Capturing the Heart [a pokemon fanfiction] (boyxboy)

17) Sleep

   Ash slowly woke up, feeling fur under his hand and warmth all over him. He blinked his eyes open and lifted his head to look at himself. Persian still slept soundly beside him with Pikachu curled around his head, one of Ash's hands resting gently on the cats side, and he was laying on his unhurt side. Now, however, there was a blanket draped over him and half over Persian, looking like it had been carefully laid to not touch his wounds.

   Ash looked up to see if anyone else was here, blinking in surprise when he saw Giovanni.

   Giovanni was limp in his chair, dead asleep, head lolled to the side and resting on his shoulder in a way that didn't look comfortable. One of his arms dangled over the arm of the chair and the other rested in his lap. He looked like he had been trying to stay awake and failed, which is probably exactly what happened.

   Ash wondered for a moment if Giovanni or his mom had put the blanket on him.

   He carefully got up, being quiet so he didn't disturb anyone. He grabbed the blanket when he was standing and ever so gently draped it over Giovanni, holding his breath when the man twitched.

   Giovanni shifted just barely before settling down again and staying still as Ash finished covering him. Ash let out his breath and left quietly.

   Ash headed for the kitchen, he could hear humming and dishes and the bustle of making a meal. He still had to move carefully, feeling a sting of pain with each step, but Persian really had taken the brunt of the blow, leaving Ash with some shallow cuts and burn marks. He would be fine.

   He went and leaned on the doorframe gently, watching Delia move about without noticing him for a while. When she did she immediately went over "Ash you should have stayed in bed".

   Ash smiled and gave her a hug when she wrapped gentle arms around him "I was already up, moving a bit more wont hurt".

   Delia frowned at him "oh I know you were up, I went to check on you guys and I found you, you should have stayed in your bed". She shook her head and went back to the food "if you constantly do idiotic things like this I'm going to lock you in your room until you're thirty-five".

   Ash chuckled and went to take a seat "professor Oak would convince you to let me out in two weeks and you know it".

   Delia sighed "yes he would". She finished the food she was preparing, a delicious looking chicken noodle soup, and dished a bowl out for Ash, setting it and a spoon in front of him "is Giovanni going to come out".

   Ash shook his head and grabbed the spoon "he fell asleep".

   His mom smiled "good, he's been up too long".

   Ash looked at her as he started eating "I'm surprised you didn't order him to bed, you still do that to me".

   Delia scoffed "he's not my son in case you haven't noticed".

   Ash grinned "and he wouldn't listen to you probably".

   Delia nodded "that too, plus I wasn't going to ask him to sleep when he's that worried, I know how he feels right now".

   Ash frowned "you do".

   Delia looked at him "of course, so do you I'm sure". She moved from the counter to sit across from him "he loves his Persian and he's worried himself sick over it, I feel that way every time you get yourself in trouble, and you probably feel that way when something happens to your pokemon".

   Ash smiled at her "yeah... Persian is going to be ok right".

   Delia nodded "I talked to Sam, he's gonna need rest for a while and it might be a bit before he can battle again but he'll be fine".