"Dae yae really hiv tae go?" Skye asked with a rather pitiful whine, following his boyfriend to the ranch's fencing, which were the only barrier that showed what was Route 27's wilderness or what was Tohjo Ranch's many, many acres. "Yae don't usually leave dis early. . ."
"Skye, I toldja already-!" Ash laughed lightly. "If me and Pikachu stay any longer, we'll end up missing the plane back to Kalos, and the next one isn't until tomorrow!" Pikachu, who was on his trainer's shoulder, nodded his head.
The breeder whined again, knowing that he was beginning to sound more like a child than someone in their late teens, but he didn't really care.
Even if Ash had spent all day at the ranch, with him, Skye was reluctant to let him leave, but Skye knew that his master-in-the-making had to leave at some point in the day. He had to continue on his Pokémon journey and Skye wasn't going to stop him, despite his pathetic winjing.
"Hey, don't pull that face." Ash stopped in his tracks as he gave the breeder a small pout. "You're gonna make me feel bad about leaving."
Skye also stopped, frowning as he did so. He hadn't realized that he had been pulling a sad face, but before he could change his facial expression into something that wouldn't make Ash feel bad, he was brought into a one armed hug.
He squeaked at the sudden hug, but he was quick to lean into it, letting himself enjoy the embrace since he didn't exactly know when they would do this again. Ash's visits were unpredictable after all.
"Don't ya worry," Skye felt the trainer's grasp tighten slightly, causing him to look up at his boyfriend's face. He was smiling warmly as Pikachu's brown beady eyes peering at him from behind Ash's spiky black hair. "We'll be back before ya know it, trust me!"
The smile caused a warmth grow in Skye's chest and his face burned. Ash seriously needed to stop being so cute.
Skye mirrored the smile he had been given, albeit a little softer than the original. "Ah know," he said quietly. "just – be careful? Yae wid've lost yir heed if ah didnae pull yae oot da way." The brunet's mind reeled back, reminding him of the day's most. . .terrifying event.
Ash had volunteered to help Skye with his ranch work by treating a rather feverish and disgruntled Feraligator it's medicine. Skye had told Ash to gently coax it into taking it with it's food as he had warned him that it didn't take kindly to being forced into doing something.
Instead, Ash ended up annoying it and in a fit of anger, it snapped at him. If Skye hadn't been close by to pull Ash out of the way of those large deadly jaws, well. . .
"Eh heh," Ash nervously grinned. "I can try to be careful, but-" his smile turned awkward. "well, you know how that usually turns out. . .especially when Team Rocket tries to steal Pikachu."
Skye could understand that, but that didn't mean he wouldn't stop worrying about how far Ash is willing to go to rescue his best buddy from the clutches of Team Rocket or from any other force that dared to do so. An enraged, protective Ash Ketchum was a scary Ash Ketchum.
Skye gently bumped Ash's chest with the back of his hand, letting out a small huff. "Just try, man. Ah'll end up wae grey hair if yae keep me worryin' so much." He looked past Ash to turn his attention to the mouse perched on his shoulder. "Yae'll keep 'im in check fur me, won't yae, Pikachu?"
Pikachu rolled his eyes, giving Ash a knowing sideways glance before nodding. "Pika pikachu." Skye guessed he said something along the lines of; Who doesn't have to keep him in check.
"Hey-!" Ash barked, frowning, his arm around Skye's shoulders loosening their hold just a bit. Skye would have shrunk back if he hadn't caught the playful look in those big chocolate eyes that belonged to his best friend. "I know I'm reckless, but I'm not that reckless-!"
Skye and Pikachu each gave Ash the exact same face. A look that just screamed; are you being serious?
". . .okay, maybe I'm a little reckless." Skye and Pikachu's expressions didn't budge. "O-okay, I'm really reckless, happy now?"
The breeder and mouse turned to look at each other. After a drawn out moment, the two smiled at each other and bobbed their heads together in mutual agreement. Yeah, they were happy. Having Ash admit he was as reckless as they come should make make anyone rather happy.
Ash groaned, finally deciding to walk towards the ranch's fencing again, tugging Skye along with him. Skye just giggled, knowing that Ash's ego had been wounded, but he was sure he'd get over it soon enough. Maybe.
When they finally got to the border fencing, Ash released Skye, taking another step towards the ranch barriers, a somber smile showing on his face. "We. . .better get going now."
"Yeah. . ." Skye's smile fell at how flat his tone had become. Nervously, Skye fidgeted with a ragged piece of his old well-worn overalls as Ash effortlessly heaved himself and Pikachu over the fence, landing on his feet on the other side, on the outside, with a small grunt.
"Well," the traveling trainer exhaled. "we'll see you later, Skye." Pikachu squeaked, waving a paw at his trainer's boyfriend.
"Yeah. . ." Skye repeated, his leafy green gaze turning wistful when he stepped up to the fence that now separated them. Even after that hug and that teasing, Skye still didn't feel ready to let Ash go.
Geez, he hated being so darn clingy, but he just couldn't help it. He didn't like how he would feel his heart twist when he had to say goodbye, even if it would only be for a short time.
Awkwardly, Ash chuckled and started to walk. "See ya."
Skye's shoulders stiffened as he realized that he was making things worse for each other. So, thinking fast, he spoke up. "A-ash? Hauld oon fur a second."
"Huh?" The Murkrow-haired teenager turned back to him, cocking his head to the side before he walked back. ". . .what's wrong?"
Rather than speak again, Skye stepped up one of the fence's planks, leaning over the top of the fence, and ever so gently, kissed Ash on the cheek.
"Go oon den." He tilted his head in the direction Ash was about to go, grinning warmly. "Git."
"Uhh," Ash stood there, his face bright red, eyes wide and full with confusion. He blinked many times before he suddenly snapped out of his peck-induced trance. "y-yeah! R-right!" The teenager turned towards the way Skye had nodded towards, bumbling over his own feet as he ran.
"B-bye, Skye!" He shouted over his shoulder, still blushing.
"Pika!" Called Pikachu, sounding like he was ready to laugh.
Skye stepped off the fence and he leaned against the fence, folding his arms over the top as he watched Ash run off like the big goof he was. Shaking his head in amusement, he watched his boy race off until he couldn't see him any longer. That helped him.
Sighing in content, he turned back and began heading back to continue his work, a new spring in his step. He hummed to himself as he passed something. No. Someone. Without a thought, he gazed in it's direction, thinking it was just a Pokémon wandering past.
Instead of a Pokémon, it was his father.
"Dinner's bein' made." Said his father, smiling down at him. "Ya hungry?"
Skye froze and his heart sank.
Pika brought a paw to her chest, sucking in a deep breath, then slowly outstretched her foreleg, letting it out slowly. She did it again before tilting her head up to look at Skye's bed. After a moment, Skye attempted to follow her example, if only a little shaky.
Skye had no idea where Pika had learned how to perform breathing exercises from, but he definitely appreciated that she was so willing to help him. He would have probably had an anxiety attack if she hadn't helped him concentrate on something other than what had happened.
The boy was shaking in his work boots and it was all because of what he assumed his father had seen him do, and of course, he was internally screaming about it. His father had seen him kiss Ash. That wasn't a good thing, considering that Skye hadn't gotten around to telling any of his family that he was dating someone.
Even worse, he was dating another guy, and Skye had no idea if his parents would react to the news.
What would they react the worst too? Him being with Ash, or being with another guy in general? Skye didn't think he was strictly homoromantic, he thought panromantic fitted him better. He could see himself dating a girl, but-
Skye shook his head, groaning into his hands as when they covered his face. ". . .och, a-ah hate dis." He fell back into his bed with a soft thump, making Pika bounce on the bed.
"M-maybe ah shouldnae bring it up, girl." He lifted his hands away from his face, making them fall to his sides. "Maybe- Dad d-didnae see me kiss 'im."
His Pikachu turned around to look at him, giving him a tiny, patient smile. "Pi-chu-pi pika." She chided gently, getting to his paws. "Pikachu pika, pika pi?"
Skye lifted his head, leering at her for a long moment. With a huff, his head fell back onto his head. ". . .a-ah dunno, girl. Ah'm just scared wit dey'll say."
He felt a paw tenderly press into his thigh. "Pi-chu-pi. . ."
The breeder's hand rose to meet the mouse's head, giving it a gentle pat. "A-ah know dey love me 'n a-ah love dem. . ."
His cheeks started to turn red. "B-but, ah love Ash too. . .'n d-dat's wit ah'm scared aboot. Wit if dey don't like da idea eh me 'n Ash bein' together? Wit if dey don't like me bein' gay? Wit if-"
"Pi-chu-pi!" Pika snapped, sounding rather peeved. "Pikachu pika pika!"
Skye tensed up at the abrupt hiss of his name, sitting up to properly look at his old friend. She was sitting on her rump, glaring at him, the fur along her back on the rise. Skye's brows knitted in bewilderment. "W-wit's wrang?"
"Pikachu! Pika pi, Pi-chu-pi pika!"
Skye flinched at his mouse's voice and he turned his gaze down. He didn't really know what to say to his closest of Pokémon now, that she had scolded him for talking bad about his mother and father and their opinions on
". . .sorry," he mumbled, not wanting to look up. He heard Pika snort and she continued to speak. Skye silently listened.
Although Skye couldn't understand Pika completely, like any other human, their bond was more than good enough of a translator to get Pika's words through. She was nagging at him about how his parents loved him.
About how they wouldn't care about his orientation and that they would only care about if the person that stole his heart was right to do so. Which, in Pika's eyes, Ash was. At least, that was what could gather in the flurry of squeaky variants of the word "Pikachu".
When Pika had finished her little speech, Skye perked his head up with a frown. He was still terrified out of his wits. His mind was reeling about what he should do.
If his father had seen them, did that mean he would have told his mother after Skye ran upstairs to go into his room? Or- did his father was just waiting for the three of them to be gathered for dinner to tell her?
If that was true, Skye wasn't going to have any of that. If he was going to be shoved out of the closet and have his and Ash's relationship out in the open, he was going to do it himself.
"…'n den Firered thought it wiz a good idea tae git in da middle eh an argument wae a Golem 'n Steelix!" Eric laughed, swallowing the noodles he had slurped up into his mouth. "He went flyin'!" His free hand made a flinging gesture as he grinned from ear to ear, far too amused in his own story. "Ya shoulda saw it! It wiz da funniest 'hing ah've seen aw week!"
"…it's only Tuesday." Winnie said flatly, clearly not all that impressed in her husband's childish glee.
Eric paused, but he anxiously chuckled from his side of the table. "It wiz funny-!" He turned to his son, eyes pleading. "Skye, yae 'hink it's funny, don't che?"
Skye stopped picking at his near untouched supper to shyly look up at his father. "Yeah…" he breathed.
Eric's bright face darkened slightly when he heard his son's sad tone. "…are yae awright, mate?" He pointed his fork down at Skye's dinner plate. "Yae hivnae eaten dat much. Ya look sorta pale."
Winnie nodded in agreement, the faint wrinkles around her steely blue eyes creasing with worry.
Dread set in Skye's stomach, weighting it down. This was the moment he wasn't looking forward too. He needed to be brave. Proud of who he was. If they didn't accept him, then that was their problem, not his.
He met his parent's gazes with hard eyes "A-ah hiv somethin' tae tell d-da baeth eh yae. . ." he began. His mother and father straightened up, forgetting about their dinner. They leaned forward, their interested pecked. They stared, waiting.
Skye took a moment to compose himself, he said it;
"A-ah'm seein' somewan."
That. . .wasn't what he wanted to say, but heck, it was a start.
Eric and Winnie's eyes widened as the words rang out. They looked shocked out of their minds. Did that mean his dad hadn't seen. . .oh dear. -no. He has to keep going. It was too late to back out now.
Winnie was first to attempt to say something, but before she would utter a word, Skye added;
"Who's a guy. Ah'm seein' a guy."
Dead silence. There was just- silence. It deeply bore into Skye and he felt as if he was about to be sick. He tensed up, readying himself to be shouted at. His gaze dropped down to his plate, unable to look them in the eye as they stared.
Ah'm so deed. He thought darkly.
His mother's seat squeaked as she got up from her place at the table, all in complete silence. Skye felt his heart begin to thump wildly in his chest when she stood beside his father. Eric cleared his throat, sighing sadly.
Ah'm so stupit, why did ah say anythin'? Dey're gonna kill me. Ash isnae gonna be allowed tae come back. Dey-
"-awright, buster. Pay up." Winnie giggled lightly. Skye's head snapped up. His father pulled a face before pulling out a handful of yen out of his shirt pocket and begrudgingly handed it to his wife, who happily took it.
"Humphery's gonna hiv tae pay up oon his bit too, ya know." He grunted as Winnie tucked the money away with a grin on her tanned face.
"Ah know. Gonna call 'im after dinner aboot ma winnin's."
Skye gawked at them. "W-wit?!" He loudly squawked. Eric and Winnie turned to him. "W-wit's goin' oon?! W-why wiz der-" His tongue decided to not do it's job and all that came out was incoherent babbling.
Eric snorted through his nose, a smile gracing his scruffy face. "We hid a bet 'n-" he moaned with annoyance, glancing up at his wife. "yir mother won. Humphey lost tae."
That's when it clicked.
"H-hauld oon-!" Skye scrunched up his face, realization quickly settling in. "-yae knew?!" How in the hay did they know?! His father had shown no signs of seeing him kissing Ash goodbye during dinner, so he had guessed they hadn't been caught in the act.
"No exactly." Winnie said, slowly walking around the table towards her son. "We hid a feelin' yae hid yir eyes oon somewan 'n don't 'hink we're aw dat surprised dat yir wae another boy, Skye." She bent down and hugged him to her in only a way a mother could hug their child.
"We've gotten used tae different. As soon as we wid tae tell da rest eh da family we hid a young son rather than a daughter, we knew we'd be in fur a wild ride wae you." She let out a pleasant giggle. "You turnin' oot tae be gay is far fae shockin' fur us."
Skye saw his father nodding in agreement. The teen was ridged in his mother's embrace, unsure how to react to what he was being told. However, he had to make something a little clear if they said nothing was going to shock them.
"A-ah don't 'hink ah'm just gay. . ." Skye mumbled into his mother's shoulder. "a-ah sorta like girls 'n ah w-widnae mind if dey wir somewan like me either. A-ah just. . .like guys mare. . ."
It was quiet for a time, letting Skye assume his parents were taking their time to process what he had said. He wanted to point out that he never had any urges of the adult kind and that he wasn't interested in doing such a thing with anyone, but he kept himself quiet.
Having their son come out was enough for one night, even if they were suspecting it at some point. He could explain more at a later date or when they asked him about such a thing.
Skye felt his mother's hand soothingly rub up and down his back and their cuddle tightened. "Still don't change a 'hing, sweetheart."
"We thought yae widnae ever hiv yir eyes oon somewan." Eric admitted. "We thought da incident wae dat wee Lawrence girl put yae aff da idea eh datin' fur life." Skye grimaced at the mention of his childhood crush.
To be honest, Skye thought the same. He had threw all ideas of dating out the window and saw it as a waste of time, a distraction from his ranch work. He thought differently now, of course.
Eric visually stiffened. ". . .da guy yir datin' knows aboot. . .yir gender, right?"
Winnie released Skye, allowing him to shakily take a sip of his drink. "Och, Eric!" She growled, slumping into her seat.
Slowly, Skye nodded his head. "A-aye, he knows. He's known f-fur a while noo." He remembered when he had told Ash that he wasn't physically male. It had been a couple of years since then, but he remembered it clearly.
He had suspected Ash would reject him like many others had done before. That he would never see Ash again, but only after he was talked down upon for being a freak.
That word never came. It never did.
At first, Ash was confused. He had never heard of such a thing as being 'transgender', but after Skye explained to him about his gender predicament, Ash accepted it without a second thought.
Skye hadn't understood why Ash would accept the truth so easily, but Ash only shrugged it off, telling him that if the fact he had the body of a girl meant he was meant to see him any differently, it didn't. That he was still Skye to him, no matter what.
Skye put his trust in Ash that day. That was something he hadn't done in a long time and even now, he didn't regret that decision. Not one bit.
"Ah, good." Eric relaxed, but he still looked concerned. "Did he know befur yae got taegiver?" Skye nodded again. Eric grinned widely, brightening up. "Sounds like a good guy. He sounds better dan dat Lawrence girl awready. Ah'd like tae meet dis guy." There was something in his father's tone that made Skye gulp.
The brunet's pale face started to flush bright red. "Y-yeah, he's. . ." he trailed off. "g-great." That word was far too weak for what he thought of Ash. Actually, Skye wasn't sure there even was a word good enough to describe him.
His parents exchanged knowing gazes, before they, at the same time, turned to him and said;
"It's Ash, isn't it?"
And that was the moment Skye made the most baffling sound he had ever made in his entire life. His head became light as blood rushed to it. He tried to speak, but once again, all that came out was flushed nonsense.
His mother and father laughed, but not in a mocking or bitter way, but rather, in a teasing, light-hearted way.
"Aw come oon, Skye-!" Winnie chortled. "Yae've been completely heed ova heels fur dat boy fur ages! Did yae really 'hink neither eh us hid caught oon tae how much tae talk aboot 'im or how excited yae get when he visits? 'N don't 'hink ah hivnae seen yae wae da look in yir eye when he leaves as well. Yir as see-through as glass!"
He was that obvious? Oh jeez, no wonder they weren't surprised. They knew already. Skye hid his burning face in his hands. He wished the floor could swallow him whole. He was going to die from embarrassment at this rate.
"Why did yae 'hink yir father gives 'im such a hard time?" Winnie continued. "Just becuz he felt like it?"
Eric let out a small snicker, causing his wife to pause, then gasp. "Eric Hunter-! Yae better apologize tae dat boy da next time he comes here!"
Skye peeked through his fingers, spotting his father shrink in his seat as he was being scowled. "Ah wiz only makin' sure he didnae-" he was silenced by his wife's leer. ". . .yes, dear."
Skye ended up smiling weakly, but he didn't like the idea that his father had given Ash such a hard time just because he liked doing it, so he looked up and scowled at him.
He had always been protective of his loved ones, and with Ash now being in that list, Skye was going to protect him from his father's scorn.
Eric took one look at his son and suddenly looked ashamed, but his eyes turned hard. "He hasn't done anythin'- bad, has he?" He bit out the last couple of words, making Skye's frown deepen.
"Of course he hisnae! Yae need tae stop thinkin' dat Ash is gonna hurt me 'r somethin'. Da whole excuse eh 'he's a teenage boy' doesnae help yir case, Dad."
Skye pointed a thumb to himself, fury building in his chest. "Wit makes yae 'hink ah've no did anythin' bad tae 'im, if yir goin' by dat stupit logic-! Ah'm a teenage boy too, remember!"
Eric sat there in his seat, completely stunned by his son. Skye had never snapped at him before, not like this.
"A-ah know yir a boy too, Skye. . ." His father uncomfortably rubbed at the table's polished finish. "Ah just," he sighed deeply. "ah'm just worried aboot yae, d-dat's aw. Y-yir no used tae bein' in a relationship like dis 'n ah-"
"Eric, Skye is auld enough tae make his own decisions." Winnie interrupted. "Aye, he hisnae been in a relationship befur, but dat doesnae mean oor son is stupit. 'n neither ir you, but yir seriously actin' like it. Yae hivnae gave dat Pallet boy wan chance 'n yae 'hink he's gonna take advantage eh Skye. Fae wit ah've see, dat is far fae da truth.
Dat boy is as sweet as dey come 'n yae just need tae accept dat yir son has gotten 'imself a boyfriend! Yae should be proud eh 'im!"
Eric sunk lower. He was starting to look like a scolded Growlithe pup than a middle aged man.
"Besides," She slowly grinned. "as soon as yae see how adorable dey are taegiver, yae'll change yir mind, right quick!"
"Mum!"