Opposites
Silver was being prickly again. It was by no means an unusual state in Silver's being, but by now Gold had come to recognise Silver had several stages of prickling and each could be compared to a Pokémon.
There was the Gyarados; nostrils flaring, shoulders held up so tensely they threatened to crush Silver's pretty head, and very tightly clenched fists. The Gyarados was usually because Gold had done something wrong, something that seemed utterly ridiculous to him but made all the difference in the world to Mr Temperamental Princess. It was also partly named due to Silver's ability to shout until Gold, fantastically brilliant Johto Champion, was recoiling and feeling about as powerful as a Magikarp.
There was Ursaring; glaring, mostly, sometimes coupled with irritable sighs. This was also usually because Gold had done something wrong, but at least in these instances Silver knew he was being 'mildly ridiculous', as he put it, and these instances were fine because Silver would talk it out, not go Lake of Rage Gyarados on him. And Silver would at least accept a hug, and then it was all good.
And then there was the Gengar, the absolute horror. It was so named because this meant Silver was pissed off and motivated to seek revenge. It started with a cruel look, a toothy smirk, and then Gold's life would be an embarrassing hell. Like a Gengar, Silver would stalk him in the shadows so Gold had no idea he was there, then leap out with something like a collection of baby pictures to show Red, or give Green tips on Gold's battle strategies whilst calling them pathetic, or handing Crystal notebooks of poetry Gold didn't write, Silver did, but nobody believed him because Silver could perfectly mimic his handwriting. There was very little Gold could do to deter the Gengar at first, but after about a year Silver decided their relationship was 'stable' enough (it wasn't remotely) so now Gold could try to use sex. It didn't always work, but it was always worth a try.
But Silver wasn't any of those brands of prickly; today, Silver was the Slugma. The Slugma was when Silver was just a bubbling red-hot mass of emotion, hissing (or swearing) in frustration and any time Gold tried to talk to Silver when he was in Slugma mode, Gold got burnt. But if Gold didn't try to talk to Slugma-mode Silver, Silver would ultimately progress to Gyarados-level prickling.
So Gold sent out his Pokémon one by one and said tearful goodbyes.
"I might end up dead, guys," he said as Ataro placed a reassuring hand-tail on his shoulder. "If I do, Explotaro's man of the house. We all know Silver's too bitchy for that, but don't hold it against him, 'kay? He'll treat you guys good. Or I'll haunt him."
Gold drew in a deep breath and walked back into the house. Silver was not only cleaning, but muttering.
"Hey Princess, the hell's got you so pissed off?"
Gold was promptly punched.
"Shit, Silver, we talked about this! No punching!"
"It was no punching so long as you quit it with the stupid nicknames, asshole," Silver snapped. "Don't you have some eggs to hatch or vastly superior former Champions who aren't weaklings to bother?"
"…ouch," Gold muttered. "I almost beat Red last time, dammit!"
"Thanks to my Gengar."
"Don't mention Gengar right now!" Gold cried, cringing. Before Silver could snap bitchily in defence of his Pokémon or figure out Gold's system for recognising his moods, Gold grabbed Silver by the shoulders, looked him straight in the eyes and said, "You've been acting really upset. I'm just worried, okay? And I wanna make it better."
Silver glanced away, cheeks matching his hair. "Idiot…"
Crystal was a saint, with her obsession of romantic comedies and making Gold understand how to treat Silver 'right'.
"So, what happened?"
Silver bit his lip and stared at the ground — the Snubbull, or sulkily weighing up options — before grumpily muttering, "My father called me."
"…oh." Gold found the time to be relieved that he hadn't screwed up again. He didn't know anything specific about Silver's family, just that Silver's mother had died when he was young and his father had abandoned Silver in favour of work, and Gold'd heard that from Lance.
"I don't know how he got my damn number," Silver grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. "He's sorry and he wants to meet me somewhere."
"I'm surprised he managed to say that much," Gold said, recalling how many times Silver would hang up on him, and he hadn't ever abandoned Silver.
"He called about ten times," Silver admitted.
"And, you gonna do it?"
Silver shrugged and sent Gold a very pointed look.
"…fine, I'll go with you."
"Not that I wanna go," Silver assured him, but he wrapped his arms around Gold. "I just — probably should. It's for your curiosity, anyway."
"Yeah, sure." Gold pressed his lips to Silver's forehead. "How bad can it be?"
For the first time in all the years they'd known each other, Silver laughed nervously and Gold was afraid.
That was how Gold came to be sitting at a café in Goldenrod with Silver holding his hand under the table to the point of pain.
"There's something you should know," Silver murmured so softly Gold almost missed it. "Something about my dad."
"Yeah, what's that?"
Silver's hand tightened and Gold yelped in pain.
"Shit, Silv!"
"Shut up. Sorry. Idiot. You're weak."
Silver was back to senseless insults melded with what he meant to say; whatever the big secret about his dad was must have been really upsetting him.
"What's the something 'bout your dad?" Gold asked. "Is he some kinda homophobe?"
"Don't care." To prove it, Silver edged his chair closer. "It's his job. Or… well… he's —"
"Hello, Silver."
They both jumped.
"CRAP, the hell did ya appear from?" Gold shouted. Then he took in the man's appearance. He was tall, dressed in a very fine suit, with dark hair, Silver's skin tone, and eyes as grey as Silver's, oh and he was Giovanni, head of Team Rocket. "…shit."
"Father," Silver icily replied. "Been a while."
Giovanni sat down. "Yes, I do regret my decisions in the past, Silver."
"Your dad is the leader of Team Rocket," Gold said, dazed. So much made sense now; Silver's desperation to bring Team Rocket down, his hatred of family, his former fixation with power, his ability to cook perfect pasta, that time he'd pulled Gold's disguise off…
"Yeah," Silver said, glare still locked on his father. "Why aren't you in prison?"
Giovanni smirked slightly and shrugged. "I have maintained freedom, but not my work."
"I know," Silver said with a smirk of his own — the Gengar smirk. "Gold is the one who ruined Team Rocket's comeback."
"I know," Giovanni replied with a slow scan of Gold, clearly disgusted with his peasant garments. "We have met."
"…what?"
"I thrashed him," Gold grinned.
Gold wasn't sure if Silver's expression meant 'I'll thrash you later' or 'I am more in love with you than ever'. Perhaps both. And perhaps it would be sexual thrashing.
"Unfortunately, that's the truth," Giovanni said. "However, I find reassurance in the knowledge that at least he can most certainly protect you, Silver."
Silver twitched.
"Hey, Silv can protect himself," Gold declared. "He's almost beaten me a few times. And he did beat all the Gyms in Johto."
"And Kanto," Silver hissed.
"And Kanto."
"And Green's a better Gym Leader than you ever were."
"And Green's a better Gym Leader than you ever were," Gold obediently repeated.
Giovanni nodded his head slightly. "Just as long as you're taking care of him. No sex without protection —"
Silver spluttered.
"— and as much as he complains about vegetables, he will get sick if he doesn't eat them, and perhaps you should let him win a battle now and then."
"Let me?" Silver shouted, hands slamming down on the table as he stood. "That's it! We're leaving."
"He does have quite a few problems with insecurity, you know, and being powerful — always has," Giovanni calmly continued. "And feel free to ignore his little temper outbursts. The Grunts used to spoil him, so he does act like quite the precious princess at times."
Silver, face as red as his hair, grabbed Gold by the shoulder and dragged him off. Gold managed to wave to Giovanni without Silver noticing, and received a smirk in return.
"See you soon, Silver," Giovanni said, calmly, voice carrying after them.
"Arrogant bastard sonuvabitch," Silver was muttering. "I can beat you on my own! And if we weren't fighting with Pokémon, I'd kick your arse!"
"Yeah, that's why we decided no punching, remember?"
Silver snorted. "Yeah. You weakling."
Gold rolled his eyes. "If it makes you feel better, wanna meet my mum?"
Silver froze on the spot. "Is she worse than Giovanni?"
Gold nodded.
"…okay."
Gold walked into his house in New Bark with a shout of, "MUM, I'M HOME!"
But the brunette woman just remained sitting at the living-room table, staring at nothing.
"…what the hell?" Silver whispered.
Gold walked over and poked her.
"Hi!" she shouted. "Welcome home! You're doing fine, I see. I've kept your room tidy and clean. Or… is this about your money?"
Then she reached under the table and pulled out a locked box. From around her neck, she took a key and unlocked the padlock and opened it to reveal… nothing.
"Withdraw?" she asked. "Deposit money? Change? Exit?"
"Exit," Gold sighed.
His mother nodded, smile still bright. "Just do what you can."
Shamelessly, Gold pointed at Silver. "I do him."
Gold's mother nodded, still smiling. She placed the box away and turned back to the table, staring once more.
"…is she okay?" Silver whispered.
"GOTCHA!" she suddenly shouted, laughing vivaciously.
"She really likes to play pranks," Gold whispered. "She does that every time I come home. Freaked me the hell out, first time. Thought she'd had a psychotic breakdown."
"At least you mum isn't humiliating," Silver muttered.
"At least your dad has dignity," Gold retorted.
Silver huffed. "Let's just make sure they never meet."
Gold paled. "Oh crap. Yeah. Definitely."
Yay for Kink Meme Deanon-ing. Bigger yay for Preciousmetalshipping. The world needs way more of this pairing.
Please let me know what you think!