Series: Pokemon Special (Adventures)
Ship: Preciousmetalshipping (Gold X Silver)
Rating: Mature
Story Summary: When Gold's mother decides to go on vacation, she leaves the house in Gold's care as a way of preparing him for life as a responsible young adult. Quickly bored with the task at hand, he convinces Silver to assist him during his time alone and things take a rather interesting turn.
Once the house had been void of motherly presence for a couple of wasted hours, Gold decided that flipping through various television channels wasn't all too exciting when he wasn't getting nagged at for being indecisive. He sighed, repeatedly pressing the 'forward' button on the controller with a steady rhythm, not satisfied at all with the selection he was being presented with. Just as soon as he was about to give up and head toward the kitchen to find a snack, the unexpected caused him to freeze in place. His channel-surfing came to an abrupt halt. "Oh, shit," he muttered under his breath as the theme-song of a familiar animated show began to sound out. The title, 'Proteam Omega,' flashed across the flat screen before him and all he could do was sit in place, silently anticipating what could possibly occur at any moment starting now.
If such a scene were to be observed by those unaware of Gold's personal life, it would appear as though he was simply excited about the show his eyes were fixed on. In actuality, this was not the case. Gold hated Proteam Omega about as much as he hated early mornings and lectures. He found it highly overrated and possessed generally negative feelings toward it that he had no problem expressing at any time of the day. Conversely, this did not apply at all to his close friend, Silver, who once described it as being 'quality programming.' Ever since the first episode was shown to the public, Silver had grown to make a strange habit out of watching it at Gold's house every time it aired and he did so without missing a single beat. Keep in mind that it was rare for the usually grumpy, introverted young man to set aside his issues and fail to conceal his enjoyment of something. Gold was one lucky bastard for getting to see him do so on a regular occasion with the help of this dumb cartoon. In an odd way, that fact alone sort of made dealing with it all the more bearable.
As he sat through the show's opening credits, he studied the artwork with a look of slight confusion. Today's episode of Proteam Omega seemed to be a new one, which was odd because, judging from what he could remember, the first season of it had been recently concluded. He must have been more behind than he believed, which really wasn't any surprise. Realizing that, Gold held his breath and mentally counted down the seconds until Silver's inevitable arrival. Before he reached number one, the front door swung open dramatically.
There he was. Silver had been summoned.
"Hey! What a surprise! How's my buddy doing?" asked Gold, being blatantly ignored as Silver rushed past him, finding a spot on the floor to sit so he could see nothing but the television. The door was still wide open and Gold took it upon himself to get up and close it. He wouldn't dare come between Silver and his beloved show- not at all! Well, maybe he did at odd times, but he swore it was completely unintentional. "I had no clue you were going to show up," the hatcher joked, returning to the couch. That was a big, fat lie. Gold felt that throwing in some light sarcasm would earn him a laugh, but he knew his effort was futile when nothing of the sort happened. Nine times out of ten, sarcasm only worked for Silver and he knew that.
"You should have been keeping up," Silver suggested in a tone that was much more serious than that of his goofier half. "The season two premier was set to launch today. I notified you about that during my last visit."
Oh, right. He did say something along those lines, didn't he? Gold wasn't paying much attention, obviously. "I forgot," the dark-haired young man admitted. "In my defense, I at least checked the channels for it. It's a good thing I did, too, because I-"
"Shut up." Silver was in no mood today. "I already missed the introduction due to my delayed arrival. I don't need you getting in the way of the rest."
Gold went quiet in response to Silver's hostile command, but then spoke once a spark of curiosity hit him. "Wait. What 'delayed' you?"
Silver frowned at the badly-timed inquiry, but resolved it nonetheless. "Got held up."
"Oh, please be more vague," begged the egg-hatcher, putting his bad sense of humor to use once again with another sarcastic remark. Silver turned briefly and narrowed his eyes at him. It usually took a lot to peel those stone-grey orbs away from Proteam Omega while it was on, but Gold had the ability to do so without much effort. Only a very special kind of person like him could pull that stunt and he didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. "Sorry. I'll be real with you this time," he said, perfectly aware of the fact that Silver had no current interest in speaking. "Please be LESS vague. In other words, come on down to Elaboration Nation, my dude!"
Silver let out a sigh that heavily reflected the amount of frustration he was harboring. He had bad taste in friends. "Look. It's nothing."
"Oh, I'm pretty sure it's something." The dark-haired young man grinned. He was lucky he wasn't injured yet.
"Alright," Silver shot him a glare that could send small children running. "If you HAVE to fucking know, some idiot driver almost hit me with a van."
Well, that was pretty intense. Gold almost didn't believe the young man. Then, a notion struck him. His mom left in a van and her friends weren't exactly sane. It'd be no surprise to him if they were the ones to blame for Silver's hindrance. According to some stories he heard a long time ago, those wild women used to get into all sorts of trouble when it came to vehicles. That's why Gold still didn't have one at his age. Though, it was probably for the best...
When nothing was said directly after Silver spoke, the red-haired young man finally thought he'd be able the view his favorite show in peace. He had no idea what was going on, but it never took him long to get caught up. Much to his dismay, however, Gold's voice intruded his mind before he even got a chance to.
"Dude, that was probably my mom and her weird friends."
Okay, enough was enough. Silver was already having a pretty bad day and this just pushed him closer to the edge. He got up, turned off the television, and faced Gold, crossing his arms. "You're damn lucky there's going to be a second showing of this. Hurry up and say everything you need to say. Get it all out while you have the chance because I am NOT missing out again."
Gold clasped his hands together, a dumb look plastered all over his face. "Actually, that was pretty much it, but I sure do love when I have your undivided attention!" exclaimed the hatcher.
Silver wasn't exactly in a state of elation and he made damn sure that was obvious. "Maybe I should go somewhere else."
"Woah, hold up." Separating his butt from the couch, Gold stepped in between the red-head and the door, hoping to keep him contained that way. "You know as well as I do that my house is the only place you can watch Proteam Omega."
"I can just as easily go to a Pokemon Center and watch it there."
"They're always packed and not everyone watches that show," the egg-hatcher retaliated, trying to sound as convincing as he possibly could.
Silver frowned. He was afraid to admit that was a pretty good point. Nevertheless, he was clever enough to indirectly run off any obstructing crowds and claim the Center's public television long enough to watch his show. Then, he'd be on his merry way and no harm would be done. "I can get around that," he said simply.
Gold felt a slight pang of desperation, which was a tad off-putting for him considering his otherwise independent personality. On top of that, he was fresh out of excuses. He couldn't let Silver leave this soon after just arriving. It had been too long since they last caught up! Plus, it was no secret that Gold enjoyed having him around, even if he was a total asshole 75% of the time. He wasn't about to ruin anything just because of a stupid cartoon. "Yeah, well... Please don't go."
A pair of big, amber eyes silently begged for Silver to extend his visit and it was a little sad, but Silver let out a grumble of defeat and gave in like he always seemed to do when he was in Gold's company. "Fine, whatever," he mumbled, sitting back down in the floor as Gold flashed him a smile that made him feel kind of weird. Sometimes, he wondered what it was that kept Gold so interested in him, even after several years of knowing one another. He could cling on to anyone else in the world, but nope. Silver was 'The Chosen One.' It was gross... and maybe the tiniest bit flattering. Maybe.
"Then, it's settled! You're stuck here," announced the hatcher, retrieving his egg and plopping down next to his best buddy, who was clearly unenthused.
"Don't push it," Silver warned. The television was still off and Gold took this chance to strike up a conversation. Now was the best time to, considering that Silver gave him consent to spill his thoughts before Proteam Omega came back on. "So, how have you been?" He asked, instantly wishing he'd thrown a better question at the red-head. He should have started off by asking more about the incident with the van. Damn! That would've been good.
Silver wasn't sure how to respond at first. "Um... fine, I guess. Why is my wellbeing your concern?"
"Because, as your friend, it is in my best interest to care; duh! Don't be dumb, Silv," said Gold playfully, nudging the young man next to him.
Silver winced at the nickname. In that instant, he recalled all the times Gold decided to pin one on him out of nowhere like it was a 'normal' thing to do. Although he was relatively used to 'Silv,' seeing as it was most commonly used, he still hated it. Even more so, he hated all of the nicknames Gold tried to get 'creative' with. That guy could sure come up with some interesting ones and there was no doubt about it. Silvster, Silly-Sil, Captain Grumpy, Silbro, and the list went on. Needless to say, they were all horrible.
"Are you hungry?" Asked Gold suddenly, noticing a rumbling sensation in his stomach. "I'm sure getting that way, myself. I could make us a sandwich."
"What?" Silver looked a little shocked.
"I could make us a sandwich," repeated the hatcher, then he caught the fault in his statement. "Shit. I meant I could make us a sandwich each. I didn't imply we'd be sharing one... unless you want to, of course." He gave a comedic wink and Silver grimaced at the mental image of eating a sandwich after him. One of the many things Gold was notorious for was being a slob. When he ate, he made sure to tear into his food like he was a famished predator that just caught the prey he'd been pursuing for hours. Also, he rarely remembered to close his mouth while chewing, which was quite an issue for anyone who joined him during mealtime.
"No, thanks," Silver said. He had a few berries earlier.
Gold felt a little disheartened. "Oh, come on. I'm a great cook. My sandwiches are top-notch, grade A works of art!"
"They're really not," Silver replied, his brutal honesty taking a swing at Gold's oversized ego. "I don't think putting chocolate chips and marshmallow cream between two slices of bread counts as an actual sandwich."
"Hey! Don't talk smack about my creations!" Gold defended. "It's not my fault I have a refined palate." He let out a dramatic sigh, perfectly aware of how ignorant he was being. " Ahh; sometimes, my gift can be a curse."
"Well, keep your 'gift' to yourself."
"I guess I'll have to," Gold replied, casually crossing his legs so that he could stand his egg up in his lap. "The world just isn't ready for more of my brilliance. It sucks, doesn't it, Eggy?" He looked down at the unborn creature, speaking to it as if his words could somehow pass through the rock-hard shell that encased it.
This seemed to confuse Silver, causing him to change the subject. "That pokemon can't hear you, you know," he deadpanned.
"Yes, he can," Gold blurted out. "Well, at least I'd like to believe he can! What's wrong with that?"
"It's an egg."
Gold scoffed. "Excuse you, sir. You seem to forget that I'm 'The Hatcher.' Caring for these jokers in order to help young pokemon enter the world is, like, my ultimate specialty," he said with more confidence than necessary. "So, yeah. I know my shit. Mr. Eggy here can sense the vibrations I'm giving off as I display a certain emotion and, if you think outside the lines, that kind of counts as 'hearing' me. In other words, when I speak what I feel, he can pick up on that energy. The same goes for any other egg I decide to raise until it's final stage. You wouldn't know these cool-ass bonds because you're not a hatching extraordinaire like me," Gold bragged, feeling like he just taught his friend a valuable lesson like some kind of highly-educated professor.
Rolling his eyes, Silver didn't try to rationalize or even consider what his eccentric friend said. Sure, Gold knew more about hatching eggs than he did, but it really wasn't that big of a deal. Gold had the tendency to over-exaggerate everything and, on most occasions, it was hard to determine whether he needed to be taken seriously or not. "You know what?" The red-head asked.
"What?"
"You and your egg are full of shit."
Gold gasped, putting his hands on each side of his egg as if it had ears for him to cover up. "Don't say that! You're going to hurt his poor, eggy feelings and then he'll take longer to hatch... The last thing this little guy needs is for you to, you know, scramble his heart and sprinkle your salty attitude all over it," said Gold. He almost sounded serious until he decided to turn his remark into a distasteful egg-joke. A concise wave of silence fell over them and then Gold broke it with an unavoidable bout of laughter. "Pfffffttt. Oh, man. HAH! Get it? Scramble?"
"I can't believe you," Silver stated.
"Yeah, that was a little morbid," admitted the hatcher, giving his egg a few comforting pats. "Don't worry, bud. Nobody's getting scrambled, sauteed, fried, cooked over-easy, made into an omelette, or anything of the like. You are going to hatch into a big, strong... whatever you are." He smiled, imagining what kind of creature was slowly developing before him. Was it a larvitar that would eventually evolve into the mightiest, fearsome tyranitar? Was it a small, delicate skitty that would crush it's foes with cuteness? Perhaps it was a spooky, little misdreavus that could use it's ghostly form to play pranks on the neighbors. Whatever that egg was destined to become, Gold knew he wanted it to be his friend. He would care for it just as much as his other pokemon, who were currently taking a long break from their training at the daycare center he frequented.
"So," Silver said, putting an end to Gold's sudden daydreaming. "You never mentioned where your mom went."
That's right! Gold completely forgot. He was getting good at forgetting, as of late, and he shamelessly blamed it on the weather. "Oh, yeah! She's gone for several months on a trip to Kalos. It happened really unexpectedly, too. I just walked downstairs and she was in the middle of planning it with her friend," the dark-haired young man explained.
This couldn't be good. "Let me get this straight," the red-head began, "your mom left the region and she's trusting you to stay here in her home... by yourself." Surely, there was more to the story.
"Yeah." Gold confirmed. "She said she wanted me to practice managing a household on my own. It's kind of like 'adult-training.' I don't know if I like it yet or not, but I kind of had to agree to do it."
"Why?" Finally, their conversation was getting a little more interesting. Silver was intrigued, and a little frightened at the idea of Gold having to deal with adult-like responsibilities.
Laying out the scenario to the best of his abilities, Gold tried to be as straightforward as possible. "Well, mom never gets out and I've been stuck at home ever since I found Mr. Eggy. It's gonna be getting too cold to be out-and-about with an egg, so I made the decision to postpone my travels until spring. She knew about that, so she asked me to staying here while she had her fun and that about sums it up. We're both going out on a limb with this, but it's a new experience and something might be gained from it, I guess. At least I get to call the shots around here for a while and pretend like I've got my own pad." He made a 'thumbs-up' gesture, implying that all was good. "Man, I'm going to be so lazy and I just might eat an entire cake before bed. Who knows!?"
"I see..." the red-headed young man replied, letting that information sink in even though it was a little difficult to comprehend. He then took a second to steal a quick glance at the digital alarm-clock that sat on a shelf next to the television. It read: '5:46PM' and his grey eyes widened a little. New episodes of Proteam Omega were usually played at 6:00PM for the dedicated viewers who were unable to see the 5:00PM showing. With that practically encoded in his mind, he wasted no time as he suddenly smashed the television's personal 'on' button with his thumb, causing the screen to light up and cast a luminous glow over his face. In less than twenty minutes, he would be witnessing first-hand the season two premiere of Proteam Omega. This was monumental.
"Whoa, is it already coming back on?" asked Gold, not aware of how long they had been talking.
Silver nodded, refusing to look away from the screen. He wasn't going to miss a single thing this time around. He already knew what he was going to do if Gold interrupted even once. To say the least, it wasn't pretty.
Gold took this as his cue to make needed preparations. He knew the drill. "I guess I'll go get the snacks and some pop. Any requests?"
"Just your silence during this episode," answered Silver. He had never been more sure of anything in his life.
"Is that all?"
Silver contemplated for a second. It was hard to focus on his stomach when his head was packed full of Proteam Omega fan-theories. "Something sweet... that isn't one of your strange concoctions."
"Got it. I'll grab mom's pecha berry pie." Gold dashed into the kitchen to gather up some choice consumables. In doing so, he couldn't help but reflect on the big agreement he and his mother made after being reminded about it by Silver. He mentally reviewed the whole scenario as he dug through the refrigerator, pulling out as many food items as he could cradle in his left arm. For once, he didn't have to hear any complaints that pertained to what he was doing and, in all honesty, it was kind of nice.
He could really get used to this, especially if Silver was able to share all his new privileges with him.
Gold paused, a notable thought suddenly sticking out to him as he reached for an entire case of soda cans. It was almost as if he could hear his mom's voice in his head as he instantly recalled her giving him permission to have a friend visit. That led him to quite an interesting conclusion. It was never determined how long his friend of choice could stay. What if Gold took that to his advantage and decided for himself? Adults sometimes had roommates, right?
What if he followed that trend and elected Silver as his roommate?
A smile crept onto the hatcher's face as he knew exactly what he was going to do next. He was setting himself up for one hell of a challenge, but it was definitely one he'd gladly take on. Piling all of the consumables onto a conveniently-sized dinner-tray, he carefully toted it into the living room just as the clock read: '5:55PM.' He took in the image of Silver staring a hypothetical hole through the television as he cleared his throat, ready to propose his incredibly rash idea.
"Hey, Silv," Gold called out, hoping to capture an ounce of Silver's attention before he was completely sucked into his show. "Can I say one little thing before I have to go mute for half an hour?"
"Make it quick," Silver said, figuring it was something food-related and not of severe importance. He couldn't have been more wrong.
"I think it'd be really cool if you moved in."
