Work Text:
Lucas tumbled down the grassy hill and into Floaroma Town Meadows below. He rubbed the back of his head, and let out a quiet groan.
“Lucas! Sorry about that- wait, no, no I'm not!” Barry began, his face very close to Lucas’. “I've been waiting forever! We were supposed to meet outside the Wind Works, not in Floaroma Town! We should have already been at Eterna City by now, or, better yet! Cycling down the bike paths of Route 207!”
Barry continued to speak several miles an hour, ranting on and on about how slow Lucas was and how he'd been waiting for “hours”. (This was more like minutes, but in Barry’s mind, seconds translated into minutes and minutes into hours.)
“Anyway, for making me wait I think I'll fine you 10 million!” Barry exclaimed confidently, lifting his index finger to Lucas’ face and nearly poking his nose with it.
Lucas found it amusing that Barry could run him over, cause them both to fall down the hill and into Floaroma Meadows, and then go on ranting about such mundane things, all the while still sitting on top of him.
“Hey buddy, you're a little heavy.” Lucas said, ignoring Barry’s usual shenanigans about owing him money. For a number of minutes after the comment was made, Barry just kind of sat there and stared, oblivious for a moment before realizing.
“Oh! Sorry, Lucas.” Barry laughed awkwardly while getting off of Lucas’ chest and helping him up.
“You know, Barry, maybe if you’d slow down a bit then you wouldn't run into people.” Lucas said, but with the look on Barry's face, he knew the latter was no longer paying any attention to him.
“Wow...This place is gorgeous.” Barry said, staring wide eyed at the meadow of flowers, which seemed to stretch for miles over the rolling hills, caressed by the crisp blue sky on the horizon.
“AND, if you'd slow down and not discount all towns that don't have gyms, then you'd find that each place has its charms.” Lucas continued, with what Barry had said already proving his point.
“Lucas,” Barry started suddenly, after a moment of silence. “You've heard of the legend of Shaymin and the Gracidea Flower, haven't you?”
“Of course, everybody in Sinnoh has.” Lucas replied.
Typical. Barry usually ignored what Lucas said, staying silent just long enough so that Lucas would think he was taking in the information he'd definitely already missed, only to change the subject long enough into the future that he suspected Lucas would have forgotten that he’d said anything to Barry at all.
“Well, gracidea flowers represent gratitude, don't they?” Barry asked.
“Yeah, Shaymin is the Gratitude Pokemon, and its favorite flower holds the meaning of gratitude.” Lucas began, deciding to cut Barry some slack. Again.
“The story goes that a long time ago this town was completely barren, and nothing could grow here.” Lucas continued. “But then someone rescued a Pokemon who later showed its gratitude by fertilizing the land, making hundreds of flowers suddenly explode from the soil across the town.” He finished.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Barry continued impatiently. “But people give them to others as a token of gratitude.” He stated more than asked.
“Yeah, but they're extraordinarily hard to get your hands on. Why are you asking?” Lucas questioned. Barry paused again, this time for a longer period of time.
“Nevermind that.” Barry said. “Hey, I'll race you to route 205, whoever loses pays for lunch!” And no sooner had he said it did Barry dash off again. Lucas sighed, following behind his sprightly friend.
"HEY LUCAS!” Barry shouted, causing Lucas to whip his head around in surprise. Barry ran up and stopped in front of him, rather than bumping into him, which was a first.
“Yeah, what?” Lucas asked. Barry placed his hands on his knees, leaning over to catch his breath for a moment, before his head suddenly popped up a moment later. His face was uncomfortably close to Lucas’ at that point.
“I did it! I beat the Pokémon league!” Barry said, jumping on Lucas and embracing him, and as usual, toppling them both to the floor.
“Ouch…” Lucas groaned. But Barry ignored his friend’s pain, once again sitting on Lucas’ chest and staring down at him with an over excited look on his face.
“Lucas, I finally did it! I'm on my way to becoming the greatest trainer, just like my father, only better!” Barry grabbed Lucas’ coat collar, and squeezed it tightly in his fists. “Now you have to battle me, just like old times, so I can prove that I'll really become the best!”
“Alright, alright. But I can't battle at full potential when someone is sitting on me.” Lucas teased.
“Oh! Right!” Barry said, getting off. “Sorry, now let's battle!” He yelled, pulling a Pokeball from his bag.
“Yeah, yeah.” Lucas said, doing the same.
So they battled, and surprisingly, Barry won for once. And he continued to rub it in, and wouldn't let it go for years to come.
That's why it wasn't any surprise when they both met up near the Pokémon league years later to catch rare Pokemon and fill the National Dex, and Barry was once again flaunting that fact.
“Hey Lucas, do you remember that time when I beat you in a Pokémon battle?” Barry asked, again.
“Yeah, yeah.” Lucas replied.
“I totally destroyed you.” Barry said, triumphantly. Since that time, Barry hadn't been able to repeat his victory. To him, it was only natural that he stay confident by repeatedly bringing up the past.
“Yeah, yeah.” Lucas repeated.
“Dude, what's that?” Barry asked.
“Yeah, yeah.” Lucas said again, at this point in total auto pilot.
“No, Lucas, seriously. What IS that?” Barry asked again, taking Lucas’ head in both hands and turning it towards the item of curiosity himself.
“Oh, Professor Oak wrote to me about this.” Lucas began after seeing the white rock. “You write down what you're grateful for on it.”
“Really?” Barry asked, and Lucas thought Barry was, for once, impressed by his vast knowledge. Of course, that was never the case, and this time was no exception as Barry continued with: “Who has time for that?” before rushing off to the next patch of grass.
“Barry? Wait,” Lucas said, grabbing the blond haired boy by the shoulders and pulling him back. “I think it would do you good to try out this exercise.”
“But why? Trying to think up something like that seems so boring.” Barry stuck out his tongue.
“Because. You'll see.” Lucas pushed the grumpy individual up to the rock.
“That's not an answer! For that I should fine you-” Barry began, but Lucas interrupted his train of thought as he pushed Barry down into a sitting position in the grass, taking one of his hands and placing it on the cold stone.
“Here, take this and carve out something you're grateful for. Look, I'll do one too.” The ever resourceful Lucas said as he handed Barry a chisel.
“Fine.” Barry said, sitting on the grass and staring at the stone, holding his face with his free hand in deep contemplation. After about fifteen minutes, Lucas finished chiseling out his. Barry was still in thought at this point, but in about ten more minutes,he managed to finish as well.
“Let me see!” Lucas said, crawling around to the other side of the rock. Barry responded by defensively leaning against the sloppily scrawled sentence, blocking it from view.
“No, you can't!” He shouted, face red and embarrassed.
“Now I'm curious.” Lucas said sarcastically, though he really was curious. “Come on, I'll let you see mine.”
“Urgh...Fine! But you can't laugh!” Barry shouted.
“Okay.” Lucas said.
“Not okay! You have to promise!” Barry held out his pinky.
“I promise.” Lucas said, taking Barry’s pinky in his own. Barry moved away from the stone, inching slowly around to read Lucas’. It read:
‘I'm grateful that I've got my Pokemon and my friends to watch my back.’
‘Very cliché, even for Lucas.’ Barry thought with a sigh. Lucas, on the other hand, burst out laughing, causing Barry to get flustered.
“You promised!” Barry shouted.
“I know, I'm sorry.” Lucas apologized. “I was just not expecting that at all.”
“And I wasn't expecting you to be so lame, either!” Barry attempted at getting revenge.
What neither of them expected, however, was for the entire hill to explode into flowers in that same moment.
“What?!” Was all Barry could manage, looking to Lucas for answers.
“Don't look at me! Oak never said anything about this!” Lucas shrugged with a lack of answers to give. Then they both turned to see the legendary Pokémon, Shaymin, standing in front of them.
“W-woah, is that?” Barry turned his head to Lucas again, who simply nodded, speechless. Shaymin, on the other hand, was much more interested in something else. It walked off in the direction of a pathway, one that both of the boys would've sworn hadn't been there before.
“Should we follow?” Lucas asked this time, and likewise, this time Barry was the one who nodded. They followed Shaymin to a location that wasn't on any map. The place in old legends, the Flower Paradise.
“This is like Floaroma Meadows but with ten times more flowers.” Barry said.
“How would you know, it's been years since you've gone there.” Lucas asked, but the only reply he got was Barry’s face becoming flushed again. “Wait, you've gone to a town that doesn't have a gym, more than once?” Lucas laughed.
“That's!” Barry was interrupted by an impatient Shaymin, suddenly nudging at his leg. The little hedgehog's nose pushed the contents his pocket out onto the ground, a small gracidea flower floating gracefully down.
“Barry?” Lucas asked with amusement in his tone, but Barry quickly grabbed the flower and shoved it back into his pocket.
“AH!!!” Barry responded simply, his face becoming even more red. Lucas shot him an interrogating glare. “Ah, what's that point! Now I can't hide it OR have it be a surprise, so, FINE.” Barry blew up. He pulled the flower back out of his pocket and forcefully pushed it into Lucas’ hands.
“What's this? Don't tell me you frequented Floaroma town until you could get this?” Lucas asked, astonished.
“Of course I did! B-because...Well…” Barry bounced up and down on his heels for a couple of seconds before repeating what he'd written on the stone. “I wanted to thank you for putting up with me and always staying by my side and not abandoning me, you're my best friend ever and I could never ask for a better one.”
Lucas laughed again, and just like the last time, it wasn't because of the contents but rather the sloppy way in which the thought was executed. Barry just closed his eyes in frustration, his face already as red as it could get.
“J-just shut up and hug me already!” Barry shouted. Lucas obliged, wrapping his and around his all too skinny friend.
“You're welcome, but of course, the same goes for you,” Lucas whispered into Barry’s ear, making the latter shiver from the sudden rush of warm air caused by the familiar voice. Lucas pulled back, releasing Barry only after giving him a short peck on the cheek.
“And I hope we grow even closer from here on out.” Lucas finished his statement aloud. Barry stared at him, eyes wide for a moment.
“D-did you just...flirt...with me?” Barry asked, in shock. Lucas laughed.
“As they say, it's all in the eyes of the beholder. In this case, I'd say that means that if you find it significant enough to interpret it that way, then be my guest.” Lucas said.
“I-in that case, I will!” Barry replied, deciding to take this opportune moment to finally do something he'd been meaning to do for a long time.
“Alright then, let's go.” Lucas said with a chuckle.
“Wait, hold up!” Barry yelled, running up to Lucas and grabbing the boy's face in his hands.
“Okay?” Lucas asked as Barry hesitated in that position for a moment.
“I just said, I'm going to pretend that you were flirting with me, don't you dare walk away unfazed.” Barry said, staring intently into Lucas’ eyes.
“Okay,” Lucas repeated, his response muffled by the fact that Barry was squishing his cheeks. “And I'm saying that if you're fine interpreting it that way, then yeah, I was flirting with you.” He admitted finally.
Barry’s eyes lit up with realization. “Well, if you wouldn't be so cryptic all the time, then maybe I could understand when you're trying to tell me something!!!” He yelled in frustration. Lucas chuckled again.
“But then it wouldn't be as fun.” Lucas stated, making Barry even more frustrated.
But despite his frustration and with cold sweat in his palms, a racing heart in his chest, and all the confidence he could gather, Barry decided that if he didn't do it now he never would. So he hurriedly pulled Lucas’ face into his own and clumsily kissed him.
Lucas responded appropriately by reciprocating the kiss. And though Barry thought Lucas was overly calm, he was actually just as nervous as Barry, and likewise was cheering silent victory to himself.
Shaymin, on the other hand, just kind of sat there the whole time. Because with no way to speak to them, all it could do was wish that these two would take their shenanigans somewhere else.