillows in the middle of the bed so you had one side and I had the other side.”
“That wasn’t a fort. It was protection from your kicks at night. I don’t need it now.” Gary turns on his side to face Ash. “You don’t kick in your sleep anymore, right?”
“You got snow in your hair.” Ash clearly see Gary’s face now. His nose and ears are faintly red. Gary’s clenching his jaw but his teeth still chatter. “You’re frozen.”
“Not completely.”
Gary often tells Ash to take better care of himself but he sometimes ignores his own well-being. Ash shoves the blanket towards him.
“You should’ve said something earlier,” Ash grumbles.
“Are you going to warm me up?”
“Yeah, where do you keep your extra blankets?”
Gary sighs. Ash feels like he missed something important.
“Sharing body heat will warm us both,” Gary says.
It takes a moment for Ash to understand what Gary’s implying. Ash sits up to fully look at him.
“Gary Oak, are you asking me to cuddle?”
“I’m saying we should huddle for warmth.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Ash.”
“I’m here, I’m here. Don’t kick me out of the bed.”
Ash throws himself over Gary. It’s rare for Gary to seek out such close physical contact. As a child, he wasn’t interested in hugging and holding hands. Nowadays, Gary often holds Ash’s hand but he’s still jumpy whenever Ash leans towards him. Out of curiosity, Ash presses his ear against Gary’s chest. His quick heartbeats cause Ash to smile.
“Your mouth said huddle but your heart is saying cuddle.”
Gary presses his cold hand to the back of Ash’s neck.
“Hey!”
“You promised to warm me up.”
Ash huffs in response. He reaches out to hold Gary’s free hand. Slowly, he feels the warmth return to Gary’s body. At some point, Gary starts running his fingers through Ash’s hair. It’s oddly soothing. Ash is nearly asleep when Gary shakes his shoulder.
“I’m fine now. You can return to your side of the bed.”
“Nah.”
“C’mon Ash. You don’t want to fall asleep like this.”
“I do.” Ash squeezes Gary’s hand. “You’re warm. The bed is cold. I’m comfortable here.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Think of it as practice for when we live together. We’ll share a bed all the time then.”
Gary doesn’t response. For a moment, he wonders if Gary fell asleep mid conversation. Ash lifts his head to look at him. Gary isn’t asleep; he actually looks wide awake. Ash can’t tell what he’s thinking. He looks surprised and confused.
Eventually Gary asks in a low voice, “Are you thinking about living together?”
“Yeah. Someday.” Ash frowns because Gary still looks baffled. “Is something wrong?”
“You’ve always been so dense about romance. I didn’t expect you to be so forward in your intentions.”
Ash tilts his head to the side, “Romance? Intentions? Am I making you swoon, Gary?’
Gary rolls his eyes. It’s good to see him back to normal.
“You know, I thought it would be weird to sleep in your room but it’s fine. It’s nice to share a bed with you too.” Ash continues on cheerfully. “I really like you now. I’ll really like you later. So yeah, I think we’ll live together someday.”
Gary presses a kiss to Ash’s lips. There’s a sweet look on his face. It’s going to be nice to wake up tomorrow morning to see Gary sleeping peacefully.
“Oh! I should warn you - I still kick at night.”
“It’s fine.”
“Alright. Remember those words if you wake up on the floor."
“Goodnight, Ash.”
“Night.”
Ash rests his head on Gary’s shoulder. He smiles when Gary wraps his arm tightly around him. It seems like Gary can be really affectionate.
“If you kick me out of the bed, I’ll take you down with me.”
Ash laughs.