Sup, ChiiRyeeBiee here. Okay, I know I'm going to break it sooner or later but I've been wordlessly writing and vowing to myself to update at least every fortnight (give or take) as a tribute to the New Year. Come on, self! Let's make 2016 super successful!
Now, I've been hella craycray for this dumbass ship (Craycray enough to use the word craycray, wooow, wooooooow! Goddamnit, Diodeshipping I freaking hate you). It's basically one of those pairings that I can't get enough of no matter how long my phase is and whatever the heck these two do brings out the cute aggression in me (Die! You stupid nerds, I love you) So I figured... that's it, more drabbles, more drawings, more imagines, moar moar moar before I explode from a short-circuited brain (yes, yes, oh harhar.) And since I want to make it a habit to write shorter stories and update frequently, this is pretty much a win-win situation.
Uke Ash belongs to his seme Clemont... mostly. I don't own Pokémon (how tear ;_;) because if I did... *scoffs* it wouldn't be Pokémon. (^◇^;) Come join me in the Diode road! I hope you like this flooffy oneshot and the future ones I write! :)
There's A Light (K)
Summary: Ash is concerned about being sick with something, and Clemont tries to help.
~o~
Ash seems glum again, Clemont notices as he lifts his trusty ladle to his lips and performs a flavour check on the food. Hmm. This soup could use a tad more basil, and so the blonde adds just that and stirs the stew as vigorously as a contemplating, concerned individual could. Bonnie is a few distances away keeping Chespin and Dedenne entertained, as well as the rest of the group's Pokémon. Last time he glanced their way, Pikachu seemed all too glad chasing Braixen's tail around in circles.
But anyway, back to Ash. The guy is staring off into distance — legs and arms crossed in his sitting position, an evident pout on his face. If his glasses weren't clouding up from the steam of this stew, he'd have caught the ravenette's occasional confused glimpses thrown his way, or rather, the top of his head anyway. To Clemont, Ash appears to be deep in thought, and knowing the boy, it must be something important enough to trouble him so...
"Something wrong, Ash?" He calls out after covering the pot to boil. At the sound of his voice, the ravenette freezes on the grass and shakes his head frantically, adamantly silent.
"Are you sure? If you're hungry, this food's almost done. Say, give or take ten minutes? There's plenty for thirds as always."
"...M' alright..." A small voice answers him back. It's a wonder Clemont even heard it over his enthusiastic sister's, "No, Dedenne, don't go too far!" and the Pokémon in question's, "Dene! Dene dene!" — a feat uncharacteristic for the overpowering loud dark-haired teen. When the sighs start coming, that's when Clemont knows something's really wrong. A last minute check on the fire and he walks over to the squatting boy to cheer him up.
"Okay, world's future Pokémon Master. What's on your mind?" Much to the blonde's disappointment, the light compliment doesn't seem to faze Ash from lala land one bit. He kneels beside his friend and lays a comforting hand on the guy's shoulder, only to receive yet another sigh in response.
"Seriously Ash, you can tell me anything. You know that, right?" He tries to think back to their recent escapades and besides Team Rocket being a pain in the behind as always, so far, nothing off has happened to them. They've been on the road for the next gym for a while now, and while it's nice to camp on the outskirts of Kalos, reaching a new city would be much appreciated.
Maybe that's what Ash is bothered about?
Before he could ask however, Ash suddenly curls within himself and, at his boredom, rocks his legs forwards and backwards with his chin on his knees. The pot still needs to simmer up a bit, so Clemont has time to talk. Ash sniffs and watches the long blades of grass on the field sway in the breeze, blinking rapidly.
"I think I'm sick." is what Ash mumbles, several minutes of waiting later. He doesn't try to make eye contact with the blonde but he continues explaining as best as he could anyway, the gears in his brain turning for the right words. How to say...
Luckily Clemont is a patient one.
"Clem, you know all about science, right?" The hazel-eyed boy starts.
"Uhh... well, not really. I specialize in mechanics and physics. There are several branches of science such as Biology and Chemistry, and, of course, there's Medicine, Meteorology, Climatology, Psychology... even Pokémontology is science. Why do you ask?"
"It really is that complicated huh... I was just wondering..." Hands between his legs, he turns to Clemont and weakly grins. "...Lately I've been feeling a little odd. I know you're not a doctor, but I was hoping you could give me an idea of what's wrong with me."
Clemont's pot has a specialized timer on it, so he'll know the stew is cooked once the timer starts to squeal. However, talking to Ash right here's got him stuck between listening to the teen AND overcooking the food or leaving him for a brief second... Hmm...
It's just fortunate that Bonnie is closeby. "I got it!" yells the hyperactive blue-eyed girl, Greninja and Pancham following close behind.
Adjusting the frames on his face, the gym leader nods and encourages his friend. "Go on. I'll try my best to look into it." He'd do anything to help, no matter how miniscule or troublesome the problem is. Anything for Ash. Anything for his friends.
"There's this thing." Ash looks around. "Whenever I look at everyone else, they look like pretty ordinary people. But then when I look at... err... certain people, there's this permanent white light hovering around them."
Permanent... white light? Around certain people?
"Almost like... they've become angels or something." adds the hazel-eyed teen. "Then there's standing next to everyone else and feeling completely normal, but when I stand next to certain people my heartrate speeds up, I start to sweat more and my stomach feels funny. I feel the same way when I battle, but it's different since I'm not even doing anything and it happens. Then there's the dreams... I don't know if there's a ghost Pokémon out there capable of causing something like that but... it's really weird and I'm... kind of scared."
.
.
.
...Clemont nods. And tries not to smile, because he already knows and, well, he thinks it's a little adorable how clueless Ash was about it. If he teased him a little, would Ash mind? But no, the ravenette trusted him with this confession. He meets the boy's hopeful eyes and wordlessly lets him know that he's got it. Nothing seems to prepare him for Ash's worried question afterwards.
"Am I going to die, Clemont?"
"No, no. You aren't going to die. With... certain people, this sort of thing happens, so it's not a problem, and you aren't sick. Imbalances in your bodily chemicals and the changes in your thoughts towards said people are all to blame. I can't say I've ever seen glowing people yet but... it may happen someday."
Clemont's kind of curious about the identity of this special person, and he's even more so when Ash begins to fidget and blush a beautiful shade of red. What a lucky person. Standing up to attend to their lunch preparations, he scrunches his nose at the ravenette and squeezes one of his shoulders. "Tell me more about it if you want to, alright? I'm always here to help."
"Y-Yeah. Thanks for helping me, Clem." Ash grins at him appreciatively. There. A bright smile — that's exactly what the blonde wants to see on his friend's face. He isn't sure why the sunlight's shining down on the dark-haired teen all of a sudden as he turns around too soon and calls their Pokémon for feeding time.
Once left to himself, Ash spares a last glance towards Clemont's way through his long fringe. There's a last sigh that escapes his lips before he moves to pick Pikachu up and head for the nearby picnic table. The whole day's been a cloudy day. At least now he knows what's up when he shields his eyes further from brightness surrounding the bespectacled blonde and places a fist over his chest.
"The world's too bright when I'm with you."