After he and Silver had moved her bed downstairs, Miranda had insisted that she wanted some kind of curtain put around her bed so that she might have SOME level of privacy while she was sleeping, and to help block out the sun which came in from two separate windows in the living room. So while Gold was installing said curtains, he was interrupted by his pokegear ringing. He plucked it off his belt and saw "Silver" written on the screen. He smiled with anticipation and answered it.
"Hey, Silver," he said.
"H-Hey, Gold," Silver answered.
Gold attached the Pokegear to his shirt collar so he could keep working while talking and asked, "What's up?"
It took Silver a few seconds to answer, but he said, "Nothing's "up," really. I was just...um-"
He heard Silver clear his throat and say, "Just wondering if maybe you wanted to come over. I'm off today so..."
Gold didn't answer immediately, not because he didn't want to go, but because he was so shocked to be invited over to Silver's house. His brain started forming ideas before he could even form a response. If Silver was inviting him it meant that Silver, at the very least, enjoyed his company. Otherwise, why would he ask? His heart pounded just a little bit harder, and his words caught in his throat.
Silver, of course, took the silence wrong, and said, "If you're busy, it's fine, just-"
"N-No!" Gold interrupted.
He had to force himself to calm down after that. He'd done a good job not appearing too eager so far, so he was determined to keep that eagerness reigned in.
"Sorry. Mom has me hanging some curtains around her bed, so I was distracted," he lied. "I can come over after I'm finished."
"All right," Silver answered, "Cool. I'll see you later."
"Bye."
He then hung up the pokegear and exhaled heavily. Well, that went better than expected. As he finished hanging the curtains, Miranda emerged from the kitchen holding a sandwich and asked, "Was that Silver?"
Gold's cheeks flushed a little and he said, "Yeah. He wanted to know if I wanted to come over."
She grinned and sat in her recliner. "Well, I hope you told him yes."
Gold rolled his eyes and attached the final piece of the curtain. "Yes, Mom, I did."
He knew she meant well, but her constantly teasing him about Silver only made things even more awkward for him. He was already struggling with possibly starting another relationship after Anthony, but it was doubly difficult considering how smitten he'd already become with Silver. In all his years, he never imagined the bratty teenager who had spent a year trying to bully him would grow up into such a catch.
"All right, dear," Miranda said before winking. "You'd better get going. Don't want to keep him waiting."
Gold had to resist the urge to groan before asking her, "Do you want me to make you something to heat up for dinner before I go?"
She shook her head. "I'll manage. Get out of here."
He smiled and leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Love you, Mom."
"I love you too, dear," she answered with a grin, "Have fun."
He nodded and headed for the door, grabbing his pokeball belt on the way out.
Altaria landed outside of Silver's house, and Gold knocked on the door as he returned it to its Pokeball. He heard Silver call for him to come in, so he opened the door and found Silver standing behind the couch wearing a black t-shirt and what looked like black swimming trunks. Wait...swimming trunks? Why was he wearing swimming trunks? Gold immediately didn't like the implications, but he kept the suspicion from his face as he said, "Hey, Silver."
Silver half-smiled and said, "Heads up."
He then tossed something to Gold, and when Gold caught it he realized it was another pair of swimming trunks. Okay, now he was really worried. Was Silver seriously about to suggest that they go swimming knowing how Gold felt about the water? He was about to ask Silver what was going on when the redhead said, "Put those on and meet me in the basement."
He said no more and walked away, right through a door that Gold could only assume led to the basement. Gold stood there for several seconds, dumbfounded by what had just happened. Just what was Silver up to? It was obvious that they weren't going swimming since Silver had said to meet him in the basement. But if they weren't going swimming, then why did Gold need swim trunks? Well, he wasn't going to get any answers standing here, so he stripped out of his pants and boxers before slipping on the swim trunks. He went through the door Silver had passed through and down the stairs.
When he entered the basement he found mostly carpeted floors, a flat-screen TV on the wall, a foosball table, an air hockey table, and a pool table. In the corner, surrounded by linoleum was a set of linoleum stairs that led into what looked like a hot tub. On the linoleum next to the tub was a mini fridge, and hanging above that were two towels on a rack. Silver stood with one foot on the bottom stair, his arms crossed awkwardly.
Gold finally approached and asked, "What's going on, Silver?"
Silver glanced at the tub and said, "So I, uh, kinda invited you here under false pretenses."
Gold crossed his arms as well. "I can see that."
Silver brought one of his hands up to scratch the back of his head. "It's just...I have this stupid tub that I never use, and I know you're afraid of the water. So I thought, I don't know, maybe you could use it to start getting over your fear."
Get over the fear? He had to admit that such a thought had never even crossed his mind. He'd pretty much accepted it as something he'd be stuck with for the rest of his life. It was inconvenient, but it didn't make his life all that much more difficult. But if he could overcome it...
Silver let both arms drop to his sides and said, "If you really don't want to, I won't push it. But if you want to...I'll, um...help you...if you, uh...want me to, anyway..."
It was clear to Gold that Silver was stepping way outside of his comfort zone with this whole conversation. His hesitation all throughout the last sentence was evidence of that. And while getting over his fear of water hadn't been on Gold's agenda that day, he knew he wasn't going to be able to tell Silver no. Not after he'd gone out of his way to both invite him over and offer to help him overcome something that had plagued him since he was a child. Gold walked closer until he was standing right in front of Silver and turned to look into the tub. It was a little deeper than a bathtub, but it was shallow enough that he could sit down and the water would only reach his shoulders, so he figured he would probably be fine.
He turned his head to look at Silver and said, "Okay."
Silver looked genuinely surprised. "Okay?"
Gold flashed him a hesitant smile. "Yeah... I kinda do need to get over it. I'm not a kid anymore."
The look that fell over Silver's face in that moment made Gold blush. It almost looked like...pride. Was Silver proud of him for agreeing? The redhead didn't say anything, though, and simply motioned for Gold to follow as he climbed the stairs and stripped off his shirt. He flung the shirt off to the side, and heat stung Gold's cheeks at the sight of so much bare skin. Silver waded to the other side and sat down, giving Gold plenty of room to get in himself. Gold took off his shirt and didn't hesitate to walk up the stairs, but when he was faced with the task of stepping into the water, he stopped. He stared down into the water that suddenly looked twenty feet deeper and cursed his own brain for making him see something so ridiculous. His heart started to pound, but he forced himself forward, dipping one foot into the water slowly.
Inch by inch his foot moved until it touched the "seat" of the tub. He placed his weight down, and let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. The second foot going in was easier, and once both feet were inside, he started to step down to the floor of the tub. That part was also easier, until both of his legs were fully submerged and he had to sit down. By the depth of the water, it would at least reach above his pectorals, a thought which made his heart pound harder. But he reminded himself that it would NOT submerge his head and, ever so slowly, started to sit down. His hands touched the seat first, and once he'd found it, sitting down was much less harrowing. Once his butt was firmly on the seat, he leaned his back against the side of the tub and waited.
His heart was still racing, and his breaths were heavier than normal, but he wasn't having a panic attack, and the water felt nice, so he breathed in deep and released the breath heavily, causing ripples to spread across the water in front of him. He finally looked at Silver, who was sitting quietly right where he'd been, and was beyond relieved to see that there was no judgement in his eyes. He was simply watching, intently, like he was making sure everything was okay and nothing more.
The fact that Silver wasn't judging him made it easier for Gold to relax, and he finally worked up the courage to jokingly say, "I know I probably look pathetic. I beat all 8 Johto gyms but I'm scared of a little bit of water."
He expected Silver to joke back, but instead he maintained the stoic look on his face when he answered, "You don't look pathetic. Don't even joke about that."
Gold was stunned to silence by that response, and he stared stupidly back at Silver as the redhead leaned back and put his elbows on the side of the tub. This caused his chest to raise several inches out of the water and Gold had to stop himself from staring at the now fully-revealed pecs Silver was inadvertently showing off.
Silver then averted his eyes slightly so that he wasn't looking directly at Gold when he went on, "People aren't born afraid of the water. Something happened. You don't ever have to tell me what it was, but I know something happened to make you this afraid. And most people would rather live with their fear than bother trying to get over it. So, in my book, you don't look pathetic. You look like you've got balls of steel."
If Gold hadn't been blushing before, he certainly was now. He was being so understanding, considerate, and unbelievably supportive. Every day, Silver kept giving Gold more and more reasons to be completely baffled that this was the same man he'd known five years ago. He told himself, in those moments, that he was going to have to stop drawing comparisons between who Silver used to be and who he was now because the redhead had more than proven that he was a completely changed man. And the thought that he'd had something to do with that change made Gold's chest burn with pride.
Before Gold was able to say anything in response, though, Silver told him to wait there and climbed out of the tub. As his body emerged from the water, Gold couldn't stop himself from gaping this time. Droplets of water slid over Silver's muscles and his wet skin glowed under the lights. Damn him for being so attractive. He was making it very difficult for Gold to keep his cool around him. Gold watched as he stepped out of the tub and approached the mini fridge. He opened it and pulled out two cans of what Gold could now see was beer he'd probably put in there earlier that morning. He tossed one of the cans to Gold, who tried to catch it but missed his grip due to his hands being slippery. The can plopped into the water and sent a wave of water up into Gold's face.
Gold chuckled as the can bobbed to the surface of the water. He heard the sound of Silver's can opening when the redhead descended back into the tub and to his spot. Gold took his own beer before the heat of the water warmed it up too much and opened it slowly in case his terrible catching skills had caused it to be shaken up. Only a small bit of beer shot out and hit him in his forehead, so he counted that as a win. As he took his first drink, he noticed Silver looking at him out of the corner of his eye.
Gold then lowered his can and said, "What?"
Silver's eyes averted immediately and he said, "N-Nothing."
The redhead then turned his attention to his own beer and Gold raised an eyebrow in confusion. It obviously had been something. Silver didn't do anything without a reason. He tried not to dwell on it too much, though, as he was still sitting in a tub full of his worst fear. However, as the minutes had passed, his discomfort had lessened quite a bit. Of course, he was certain the company had had something to do with that. He finished off his beer and placed the can to the side in time for Silver to say, "If you're feeling okay, I want to try one more thing before we call it a day."
Feeling elated due to his first major step, Gold felt more than confident enough to answer, "Sure."
Silver leaned back with his elbows on the side again and said, "I want you to try putting your head underwater."
Aaaaand, the confidence was gone. That didn't take long. The main reason sitting in the tub hadn't been terrifying in the first place was because he knew his head wouldn't be underwater. But now...he wasn't sure he could do this. He stared down at the water, and he couldn't stop himself from picturing hands reaching up and dragging him under. He could see his hands visibly trembling under the water and he shoved them down to his sides and clenched his fists to stop them.
Silver seemed to notice his fear and moved closer to him, sitting to his left only about a foot away. He kept his voice calm when he said, "I won't force you, but this is the next step. You can't stop being afraid of the water unless you can submerge yourself in it."
He knew Silver was right, and he knew if he was going to get over this fear, he was going to have to take it the whole nine yards. Anything less would not suffice. He breathed out another heavy breath and answered, "I know, and I want to do it. It's just..."
Gold's whole body jolted slightly when he felt Silver's hand on his shoulder. He glanced at the hand and then at Silver's face. The redhead maintained his normal, stoic expression when he said, "I know. You don't have to rush or anything."
He was being so unbelievably patient. And the hand on Gold's shoulder calmed him so quickly that it was almost scary. It was as if Silver was transferring his own confidence into Gold, through nothing but a simple touch. After he pulled his hand away, Silver made the motion of plugging his nose and said, "When you go under the first time, plug your nose to keep the water out. Once you're okay with doing it that way, I'll tell you how to do it without plugging your nose."
Sounded easy enough, but he knew it wasn't, not really. Still, Silver believed he could do it, so he knew he had to try. He took a few deep breaths to try to prepare himself before plugging his nose and starting to lower his head into the warm water. Everything was going smoothly until the water reached his eyes, at which point, he jerked his head back up. His chest ached with shame and embarrassment, and he covered his eyes with one of his hands in an attempt to cover the red in his cheeks.
Silver, however, remained patient and said, "No worries. Just try again."
Okay, Gold. Gold told himself. Get your shit together and just do it. You're the one who's in control. This isn't scary.
He repeated those words in his head again and again as he closed his nose and went back in for another go. This time, he didn't stop, even when his heart started pounding even harder. He inched his head all the way into the water and as soon as he felt the water close over the back of his head, he knew he was fully submerged. For the first several seconds, it was torture. His chest wrenched and he thought the water might swallow him. After that, though, his heart rate slowly started to go down, and the tension in his muscles began to wane.
By the time he needed to come up for air, his body had almost completely relaxed. And when he surfaced, it was with a surprised grin on his face. He'd done it. He'd submerged his entire body underwater and he hadn't fallen into an anxiety attack in the process.
He moved the soaked hair that was sticking to his face and threw Silver his trademark grin as he said, "I did it."
Silver gave him a thumbs up. "Try it a few more times that way and-"
"No," Gold interrupted. "I wanna try it the other way. How do I do it?"
Silver raised an eyebrow. "I told you that you don't have to rush it."
Gold shrugged and answered, "Yeah, I know. But I've always been a pretty fast learner, so..."
He wasn't even bragging was the funny thing. His mother showed him how to stitch clothing one time and he learned it. He saw a man juggle one time and figured out how to do it. Hell, it only took him falling off his bike one time for him to first learn how to ride it. And he didn't want this to be any different.
Silver didn't seem to want to argue either as he said, "All right, if you're sure."
Gold nodded, so Silver went on, "Take a breath like you did before, and when you go under, start slowly pushing the water out through your nose. But don't let it out too quickly. The goal is to stay under as long as you can while keeping the water from rushing up your nose."
Simple enough directions. Now Gold just had to hope that he didn't screw it up. He took the breath as instructed and quickly submerged his head like he had before. However, as soon as he felt the water start to rush up his nose, he panicked and blew out all of his air to expell it, which resulted in him having to raise his head immediately. He flew into a coughing fit, but he audibly gasped when he felt Silver's hand on him again, this time on his upper back.
"You okay?" the redhead asked.
Through his coughing, Gold nodded and managed to choke out, "Y-Yeah."
Silver then withdrew his hand and said, "That's what happens when you let the air out too quickly."
Gold let out a strained chuckle. "You don't say?"
Silver half-smiled and said, "Don't worry about it. I did the same thing when I first learned how to swim. Just try it again."
Gold was having a hard time picturing Silver making a fool of himself like that, but he didn't question it and finished catching his breath. Once he was prepared, he tried again, this time blowing out a small amount of air as soon as his nose went under. It worked. The water stayed out of his nose as he very slowly let out the air in his lungs. He stayed under for at least ten seconds before he raised his head again, and released a sigh of relief. As stupid as he knew it was, he couldn't help the pride that welled in his chest. Not only had he climbed into the water, but he'd managed to keep himself submerged without plugging his nose.
Without stopping to say anything to Silver, he dunked his head again, reveling in the high of finally accomplishing everything Silver had wanted him to do that day. And he didn't stop after the second dunk. He kept it up until he was sure he'd gone under the water at least a dozen times. After he emerged for the last time, he was about to say something to Silver when he noticed that the redhead's eyes were closed and his head was dipped forward. Sometime during Gold's dunking craze, Silver had dozed off. Hardly surprising. The water was really warm.
His head was leaned so far forward that the ends of his red hair danced across the top of the water, and because his elbows were still propped on the sides, his entire chest was revealed. Gold knew he needed to wake him. He should have already wakened him, but his mouth refused to form the words. This was an opportunity he wasn't sure he would get again, an opportunity to just look at him; his peaceful expression as he slept, his still-glowing skin, the toned muscles of his chest. She'd been annoying about the whole thing, but his mom had been absolutely right about one thing. Silver was gorgeous. Utterly and completely gorgeous.
Unfortunately, Gold wasn't able to keep staring holes in him as Silver's eyes fluttered open and his head raised abruptly. He glanced about the room once and his eyes fell onto Gold. Gold averted his eyes as he could feel the heat in his cheeks and he didn't want to make Silver uncomfortable.
Luckily, the redhead seemed too groggy to notice as he said, "Sorry. Didn't mean to doze off like that."
Gold shook his head. "It's fine. I was done anyway."
Silver then looked over his shoulder at the clock on the wall. "Well, then you ready to call it a day?"
Gold grinned. "Sure. Lemme just go under one more time."
He wasn't sure why he wanted to do it again. Probably to show Silver that he could, not that it was a particularly impressive display. He took his breath and went under again. He heard Silver shifting through the water next to him, and the next thing he felt was Silver's hand on his shoulder. The touch, while comforting before, caused Gold's eyes to close tighter and, for the first time in years, he experienced a flashback.
He felt a hand on the back of his head, holding him under. He felt himself struggling against the hold. He felt his lungs burn from lack of oxygen. He felt the water flood his nose and his lungs. He felt the pain that comes right before you lose consciousness. All of this sent him launching his head out of the water, sending a wave over the side of the tub and down the stairs. His eyes were wide and he took short, shallow breaths as his heart slammed against his chest.
"Gold?"
Silver voice snapped him out of his trance and he exhaled a heavy breath. Breath. Breathing. There was air in his lungs, not water. There was no hand on the back of his head. He was standing next to Silver, in his basement. Nothing was happening. Everything was okay. He turned his head to look at Silver, and the grave look in the redhead's eyes told the story of his worry.
For the fourth time, he touched Gold, this time on his bicep and said, "Yeah, we're done. Let's go."
He motioned for Gold to follow him and climbed out of the tub. Silver went for the towels hanging above the mini fridge and handed one to Gold. They dried themselves off as best they could and took their shirts before heading upstairs to change back into their dry clothes. Silver disappeared into his bedroom and Gold went into the bathroom. Even though the flashback was over, he could still see and feel his entire body trembling as he stripped out of the wet trunks and put them in the bathroom sink.
He leaned forward with his hands braced on the sink and stared into the mirror. His face was completely devoid of color, which only served to make him feel worse. He couldn't believe he'd let himself have a full-blown flashback in front of Silver. As if him shaking like a child inside of the hot tub wasn't bad enough... He turned on the sink to let the cold water run, cupped some of it inside of his hands, and splashed it on his face. The cool water soothed him a bit, but not enough. Silver had been right to want to help Gold overcome this. He needed to. These flashbacks and panic attacks could not be allowed to stand.
He finished dressing himself and walked out of the bathroom, only to find Silver sitting on the couch. He tried to prepare himself for the barrage of questions he thought were about to come his way.
But he found he didn't need to worry as Silver simply half-smiled and asked, "You wanna go get some dinner? I know a diner in town that makes the best damn waffles you've ever had in your life."
Dammit. It was like the redhead could read his mind, or something. He just knew that Gold didn't want to talk about this, and he reacted accordingly. How did he do that? How did he just know what to say at all times? Gold didn't know, but he did know one thing. This was just one more thing Silver did that was making it way too easy to fall for him.
Hoping that food might take his mind off daydreaming over the redhead, Gold answered, "Yeah. That actually sounds awesome."
Silver stood and said, "All right. Let's go."
Gold followed Silver out of the house and through the city. It was getting later so there weren't that many people walking around. And when they arrived at the diner, they found it was also mostly devoid of people. There were only two or three other tables sitting down and eating, so Gold knew they had a chance of getting their food pretty quickly. They walked in and took a seat at one of the booths right before a blonde, voluptuous waitress approached and her eyes fell immediately on Gold. He saw the flirtatious look in her eyes and groaned internally.
Oh no.
He found he was right to be worried when she said, "What can I get you to drink, handsome?"
She then placed her note pad onto the table and bent over it, clearly trying to show off her cleavage. He glanced over at Silver, who had an amused look on his face. Gold's eyes narrowed and he muttered, "J-Just water for me, thanks."
She turned her head to Silver and said, "How 'bout you?"
"Same," Silver answered.
The woman started writing, but Gold could see that it wasn't their drinks she was writing down. It was instead a phone number that he could only guess was hers. She ripped the paper off of her note pad and slid it toward Gold until her fingertips were touching his hand. She winked and said, "Use that if the spirit moves you."
He hated this part, the part where he had to break it to her that he was not interested and would never be interested. He gently pushed the paper back toward her and said, "Sorry. You're very pretty, but it's wasted on me. I'm gay."
He saw the look of disappointment fall over her face as she took the paper back. She then looked over at Silver and said, "Well, that's a damn shame."
Gold knew immediately what the woman was thinking. She didn't have to say it. She thought Silver was his boyfriend and that they were on a date. His cheeks stung with heat, and as the waitress walked away to get their drinks, he covered his face with his hand.
He groaned out loud this time and said, "Sorry, Silver. I gave her the complete wrong idea about you and me."
Silver shrugged. "Whatever. It'll stop her from flirting with me, so..."
Gold's eyes grew slightly wider. Wait...Silver didn't care? He didn't mind that their waitress now thought they were dating? So he...wasn't bothered by other people thinking he was with a man? The implications were huge, and before he was able to stop them, thoughts came flooding into his head. Did that mean Silver was okay with being with a man? Did that mean Gold actually had a chance? The more he thought about it, the warmer his chest became until he was sure it would burst into flames.
The thoughts were still swimming through his head when the waitress returned with their drinks and asked if they were ready to order. Silver had to literally snap his fingers in front of Gold's face to snap him out of his thoughts, and Gold realized he hadn't even looked at the menu. He was about to start scrambling to look when he remembered one of the dishes advertised on the outside window.
He decided it would be good enough and stuttered out, "Y-Yeah. Just, um...give me the waffle breakfast with the strawberry and whipped cream."
She started scribbling and asked, "How do you want the eggs, and do you want bacon or sausage?"
Eggs? Bacon? Sausage? Dammit, why did there have to be so many options while he was going through a damned internal crisis? He managed to stammer out "over-medium" and "bacon" before the waitress turned to Silver. Gold couldn't pay attention to what he ordered, and remained silent until the waitress walked away.
Silver then leaned back into the booth and crossed his arms as he asked, "You okay? You're acting weird."
Lie. Come up with something quick. He managed to calm his stuttering and said, "Yeah...sorry. I always get uncomfortable when women flirt with me."
He hoped Silver bought it. But even if he didn't, the redhead didn't inquire further, and a short silence fell between them. During that silence, Silver turned his head to look out of the window. From the stern look on his face, Gold could tell he was thinking about something, but before he could ask what it was, Silver said, "Can I ask you something?"
He wasn't sure why Silver felt the need to obtain consent for asking a question, but he answered, "Of course. What's up?"
Silver's eyes met his and the redhead asked, "Why did you never challenge the Elite Four?"
Well...it wasn't exactly a nice conversation topic, but Gold decided he'd take it. At least it would get his mind off of pining over Silver. He took a sip of his water and began, "Mom was diagnosed with the tumor not too long after I defeated Claire. Mom tried to tell me to go on and challenge the Elite Four anyway, but I refused. I knew she needed me there with her. Then, as she got sicker, my days were full of chores and doctor visits, so traveling wasn't exactly a possibility."
He paused to take another drink as his throat was drying due to the pain of discussing such a thing. "And then...when it was clear that none of the treatments were working, I didn't want to leave her for even a day. I still don't really like leaving her alone for any length of time, but she's insisting that I go out and have my own life, so..."
He hoped he didn't sound too dejected. He didn't want their day being ruined by him talking about such sad things, especially since he'd taken such a big step with the water today. Silver didn't seem bothered, however, and simply asked, "Is there no treatment out there that could help her?"
Gold's lips curled into a smile at Silver's concern for his mother. "No. The doctor keeps looking at all new possibilities, but so far he's found nothing."
Silver's eyes fell to the table, and Gold could see that the answer to his question bothered him. Even though it was awful that Silver was helping Gold shoulder such a burden, Gold had to admit that it was nice to actually have someone to share the burden with besides Crystal.
The waitress then returned with their food and made a quip about them enjoying it before disappearing back behind the counter. The two men spent a couple of seconds poking their food around with their forks before Gold decided he had his own question.
"Silver?" he said.
The redhead met his eyes. "Hmm?"
"You don't have to answer if you don't want to," Gold said, "But I was kinda wondering...what happened to your dad?"
Silver scoffed and started cutting up part of a biscuit with gravy. "My old man decided he was gonna go into hiding over a decade ago. He couldn't stand the shame of knowing his entire criminal enterprise was taken apart by a damn teenager."
Gold swallowed a bite of his own food and asked, "So, what, you never see him?"
Silver shook his head and chased a bite of his food with some water before saying, "Not very often. He e-mails me sometimes, and he always sends me money on my birthday and Christmas, but that's about it.'
Sends him money...on Christmas? Gold's eyes widened again, and he said, "Wait a minute. Are you saying you've always been alone on Christmas?"
Silver shrugged. "It's no big deal. I'm used to it."
No big deal? Maybe to Silver it wasn't a big deal, but for Gold... He would have to remember to tell his mom about this the next time he saw her. Silver may have spent the past however many Christmases alone, but Gold was determined that he would not spend another one that way. They finished their food in mostly silence and when the waitress brought the ticket, Silver snatched it up quickly.
Gold gave Silver a stern look and said, "You should at least let me pay for my food."
Silver shook his head and pulled a five and three ones out of his wallet to leave on the table for the waitress. "I got it, Gold."
He invited you out to dinner and he's paying. You know what that means? Gold forced the ideas to quiet almost as soon as they popped into his head. Stop it, you idiot. He told himself. It doesn't mean anything. Don't try to make it mean something.
Silver asked if he was ready to go, and Gold nodded. The two of them headed for the cashier to pay, and, on the way over, a young, brunette woman walked by. She accidentally hooked her foot on one of the chair legs nearby and lost her balance rather quickly. Silver reacted faster than Gold could and took her arm to stop her from falling.
He asked her if she was okay, and Gold heard her chuckle before she turned her head and said, "I'm okay, thank-"
The smile on her face died as soon as her eyes fell on Silver's face. Gold looked at Silver and saw that his normal, stoic expression had been replaced by what could only be described as dread. His lips trembled as they parted and he said, "Annie?"
The woman yanked her arm back swiftly, and a glare shot across her face, "Oh, he remembers my name? That's fresh."
Gold had never seen Silver back down from someone so quickly as he did as soon as those words left Annie's mouth. His eyes became downcast, and his entire body tensed up as Annie turned to Gold. She looked him up and down and said, "You his newest victim? Be careful of this one. He's got a reputation for dumping people on street corners once he's gotten what he wanted out of them."
She didn't wait for a response and stormed off, leaving a very stunned Gold and an utterly humiliated Silver. Several eyes in the cafe were on them, and Gold knew he wasn't going to be able to get Silver to tell him what had just happened unless they could get out of the diner. So he took the cash that Silver had been meaning to pay with out of his hand, along with the bill, and placed them both in front of the cashier. He muttered, "Keep the change," before taking Silver by his wrist and leading him out of the cafe.
Once they were outside, and away from the prying eyes of the cafe patrons, Silver shook his wrist away. He raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose before running his hand down his face and exhaling heavily. Gold hadn't expected this to happen. He wasn't sure why he hadn't been expecting it, though. He knew perfectly well who Silver used to be. He'd delt with what he thought was the worst of Silver for a whole year. It should have come as no surprise that he wasn't the only person to see that side of Silver. He supposed he'd been living in a bubble, foolishly believing that Silver's past would stay in his past. But it's never that easy. He should have known that.
Silver kept his eyes averted as he motioned for Gold to follow him. Gold didn't say anything and followed behind him as he led him through the city and toward the beach. The bottom of the sun was just starting to touch the horizon as Silver climbed up on one of the rock faces on the beach and walked to the end. He sat down, and released another heavy breath, as if preparing himself for the conversation that was about to happen. Gold took a seat next to him, and while his mind was flooding with questions, he thought it would probably be best to let Silver break the silence this time.
Thankfully, the redhead didn't make him wait long, and said, "I'm sorry."
Gold didn't figure telling him not to apologize would do any good, so he simply asked, "Who was she?"
Silver's shoulders tensed up tighter and he pulled one of he knees to his chest. He hooked his hands around his ankle before saying, "Remember what I told you about abusers?"
Of course he remembered. The fact that Silver had drawn a parallel between himself and Anthony had made Gold's stomach turn before. But now, he understood why Silver did it, and probably why Silver hated Anthony as much as he did. He didn't want to risk speaking for fear of his voice cracking so he simply nodded and waited for Silver to carry on.
Silver looked out over the ocean and said, "I toyed with her. I told her everything that she wanted to hear so that I could make her believe that I wanted to be with her. Then, as soon as I convinced her to sleep with me...I left her, like she was a pile of fucking garbage."
Gold wasn't at all surprised to hear that explanation. He'd pretty much gathered that from Annie's statements. But to hear Silver say it, and to hear the pained tone in his voice with every word was enough to crack Gold in two. Silver regretted it. He really, truly regretted it to the point that Gold could see that it was tearing him apart inside.
Silver wasn't finished, though. His fists clenched tightly and he said, "And she wasn't the only one. There were...so many others."
Again, not surprising, but Gold could see in Silver's eyes that he remembered all of them; all of their names, all of their faces. And he was berating himself on the inside for the pain he'd caused them all. To see him struggling like this, now that he knew that Silver was no longer that person, made Gold's chest ache. He wanted to say something, anything to comfort him, but all of his words seemed insufficient. He'd never experienced what Silver was experiencing now, at least not to this degree.
Silver's eyes fell to the ground and he repeated, "I'm sorry, Gold. I never wanted you to have to see any more of the shit from my past. You went through enough of it already."
The sheer agony in his voice was enough to make Gold's eyes mist over. No. He had to say something. Even if it seemed insufficient, even if it sounded cliche and dumb. He had to. Silver needed him to. Silver needed to know that he wasn't going to hold his past over his head or blame him for it. So he repeated what Silver had done several times today, and placed a hand gently on his shoulder.
Silver glanced at the hand in surprise before Gold said, "You're not like that anymore. You know that. I know that. If you're gonna beat yourself up over it, there's nothing I can do to stop you. But you need to know that I don't blame you."
At that last statement, Silver's eyes darkened again, and he hung his head. No. Dammit! The goal had been to make him feel better. What had he said wrong? Silver's lips parted again and he said, "If anyone has the right to blame me, it's you. I hurt those girls, but I only did it once. But you..."
Of course Gold hadn't forgotten the long, drawn-out bullying campaign Silver had put him through. Every time Gold accomplished anything, it seemed like Silver was there to remind him that he was still worthless. That was why their first couple meetings after the five years had been so cold. But Silver had proven so quickly that he was a changed man that Gold had simply pushed the bullying to the back of his mind. Maybe that was what Silver needed to hear.
He squeezed Silver's shoulder once before pulling his hand away and saying, "When you first walked into Professor Elm's lab that night, I still saw you as that ass hole who spent an entire year tormenting me. But when I saw what you tried to do, when I saw you try to give Feraligatr back, my entire view shifted. The guy I knew, the guy who had been such a complete pile of crap, he never would have tried to return a Pokemon that he'd stolen. So I guess I sort of compartmentalized in my mind."
As he spoke, he saw the pained expression fade from Silver's face. Gold grinned slightly before carrying on, "What I'm trying to say is, the guy who did all that crap six years ago, and the guy sitting here aren't the same person, not to me anyway."
Finally, Silver turned his head and looked at Gold. Gold met his eyes, and all of the air left his lungs when he saw how Silver was looking at him. His gaze was intense, but there was something behind it, something that made his chest flutter like a school girl's. With how he felt about Silver, he couldn't trust that it wasn't simply wishful thinking, but that something, it looked like adoration. He wanted to react to it. He wanted to scoot closer to Silver, wrap an arm around him, and... But he couldn't do those things. Not when he wasn't even sure if Silver liked men, much less liked him. So he did the only thing he could do. He looked back, and he tried to match Silver's gaze with one of his own, one he hoped would convince the redhead that everything he'd just told him was true.
And Gold could have kept looking into Silver's eyes until the sun set, but they were interrupted by the sound of a scream echoing across the beach. Both of them turned, and Silver shot to his feet when he saw what Gold saw: Annie sprinting across the beach with an angry Kingler hot on her tail.
Before Gold could even react, he saw Silver pick up a large piece of driftwood and take off in Annie's direction. He shot past her and shoved the driftwood straight into the Kingler's larger claw, blocking its attack and causing it to stumble backward. Gold saw him reach for a pokeball, and when it opened, Silver's Magneton emerged from the white light and charged for the Kingler without hesitation. Everything seemed to be okay until Gold heard Annie scream again. He turned around and saw her face-to-face with yet another Kingler, presumably a relative of the other one.
He reached for his Shiftry's Pokeball and was about to throw it when Silver suddenly appeared and put himself between Annie and the Kingler. Gold's heart pounded harder as he threw the pokeball and rushed toward Silver at the same time. Shiftry emerged out of the white light, and its giant leaves caught the Kingler's claws.
When he reached Silver's side, he saw the redhead turn to Annie, take her by the shoulders and ask, "Are you okay?"
Annie's eyes were wide and her entire body was trembling, but she managed to nod. Shiftry and Magneton made quick work of the Kingler, who then scurried back into the ocean. Magneton floated up to Silver and chirped happily. Silver grinned and raised his hand to pat it on one of its three heads. It spun once and floated up to Annie before dancing a circle around her and nuzzling her on the side of her head. The previously frightened woman seemed to calm at Magneton's kindness and smiled.
"Good job, Magneton," Silver said before returning the Pokemon to its ball.
Gold turned to his own Pokemon and said, "You too, Shiftry."
As Gold returned Shiftry to its Pokeball, he saw Annie cross her arms and tuck them tightly under her breasts. She glanced uncomfortably to the left before asking Silver, "Why did you protect me like that?"
Silver looked at Annie and it seemed like he was gonna try to answer, but he stopped. Turning to Gold, he asked, "Sorry, but could you give us a minute?"
Gold nodded. Of course this wasn't a conversation Silver would want to have with someone else listening in. So Gold gave Annie's shoulder a squeeze as he walked by and headed over to one of the empty picnic tables on the other side of the beach. He was well out of earshot, but he could still see the the two of them clearly. As both of their lips moved, he watched Annie's reactions, hoping that she wouldn't lose her temper like she had in the cafe. As the minutes passed, however, he watched her body language slowly shift. Her arms dropped to her sides, indicating she was no longer uncomfortable, and eventually her lips were not moving anywhere near as much as Silver's. It was amazing to see Silver speaking so much, but Gold imagined that he had a lot to tell Annie.
After Silver was finished speaking, an unbelievable thing happened. Annie smiled and stepped forward before wrapping her arms around Silver's neck and hugging him. Gold wanted to say that the only thing he felt in those few seconds was happiness, happiness for Silver because he was able to make amends with someone he had wronged. But happiness wasn't all he felt. Despite knowing that he and Silver weren't a couple, and despite knowing that he probably wasn't into men, Gold couldn't stop the green-eyed monster from rearing its ugly head. And the monster only shouted louder when Silver returned the hug, and Gold saw Annie whisper something in his ear before kissing him on his cheek. Gold swallowed heavily and clenched his fists, trying desperately to calm himself. But that became increasingly difficult when Annie not only snatched Silver's pokegear off his belt, but started pushing buttons, obviously giving him her number.
What Silver did next confused Gold, though. He placed his hand over top of the Pokegear and said something to Annie. Though Gold was out of earshot, he saw the look on her face, and it was identical to the one the waitress had given him when he'd broken the news that he was gay. Did that mean...? Had Silver just rejected Annie? Had he just told her that he wasn't interested? That certainly seemed to be the case as Annie smiled and shrugged her shoulders in an "Oh well" sort of fashion. But then, she did something that only confused Gold more. She gave Silver his Pokegear back and turned toward Gold. She made eye contact and winked at him before turning to leave, running her hand over Silver's shoulder as she went. Okay...what the hell had just happened there?
He didn't have much time to question it, though, as Silver was headed in his direction. When the redhead reached the table, he said, "Sorry about that."
Gold threw on a grin and said, "It's okay. I'm glad you made up. Did it help?"
Silver turned his head to the left and a genuine grin painted his lips as he said, "You know what? I think it did."
Gold stood and said, "Good."
Silver motioned for him to follow and they headed back toward his house. It was late by this point, and as much as Gold wanted to stay longer, he knew he needed to get back. He had an early day at work the next day. When they made it to Silver's door, Silver opened it and looked like he was about to let Gold in when he stopped.
Gold already had his Altaria's pokeball ready when he said, "Sorry, but I need to head home. Early day tomorrow."
Silver half-smiled. "I figured as much."
Gold threw the pokeball into the air and Altaria emerged, shaking its cloud-like feathers as it prepared for flight. Before Gold could climb on its back, however, he felt Silver's hand on his shoulder. He turned as the redhead said, "Before you leave, I'm giving you some "homework.""
Homework? The word made Gold laugh out loud, and he asked, "Really? And what "homework" would that be?"
Silver reached up to pat Altaria on the head, and the bird chirped happily before Silver answered, "Before the next time I see you, you have to at least try to take an actual bath, not a shower."
Of course. After all the drama with Annie, Gold had almost forgotten about his "swimming" lesson that day. He'd mentioned to Silver that even sitting in a bathtub was too much for him before, so it made sense that Silver would ask him to do that very thing on his own. And after he'd managed to not only sit in the hot tub for a length of time, but also put his head under the water, he thought he could probably handle taking a bath.
So he nodded and said, "I will."
Silver nodded back and headed for his door. He turned one more time before heading inside and said, "Goodnight, Gold."
Gold smiled at him. "Goodnight, Silver."
The redhead then walked inside and closed the door, leaving Gold and Altaria alone outside. He should have climbed on Altaria's back immediately. He should have already been flying away. But his feet didn't want to move. He'd had this feeling before, only once in his life, and that was before Anthony revealed his true colors. He felt the invisible string tugging him toward Silver, and making him not want to leave. Still, he pried his feet away from the ground and gently lifted himself onto Altaria's back. It cawed loudly and took off into the sky.
The further he got from Silver's house, the harder the string tugged. This was bad because it told him one thing: he was falling hard, and he was falling fast.