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"It's That Time of Year" for Aetherling
Author:
Rating: T
Verse: Gameverse HG/SS
Characters/Pairings: Gold/Youngster Joey, Background Lyra/Silver
Summary: Gold gets a present that he wasn’t expecting.
“You are so screwed.”
And despite the fact that he desperately wants to argue with Lyra’s words, Gold finds that they’re undeniably true.
He’s come back home to New Bark Town for the holidays, mostly at his mom’s and Lyra’s insistence. The plan is to spend a couple days there - enough to appease both of them - before heading back to Kanto to train. But now, that whole plan has been shot to hell by the book sitting in front of him.
A scrapbook. Joey hasn’t just got him a Christmas present. No, he’s put in effort and time to create a scrapbook about Gold’s journey, and Gold nearly forgets who Joey is until he finds Joey’s number in his phone.
This isn’t good. Gold groans in frustration as he turns the page to reveal a collage of newspaper clippings and pictures from when he first defeated the Elite Four. “This is so thoughtful,” he complains, pushing the scrapbook away from him so that he can slump over the table. “What am I going to do?”
“Well, obviously, you’d better think of something to give him,” Lyra points out unhelpfully, shoving him over on the chair so that she can perch on the edge and continue looking through the book. “Oh my goodness, have you seen this last page? He’s pasted pictures of you two together.”
Gold lifts his head against his better judgment, to see various cutouts of him from some article or another next to pictures of Joey. The bright stickers letters across the page proclaim, “The Day When My Rattata and I Beat You! (It hasn’t happened - YET.)”
“Gold, you have to get him something back. You can’t just ignore this.”
“Yeah, I know,” he huffs, leaning his cheek on his fist as he closes the scrapbook. “Just- what can I get him? I don’t know anything about him besides the fact that he loves his Rattata. Like, that’s it.”
“You’re hopeless, sweetie,” Lyra says with a laugh, patting him on the hair. “But I’ll help you, because I feel like this boy is going to be terribly let down if I don’t.”
“You’ll help me?”
“Of course. How hard could it be to think of a present for one kid who seems to like you a lot?” she asks with a shrug. “I’m kind of an expert with this sort of thing, you know.”
Gold lights up immediately, throwing his arms around her in an affectionate hug. “You’re the best.”
“I know, I know,” she replies, returning the hug just as tightly. For all that Lyra can be annoying at times, there’s a reason she’s his best friend. And her eagerness to help out when he’s completely out of his depth is definitely one of those reasons. “So I think it’s obvious where we start.”
“Yeah!” Gold agrees happily. “You tell me what you got for Silver and I’ll get Joey the same thing. There, done!”
The look that Lyra levels at him makes Gold think that he might have said the wrong thing. “You’re going to get Joey the same thing that I got my boyfriend? Please, Gold, don’t be such an idiot.”
“Then what are you suggesting?” he asks, enthusiasm dampened a little by the failure of his first suggestion.
“He made you a scrapbook. Surely there’s something in here that hints at what he’d like from you.” Lyra opens the scrapbook to the last page once again, tapping on the page lightly as an idea starts to form in Gold’s head.
---
“Hey, Joey.” He doesn’t know why he’s so nervous, but his palms are a little sweaty and his heart is beating a little fast and damn it, he just wants this to go well because he’ll feel terrible if it doesn’t. The idea that he and Lyra came up with seemed good at the time, but now the present seems to be burning a hole through his jacket pocket.
“Gold! It’s actually you!” The boy jumps to his feet excitedly, eyes bright. They’re meeting in Olivine City, at one of the benches that overlooks the port. A bunch of people are milling around, but Joey is easy enough identify, with his signature cap and his loud, carrying voice. “I didn’t think you’d come!”
Ouch. Gold’s not that bad, is he? He tries to laugh it off with a shrug. “Of course I came. Why wouldn’t I?”
“I never thought you noticed me before,” Joey returns way too easily, shoving his hands in his pockets. Gold has to suppress the urge to physically wince. “So what’s up? Back to challenge me again? I’ve gotten way better than last time.”
“No - well, we can probably do that too.” Focus, Gold. Weird, how the voice in his head sounds uncannily like Lyra’s. “But I’m actually here about your Christmas present.”
“Oh, you got that?” Joey seems hesitant all of a sudden, rubbing the back of his head as he averts his eyes, looking down at the floor. “Huh. It was kinda...”
“Kinda really great.” Gold shoves his hands into his pockets too, giving the other boy a smile. “And I actually got you something too.” With a deep breath, he fishes the small piece of paper out of his jacket and hands it over to Joey. “It’s a ticket for the S.S. Aqua,” he explains unnecessarily - judging by the way Joey is grinning with a mixture of shock and total awe, he already knows what it is. “I’m heading back to Kanto the day after tomorrow, and I thought… you could come with me and we could train,” Gold finishes up, just a little awkwardly.
“The day after tomorrow?”
Gold senses that Joey is pausing - at least, he thinks the younger boy is - and quickly adds on, “if you don’t want to, that’s totally fine. I mean, it’s a little short notice, and it might be weird, and-”
He’s cut off by Joey throwing his arms around him in a tight hug, and Gold doesn’t know what to do. He settles for wrapping an arm around the other boy’s shoulder, letting it rest there lightly until Joey pulls back. “This is- the best gift I’ve ever gotten. I get to train with you? That’s just- that’s amazing. You’re amazing. I need to tell- all of my friends. Thank you so much!”
“... you’re welcome,” Gold manages to say as Joey takes out his Pokégear, and he rubs the back of his neck a little shyly as Joey starts raving about his gift to the first person on the line.
You’re blushing, the Lyra-in-his-head decides to inform him, and he lets out an exasperated ‘tch’ at the very idea.
Of course, as the thought flies through his head, he also turns a little redder.
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