Is this love real? (POKEMON) Gold x Silver

Is this love real? (POKEMON) Gold x Silver - 6

Silver's P.O.V

Gold had been acting strangely recently. Like he could read my mind. He was taking everything so steadily that it was making me a little nervous. It had already been a week, and he hadn't tried to kiss me once without my consent. I would rewind and replay everything in my head, trying to work how just how Gold knew what I wanted and why he was willing to do it, but I failed to come up with anything at all.

The evening after his first working day, he went home to pack a suitcase. As he was unpacking his things in my apartment that night, dividing the drawers and wardrobe into two parts- my half and his half- my heartbeat sped up uncomfortably. It was obvious he was settling in for a long stay. We really were house-sharing (I refused to say 'living together' aloud), and it was like... some of the ambiguity of our relationship had just disappeared. Like we were really committed to each other. I shook my head at the thought. It wasn't just lovers who shared homes, I told myself. Friends did it too. And students.

He had grinned at me so broadly when all his things were packed safely away into my wardrobe and his position in my life was sealed. He came over to me and for one nerve-racking moment I thought he would try kissing me, but he didn't. He just thanked me for letting him stay and walked away.

The next day he tried to pitch in like he'd promised by making dinner. He boiled the pasta so thoroughly that it melted into a white slop that stuck stubbornly to the bottom of the pan. Three more attempts (and three more pans) later, and he had to give up.

"Silver," he whined, nearly in tears. "It's not working."

"For God's sake," I snapped, elbowing him out of the way to the oven and picking up my poor, ruined pans. I threw them into the sink, causing a huge clang. "Can't you do anything?" I wasn't really angry, but I felt that I should at least make an effort to be.

"I'm sorry." Gold hung his head. The dejected look on his face was so utterly pathetic that I couldn't help but smile. I couldn't be mad any more.

"Whatever," I muttered. "You're useless, you know that? Even kids know how to cook pasta. Look, I'll show you."

"Really?" Gold perked up at once. He looked like I'd just announced he'd won the Nobel prize. Such a simple person.

"Yeah, now pay attention, because I'm only going to tell you once." After much scrubbing and swearing, I managed to clean out a used pan well enough to bear food again. I proceeded to teach Gold just how much water to put in the pan according to how much pasta he wanted to cook, and what temperature the gas should be on while cooking. Gold kept such a firm grip on the handle while the pan was on the heat that his knuckles turned white.

"You don't have to do that," I said, nodding at his clenched hands. "It's not going to fly off the heat as soon as you let go. Just make sure the handle is turned in towards the wall, or else you could knock the handle and end up with boiling water all over you." I picked up the microwavable packet of tomato-and-basil pasta sauce and gave it to him. "Here. The instructions are on the packet; even you can handle that."

Gold nodded with the determination of a soldier to his commanding officer- he even saluted- turned and marched across the tiny kitchen to the microwave. I stayed at the oven, making sure the pasta didn't boil over. Two minutes later I frowned and turned my head towards Gold.

"Shouldn't the sauce be ready by now?"

No sooner had those ill-fated words left my lips than from my microwave came an intense bang. Gold screamed and covered his ears and I shot over to the counter. That microwave cost me the earth! I had to press the button several times before the door agreed to open. A sickening red slime splattered across the counter as I opened it. The inside of the microwave was also covered in the stuff. I took a deep breath and counted to ten.