Buzz, buzz. Buzz, buzz.
"Huh?"
Ash rolled over in his bed. "Oh, jeez. Shut up, alarm clock." He blindly smacked the thing off of the table by swinging his arm around, and flipped the pillow on top of his head.
"Today is the day I can't go." He angrily huffed from under his pillow. "And I don't even know why."
"Ash, come get your breakfast, honey. You're un-grounded." His mother opened the door and said, much, much more calmly than her manners from the previous night. She giggled and tried to tickle his back. "Come on, sleepy head!"
When the boy didn't move, she sat on the side of the bed and patted his back. "Hon', we need to have a talk. Meet me downstairs, okay?"
She left the room quietly as to not disturb him.
"Ugh." The messy haired boy sat up, scratching his head. "Rough sleep."
He lazily got up and dressed, hat on head and ready for breakfast.
"Ash? I made you some oatmeal!"
"Alright." He stumbled down the stairs and sat himself at the kitchen table.
"Ashy, I wanted to talk to you about yesterday."
"..."
"I'm sorry, okay? It seemed harsh of me to kick Gary out, but it's only because I love you."
"..."
"You see, I had a chat with Professor Oak the other day, and he explained to me that Gary opened up to him and asked him for some advice..."
"... Look, I'm just trying to eat my oatme-"
"Hon', your friend Gary... I'm afraid he doesn't swing the same way you do, you know? They way that he blushed at you last night... Well, he's different."
"Who cares? We're all different."
"Well... Let me just say... I don't want you going on your little expedition with him."
Ash thought for a minute. He didn't really know what his mother really had against Gary, but it was unfair, nevertheless.
"Well, em, actually... Professor Oak said that...... that he felt the same way about the situation, and now Misty is going instead of Gary. So no worries, right?"
The woman didn't seem convinced. "Hmmm... If you're sure. I just don't want that boy changing you."
"Well I don't see how he could change me. I mean, I haven't changed yet, have I?"
"I suppose so. Okay, pack your things up, then, and meet the Professor in his lab."
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"I'm so glad you two could make it. Out of all the trainers I've met, you two have been the most dedicated to your respective fields." Professor Oak gestured to his grandson. "Gary, your research on Pokémon genetics, and your skill at battling as well..." He gestured to Ash this time. "... And Ash, the Pokémon champion of many regions!"
Gary rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright."
"A-hem. Anyway, I want you two to travel to Snowpoint City in Sinnoh to research more on ice-type Pokémon. I only want you to take one Pokémon on your trip each, so that you can use your other five slots to study them. Specifically pay attention to the way that they were formed. I'm trying to draw a connection between the uniqueness of snowflakes and ice-types. Okay?"
The boys nodded in unison.
"Okay! Here are your plane tickets." He winked at them. "Now, don't forget to have a good time every once in a while, too."
"Gramps, Snowpoint is so desolate, there's not exactly much to do for 'fun' up there." Gary crosses his arms and stood on one leg.
The old professor laughed. "Oh, don't worry. You'll find something. Now, you best be on your way. Get going!"
Ash and Gary shrugged and made haste toward Viridian City, where a small airport had been built recently. It wasn't much, but when they got there, they recognized it immediately.
After security and baggage check, all that was left to do was wait until the flight arrived.
Gary had his arms crossed, but sat straight up in his chair. It was almost as if he felt violated.
"Gary, are you okay?" Ash said, leaning over next to him.
"Yes, I'm okay." The brunette replied, noticeably avoiding eye contact.
"Hey. Are you really okay?" The ravenette inquired, placing a gloved hand on his shoulder.
The boy in purple jumped. "Y-Yes. I'm just... Afraid of flying. It's kind of the reason I don't leave Kanto often.."
Ash smiled and touched the top of Gary's hand "It's alright. I got your back the whole way." He tilted his head slightly and beamed.
The brunette blushed, but found him asking himself why he was blushing.
Can I play this off cool? I don't think I can...
He smirked. "Thanks, Ashy-Boy. I'll be right behind you too."
'Right behind you'? What the hell am I thinking! That sounds like such a pervert thing...
Okay, just keep smirking and playing it off cool. Wait, shit. Too much smirk. Okay. Go for a scowl instead. Yeah. Oh, fuck. He's looking this way. What do I do?
"Haha! What's wrong with your face? It looks like you can't decide on an expression!" Ash laughed.
Gary grabbed him by the shirt collar. "Why you little Twerp - I'll give you an expression to-"
"Attention Viridian Airport travelers: flight number thirty-four D is now boarding."
Ash gave a boyish grin. "I guess that's us! Ready, ya big baby?"
The spiky haired boy let go of his rival. "Don't you get me started.." he growled.
The airplane ride was surprisingly quick yet relaxing, mostly due to Ash sleeping with his head against the window for most of the ride.
At one point, Gary leaned over to examine the boy's face a bit more. He let his finger trace over the "Z" shaped patterns on his cheeks.
What even are these things? I'm pretty sure you're not Harry Potter...
He brushed a loose strand of hair from the ravenette's sleeping eyes.
After a moment, Gary realized how weird he was acting. It must be the high altitude. It's making me nuts. He promised himself.
The plane's landing was a bit turbulent. Gary gripped the side of his seat.
...Except, it wasn't the side of his seat.
It was Ash's thigh.
He let out a high pitched scream that certainly woke up any other passengers that had still been sleeping.
The spiky haired boy put his hand over the child's mouth. Surely this looked a little kinky by now.
"I'm sorry, I meant to grab the seat... O-Or the arm rest, or something, please forgive me.." Gary whispered.
The red-capped boy nodded slowly, though his eyes still showed fear.
When he let go, their eyes met for a moment, then seemed to dart around as if trying to forget it happened.
The rest of the landing and arrival was quite awkward, as neither of the two dared face the other, let alone say a word.