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The moon was shining bright in the sky among the twinkling stars when Ash first heard it.
A quiet, muffled noise, similar to a whimper. He thought nothing of it and rolled over in his bed, snuggling closer to Pikachu, who let out a noise of content and nuzzled his nose against Ash's cheek.
Then, again- and this time it sounded just like Goh.
The boy blinked his tired eyes a few times, before reluctantly sitting up. He rubbed at his face with a yawn, glancing up at the bottom of the bunk above him.
"Goh?" He murmured, swinging his legs over the bed, his feet making contact with the cold floor as he stood. "You okay up there?"
Nothing. Not a sound. For a moment, Ash considered dropping it and crawling back into his warm bed, but the sound of fabric rustling made him pause. He looked up, standing on his tip-toes to see the top bunk, and caught a glimpse of messy black hair. Goh was facing away from him, but his shoulders were shaking.
Ash frowned. A nightmare, maybe?
The boy called Goh's name a few more times, with no results. He decided to climb the ladder to the top bunk, ever so quietly. Once he reached the top, after having slipped twice due to his half-asleep mind, he took in the scene before him.
His friend was sprawled out across the bed, his legs all tangled up in a mess of blankets. His skin was glistening with sweat, and his face was contorted into an uncomfortable expression, eyebrows furrowed like he was in pain. Raboot was sitting beside him, and visibly perked up once he noticed Ash's presence.
Raboot made a quiet noise and began tugging on Ash's sleeve, concern in it's eyes. Ash felt himself smile at it's worry- gently ruffling the fur on the top of it's head with a laugh. "Don't worry, he's okay. I think it's just a nightmare."
The Pokemon instantly turned away with a huff, cheeks pink. It moved back to give Ash space, concern still visible in it's expression.
Goh mumbled something in his sleep, rolling on his side and getting his legs tangled up even further. Ash gently placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, shaking him lightly. "Hey, Goh. Hey. Wake up, buddy!"
The blue-eyed boy only grumbled, thrashing slightly. Ash jumped as Goh's hand nearly flew into his face, worried for his and Raboot's wellbeing. As gentle as he could, Ash grabbed hold of Goh's hand, stopping it from hitting something or someone. To his surprise, the hand gripped his own tightly, blunt fingernails leaving crescent indents in his skin. He winced- this must be a bad nightmare.
Ash shuffled closer, glancing around before reaching down with his free hand and untangling Goh's mess of blankets before he forgot. He immediately regretted his actions, as Goh's legs were now moving too, and it would suck to be woken up by slamming your foot into the wall.
"Goh!" He whispered, slightly louder this time, a frown spread across his face. Goh's had nightmares before, but never one he struggled to wake him from. And never one where he kicked or swung his fists.
"Goh, wake up-!" Ash's sentence was cut off as Goh did just that, very suddenly and violently, breaking free of Ash's hold and accidentally slamming his hand into his face. Ash yelped, falling backwards as his friend gasped and struggled to get a hold of himself. Blue eyes darted around the dark room, before settling on Ash, who was clutching his cheek.
"A-" Goh choked on his words, shaking his head as he tried again, "Ash?" His voice was quiet, shaking as he spoke. "What happened? Are you okay?"
Ash whined, rubbing his cheek, "Yeah. You hit me kinda hard, but it's not your fault." The boy sat up, and smiled softly. "You were having a nightmare- a bad one, I think. You were thrashing a lot and I couldn't wake you up."
Goh blinked once, twice, the information taking it's time with reaching his brain. Then, a shaky sigh, "I'm so sorry. I haven't had one that bad in months." He paused as Raboot bashfully cuddled against his side, reaching a hand down to stroke it's fur. It seemed relieved he was awake. "Is your cheek okay?"
Ash nodded, scooting closer and scratching under Raboot's chin. He looked up, his brown eyes locked in a stare with blue eyes, that seemed to be slightly watery. "It's fine, I swear." He reached forward and grasped hold of Goh's blanket, pulling it back over the distressed boy, who's cheeks flushed ever so slightly at the act.
"Do you need help getting back to sleep?" Ash questioned, as Raboot settled in beside them. Goh raised an eyebrow, relaxing his shoulders with a sigh.
"How do you plan to help?" He asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. Ash laughed, absentmindedly placing his hand atop the other boy's. "Well, what if I just stay up here with you? It always helped me to have company after a bad nightmare."
Ash looked up to see his friend's cheeks colored a strawberry red, silent for a moment as he glanced down at their hands. He was about to ask if everything was okay before he received a quiet response.
"Uh... yeah- yeah, okay. Can you.. talk about something, maybe?"
Ash nodded happily, slowly lowering his body and shifting so he was lying on his side, facing Goh. "Anything?"
Goh settled in as well, lying on his back and wrapping an arm around Raboot as he tugged his blanket closer. "Anything. Arceus knows you've got endless Pokemon facts in that head of yours, that you could ramble about." He giggled, a light, happy sound that made Ash smile for some reason.
Ash ruffled the giggling boy's hair playfully, "You're one to talk!!"
The two laughed for a few moments, ruffling hair and bickering playfully before peace and silence took over the room once again.
Ash pulled the corner of Goh's blanket over his feet, to dull the chill that had suddenly hit. "Hmm, okay. So, the thing with battle strategies is-"
The boy took off into his usual rambling, and Goh's expression settled into a calm smile as he nuzzled his face into his pillow, keeping one blue eye open to peek at his friend. Slowly, said eye fluttered shut, as he was lulled to sleep by a familiar voice and presence beside him.
Ash's rambling cut off quickly, once he heard quiet snoring. He hadn't been looking directly at Goh while rambling, so he could fall asleep easier- but now, his eyes didn't want to look anywhere else.
Goh looked peaceful. A vast difference from the expression he'd had when Ash climbed the ladder, with sweat dripping from his face and a frown stretched across his lips. Now, he looked calm. His eyes weren't squeezed shut like before, they were gently resting, and his lips weren't curled into a frown any longer. Instead, his mouth was open ever so slightly, drool making it's way onto his pillow. Ash chuckled.
With no further thought, the boy scooted up next to his friend, a yawn escaping his mouth. He carefully placed an arm over Goh's torso to reach Raboot, threading his fingers through it's soft fur- before absentmindedly reaching his other arm up and doing the same with Goh's hair. It was soft, almost as soft as Raboot's fur. Ash made a mental note to ask the boy what shampoo he used..
He paused, his hand stilling in Goh's hair as he was struck with an idea. His mother would hum to him after a nightmare, hum him a lullaby that never failed to put him back to sleep. Ash wasn't quite sure he remembered every note, but it was worth a shot. With a grin, he shuffled slightly closer, so his head could rest on the side of the pillow, and began to hum.
The melody echoed throughout their room, calming all beings that lay inside. Pikachu curled up tighter from where it slept on the bottom bunk, nose buried in soft yellow fur.
Ash was aware Goh was already fast asleep, so the melody wasn't required, but he liked to think Goh could hear it anyway, in whatever new, peaceful dream he was having. The hand in Goh's hair moved down to brush black strands away, tucking them behind his ears. Ash felt happy around his friend. Really happy.
"You're my best friend," The boy mumbled, as his melody faded to silence and his consciousness became a struggle. He felt a shiver across his body, and instinctively got closer to the warmest thing- which just so happened to be Goh. His hand that was resting in Raboot's fur moved to rest on Goh's shoulder, as he scooted closer, so close his face was buried slightly in black and red hair. He always liked the red strands in his friend's hair. They were pretty.
Once the slumbering boy felt a source of heat press against his side, he cuddled closer to it, and ended up with his face buried in the crook of Ash's neck.
Half-asleep, Ash giggled, a peaceful smile set as his default expression for the night. "G'night, Goh..." He whispered, brushing his fingers through Goh's hair one final time, before his hand flopped down, limp as he slept.
For once, Ash didn't snore.
The two boys ended up oversleeping, wrapped in each other's arms, only waking up when Chloe stumbled upon them and let out a very shrill: "Huh?!"
And if she continuously found them like that again, not a morning going by where they weren't a tangled pile of limbs on the top bunk, cuddled together- she didn't mention it.
She was happy for them, the idiots. They were finally making progress.